Nothing on Travel

I was counting it up this morning as I stood on the sidewalk outside my condo waiting for the cab that would take me to the airport; I've been in 16 States since the first of the year. My original impulse was to hit the road so I wouldn't have to go home and deal with Bob. As I got into it, though, I remembered how much I enjoyed being on the road. Not only is work travel great in a 'get in, get down and get out ' business way, it's also personally satisfying with lots of time for just me. It's one time that I quit taking care of others and focus on myself. I am renewed by the think time.

Most of my travel has been a matter of: fly into an airport, rent a car and drive 1,000 miles stopping here and there for meetings. I've managed to visit 31 offices and it's only April.

I love being in the car. When I have one of these trips I always let the company pop for a full size rental. The last thing I want to do is drive from Boise to Vegas via Salt Lake City in a Malibu or something similar. Give me a Grand Prix or a Monte Carlo, please. Once outfitted with the appropriate vehicle (and I'm not at all shy about taking a less than perfect car back and swapping it out) I set about outfitting the vehicle itself. First, I plug my DC to AC current converter into the cigarette lighter. That enables me to power several conventional appliances.

I set up my laptop on the seat next to me, put it in and attach the headset microphone I have for it. I've trained voice recognition software so that I can drive and dictate, and have the computer type out what I'm saying. Originally I used the speech engine included in Windows XP's Language Bar, but found it lacking in the accuracy department. Then I switched to Dragon Naturally Speaking, and what a difference! I rarely have to go back and correct.  

The computer is also important for web access and email during the day. No, I don't have wireless access to the internet. What I do is pull of the highway at an exit with several motels. I drive from parking lot to parking lot until I locate an unsecure wireless network that I can tap into. True, many hotels require a password or special login, but others are wide open. I seem to have the bes luck with Motel 8. And really: it's wonderful to be able to send an email in the middle of your road trip.

Next I plug my cell phone headset in and get it set up on my head. I'm not a telephone person. In fact I hate the thing and the concept of chatting on the phone is completely foreign to me. My conversations tend to be short, very focused and strictly business, and I keep them to a bare minimum. If I discover that you are a person who checks email regularly, that's probably how we're going to communicate,. HOWEVER, when I'm in the car between cities I can spend hours talking non-stop. Since a large part of my business involves continuous contact with people spread out all over the country, I tend to be more productive when I'm on the road than at my home office.

I have Sprint PCS service and (I can't believe I'm saying this) I love it. It seems to have very few dead spots and I rarely drop a call. The best feature, though is Voice Command. I followed the instructions for exporting your Outlook Contacts in an Excel format, then edited and uploaded them to the Sprint website. Now, when I want to call someone, I just press a button and say, 'Call Joe Blow on the mobile phone,' and the look-up and dialing is done automatically. Between that feature and the headset, I feel very safe on the phone in the car.

Of course, I've got my IPOD with me and I always pack a cassette adapter so that I can hear it through the car's sound system. Unfortunately most rental cars don't have cassette capabilities anymore-- they've all gone to CD. So I also pack my small set of Altec Lansing Speakers, plug hem into the DC-AC converter and put the player on Song Shuffle. Not only do I get my own personal juke box, I also get my IPOD charged as I drive.

Every new city I come to is an adventure. Sometimes they are boring adventures, but there's always something to see and do. If you read these blogs, you'll already know that I usually hit at least one gay bar in each town. But I also go to tourist and must see places too. But back to the bars. My intent is not to get loaded and/or score a stranger for the evening, although that can happen. It is to meet someone, have a good conversation and get a feel for the local social climate. Sometimes, like the night I spent in the only gay bar I could find in Jackson, MS, I am regarded as an untrustworthy outsider and nobody will talk to me. Tha's no fun. But others I'm perceived as being from out of town and therefore as exotic and strangely desirable. I become the trophy in the bar ('He's from San Diego!') and good conversation is easy. Check out the blog about Charlies Bar in Pocatella for an example.

After a day's work I'll often treat myself to a nice dinner in one of the better places in town. Oh, I have no problem going into a restaurant alone. And I never take a book or newspaper,. I spend the time waiting for my food people watching. And I don't like to get stuck over in a corner, either; put ime right in the center where everylone can see me. In fact, a table that happens to have a spot light pointed at it is a plus. Is that vain?

