On the road for two weeks. And bad habits one can start at 3:45AM

Two weeks of conferences, long hours and different hotel rooms across several states.
First week out of state.
Second week within my own state.

One of the best things I did was to go over my contact list and sent out emails to people I knew in the cities I was scheduled to visit.
Some I didn’t get to see.
The ones I did see I so enjoyed spending time with them.

Traveling with a group (even though it was a different group each time) is having the best of both worlds when you travel.
You get to make new friends in the place you are visiting.
And still have familiar faces around you from the group you came with.

Smart-alecky remarks
The familiarity does come with Smart-alecky remarks.
Like the time when I talked about a family I wanted to visit with. (They lived in the city we were in.)
To which a friend promptly scolded me, “They moved here in 2015 and you haven’t seen them?
When it’s less than an hour drive away from you?!”
Me, laughing, “Less than an hour drive?!  Remind me NOT to get in the car with you !”

Mojito but not Macchiato?!
That evening I’ve re-visited one of my favorite places to shop in the city.
And got me a bunch of chocolate. Then went to dinner. Great food.
Then one of my friends suggested I try a Mojito.
Feeling adventurous I tried it. I liked it.

We left the restaurant and went to a coffee shop — for coffee and dessert.
I usually like my coffee black; so that’s what I wanted to order.
But my friend wanted me to try a Macchiato.

I gave a really suspicious look to that coffee with a “makeup” on.
Which caused my friend to burst out laughing,
“You trusted me with the Mojito, but don’t trust me with the Macchiato?!”

…sow your seed for $58 — at 3:45AM
Aah … the “glamorous” life of a traveler.
Watching the clock and not being able to go to sleep.
It’s 3:45AM.  Might as well turn the TV on.

Flipping through the channels I stopped at the “… sow your seed for $58.”
Venture to guess what’s that all about?
A religious infomercial!

I watched it for about 40 minutes.
The guy gave a lesson in persuasion.
He knew his demographics.
And knew how to make it “easy” and “relatable.”
Quite a learning experience.
Hmm! Maybe I should turn this into a habit — start watching infomercials.

Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep.
Few hours later, now daylight, I enthusiastically shared my TV watching habits from the previous night.
Among bouts of laughter, the Chairwoman, usually a serious lady, turned to another from the group and said,
“Someone better see her checkbook. And make sure there is no $58 check written out.”

Just show up
The good part about traveling this time was that I didn’t have to worry about logistics — reservations, etc.
It was all done and taken care of by some very nice, friendly, and competent people.
All I had to do is show up.

Before heading home I had dinner with a close friend of mine.
And her two sons. Good food, fun conversation.
Wonderful family!

Perfect ending for my two weeks on the road.

Mariana Fieraru

Mariana Fieraru, an Eastern European transplant, fell in love with her new home shortly after landing in New York. She "discovered" pizza! Years later she still loves pizza. And so do her two feathered-kids, Sunny and Flipper

Mariana worked on both, the east and the west coast.
Big or small, each project she worked on helped define the importance of gaining and sustaining a competitive edge in an increasingly complex business environment.

Business know-how, love of teaching and writing – all combined in 2006 to form OBI.
Its mission: to make learning fun! And easy.

Through its training, consulting, and publications OBI builds bridges of knowledge to take you from where you are to
where you want to go. Using a mix of serious, informal, analytical, and optimistic approach, OBI truly makes learning fun.

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