Tales & Trails of a Traveling Wiseguy

Well, it's been two days of sales training at the Scottsdale Plaza resort hotel in Phoenix. Like my first evening here, the balance of the two day stay has been mellow.

How was it mellow? It was mellow because it was well paced. Sales training seminars are often stuffed to the gills with content, as leaders frequently try to cram what ought to be 3 days of material and exercises into just 2 days to reduce cost and interruption. Fortunately my company's leadership the past few years has not been like that. Our last several rounds of training seminars have all been right-sized.

Part of what made this one successful was the dry-run training we did 8 weeks ago. That gave leaders are chance to test out the material with a small, seelct group of seasoned team members who could give constructive feedback. Even based on that I was concerned this two-day seminar needed to be 3 days, but the first two days were streamlined neatly into 1 full day (yesterday) so that what otherwise would have spread into day 3 could be done today, day 2. Now, yesterday's Day 1 did feel like Death By Powerpoint by mid-afternoon. But at least we finished by 5pm. And today we even finished up just after 3pm, instead of running up to 5pm. That helps for all of us catching flights home tonight!

It's been a mellow workday in Phoenix today. I was about to write "easy workday" but then I reconsidered. It has not been easy, per se. I was up early this morning to travel, and then I met with a major client, a company whose name is on a credit card well over 100,000,000 people own, for almost three hours this afternoon. Some people would find that challenging or draining, but I find it invigorating. Well, not the getting up early for a flight part. But overall the day has been mellow. Here are more details.

My flight to Phoenix was uneventful. "Boring flight," I remarked to the captain as I left the airplane. "Thank you, Captain!"

On the ground at PHX I cooled my heels for a bit at the airport waiting for my colleague, Mike. Mike was on a later flight arriving from SoCal. I used my alone time to get a proper breakfast—pepperoni pizza— in a seat where I could stretch my arms and legs as much as I wanted. Then I met Mike. We chatted for a bit and responded to time-sensitive emails as we shared a table at Starbucks. (Mike's a coffee fiend.) Then we hailed a car to the customer's office.

Our meeting with the customer ran long, almost three hours total. That includes us driving to lunch together and continuing our discussions over lunch. It was a very positive meeting. The folks we met were mostly technical practitioners plus two of technical managers. I mention this because often discussions with an audience like this become strictly technical— talking bits and bytes, when's the next release coming, what's the status of bug #555123, etc. It's a common pitfall a lot of people in our sales organization fall into. But I'm really good at up-leveling technical conversations to business conversations, and Mike, as an account executive, is really good at speaking "tech" enough to be credible. We both work together to shape the convo back out of the weeds with questions like, "What's the impact of that on the business?" and "How does that align to the objectives you're measured against?"

As a result we elicited a really good understanding of what this customer's main priorities for the coming year are, what some of their friction points on implementing new technology from us are, and how we can work together to overcome those obstacles. Mike remarked as we rode to the hotel after our late lunch, "I think we learned more of value about this customer just today than almost any other sales team in the past 4 years has.'

We arrived at our hotel around 3:30pm. Why a hotel and not fly home tonight? We're staying through the next few days for a sales training seminar. We're at a resort over in Scottsdale. Now, when I say "resort" you might start imagining some kind of boondoggle. No, it's not like that. It's a quiet but modestly upscale hotel with a few pools. And no, not the kind with a lazy river or water slides.

The weather's nice today— it's only in the 80s as a high here in Phoenix (and 100° by Friday!) — but I may or may not go out for a dip in those pools. So far I've been content relaxing in my room. I may head out for a very light supper later and see if I can find a few colleagues at the bar— let me rephrase that: see which colleagues I can find at the bar— for a round or two of drinks before going to bed at a reasonable hour this evening.

Phoenix Weekend Travelog #6
PHX airport - Sun, 12 May 2024, 2pm

This morning we took our last licks at the lazy river. Hotel checkout time was 11am, and we four timed it to leave pretty much right at 11. We could've stayed longer in the pool area; the hotel's policies allow us to use the waterpark all day, and our flight's not til 4:10pm. If it were just Hawk and me, we might've stayed until about 2, stowing our bags in the car for a few hours and changing in the public toilets before heading to the airport. But we're traveling with Hawk's parents— they're flying to San Jose with us to visit at our home for the next few days!—and they're slow and pokey because of their advanced age. Things like "stow the bags in the car for a few hours" and "change in the public toilets" don't work for them.

All that's not to say we didn't do anything today. We definitely took our last licks at the waterpark. I hit the hot tub early in the morning, before the big waterpark opened, for a good long soak. I think I was out there for almost an hour. Then we lined up for the waterpark right at its 9am opening. ...Yes, there was a line. There were about 20 people in front of us. And one of them took our favorite lounge chairs in the shade by the lazy river! 😰 Well, we'd only be there for a bit over an hour, so it was no great loss. We picked other chairs in the shade, just without such a good river view for FIL, who didn't join us in the water but wanted to watch us go around.

