Hey gang! I've been traveling for business every week since the first of the year, and started wondering if anyone else on the board travels extensively for work. If so, I thought it might be helpful for some us to share ideas on how we cope with the grind of life on the road.

Anybody?

stuck in my little office all day every day.

My work invoilves a very significant amount of driving. I got satellite radio in the vehicle a few months ago, and that has really helped make the long drives more tolerable.

I can listen to news, sports,any type of music I'm in the mood for, or even some comedy. I was pretty much wearing out my CD collection, and listening to broadcast radio is frustrating, because by the time you find something you want to listen to, you drive out of range of the signal so fast.

I've done a fair amount of driving for work lately, but have found that I sometimes just like quiet instead of a radio.

I do also have an iTrip for my iPod, so if I need some tunes I have that option.

As for the grind of travel - I don't have much to offer. I have found that IM and voice chat help to keep in touch with the wife (especially good with free WiFi in the room).

My last short trip (earlier this month) was with some others from my office, so I was spared the downer of eating alone every meal.

I found that my local library had a generous supply of Books on Tape. I must have gone through at least 150 novels and the Old Testament while on the road. Most of the novels that the libraries carried were best sellers, and it was free.

I don't recommend the Old Testament when you are driving while tired. It gets a bit repetitive.

Well, it's been over a year since I last posted on this thread and things are pretty much the same. On the road most weeks for 2-4 nights away from home.

Since the first of this year it has been espeically frustrating due to the extremely cold weather in the northern states.

I am sitting in a motel room in North Dakota this morning. The weather channel says it's 33 below outside. I'm afreaid to go see for myself! I have the company car plugged in, but in this type of cold it's a crap shoot whether or not anything that sits outside will start at all.

A trveling man is pretty much confined to quarters during the evenings. A sub sandwich and some TV and Internet. Too cold to go out.

Hey Chief Engineer,

-33 is cold, darned cold. Idaho catches that occassionally.

Motels can be boring as $%!@.

Good luck and be safe traveling.

O43