So reality finally began to set in when AC and I were sitting at the SFO airport awaiting our flight to London via NYC. While I still felt somewhat numb to the whole idea of leaving the country ... again ... what stood out most for me were the business travelers who surrounded us.
A well-dressed older lady sat next to me in the waiting area, frantically typing out messages on her Blackberry. She would pause between typing to pick up incoming calls that all seemed to go like this:
Business Lady: Hello? Yes, Tom. I'm getting on the plane in a minute, but I wanted to let you know that I got a call from Fred and the division in coming up about $12 million short and most of that comes from our region. We need to squeeze every penny out of our end-user software support sales and make up this gap by the end of the month. I don't care how you do it, it just needs to get done! I'll call you when I land in New York and I expect to hear a plan on how this will be addressed! *hangs up and returns to furiously typing*
This conversation took all of 30 seconds, but I felt like time had stopped. I had flashbacks of myself only a few short months ago, in a different but almost identical situation. Hopping on a plane every other day trying to keep the seat belt from wrinkling my just-pressed shirt, the meetings, conference calls, Outlook calendars, rapid-firing instructions into some poor soul on the other end of the phone up until the final possible second before the stewardess yanks the phone out of my hand so we can take off ...
Just hearing her, I broke out in a cold sweat. Reflecting back now, I can't help but wonder how I ever was happy living like that. Important people in my life have always pressured me to slow down a bit -- no need to work full time, commute for hundreds of miles a day, go to school full time and have nothing left for friends or myself for that matter. The really weird thing is that now, some of those same people are subtly prodding me to jump back in. The further I get away from it, the less appealing it seems. Perhaps that is their concern?
As we had a quick dinner in the NYC airport, AC pointed out a group of four women sharing a table. None were talking to each other, but all had their mobile phones glued to their ears talking to everyone but their friends right in front of their faces. I just shook my head. I don't know how, but I envision a very different life for myself -- or maybe a very different way of thinking at least -- when I return.
Oh, and I'm reading Into the Wild right now too, which is great but certainly isn't helping my bad feelings toward corporate America.
Heading Over
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Goodbye for now!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Dear Friends-
As you may know, we are leaving the country to experience some more travel before returning to the real world of work. I guess "we" doesn't include poor Tater (sadly pictured to the left).
Our flight leaves tomorrow and we'll be gone for approximately seven months, returning just before Christmas.
Keep checking this blog for updates soon!
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