We went back to our rooms around 10:15 to shower, change, and finish packing. For us the packing was a bit more complex because we've still got our stuff from Los Cabos, Mexico, including a few souvenirs and gifts. But it was also easier than packing to leave Los Cabos because we've removed a few things since then— like the gifts for Hawk's parents. Now that stuff is theirs to pack. 😅

After leaving the hotel at 11 we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. It's Mothers' Day today, and to avoid the puffery of themed specials I suggested the least mother-y place I could think of: a sports bar. It had a broad menu with food everyone agreed on.

Now we're at the airport, having run the gantlet of refueling the rental car, returning the rental, riding the tram to the terminal, checking bags, and passing through security. I'm glad we allowed ourselves extra time for this instead of trying to cram in an extra hour or two at the waterpark. Our flight still doesn't board for 90 minutes, but we're ready in the gate area already and able to take it easy until then.

Phoenix Weekend Travelog #4
Back at the hotel - Fri, 10 May 2024, 9pm

Today we've continued the theme of "lazy river, lazy life". After a morning swim, lunch and a bit of mid-afternoon food coma we headed back out to the waterpark. We were able to grab the same lounge chairs as in the morning. ...No, we didn't leave them reserved all day; we're not that kind of pool-goers. It's just that today the waterpark is not super crowded, though it was busier this afternoon around 2-3pm than it was in the morning. Weekend guests are arriving.



This afternoon I rode the water slide a few times in addition to looping the lazy river and bobbing in the wave pool. I rode the lower, really twisty slide in the photo above. It's got a drop of about 40'. The two taller slides have a drop of probably about 70' and are fast. I rode them a few times last year.

I'm sticking with the lower-height slide this year because it offers a better bang-for-the-buck proposition. With those tall slides being so fast, the ride is over in 2 seconds. And that's after climbing stairs equal to a 7 story building. It's over too fast compared to all the effort to get there!

We took another break from the waterpark at 5pm to towel off and change for dinner. Hawk and her parents looked up one of their relatives who lives in town, and this evening we met her for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant with a very loud mariachi band. . I... have thoughts... about this cousin-by-marriage of mine. I'll write about that in a separate entry.

Back at the hotel after dinner we're all too tired to go back out to the pool. The waterpark is closed, anyway, but there are regular-sized swimming pools and hot tubs in the courtyard of each building in this hotel complex that are open until 10. Yeah, the swimming and sun and heat earlier today have us all tired out. Plus, I've been getting up at 6 all week. Oh, and the humongous margarita I had with dinner— it was 2x what I expected for the price— isn't helping with my energy level.

Phoenix Weeeknd Travelog #1
PHX airport - Thu, 9 May 2024, 3pm

After leaving Los Cabos earlier today we flew to Phoenix. No, that wasn't to catch a connecting flight; Phoenix is the next stop we planned on our trip. We're staying here for a 3-day weekend at a hotel with a fun waterpark.

"Why not stay an extra 3 days in Cabo?" you might ask. Indeed, we already asked ourselves that question, too. 😅 But the answers are simple. For one, we already extended our Cabos club trip, arriving two days early and staying at the distinctive Waldorf Astoria hotel. Two, 5 days in Los Cabos was already enough. We don't find the area that interesting. Though the amazing rooms at the Waldorf changed our minds in real time. We still don't find the area that interesting, but damn, we could stay at that hotel for a month. If we could afford it.

Anyway, when we were planning out our trip several weeks ago we decided to take a full week off from work and finish it off with a return trip to a waterpark hotel in Phoenix. We're staying at the Arizona Grand Hotel. It's the same place we visited with friends late April last year. Though this time our friends aren't joining us... but my inlaws are!

I flew home this morning from a 3 day business trip in Las Vegas. I'd say it was an easy day work-wise... or at least the first half of it was, because there was thankfully no Day 3 program to the SKO. We finished up after Day 2, Thursday night. Today (Friday) has been more than just a travel day, though. After getting home at 1pm I had fairly steady work until 5pm, including two customer meetings. At this point I am worn out from the week.

Because I was already feeling worn out this morning, I canceled the weekend trip Hawk and I planned to Phoenix. It wasn't fully planned, anyway. We had bookings and the start of a plan for what to do in Phoenix. Without a clear plan for what to do I never felt fully committed to it. And seeing how worn out I am today I'm glad to not bother. Getting up tomorrow morning at 5am for a 7:25am flight would've been not-fun!

