Areas of Unrest

21 July 1999 - Frequent Flyer Miles, Frequent Flyer Miles

I didn't get to the moon landing reenactment while I was in Huntsville. For the simple reason that I was too exhausted after getting up at 0-dark-30 to fly there. The problem isn't so much getting up earlier as that I worry that I won't get up, so I end up not sleeping well.

But I have a surefire way to cope with the stress of business trips. I plan things to do with my frequent flyer miles. I carefully divided the flight time between trying to nap, reading the book I had brought along (An Equal Music by Vikram Seth who I consider the finest living novelist working in the English language), and studying the map at the back of American's in-flight magazine while fantasizing about Newfoundland, Cote d'Ivoire, and Samarkand. (At least I am guessing that the blue diamond in southern Kazhakstan is Samarkand.) Sadly, none of their cooperative arrangements will get me to either Kyzyl (Tuva) or to Mayotte (another minor obsession, the island in the Comoros group that is the home of the French Foreign Legion).

Anyway, the meeting went well enough, I suppose, though most of the presentations were curiously devoid of lessons learned from the current development. I was pleased to see that a member of the contractor team who I think is particularly competent will be heading up an effort that is going to take a sharp person to handle. And I earned my keep by initiating a couple of action items.

I also once again failed to find anywhere interesting to eat in Huntsville, a city whose restaurateurs appear to have been imported with Werner Von Braun and where, consequently, butter is considered a seasoning ingredient. To be fair, there were a few things that sounded promising but I was too tired to attempt to find. I also learned that the single most boring form of exercise is walking in a shopping mall. I love to walk, but the heat and humidity would have done me in had I attempted the streets. So I thought I was being brilliant by heading off to the mall, conveniently located next to the hotel I was staying at. On the plus side, the air conditioning kept me from melting and I did get in a couple of miles. But there are only so many times any human being should have to look at kiosks selling inspirational keychains.

Oh, before I forget, a note to people in the South: macaroni and cheese is not a vegetable.