After My Laptop Quit Smoking, This Happened….
I’m back… or rather, my online presence is.
While I have been here and as busy as ever, my digital life has been cramped thanks to the health of not one but BOTH of my personal computers. First my Mac decided to go into critical care mode just as I was working on my taxes. (Not cool, not cool… thank goodness for Turbo Tax online so I could start fresh!) Then as I was working to get all my personal files and business ones separated out and into Dropbox, my laptop crashed – we are talking SMOKE coming out of the keyboard and everything.
That’s been crippling for the Jetsetter’s Homestead and with all the other changes in my life recently meant I had to put writing on the backburner until I got that sorted out.
As I shared a couple of weeks ago, I’m at a new firm and thus not at a comfort level where doing personal things on that laptop is okay with me yet. But for the last three weeks, it has been just that (and my iPad and my iPhone). While it has been difficult to adjust my habits (everything from having to use Gmail to answer personal/volunteer emails to only being able to use Facebook in mobile mode), it was an incredible boost to my productivity to have to focus my time. Blogging via iPad or iPhone is difficult… it’s not just the typing that slows me down, it’s the interface. And every time I try it, I end up with sideways photos on either desktop or mobile mode. Ugh.
The last couple of weeks have been challenging in another way… weather and flight delays/cancellations. I finished out my Platinum Challenge on Delta and then switched back to American for a couple of weeks. What happened next was not fun… five days of flying (across a ten day stretch) and five days of one issue after another – mechanical issues, missing crews, gate swaps, missed connections, and more. It is fair to say that I probably have not been as patient with American as I might have been in the past, largely due to the amazing experience I had on my 27 flight run with Delta during the last three months.
Because of all the disruption, my life the last couple of weeks has been (almost) all work and (virtually) no play. I will always find a way to squeeze in dinner with friends whether in Chicago (with Shannon, from Ladies… seriously! – one of my favorite non-travel blogs) or Dallas (hello valet issues at Nobu!) I even made it to my cousin Katie (also my sorority sister) and her Senior Rite of Passage at the University of South Carolina due to some serendipitous scheduling of a client’s standing meeting. And I’ve been creative with my time management – grabbing a hotel room near the office when I need to squeeze in more hours or figuring out how to multitask (working on a database during a pedicure? check!)
One last thing I have to comment on… television!
First, Grey’s Anatomy. Okay, so I saw that one coming and I’m not upset with Shonda Rhimes, unlike the rest of the US, or so it seems. What I loved about this episode was the view of some of the glaring realities of the healthcare system that we got to see in the last 20 minutes. I know that much of the discussion of healthcare in the US has centered around the ACA (what some call “Obamacare”) but the real dialogue in that sphere is about improving quality of care. It’s what has kept me on the road for the last two decades and a real slice of what happens in hospitals around the US every day.
Second, Friday night’s 20/20 Diane Sawyer interview with Bruce Jenner. I’ve seen a lot of coverage about it on social media and I thought it was tastefully handled. I am glad that this discussion is in the mainstream in 2015. I’d love to see more discussion of the travel challenges that exist for the transgender community.
Finally, Mad Men. Four episodes remain and I’m not yet ready to say goodbye to the Sterling Cooper crowd. If you haven’t been watching, it is binge worthy. The set designs, the costumes, the glorious attention to detail – its amazing.
I’m off to get ready for the week – gluten-free chex-style mix and protein balls need to be made for my commuting snacks this week, errands need to be run, and there hopefully time for a little bit of R&R.
I look forward to being back this week and sharing more travel stories with you. And I hope that your week is fantastic, where your travels – real or virtual – take you!
xoxo