Phoenix/Vegas Trip log #1
SJC airport - Mon, 2 Oct 2023. 7:30am

I'm off to Phoenix then Vegas for a 4 day business trip. This morning I'm flying to Phoenix, then meeting with a customer for a few hours starting around noon, then back to the airport. It's kind of like that day trip to Phoenix I did 5 weeks ago, but instead of rubber-banding home I'm sling-shotting to Las Vegas. I'll be in Vegas through Thursday for a trade show.

One good thing about this trip compared to last time is the 8:20am scheduled departure. I set my alarm for 6am... versus last time, when I was up at 4:45am for a 7am departure. Still, I was walking to the corner to meet my driver before dawn. The sun rose sometime en route to the airport.

At the moment it looks like my flight is running 10-15 minutes late. That's annoying... but also predictable. And because it's predictable (it's common) I planned my schedule with room for up to 30 minutes of delays. Meanwhile my sales colleague, Mike, has been dealt a 90 minute delay on his flight. Ugh. That could jeopardize the flow of our meeting with the customer in Phoenix.

This morning I'm at the airport. 4:45am alarm, rolling from home by 5:30, through security at 6am, now awaiting my 7am departure before the sun has even risen. I'm headed to Phoenix for the day to meet with a major customer.

On the one hand I'm like, "Yay! Meeting a customer!" In the past 12 months I've been to a few company internal meetings and staffed a few trade shows but I've only had, I think, two f2f meetings with actual customers. I yearn for the clearer communication and tighter relationships that come from meeting in person instead of via teleconference.

Yet at the same time I'm also thinking, "Ugh. Travel." Especially this out-and-back day trip to Phoenix. Getting up at oh-dark-45 is not fun. And tonight I won't be home until sometime after 8pm. Don't get me wrong; business travel does have its exhilarating aspects. Mostly it's the better communications stuff I mentioned above. Early mornings and long days are not the fun part.

Oh, and then there's this fun part: 115° F. That's the forecast high for today in Phoenix, 115 degrees (46° C). I switched my usual business attire from a staid shirt and sport coat to a lightweight, short sleeve shirt. I trust anybody who's not currently dying of heat prostration will understand. 🥵

Keep reading: Back at the Airport in the Afternoon

Phoenix late April travelog #8
Back home - Sunday, 30 Apr 2023, 9pm

This evening we got home from Phoenix, completing our 10 day trip to New Orleans, parts of Mississippi, and Phoenix. We walked through our own front door just before 8pm.

The trip home from Phoenix was mostly uneventful. "Mostly" because we did leave 20 minutes late. Good ol' Southwest Airlines!



Once we got home we hopped in our own car barely 10 minutes later to go out and get some dinner. We didn't feel like cooking, and I didn't feel like having another protein bar. I've been eating those bars for breakfast for pretty much a week and \a half now. First we tried our favorite pizza/sub shop. It was closed. Apparently they close on Sundays now. So we gave up and ate fast food instead.

Now we're in for the night. We've mostly unpacked our bags, and I've taken a shower. It feels good to be home.

We won't be here for long, though. Monday afternoon we're headed up to Seattle on a 24-hour bender. We'll be home for as little as 19 hours between these trips!

Phoenix late April travelog #5
Arizona Grand Hotel - Saturday, 29 Apr 2023, 8:40am

It was early to bed, early to rise again last night and this morning. After the same thing happened Thursday night/yesterday morning I had hoped to get onto a more normal vacation schedule. ..."Normal" being a) not pooping out at 9pm and b) not waking up shortly after 5am. Alas it happened again.

Last night Hawk pooped out before dinner, opting to eat a small, quiet meal in the room. One of our friends had pooped out, too, though that was expected as he's got a medical condition. That left me and our other friend, David, to go out to dinner by ourselves. We ate at a Thai restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. Amusingly David and I chatted with "another" gay couple at the table next to us. I quote "another" because they were actually gay. They never asked if we were, probably just assuming as we were also two guys having dinner together and David shared a few anecdotes containing... for lack of a better word, gay code words. I guess sometimes Hawk is my beard.

When I got back from dinner Hawk had already fallen asleep. So much for our plans to go out to the hot tub at 9. I needed to do something to walk off dinner, though, so I walked around the water park (closed for the evening):



It's a nice looking place even in the dark.



I could have gone out to the hot tub by myself, or maybe even with David, but I was okay with just winding down in the room. I relaxed with a couple drinks I bought at the grocery store the other day while doing some mostly mindless web surfing. I was asleep not long after 10.

This morning I woke up at about 5:30, only slightly less early than yesterday. Light was already streaming in the big windows. I tried going back to sleep for a few minutes but it didn't work so I accepted my fate of beginning the day. Today Hawk woke up only a bit later than me— instead of nearly 3 hours later— so after a light breakfast we went downstairs for a morning soak in the hot tub. It's blessedly quiet outside in the mornings. The heat's not too bad, either. By mid-afternoon it'll be at least 100.