That’s right, I’m back in the Midwest again – ok, as much as St. Louis is considered as such.  I had a great dinner with friends.  It’s funny that when frequent business travelers get together all they talk about are TSA and the troubles of airports, hotels, etc.  (I’m told that once you have kids, the topic of “poop” suddenly becomes dinner conversation – ewww.)

I so rarely get to talk about myself but everyone seemed interested in my background.  It was nice that one of the dinner guests was German so I could pull that out and dust off a few words and stories.  Many of the others read my work blog and said they enjoyed it.  I’ve heard others say it but it’s strange to meet someone in person who actually reads your blog.  I’ve always said that the Internet gives everyone their Andy Warhol 15-minutes of fame.

I also met a fellow from South Africa so we talked about his past there.  S. Africa (.za) is a place I really want to visit some time – Johannesburg, not Cape Town.  Everyone else came from across the US, mostly on the East Coast.

I was surprised at how few of the people used social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter, but a few of them had Flickr accounts.  I suppose taking digital photos is more common than micro blogging, but I would have expected more of the younger people there to be on Facebook.  Maybe the masses are still a generation behind them.

I enjoyed both participating in conversation and watching the consultants talk amongst themselves.  I’m no longer a hard-core techie but still enjoy listening to them talk about operating systems and new programs.  It’s as if I’m looking back in time.

I’m going to enjoy the next few days, but am already missing home.  I’ll be on the road for two weeks solid (no going home between weeks), but I just started my trip so things are ok now, but ask me again in a few days.  I like traveling, but someone it gets to be a bit much.  I say this, because after a while you start to think of the hotel room as “home” and you end up in hour long debates about the efficacy of TSA and what constitutes a “zip top” bag.  Although these are rallying points for frequent travelers, they are not how I want to reflect on my legacy many years from now.  At least I’m meeting new and interesting people who I might be able to include as “friends” several years from now.