All that work over the weekend was in preparation for a business trip to the midwest.  Over the next few days, I will be conducting an audit of a client in Columbus and Indianapolis. 

Fortunately, today went like a charm.  I may dislike working weekends, but I love, love, love having everything go exactly as planned:.  I got to work in the morning, finalized all of the materials that I needed to bring with me, and then flew to Columbus, met with the CEO (and, because I had done my homework, could speak intelligently with him about what was going on), had a great dinner with him and his wife, and then they took me on a short tour of downtown Columbus.  It’s not a large downtown, nor particularly interesting, but it has a certain midwestern charm; I think it’s probably a very comfortable place to live.

The great thing about this version of business travel is that it feels almost like having a vacation while at work.  I’m doing work, but I’m in a new city, meeting new people, staying in a nice hotel and eating good food — and, best of all, everyone else at the firm knows I’m away, so I’m not expected to be immediately available all the time!  So here I am at 9:30pm, blogging away, about to curl up with my French translation of a Swedish crime novel before heading to bed.

Tomorrow I’ll be up bright and early to get started with the real work — I’ll spend most of the day here, and then drive 3 hours to Indianapolis, where I’ll do it all again at the client’s offices there.  Meanwhile, here’s the view out my window: