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Road Warrior
By Mike Stanton-Rich
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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