#18 - It ain't so easy to get to Paradise

It was time to prepare for a company training course in Texas USA. I was finally getting to Paradise. Really. 

As usual, the business was hectic and I decided to utilize my networking and delegation skills in the preparation. I was going to travel with my colleague, Mr. H. He was responsible for all the planning and preparations. We were supposed to meet at the Stockholm Arlanda airport and travel together to Paradise. For the last miles Mr H. had reserved a rental car and printed a road map. Paradise was calling for the first time in my life. I felt lucky that I did not have to print any documents about the destination. I thought that I will just follow my colleague.

I packed my sneakers into suitcase, as well as another mobile phone (the European mobile phones were not yet functioning in USA). There I was again at the famous Tampere airport. The weather was a bit misty. I was waiting and waiting. The flight was already late. The reason was that the aeroplane coming from Helsinki could not land at the foggy Tampere airport. Excitement was tightening. Finally the aeroplane arrived and soon I was on my way to Stockholm. We landed just in time at Arlanda, after which I needed to commute to another terminal. I saw that my flight still waiting for me. After a sprint I was at the gate, but unfortunately the gate was closed. No way to get in, even if the aeroplane was still standing on the tube.

Arlanda transfer center was kind enough to re-route me via Island to USA. There I was flying first time with Island Air. After some working session with my laptop I fell asleep. The next thought was that I must be landing on the moon, but soon I realized that it was the scenery of Reykjavik airport. So, I have been in Reykjavik, sort of.

During the next flight from Reykjavik to Chicago I had some time to think about the Paradise, especially how to get there. I did not know where it was and how to get there. All the necessary information was travelling with my colleague on another flight. In Chicago I started to make calls with American mobile phone. The battery was empty before I could clarify the answers to the tricky questions. It was not a pleasure the travel to Dallas without having any clue where to go. It was almost midnight when I arrived at Dallas. No phone, no coins, no destination, no friends. I felt so miserable.

Finally I managed to find the telephone number to the ranch in the Paradise. With a miserable outlook I managed to convince the airport crew lettting me make a call with their telephone. I was told that there are two ladies arriving in an hour and they have booked a limousine drive from the airport to the ranch at the Paradise. I was supposed to wait at the parking slot X until the limousine would pick me up. What a relief, I thought.

The joy was too early. Parking slot X had two levels. For the next hour I was switching continuously with my suitcase between the upper and the lower levels. Nothing happened and I started to be very nervous again. Finally the limousine arrived and drove me through the dark roads in the middle of a prairie. The Paradise was calling.

I must admit that it ain’t so easy to get to Paradise.

The Paradise
Source:Here.com

Lessons learnt:

It ain’t so easy to get to Paradise.

Remember the risks of delegation.

You may trust your friends, but not the system.

Risk management - Do not forget back-up plan.