Day in the Life of a Trend Reporter on the Road

Hartford and Tampa

The days are long and the sleep is short but life on the road for a week or two out of the year is exciting, fun and stimulating.

I just started my second tour of the year of introducing holiday gifts of the season to the viewers of local TV stations around the country. People are fascinated by my tour and so as a result, I am again meeting some really interesting and fun people.

Again, I prayed that God would send angels my way, and so far the trips have been easy and people have been helpful so I imagine God is keeping my request in mind. The tour has just begun so who knows where the angels will show up.

The first two appearances have gone really well. The folks in Hartford, CT were really great but the segment was short, a mere 3 minutes. I have so many fun presents to show this season that it was difficult to get all of the ideas across in the allotted time. I’m showing jewelry from TJ Maxx, Cashmere from Marshalls, the latest, hottest technical product of the season, a digital camera the Finepix F10 from Fuji Film, a software kit from Epson that makes a cute coffee table book, and flowers from FTD.com. They also have sent cookie tins for me to share with my guests. They are chocolate covered oreos that are so delicious!

Last night on the plane from Hartford, there were 2 groups of men traveling from CT to Tampa for a golf trip. The energy on the plane about tripled as soon as the men started boarding the plane. I was soon to find out that this was a yearly trip and every year the group got bigger and bigger. There were corporate heads from Wachovia, ESPN, Car dealers, motorcycle dealerships, professors and the like. They were heading south to indulge in some fun for a long weekend. About ¾ way through the trip I got up to stretch and started chatting with a few of them. By that time, they were feeling pretty good because they cleaned out the whole plane of alcohol. There was a lot of laughter and telling on each other. Each guy was introduced as a different name each time with different professions each time. I never knew who was who or what they did. It didn’t matter, the whole plane was enjoying the entertainment that they were providing.

I left the hotel early because there was a big convention of the Southern Baptists so they were booked solid and I couldn’t get a later check out. So I opted to hang at the airport instead of visiting a nice mall next door. My bags are already 50 lbs a piece so nothing new is going to fit inside my bags so why even go shopping? Now, I’m sitting in a restaurant /bar ……listening to 80s music and writing on my laptop. I’m totally content to hide in this corner and listen to the music and record my fun travels. I’ve even had a few informal coaching sessions with friends as I’ve sat here. There is never a dull moment in airports!

I’m going to pack up and head to my destination. Much more to come I’m sure!