HARD DAYS NIGHT

Washington Dulles International Airport
5:43 AM; 40*

"It's been a hard days night. And I've been working like a dog. It's been a hard days night. I should be sleeping like a log."

I'm headed home to Florida after a 5 day trip to DC. It wasn't a bad trip but last night was a pretty rough night. I didn't feel good in the afternoon yesterday, with a stomach ache, so when I arrived at my hotel about two o'clock I immediately laid down and took a two hour nap. I woke up feeling better but not great. I had no interest in leaving my hotel to eat so, for the first time in a long time, I ordered a pizza to be delivered about 6. I knew enough to order caffiene free diet coke. Unfortunately they delivered regular diet coke and I drank two of them. That was a big mistake.

Ever since I changed my diet last August, I substantially cut down on soda and caffiene. I can't remember the last time I had caffiene in the evening. I have coffee most every morning but sometimes I only need one cup. My vigorous exercise routine gives me plenty of natural energy.

I enjoyed the pizza (Papa Johns has whole wheat crust), watched American Idol and, knowing I had a 4 AM wakeup call, I went to bed at 9PM. I fell asleep easily enough but something jarred me awake at 12:30 AM. I very nearly thought I was about to puke but that quickly subsided so I'm not sure if I had imagined the feeling. Nonetheless, I was wide awake. I lay in bed until 1AM and thought if I got up to read for a while, I'd get tired again and go to sleep. I tried to lay down again at 3AM but the damage was done. I was up. I departed the hotel at 430, returned the rental car and cleared security at Dulles at 5:15. I got to the gate two hours before my departure.

I've been very lucky to limit most of my business travel to driving around South Florida, while some of my colleagues spend their work life in airports. My company is no different than others, in that the economy is forcing us to do more with less, so my luck has run out. The Washington DC metro area will be an assigned part of my territory for at least the next year. My trip here this week went well but I will be need to make regular, frequent, visits here to do what I do. The branches here are filled with good people who haven't exactly received the best service from my predassesor and as a result, there's a bit of cleanup to do. I plan on spending the first week of every month here for a few months. I don't mind it. At least I saw the end of winter this week. My wife has been very understanding of the demands my schedule puts on me and I'm grateful for that.

"But when I get home to you and find the things that you do, you know I'll feel alright."