Around the World in 14 Days

Travel is top of mind for me today.  I basically don’t think we appreciate the capabilities we have and the opportunities that  are created by – relatively simply – being able to go places at a moment’s notice and with relative ease.

I’m truly blessed that traveling is part of my job here at LIVESTRONG.  Getting to talk about our mission, thank our supporters, and help tell the stories of the amazing events that help fund our mission programs is a great honor.  I’m off to South Australia next week, and getting there and back will be an adventure in itself.

In order to take advantage of my miles program, my amazing travel agent Mark Lester (www.onthemarktravel.com <=shameless plug for an excellent Austin business!) figured out how to get me there on time, under budget, all on either “my” airline or partner airlines.  But check out this 26,000 mile round trip!

Austin – Chicago – Toronto – Hong Kong – Adelaide – Hong Kong – Vancouver – Dallas – Austin

Thank God I still have a substantial amount of Ambien in the medicine cabinet…

But part of travel I don’t get is rush hour traffic.  I don’t really have a problem when there’s an accident involved and it’s turtle time.  Everyone has to slow down, look-see, it’s part of our curious nature, I get that.  But this morning it took me a solid hour to go eight measly miles on MoPac, one of our two main north-south arteries here in Austin.  An hour.  No wrecks, six lanes of roadway, and it was a freaking parking lot!  And then magically – poof! – it cleared out around midtown and I was on my way.  What part of traffic management theory explains that?  It just boggles my mind…

At the end of the day I think it’s really, really important to get out and about, meet new people and experience other cultures.  Not only does it make you a far more interesting person to talk to, but more importantly it gives you a real appreciation for other perspectives.  Unless it’s in rush hour traffic, and I probably dislike you and everyone else, at least until traffic starts moving!

Ciao for now – Cb…