This is my last trip of the year. For all I know, of course, it could be the last trip of my job, if I end up getting offered a job at that startup. I'll miss the traveling, I think. It has not always taken me to the most interesting places, but travel always opens your eyes and feeds you with new experiences.

Travel has certainly become more comfortable for me through my company. Airline clubs before the flight, and more often than not upgraded to first-class. On this trip, I sat next to interesting high-achievers on both legs, and was something of an audience for their extended opinions. I barely touched my book the whole journey, and kept my disintegrating laptop in its bag.

Nonetheless, this particular journey is always tiring, since I don't get to the hotel until eleven p.m. The rental- car company was out of compact cars and all they had to offer me was a minivan. I guess it's really the perfect vehicle for the extended nonurbia making up the area.

I guess it must have been jetlag that kept me awake until very late. I had to resort to melatonin again and the result was that I didn't regain consciousness again until 9.00 in the morning. It was a beautiful, blue-eyed day outside, although it looked a bit nippy.

The event I'm here for is the end-of-year gathering for the entire Sales & Marketing Division. It's the first time I've ever attended an event like this wherever I've worked. I confess I was fairly amazed at the level of excitement generated in the main auditorium, and the standing, whooping ovation for our leader, a charismatic guy with the most twangy Southern accent imaginable, and a booming preacher's delivery. I'd guess (or at least hope) that people weren't really cheering out of identification with the company, but out of identification with each other and their long-standing work together, for this company has about the most amazing employee retention rate of any high-tech company. (Maybe I'm an anomaly.)

After the day was over, I was free to choose how to spend my evening. If I wanted to go to the big company party, then I wouldn't have time to work out or go running. Seeing as most of my friends in the company are not actually part of Sales & Marketing, and hence aren't here, and since I don't like "Hootie and the Blowfish" (hired to entertain us - senior management must have temporarily confused their employees with those of Amazon.com or something) I decided to skip the party. Besides, I'm not at all happy with the progress of my diet, exercise regime and tautness of my stomach over the last few weeks. During this time of year it's always harder to be disciplined. So I put myself through a tough workout, and a run on the treadmill.

I don't think this ball was intended for this

I've really learned to know my way around this area. I didn't get lost once in finding the Crabtree Mall, where I headed after working out, to buy a new book at Barnes & Noble. Mind, one thing I hate about exurban living are those endless waits for traffic lights to change. Who decided that it made sense to keep people waiting for five minutes for the left-turn signal - surely there's a more efficient way of doing it. We have enormous frigging intersections in the cities without the same kind of traffic lighting.

Finally back to the hotel for a chicken-caesar salad and catch-up with my email. A nice quiet evening for once.