I promise, there’s a point to this 🙂 Read on…
I don’t know how else to say it. I was absolutely miserable on Monday night.
I made one poor choice (a more experienced road warrior would not have made that choice – and I’ll never do it again), and it led to a very late night, cash out-of-pocket, hours driving around Orlando, and lots of stress. Instead of getting to my hotel early, with plenty of time to relax and prepare for Tuesday, I finally got to bed at 1am.
That’s only 11am my time (Utah is MST, two hours behind Florida), so that wasn’t a huge deal. But my presentation the next morning started at 9am … which is 7am MST! Ugh!
Around 8:30pm, I was pretty ticked (and all the other emotions that go along with it). I was outside of an Alamo rental branch that was … closed. I got there at 8:05, just five minutes after it closed. Fortunately, there were two Alamo employees there… boy was I glad to see them! Unfortunately, they were only there to tell me it was closed, and to catch a cab to the airport. ARGH!
So I’m standing outside of Alamo, with my laptop (low battery, since I used it on the airplane) on, hoping to get some information I needed to salvage the night. In my stressed misery (I should mention, the night before I didn’t sleep well, and I didn’t have much to eat all day – I know – my bad!), in the dark, at a remote Alamo branch… I started to think of my last trip to Orlando.
What great times! I was with a good friend from my last company (Cory) and we were representing our company at a trade show! It was a low-budget operation, but Cory and I had good times – and I longed for those good times. At least, I wished, I could have a friend with me that night – I felt pretty dang lonely, standing there by the garbage can.
And then I realized something. That trip had it’s misery moments, too. Getting to Orlando that night we found out that there was only one hotel room that was smoking (I am sensitive to that and get sick in a smoking room) with one bed (um, me and Cory weren’t going to share a single bed). We ended up driving about 30 miles that night and getting in really, really late.
Why is it that I always long for something in the past… and don’t appreciate the present? Is it just me, or is this human nature?
I’m going to work on that this year. Enjoy the moment, cherish the memories. And get over the petty things that really… really don’t matter.
If you get up in the morning, read the newspapers and find your name not in the obituary section, you’re doing alright!
Here’s a tip: book the hotel BEFORE you get to Orlando and then take a cab to the hotel. Problem solved.
Bet you didn’t have as bad a night as the CEO of American has had several times this week.
@chris – thanks for the brilliant idea. I had booked the hotel, rental, etc. before… everything was totally planned but there was a first-time-in-my-life thing that happened that really threw me off, and I made the wrong choice (I was optimistic, should have been realistic).
The other thing is, I’m 110% sold on the value of a GPS system. Now I just need to choose which one.
Several years ago I had a terrible travel experience too and completely changed how I make reservations, where I stay, etc. I used to always look really hard for the best deal on airline tickets, hotels, etc. but that led me into booking a room at what I thought was a bargain rate at a hotel in Baltimore. When the cab driver told me that the hotel was just ahead and he’d be turning right at the second pawn shop, I knew that I was i trouble. The place was so dirty and scary that I didn’t know whether to sleep in the dumpster or barricade my door. I chose the latter. I felt like I needed a shower after taking a shower. Yuck.
I now book only 3.5 stars and higher and often use Priceline. I pay more for my hotels but I know that I’m going to be in a nice place with a comfortable bed. Saving $20-50 on a room and then have a lousy night’s sleep the night before a presentation is just not smart. I’m taking a similar strategy with airline tickets, car rentals, etc. I book for reliability and convenience. Price is definitely a consideration but not the primary consideration.
By the way, I bought a GPS last Thanksgiving after getting lost in the D.C. metro area. It was a great investment. I take it on all of my trips when I’m driving and it has saved my fanny a couple of times now.
Great insight, Jason. Time spent wishing for the past or hoping for the future is time wasted. Now is here right NOW! Live it to the max!
GPS? If you’re speaking at the hotel you’re staying at you have no real need to rent a car. Taking the shuttle or a taxi is usually cheaper. At least that’s been my experience.
I’m not a psychoanalyst, so I’m sure I won’t say this either well or gently…
When I’m in one of those situations where I’m starting to feel sorry for myself and wondering who or what is trying to keep me from my destination, I have two choices.
Option one is I can be miserable (and make everyone around me miserable). Unfortunately, this is the easier option that takes less energy.
Option two is that I can give a special salute to whatever unseen thing is keeping me from my goal, grit my teeth, and determine that he/she/it won’t beat me. This takes more energy, but is usually worth it. And, often, people get annoyed when I’m determined to make something happen.
The good news is that, since someone is going to be miserable or annoyed no matter what I do, I can take other people out of my decision-making process.
As to GPS – I really like my Navigon!
Dan
here’s an update: I got my GPS system. So far I’ve used it to get to church, and the store, and home from a few places. I call it “the lady” since it has a lady’s voice. My 4yo daughter calls it “Sparky,” as in “let’s take Sparky!”
To Chris’s point (is that the right use of an apostrophe?), I was in two different hotels, as I went a few days early do to other presentations which took me from (north of) Orlando to Tampa and back. THE main issue was more of a split-second decision, and I made the wrong choice, it didn’t have to do with my hotel, or car rental, or stuff like that… I actually got of the plane quite prepared for what I had planned… but when presented with a split-second decision, I chose wrong.
The whole point of this post was something along the lines of carpe diem, which is easy to say, and easy to think, but I have a tendency to long for better times… and I found it kind of funny that the times that I longed for seemed to suck just as bad. And it reminded me that I need to cherish the here and now more 🙂
Jason – I totally understand the smoking issue, the hotel scenario, and the need to be present in the moment.
Last November I was with a colleague travelling and making stops from LA down to La Jolla. First hotel – we had reservations – every room had mold. Next hotel traveling now for at least a half hour – no double rooms – finally we settled in a dive near Disney another hour later. An extra 2 hours of talk time with my business partner.
Result of staying in the moment: Priceless…We knew it wouldn’t be a cake walk, but were determined to make the best use of our time. I drove and she wrote. A brand new approach to the presentation we were giving the next morning, albeit on no sleep. But the deal happened!