I?ve got this friend; we?ll call him Bob, because that?s his
name. He works for a global company with offices all over the
world. They sent him to Japan a few years ago so that he could
be closer to his accounts. They sent wife and family with him,
are spending all kinds of money to keep them here, and then
proceeded to put Bob on the road (or in the air, in reality).
Bob is a professional road warrior. He gets home a couple of
weekends a month, greets his boys, asks a few questions, and
they proceed to laugh at him and say something like: ?That was
stupid! If you actually lived in Japan, you might know the
answer to that.? Bob is not amused.
But Bob knows they are right. Technically, he spends more time
in Thailand and China that he does Japan. And I suspect that he
has gotten more sleep in a business class seat every month than
he has in his spacious apartment in Japan. Mrs. Bob is not
amused.
Given the circumstances, the Bob?s have learned to adjust. Bob
makes more money than he ever has in his life. Mrs. Bob spends
more money than she has ever has. And the little Bob?s are in a
great school, and get anything they want. The Bob Family appears
to be perfectly normal because many of their peers have the same
exact story.
Bob has learned some tricks of the trade and even wrote them
down for a guy who was about to take on a similar job in
Australia (which in reality means all of Asia).
Here are a few to entertain you:
Buy a good back pack and leave the brief case at home- A brief
case is easier to steal or lose in a foreign country, plus it
takes up one hand. Put the backpack on your shoulder and that
leaves the traveler?s hands free for pulling a suitcase, and
carrying another item.
Never exchange foreign currency-it takes too much time, you
always lose money, and you will be coming to that country soon
anyway. Bob keeps five or six envelopes in his backpack that he
rotates through his wallet depending on his travel plans.
Get an iPod- if you are going to spend 80% away from your home,
might as well bring your entire music collection with you. In
Bob?s case, he has a different play list for every trip. He says
that his reason for buying an iPod came home to him in Thailand
after sitting in a cab for fifteen minutes with a driver who
liked weird string music with chimes. Never again Bob proclaimed.
Buy some melatonin- Bob is not a doctor, but he thinks like one.
He will give you a prescription based on your height, weight and
number of time zones you will be crossing in a day. He says he
sleeps like a baby and never feels jet lag. Other road warriors
who consider him a genius have adopted his methods.
Keep all of your computer gear organized for the trip you are
making- this is real important since the only way you
communicate with your family and your work is by email and
instant messenger. You should know how to hook up every phone
line, wireless modem and power cord for the country you are in.
Bob offended Mrs. Bob on their anniversary when he didn?t get
his computer hooked up in time for some late night dirty talk by
instant messenger.
That brings me to his last advice to the guy about to take a new
job:
Keep pictures of wife and family updated regularly with a
digital camera (that may be the only way you see them this
week)- this is a sad commentary on the life of a road warrior.
This is not a normal existence by any stretch of the word, and
yet many people lead lives like this across the world.
Will Bob survive his job? Probably. He figures he can put up
with a lot of hassle for the money he?s making (though he
confesses that he plans to retire and do something else by the
time he?s 50). Will Family Bob survive? Probably. They have got
a lot of grit and really don?t want to go back to the picket
fence world of Pennsylvania.
Has their quality of life suffered? Bob, answered, ?What quality
of life??
About the author:
Mike Stanton-Rich is "The Leisure Guy." Armed with a Ph.D. in
Leisure Studies and years studying stress and burnout, he writes
regular articles and features about enhancing work and leisure.
Catch his latest at: http://www.theleisureguy.com
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