Coming Home

It’s Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010, and I am sitting here at the All Nippon Airways (ANA) lounge at the Okinawa, Naha International Airport waiting for my trip home to begin. It’s the end of my holiday sprint, and I can’t be any more excited to see it come to an end.

That being said, I find myself reflecting on the trip and wanted to share them with you:

Four weeks ago it started in Birmingham, Alabama; since then I have been to: Raleigh, North Carolina,Jacksonville, North Carolina,St Ignois, Maryland,Newport News,Virginia, Honolulu, Hawaii and Okinawa, Japan. It has been a combination of long flights, even longer car rides and fortunately no bus rides – this time.

I have enjoyed meeting new and old friends and experiencing what the different cultures had to offer. Still today, I am amazed how different societies and cultures can be within our own borders, let alone foreign ones.

All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it. – Samuel Johnson

In the past four weeks I have slept in more hotels than I can remember, I have drank more beer than my liver can take, I have seen some pretty amazing places and I have had some of the best meals – specifically steaks and fish.

The biggest challenge  during the past few weeks has been two-fold: first, and foremost, is missing my family and second, is maintaining my commitment to my studies. These are the times I am most grateful for technology.

Sprinkled throughout the trip was work. It ranged from meeting with my client representatives to discuss software accreditation guidelines (yawn), assessing systems for potential service implementation initiatives and deploying new tools at installations to facilitate the design of new ranges to support emerging training activities and requirements.

After everything is said and done, I can’t complain too much. I am grateful to have clients that respect and request my advise, so much so that they offer me the opportunity to travel the world with them.

Thanks for stopping by to check out what I’ve been up to. Take Care.

As an aside, I started this post in Okinawa and am finishing it at the ANA lounge in Narita International Airport in Tokoyo, Japan.

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