oh, I'm sorry... I'll be away on business...

Yes, I was a business major in college... And to this day, one of my secret loves that comes with my job, is when I can utter the 5 words... "i'll be away on business"... It makes me feel like a grown up... in a good way.  I like it.  I like just about everything that comes with it... the good, the bad, and the ugly...  

For one, it's a change of pace.   It's different from the monotony that can establish permanent residency in our lives... and often creates opportunity for moments that make you think one of two ways... either, "this is great" or  "did that really just happen?"

you can guess where they fall, in the last  48 hours i've...

packed 5 days into a carry-on. skipped lunch. sat inches from a man for 3 hours and 58 minutes who watched footage from 9/11 on his laptop at 35,000 feet. remembered what 73 degrees feels like. survived another cocktail hour (i hate those). had the option to choose one of two beds. sat on a patio. saw green. slept well. watched my first episode of hannah montana (to connect with my hannah of course). sat through 4 hours of power points (twice). drank coffee (often) with creamer and 2 pumps caramel. heard middle age women complain about being away for valentines day (eye roll). sat pool side with people magazine.  had a mai tai. make that 2. tried spinach soup. missed 5 calls in one hour from the office. took a picture of a cactus. heard an 8 year old cry. read USA today. saw a white escalade. :) . thought about a trip to the spa, saw the prices, quickly forgot. ate valentines candy. had filet mignon. a waiter that looked like joe millionaire. appetizer, salad, meal, AND dessert. heard a man say his grandma referenced his bed as a workbench (she really wanted to be a great-grandma). checked my email. listened to live music. had a doctor from montana tell me "white folk need to reproduce to help prevent us falling to 1/3 the population by 20?? (clearly i was listening well) so we can prevent an act of war", yeah i still don't know. drank wine with 2 women from louisiana. heard one of them use the phrase, " I could sop him up with a biscuit". and I have full intention of bringing it home. got annoyed at the technologically challenged. ate a boxed lunch. sat by a fire. saw a man in a leather trench coat.  heard a family of 5 say, "that must be richard pulling up in THAT car", maybe 6 times. experienced generosity... and i've still got time left.

so maybe now, the not-so-obvious has become a little more clear.  what is not to like about an experience like this?  Especially when you know it ends with going home again :)  sometimes it's good to be forced to have a temporary change from the things in our lives we grow so used to...

but until I get home... I'm still away on business.