very simple

I’ve been traveling all over the country in the past few weeks, and haven’t really had the opportunity to do any updating. It’s funny. Companies usually bill "travel" as a perk of the job, but it’s not really. I mean, it’s kind of fun to go places, but there’s something to be said for getting to sleep in your own bed. And whenever I go somewhere, I really miss my TiVO. I’m just glad to be home.

I know I’ve gotten off track with the updating, but I’ve been working like crazy lately. February is always like this for me, yet for some reason, I think it’s going to be different every year. I suppose it’s actually ultimately a good thing, because billing tons of hours now means less playing catch-up later in the year, but sometimes I think sleep would also be good (my insomnia is probably not helping either). I just got back from one business trip last night, and I’m leaving on another one Sunday evening.

Yes, that’s right, after my long-winded entry on my Oscar picks, I’m actually now going to miss the Academy Awards. I need to knock on wood more often. In the long run, it’s still better than waking up early enough to catch a 6 a.m. flight out on Monday morning (particularly when I’m going to be reading documents all day – at least trying to get more than three hours sleep is pretty essential).

In other news…well, there really is no other news given my recent work schedule, so I’m off, and planning to sleep in late tomorrow (it’s really the little things in life that make me happy!).

The New York Times has put out a series of articles on what may be my biggest pet peeve – travel-related aggravation.

First, there’s customer service problems, told from both the customer’s and the service agent’s points of view. I’ve encountered some rude airline customer service people in my life (largely when attempting to book tickets or upgrade over the phone), but I think too many customers take their frustrations out on the person nearest to them, even when they’re perfectly aware that the person at the gate is not the real cause of their problems.

Then, there are the other passengers – annoying cellphone users? I’ve managed to perfect my evil glare while riding the bus here in New York City. I never object to the quick phone call to let someone know where you are, when you’re going to arrive, etc., but I really don’t need to know the details of your boyfriend’s intimacy problems. Really. When someone calls me when I’m riding public transportation of any kind, my first words are "I’m on the bus/train/etc. and I’ll call you back when I get home in 20 minutes." And I know everyone does it, but why do people insist on practically shouting when they’re on the phone? It’s not 1983 – they actually make the darn things well enough now that they can pick up your voice at a normal conversational tone. We have an entire society of people who think they’re using cans and string to communicate.

Finally, there’s everyone’s favorite, road rage. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I don’t own a car anymore.