A LIFE WELL-LIVED...

MY AMERICAN DREAM The Road Warrior

After some heated arguments, I quit RCG, the company that brought me and my family from New Zealand to The States and move to International Consulting Solutions, a startup owned by German, Dutch and Scottish partners. That's when I became a road warrior. Although there were hard times, like in the song My Way, they were just too few to mention, and all things considered, I couldn't complain. I knew I was at the summit and I knew too that it couldn't be better. Work was not only rewarding but also fun. I get to have free airfare, free car rental, daily meal allowance and prohibited from staying in a cheap hotel because it will make the company look bad, and I was doing it every single week, how's that for someone who is trained to be a workhorse? Mr Mutia, you've been upgraded to first class, sweet words I always hear from the ticket counters of US Airways, Northwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, Continental and United Airlines, after only a short while flying with them. I had Platinum Card with all of the above, and Gold with Delta Air and Silver with Southwest. Do you know how it is when you are a holder of those Frequent Flyer Cards? Upon arriving at the airport, you may get in one of those pre-departure lounges to have some food and beverages of your choice, use your laptop to wrap unfinished things and even take a nap without fear of being left at the airport because an attendant will wake you up for pre-boarding. And when you are already seated in the first class section, a flight attendant serves you dinner and bottom-less beverage of your choice. When it comes to beverage though, I was quite indiscriminate, I often have red wine and coffee and in today's slang, in unli amount. Mr. Mutia, you've been upgraded to a full-size car, it's the first car on your right when you get to the Emerald Isle. Emerald Isle is where you pick your car if you are a Platinum or Gold Card holder with National Car Rental. It varies from company to company. Hertz has the coolest. As soon as you get to its yard, you look for your name on the reservation monitor where your car is located, engine is running already and it's heated in winter and air-cooled in summer. See you next week Mr. Mutia, that's when you drop the car keys at their counter after parking the car in their yard. Our daily meal allowance is indexed on the local cost-of-living figure. In one place in Tennessee it was $29.00 and in the Metropolis like Boston, Memphis and the like, it was $65.00. With it, I had virtually everything in the menu of every restaurant in the place where I have a gig. When we visit a place we typically stay in a hotel. Well in my case I live in a hotel. Check-in is typically Sunday night, sometimes Monday night, and check-out is typically Thursday morning or Friday morning. As a matter of company policy, hotel accommodation was always in a five-star hotel or its equivalent in some places. For example, in some remote locations where hotels are not available, you can always find good homes that offer bed-and-breakfast. In my years of travel, I move between Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, Hilton, Hilton Garden, Hyatt, Four Seasons, Sheraton, Double Tree and some independent hotels of good reputation There were times when I recall the time I was evicted from my boarding house for failure to pay my lodging, I felt somewhat redeemed from that shame.