I am a road warrior.
There are many out there like me.
I sleep in a hotel for much of the year. A different hotel every month; every week; every night.
I eat in delicious restaurants that the TV shows will never find. I eat rubbery hotel eggs floating in water.
I travel for miles, navigating the roads, the trains, and the airports to reach my destination on time and safely.
I live out of my car; truck; carry-on. My daily life must fit inside 22 inches.
Half my meals are eaten standing up—half of those while rushing to get somewhere important to me, my boss, or my client.
I have watched my children grow up via webcam.
It is my job to meet for the first time and impress a person; a handful; a dozen; hundreds at a time. This is difficult on 3 hours sleep. I subsist on energy drinks, energy shots, or coffee.
I know more about the TSA’s screening procedures than half of the TSA officers I come into contact with. I want to shout, “you’re doing it wrong!”
But this is the last leg on my trip back home…
I am a road warrior.
There are many like me.
(Written between 2010 and 2014)