Ronamy: 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007

Today was an exciting day in the life of a Product Manager for an enterprise software vendor. It went something like this:

6:00 AM (miles traveled: 0) - Should be walking out the door to drive 174 miles to Fort Worth in time for a 9:00 phone meeting and a 10:00 in-person meeting with colleagues from Tokyo.

6:25 AM (miles traveled: 0) - Finally roll out of the house. Working from home has made me lazy. 174 miles is not as exciting as 5 feet which is my normal commute.

7:45 AM (miles traveled: 82) - Coffee kicks in somewhere south of Waco. Of course when I need one, there isn't a decent gas station to be had. I finally find a Pilot and rush inside to relieve myself only to find that the downstairs bathroom was closed, but the upstairs bathroom was open. Upstairs? Evidently the truckers had an entire area upstairs where they could watch TV, take showers, clean up after a night on the road, etc. I stood in line to wash my hands for five minutes behind several guys who needed to wash up including washing their hair in the bathroom sinks. Good stuff. Urine on my hands is starting to not sound so bad. Back downstairs on my way out, something smells heavenly. Oh, a Hillshire Farms sausage biscuit with cheese. Yummy. I grab one and go stand in line (again) and realize that my biscuit is leaking something that smells like sausage. Good. So much for the worry about urine on my hands. Problem solved. I get back in my car and realize I've made a huge mistake with my cuisine choice. Drive across the street to McDonald's and make another colossal mistake: Iced Coffee. I've tasted bacon grease that better than that sludge. I get back out on the open road.

8:45 AM (miles traveled: 161) - Not going to make it to the office in time for my 9:00 AM call so I start to look for another place to stop. I have to give a presentation to a few VP's and our CTO and I'll need to have access to a presentation on my laptop. I pull over in Burleson at some Bucky's rip-off, but I am happy because the bathrooms are clean and there isn't anyone washing up in the sinks. I finally get a chance to wash my hands. Soap feels good.

9:30 AM (miles traveled: 161) - Finally get back on the road after being the first employee ever to present to our CTO from a truck stop in Texas. I'm pretty sure at this point I still have a job, but won't know for sure until I get to Fort Worth and see if they let me in the office.

12:00 PM (miles traveled: 184) - Take my Japanese companions to a Mexican restaurant at their request. Yummy. The remnants of my Hillshire Farms biscuit lose a violent battle for seniority in my tummy with some fajitas and queso.

1:30 PM (miles traveled: 194) - Back at the office for my last meetings. One of the meetings was with a partner from another company, also from Tokyo.

5:00 PM (miles traveled: 194) - I realized at some point during the day that my colleagues had flown all the way from Tokyo to just meet with me and I feel bad that they are trapped at the hotel in Fort Worth. We were talking about iPods at lunch and they were eager to see an iPod Touch (didn't bring mine). I offer to take them to the Apple Store after work. They take me up on it and I'm happy to do it.

6:30 PM (miles traveled: 240) - We arrive at the Apple Store only to realize that they sold the last iPod Touch even though I called them ahead of time and they said they had plenty. At this point, a competitive switch flipped in my brain and it was on. It was me against the Apple snobs. I was going to get my colleague from Tokyo an iPod Touch if it killed me. And not just any iPod Touch, but a 16 GB version. He would be one of the first people in Tokyo to have one or my name wasn't J.P. Macguillicuddy the Third.

7:15 PM (miles traveled: 260) - Almost to the Apple Store in Southlake. Must get there before they sell the last one. Once my colleagues realize we are by the airport, they ask if we can have dinner with the other gentleman from Tokyo. By this point I was a man possessed. They would have a good time on my watch, no questions asked. Bring it on...

8:05 PM (miles traveled: 270) - My colleague exits the Apple Store triumphantly with not just an iPod Touch, but a 16 GB iPod Touch. I win. Suck it Apple Store snobs.

8:30 PM (miles traveled: 285) - We meet our business partner at his hotel and head off to eat BBQ for dinner. Keep in mind that it takes at least 2.5 to 3 hours so at this point I'm realizing it's going to be a late night. But as I mentioned earlier. I was a man possessed.

8:45 PM (miles traveled: 290) - We arrive at the restaurant and we get "that look" from the waiter who desperately wants to close and we have just spoiled his plans.

9:45 PM (miles traveled: 290, ribs eaten: many) - We roll out the door, stuffed to the gills. We bid farewell to our partner and I head off to take them back to their hotel.

9:52 PM (miles traveled: 297) - There's a wreck. Traffic is at a standstill. I'm never getting home.

10:45 PM (miles traveled: 325) - Finally get back to their hotel. I bid them farewell and thank them for flying all the way to Texas to see me. I hop in the car and prepare to get in the "zone" for the return trip.

In the words of Sheila E., "it's a Glamorous Life," but somebody's got to lead it.

Friday, October 05, 2007