Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Out of Town

I took a trip to Atlanta for a trade show this past weekend. I ran the night before I left on a treadmill (no big brothers home to watch Carrie) and had a really good 4-mile run. I was traveling much of the day on Friday so I didn't get that 3-miler in. Saturday and Sunday were spent on my feet from about 7:00 am to 9:00 in the evening walking every floor in AmericasMart in Atlanta. Somehow I did manage to get in 3 miles on Sunday on top of all that walking. I would have liked to run 6 but time was limited.

During my trip there were a few random things I learned....... here goes:

1) Don't drink an entire venti iced tea just prior to boarding a crowded jet.
2) Don't board a train in a town you've never been to before, hoping to figure out what bus to get on, just minutes before the transit system shuts down for the evening.
3) Don't wear new sandals to an event which will require you to be walking for 12+ hours per day up and down stairs, escalators, and the airport.
4) I learned that running shoes can be perfectly chic with a business skirt and blouse while trying to avoid learning lesson 3 again.
5) Having only five minutes left before they shut down the manager's reception at the hotel is not a reasonable excuse for shoveling in massive quantities of chips, salsa, goldfish, and grapefruit juice just 10 minutes or so before you planned to run 3 miles.
6) I learned that there is actually a company that makes paper & gifts from elephant poop. I can see it now. "Honey, I'm so glad you thought twice about getting me a garmin and went for the animal feces instead!"
7) I also learned the bright side of being inside a building all day that has no decent cell phone signal. Yeah! I didn't get even one call asking what was for dinner, what kind of food was in the house, etc.....all those earth-shaking things you MUST know immediately! My sons (all four of which will be in college in the fall) have called me while I am in the dentist's chair, at the doctor's office, running, working out at the Y, etc....all to inquire about food and it's ETP (estimated time of preparation). This begs the question.....How does one get on the Dean's list and still be mentally unable to assess the types and quantities of food present in the pantry and refrigerator. Mind you, each one of these creatures has spent considerable time working in restaurant kitchens.
8) I found that all of the following foods can be consumed in under 20 minutes: Chocolate-covered dried apricot, chocolate-covered blueberries, dried strawberries, meatballs, pickled hot green cherry tomatoes, tapenade, garlic stuffed olives, flax crackers with some berry I've never heard of before, cheddar mini biscuits, several different quantities of chocolate nut barks, 4 different varieties of tea, walnut cheddar, pecan pie, peach almond amaretto pie filling, various jams and jellies on various crackers and pretzels, countless chocolate pieces, pickled okra, another spicy pickled green cherry tomato, and my personal best bite in the show.....cinnamon peanut butter (I wanted to take the whole jar). I'm certain I've probably left a few things out.
9) I discovered that overeating in the last few minutes of show attendance combined with an acute lack of sleep can cloud your judgement and cause you to need to learn lesson 1 again. (this is especially inconvenient if the lady on the aisle seat has been at the airport for 23 hours prior to take off. Once she falls asleep, you and your bladder are just plain going to have to live with it, because that heap of humanity isn't going anywhere.

I promise to actually post about running next time!

3 comments:

jodes said...

This post was hilarious and very informative (I'm taking notes)!!! I rock the running shoes/business attire every day. I refuse to walk around the city in heels. That's just crazy.

SueBob said...

Sounds like an interesting trip. I saw some flavored PB at the store the other day...I don't remember if there was cinnamon or not. Sounds like maybe I should give it a try.

Anonymous said...

Karen, that was awesome, i love your writing voice! I am not a mom, but I could totally see my mom's frustration with us kids and dinnertime when I read about them all calling you to ask what's for dinner and when! ha ha ha
Oh, and being in the window seat on a non-stop flight back from Portland, OR to Boston, MA, I can totally sympathize with your bladder on that one. ;-)