Day 1: Back On the Road

3 am: alarm goes off; wander to the bathroom to fix my hair and face

3:40ish: dress myself, grab luggage, briefcase, jacket, make sure the cat and dog have enough food and water to last 5 days

4:20: go through the routine of going through TSA where everyone is on a power trip, thinks you're a suspect and herds you around like cattle at an auction

4:27am: first email goes out to the girls on my team about scheduling future meetings

5:15: flight 278, via Continental/United, boards for Houston (flight actually leaves at 5:50, but if you're late, you're screwed!)

6:30: deboard flight in Terminal C and boogie over to Terminal E and immediately board flight 1868, next stop, Ft Lauderdale. While in the air, try to sleep but can't because the couple next to me insists on munching on chips...because chips make the most sense for breakfast?!??

10:40: land in Ft Lauderdale, emails go out at 10:47, 10:53, 10:54, 10:58, 11:23, 11:42, and 11:43; phone calls go out at 11:07, 11:10, 11:12, 11:13, 11:35 and 11:45. All of that takes place off of my BlackBerry while walking to baggage claim, getting the rental car, trying to hurry up the poor rental car man making nice talk with me, and driving to my first appointment of the day.

12:30: first appointment of the day; goes well. he's a Heat fan and dislikes the Spurs. concentrating on bringing his book of business from Orlando back to Miami.

1:50ish: feel like I'm starving to death; stop at a sushi place and chow down on sashimi

2pm: meeting number 2; very nice guy, does a lot of business with us, very funny and serious at the same time

4pm: last appointment of the day; it's like pulling teeth but we find some common ground. all is well.

5pm: on my way to the hotel which is 40 miles away. check in and make nice talk with John, the front desk guy. There is a man, who is also waiting to check in, looking at me...scratch that, staring at me. He's one of the types that doesn't look away when I look at him, so I politely say, "hi." even though I'm thinking, "what the hell are you staring at?!? you're supposed to look away when I catch you, dummy!"

5:30ish: John calls from the front desk to make sure my room is to my liking. I love being a platinum member at Marriott!

5:40ish: there's a knock at the door and fruit, cheese, and wine are delivered to my door with a note from John welcoming me again (that's a little much).

6pm: dinner in the hospitality room consists of fruit, water, and small triangles of cheese.

I've just showered and am now laying in my bed....exhausted! For the first day back on the road, it was a successful one!