Consumer Heaven

I've gone on a bit of an online shopping spree this weekend. I bought from 2 sites I've never purchased from before: Tumi and Zappo's. I'm in some serious need of a new backpack to travel with because my trusty Jansport is finally breaking down. The zipper only really works half the time now, and I have visions of running through the airport not knowing that all my clothes are spilling out behind me.

The main reason I chose those sites to purchase from was their free return shipping policy. That's probably the single most reason I wouldn't normally purchase something online that I hadn't already seen and tried on in the store already. The thought of purchasing something and then having to pay to return it really leaves a lot to be desired. You're essentially paying for nothing at the end of the day!

I'm especially looking forward to getting my shoes from Zappo's because I've read so many stories about their amazing customer service. I'm hoping I'll be totally happy with the shoes, but even if I'm not, at least I will hopefully have a good experience returning them!

BTW - on the topic of paying for nothing, for those who find their way to San Francisco, you may have a craving for burritos. One of the most-recommended places is La Taqueria. I finally got a chance to try it with my good friend Brian a few weeks ago, and it was probably the most expensive burrito I've ever seen because they actually charge you a dollar extra if you choose NOT to have beans. I won't contest that the food is great, but charging me for not wanting something is pretty ridiculous. I'd recommend going to Papalote instead - the food is awesome and you won't find yourself paying more for less.

Believe In Something

I am writing from LA tonight and I realize I am incredibly tired. Not the tired as in, I didn't get enough sleep last night, but the kind of tired that feels accumulated over the last year. It feels heavy and it feels difficult to remove or remedy.

I am realizing that taking a day trip to Dallas is not normal, and neither is sleeping in hotel beds more often than my own.

All of this makes me wonder - why the hell am I doing this? Sure, sales is a bit of a clusterfuck. It's a vicious cycle that keeps you moving for the next win and the next commission. But at the end of the day, I think I do it because I truly believe in what I'm selling. Cheesy? Absolutely. True? Absolutely. I believe that what I'm selling helps companies and is the best damn product out there. I had a meeting today that was heavily focused on competitive differentiation, and it was frustrating because the prospect's response to everything I said was, well competitor X says they can do it too. I had to work so hard to resist the urge to say, "Please just go with them. I'll talk to you again in 3 months." And it made me think to myself, damn, I'm actually pretty lucky to work on a product that really does something. It's not just smoke and mirrors and I actually care about the work.

I'm not sure what the point of this post is, except to say that believing in something is a powerful thing. It makes me get on planes every week and fly to weird places to try to convince people that they can and should do better.

I need a vacation. Any destination suggestions?

I Heart San Francisco

I went out last night with friends and decided to walk the mile home instead of catching a cab at the end of the night. The air was that cool San Francisco summer temperature and there was hardly anybody else around. It struck me that I felt very content, that as much as I may stress about the travel or the work or the future, I was happy to get some quality time with old friends and then walk home through this awesome city where strange and wonderful things happen all the time.

Case in point: on my walk home, I heard the familiar sound of a bicycle coming up behind me. I turned to look, and there was a girl riding atop a clown bicycle. On the next block, she hopped off gracefully, locked it up, and went inside.

Tomorrow's destination: San Diego

Hertz Neverlost, I'll Follow You Anywhere

At some point early on in my travels, Hertz's Neverlost navigation was upgraded in my mind from an accessory to a necessity. The first thing I do now after I find my rental car slot # on the Gold board and slip into my seat is type in my destination. I did the same last Thursday when I arrived at John Wayne airport (SNA). As it calculated the route, I got into drive and started following the woman's voice telling me to get on the 405. I heard the familiar double-beep to exit and then followed accordingly. Looking ahead, I realized Neverlost had led me to....a paid parking lot with no other exit. Oops!

On a separate Hertz note, my broadband card fell out of my bag inside my rental car and I didn't realize it until after I'd gotten through security and was sitting at the gate getting ready to board. I'll post updates on how torturous this process ends up being. I also just reached Five Star Gold status with Hertz - I have a feeling that I'll never see any benefits, but hey, I'll reserve some optimism and see what happens.

Sorry, Mother Earth

I just read this story comparing the greenhouse gas emissions from driving vs. flying. Apparently every time I get on a roundtrip long-haul flight, I'm using nearly 1 ton of carbon dioxide emissions. How appropriate since I am getting on a flight from SFO - BOS tonight...

The Things They Say

The whole concept of public vs. private seems to be lost in airports and airplanes. I once heard somebody blurt out to a complete stranger that she just found out her husband cheated on her that morning as we touched down in San Francisco. The airport with the consistently spiciest chatter is Las Vegas.

Today, though, I got to hear my seatmate gab about how angry she was that her boyfriend didn't introduce her to his ex-girlfriend. Her rationale was that even the married man she previously dated used to introduce her as his girlfriend.

Wow. Enough said?

Betablue: BUST

I found myself on the Betablue plane last Wednesday morning from SFO to JFK. I was psyched to try out WiFi on my cross-country flight and get some email taken care of in that 6-hour void. Apparently it's making headlines that Betablue is now also offering access to Amazon and corporate email. That was already in effect in my flight, as you can see from the screenshot to the left.

Imagine my disappointment when I clicked through to check my email and got the following message:

I got this error message in every category I tried in both Firefox and IE. I think I tried 3 times during the flight with no luck. Has anybody else gotten it to work before?

Below are the rest of the screenshots I took for those interested in seeing what Betablue would offer if it was working...

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

This will be a quick one but I know I've been slacking big time.

Thumbs Up for Southwest Airlines: I love your new comfy chairs with dedicated plugs. You're the only airline that is still doing anything above and beyond for customers!

Thumbs Down for FlyClear: I still love skipping the security line, but why can't you read my right thumbprint properly?!

That's it for now. In Seattle and flying down to Irvine tonight. Can anybody help me find sleep? I seem to have misplaced it.