A Cool Chance Encounter On A Work Trip

Regular readers here will know I travel for my job.  A lot.  I’m not going to lie, it can wear on me a bit at times.  I do love to travel, but I enjoy it much more with wife and kids in tow.  In the end, we all have bills to pay.  I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to provide for my family and earn some miles and points along the way for our vacations.

I’m not sure how other road warriors deal with the doldrums of the road.  For me, I’ve focused more on donuts lately.  I figured if I’m going to end up in a bunch of new places I might as well try to make some fun out of it.  I rarely get time for sightseeing.  Since I’m up early, grabbing donuts in the morning seemed a logical fit.

At any rate, I was on one of those business trips last week.  For those unfamiliar, a big part of my day job is evaluating companies for investments.  We invest in startups.  I reckon it to Shark Tank, without the yelling and screaming.  That, and I’ve yet to actually meet Mark Cuban.  In case you’re wondering what it’s like, here’s my recap of one of our recent stops in Lubbock, TX.

We were in Myrtle Beach last week.  Mid-February is a bit quiet there, something I’m thankful for.  Hanging out in Myrtle during spring break doesn’t sound like a winning formula for me, given all the extra traffic in town.  We met a bunch of companies.  The guy who runs the Tech Tour is Paul Singh.  He likes to say investors shouldn’t pick winners and losers.

I’ve been know to have my fair share of arguments.  On this point, I somewhat agree with Paul.  And yet, this post is specifically about one of my favorites in Myrtle Beach.  Unequivocally, I didn’t meet anyone more passionate or determined than Rodney from Treely.  His concept?  Using machine learning and other tech to help land-owners get the best price for the trees on their land.  Not the sexiest startup you’ll ever hear of, but it caught my eye.  A big part of that was how eager Rodney wants to learn and grow his business.

But, this blog post is about what happened that evening.  I received an e-mail from Rodney saying he knew he had recognized me in our meeting that day.  As it turns out, he’s already a follower of mine on Twitter and recognized my image.

That’s Pretty Darn Cool To Me

I have tons of respect for the truly renowned bloggers in this hobby.  I cut my teeth on View From The Wing over a decade ago.  Folks like One Mile at a Time, Mommy Points and Million Mile Secrets and other huge traffic blogs are part of my daily reading.  I’m sure they get recognized regularly when they’re out and about.

I’ve been lucky enough to appear on television a handful of times over the past few years, always a cool experience for me.  And, I was actually recognized once, while eating dinner with my family at a seafood restaurant during our stay at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point.  Short of that, I don’t recall an instance where someone walked up to me out of the blue and recognized me for my blog.

You’ll only see my picture pop up on the blog occasionally.  Let’s be honest, nobody is tuning in here to look at me.  You’re here to get some help, learn something new, or maybe read along as my family tours some far-off destination you’ve been dreaming about.

Maybe I’m supposed to play it cool and pretend like I get recognized all the time.  After all, I have a blog.  That must make me important, right?  Oh, if wishing only made it so.  Nope, I’m still that business traveler who slogs it out in coach and spends a ton of nights in hotels when I’d rather be at home.

And, I write this blog on a daily basis.  It’s partially for me, but it’s mostly for you, “faithful reader”.  I always enjoy helping people.  That’s why it was cool to get recognized last week, if only a bit after the fact.

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