When I choose a hotel the most important amenity is internet access and free is better than paying for usage. Dial up connections have all but disappeared but when I do encounter them I usually walk out and over to the next place I see. My favorite chains are Courtyard by Marriott and Hampton Inn, They tend to be reasonably priced and are usually neat, new and clean.

I've learned so much about myself through the years as I've traveled from place to place. I've learned that I can get along anywhere and that I'll be fine no matter where I go and what inconveniences follow me. I've learned that I can be alone for long stretches of time and not get lonely. I've learned that meeting people is a snap when you're willing to make the first step, holding out your hand and saying 'Hi, I'm Jazz . . . '

But this year I've learned something new that doesn't really have much to do with me. It has to do with America. We're becoming generic. Suburban Oklahoma City looks a whole lot like suburban Rahleigh. Downtown St. Louis looks a lot like downtown Boston. Oh, sure each has their own unique features, and climate and vegitation vary from place to place. But we're having a love affair wih national brands. No matter where you are, you'll probably look around and see Wendy's and Days Inn and Traveler's Insurance. So there is a sameness, a generic quality about nearly every city you visit. To find the real stuff you usually have to dig . . . and unfortunately, when I'm on a business trip, I'm too busy to do the digging so often end up at the branded places. Hell, I already mentioned Courtyard and Hampton Inn. I like them because the quality, value and cleanliness are routinely up to my standards. Why take chances?

I'm writing this on an American Airlines flight. I fly them a few times a year, but they're not one of my favorite airlines. Yes, I like the extra space in coach. It's more comfortable. But the service and procedures are of another era and you always feel as if you're flying the old way. Delta is in much the same shape, and though I have taken them a time or two this year, I'm trying to avoid them whenever possible. This is because of a customer service call I had with them a month or so ago. I needed to make a change to a reservation and called in. The phone was answered in India by a nice lady whose primary language was not English. I repeated my record locater number to her several time but if you think it's difficult to get all of those 'Ps' and 'D's' and 'V's' and 'T's clear when you're talking to someone here in the US, you can imagine how difficult it is when they barely speak english. After 10 minutes of trying I was frustrated and frazzled. My tone had shifted and was a little combattive. As I angrily ended the call, the agent thanked me and asked if she could help me with a rental car. At the moment it was the most absurd question. I just laughed and laughed

My favorite airline used to be Continental. I flew them weekly in the late '90s and came to love the service, the people, their dedication to getting it right. Of course, the fact that I was almost always upgraded to First Class did enter into my preference but still: they were running a very customer centered airline. Best I can tell they're still much better than their competition though they've had to scale back the perks as well.

Today I fly Southwest when I can. No, not because it's less expensive, although it usually is. I choose Southwest because the planes are almost always on time, they go to most of the places I need to go to, the people who work there seem to like what they're doing and generally have a good time, and their website is simple and straightforward. So is their pricing. It actually makes sense. There is one aspect of Southwest I don't care for. It's the cattle call line up that happens at every gate as people board without seat assignments. It alwyas amazes me to arrive at the gate more than an hour ahead of my flight to find people already standing in the A and B lines. Soon there will 30 people in line checking their watches and becoming frustrated and impatient. No matter which group I'm in I wait until that entire group is loaded before I'll get up and go to the jetway,. If I'm an A it usually means I can get a window or aisle. B or C most often means a middle seat. But on Southwest it doesn't matter much. Most flights ore 2 hours or less.

Yes, I like Southwest.. They revolutionized the industry. At the same time they turned air travel into something akin to old fashioned bus travel. It's very much like going to the Bus Station, waiting in line and getting on the bus.

I remember when people used to dress up to fly. Men wore suits and ties and ladies wore hats. Air travel was as much an experience as a mode of transporation. My first flight was with my dad when I was about 8. He got me all dudded up and made sure he was able to get me near a window to look out. The view of the tops of clouds at sunset was breathtaking and I will never forget it. Today, most people seem to fly in their most crummy outfits. Of course, I know, Crummy is Cool. I get that. But hey, we're starting to look homeless, you know?

Anyway, I usually dress up a little when I travel. No ties or jackets but I do put on nice Khakis instead of jeans and a crisp shirt. I find by dressing up a little bit I get much more attention and better service. Try it sometime and see what happens. You may never wear shorts or jeans on a plane again.