Yesterday was unusual.I was picked up by taxi from my Corrimal home at 6.30am for an hour-and-fifteen drive to Sydney Airport, where I boarded a four hour flight to Perth.
I was picked up at Perth Airport and driven to a two hour meeting with Bam Creative about working together on a new web project.
Bam dropped me back at Perth Airport in time for a five hour flight back to Sydney, and an hour-and-fifteen taxi ride to be home by 11.30pm.
Eleven and a half hours air and road travel for a two hour meeting.
Call me shallow, but that was one cool trip.
Across the country and back. Six thousand eight hundred kilometres. Two thousand two hundred miles.
Answers to possible questions:
- The meeting went very well.
- The one hour time difference between the westward journey and the eastward journey is because of headwinds. I geekily checked the stated speeds at various times on the two flights: they varied from 1000kmh westward to 600 kmh eastward.
- Yes of course I took the laptop fully intending to get in some good work time while flying. No of course I didn’t get any work done. Virgin Blue provided free access to the seatback pay TV so I spent nine hours watching TV. Big treat for me.
- My client paid.
Now you mention it, I’ve actually had quite a bit of travel this year, all work-related. Three plane trips to Melbourne, another to Adelaide.
I like the whole airport vibe. I find it genuinely exciting, every time. And it’s great for people-watching, although I have to be careful not to watch the baggage handlers unloading a plane – it always shocks me deeply.
I’m trying not to get used to the luxury of regular air travel.
But I hope it continues.