...say it all.

Not all days of travel were pleasant. I often bit off a lot more than I could chew. Running a business, being a business, growing a business, exiting a marriage, buying a new house while leading a technical team on multi-million dollar health care system implementations... trying to find that balance was often difficult.

Often discouraging.

Often more than I could bear.

Originally published January 28, 2008

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I’ve been informed I need more journal entries about travel…

Unfortunately I don’t have much to say about it. Travel recently has been brief, alone and uneventful.

Last week’s travel was canceled. The week before it was a quick 36 hour trip to Colorado and Wyoming. I took some interesting pictures, but nothing too memorable.

This week I’m off to Tacoma again… I enjoyed my previous trips to that area, but not specifically for the area, the travel or the work to be done. But a two-day trip to the other side of the continent seems almost wasteful. I could spend an entire day – a full 24 hours – just going back and forth. Seems pretty pointless to only have 48 hours in between. But I have no choice. I have to cut my travel as close to work time as possible. There is a lot of work to be done, and even more back home. I hate to even leave at this time.

Closing on a house to move my company offices to. The transaction hasn’t gone nearly as smoothly as I would have hoped. There is a lot of work to be done there now that it is officially mine.

Yes, it became official as I flew a connecting flight to Philadelphia. So I will return home with a lot on my plate... as usual I suppose.

My business is at a juncture of growth. We’ve doubled staff since November. Ok, so that’s only adding on two people, but growth has to start somewhere and it’s never easy to take those steps. I’m needed there. But still, I need to keep working too. My efforts don’t only go towards managing and running the company, but also to bring in revenue and keeping up a positive cash flow.

On a flight to Seattle, and endlessly amazed by the ignorant and inconsiderate actions of people. Not only that, but the consistent stupidity and almost complete apathy by the airline personnel to do anything but “enforce the rules.”

I won’t go into detail. I’m sure anyone who has flown in recent years knows this all too well.

I pack light to avoid complications; especially for a quick two-day trip such as this. The less I carry, the happier and better off I am. But my laptop and other equipment I need to carry is a necessity – just as my camera has become a necessity these days as well. Nothing is getting “checked” when this is all I carry.

I’m going to land in Seattle, check into my hotel and decide what it is I need to do for tomorrow. The job I’m being sent to do seem as if it’s destined to be a disaster. I’m usually pretty confident I can get a job done and make things work out, but on this one, I’m not confident at all. The new software wasn’t designed with the model this hospital wants in mind. Trying to make it do what they want it to could be a lot more than the vendor has bargained for.

But of course, they’re counting on me to make it work.

So all eyes are on me.

Yay…

FEH.

So two weeks ago the vendor terminated Etch’s contract. That is sad, sad news for me. Etch is a good friend, a great guy to work and hang out with… and he worked hard and did a great job for our team. I’m going to miss him. Doing jobs with the team but without him just won’t be the same.

This trip just seems sad. Again, I’m looking more towards what I left behind than what I can look forward to.

I know looking forward, at least the next two days… all I see is disappointment.

I’m still 37,000 feet in the air… and I’m already looking forward to just going home.