Busi(m)ess Travel

"Please check with your significant others whether these dates are good for travel - or if they like the idea of you traveling". This was how the whole idea of our team, traveling to our headquarters, was born. To be frank, no one in our team was super excited about a trip to the mother ship. But all of us knew that importance of face value, especially in this economy when you want your bosses to connect with you personally so they think twice in case they are pressured into "pruning" their team.

A couple of "oh my god, what are we gonna do"s from my wife and and a few weeks later, the trip was finalized. I decided to break the unpleasant news to my son to which he went - "Yaay, I can sleep with mom for 3 nights". Whoa! Certainly did not expect that coming from a 5 year old. The outbound flight was at daybreak, which meant I had to wake up at approximately the time I used to go to bed when I was a bachelor. The night before my departure, I hit the bed a couple of hours after midnight and fresh from a diaper change routine for my newborn.

The alarm beeped even before I could complete the dream I was having. "Give me a break, So soon?" I slowly got out of bed, thinking what would have happened at the end of the dream - Do I become the CEO? or do they fire me too? A hot shower followed and I think I spotted some bees buzzing around my head when I got out of it.

Now, when you are flying from point A to point B, there is huge role playing involved. The roles you will be playing are (in respective order)
1. Potential Terrorist: You are one until proven innocent. First they look at you with their eyebrows curled trying to take a crack at your personality. Then comes the stripping down of footwear, jacket, belts, watches, loose change and anything that you weren't born with. Finally, when you are proved safe, you think to yourself; well it's for our safety so it's ok! But then the afterthought follows - are they really weeding out the bad elements or is this the new avatar of bondage?

2. Dirt of Society: Ok, now you have adorned all the stuff that you submitted for scanning and you are waiting for your boarding call. When the moment finally arrives, you are classified by what you paid, how frequently you fly and your travel companions. I am talking about boarding priorities - First Class, super preferred members, elite members, economy plus, families and then groups identified by row numbers. Lucky me, I was group 5 which basically meant that after I get in I would be closing the airplane door behind me. I have to say that after waiting around for that long and boarding last, I did feel that I was unimportant to society and that I did have to work up my way into the class ladder.

3.Socialist: Once you are in the plane, you have to have the mentality of a socialist. There are limited resources and it has to be shared among all travelers. Everybody has to adjust, and wait calmly for their pay in peanuts. If you are lucky, the authorities(stewardesses in this case) will be good to you and may even reward you with a blanket or an extra drink. The entertainment provided (safety video) is sub par and everything is controlled by the government(airline authorities).

The best thing about a business trip is that you get to stay in great hotels that you may not otherwise book when you are on a personal trip. As I rolled my carry on to the hotel lobby, I was dreaming about plush pillows, a well made king size bed and a full night of sleep uninterrupted by a newborn's crying and the subsequent diaper change routine. As I walked up, the receptionist put on a wide smile and sure enough, he greeted me with this question - "Sir, are you a Starwoods preferred member?". Oh no, here we go again!

The next 3 days of my trip can be summarized quickly - exchange of pleasantries, day long meetings, an ice storm, bumping my rental car into my manager's car and a forced dinner at my wife's relative's place. On the bright side, I did enjoy a couple of good dinner outings with my team. (Especially the $2.75 pint night at the local beer joint!)

Another flight, another series of role plays and I found myself back at my home airport a couple hours after midnight. It was a long ride in the shuttle to the Long Term parking lot, so I used it constructively to reflect on the trip. We were able to connect as a team and impress our commanders at base camp. Not too bad! I snuck back into bed after a quick shower. The bed did not have a lot of space for me and plush pillows were nowhere to be seen, but it felt great to immerse into the warmth of it and to be sleeping with family again.

Next morning, I woke up looking at the smiling face of my son. He hugged me and said "I woke up at night and you were there! I am happy now!". Now, that's something you will not get at a Sheraton. No, not even if you are a Starwoods preferred member.