A quickie

First "business" trip. Done and done.

And no I am not misusing quotation marks. It didn't feel like "business" felt appropriate when sitting in pajamas (remember, those are my scrubs) and having no need to have my cellular phone permanently attached to my ear. Nah, I couldn't call this business when seven men dressed in khakis, baby blue sweaters and pinstriped collared shirts boarded the Dallas Airport rental car bus. Now these men meant business. One gentleman in particular spoke in an overtly loud intonation, as if he felt needing to prove himself to the man sitting across from him at 9:30pm was crucial to next day's sale.

And perhaps I should have asked to borrow some of their business clothes, or perhaps that overtly loud intonation, as the task of renting a car proved to be tricky. Was it the pajamas? Was it my yankee accent? Or did the fearful wrinkles in my forehead clearly spell out, "This girl is far from Kansas"? Either way, it was like pulling teeth to get any kind of customer service. Note to self: a smile goes a long way.

After an hour journey from Dallas to Denton in my Dodge Journey which smelled of strawberries and orange pesticide, I cozily curled up in my hotel bed and fell asleep to the soothing sounds of Jay Leno. Note to self: Find the genius behind the creation of the GPS and send the biggest bottle of scotch. And then send another one.

Upon entering the bariatric practice Wednesday morning, I finally got the smile I was lacking from the night before. Southern hospitality rang true. And continued right on into grub time. "Black Eyed Pea was ordered in for lunch," the nurse said to me, as if I knew exactly what this was, and as if I should be running from the patient's room straight for the kitchen. "Oh! Right!" is all I could muster. Right....

"What's this?" I ask as I lift the tinfoil top from the takeout package.

"Chicken Fried Steak."

"Oh! Right!"

Right....

But the chicken fried steak was not the best piece of this little biz trip; the only thing that could top such edible satiety? Sunshine. And warm wind. Ohhhhh, that felt so gooooood!!!

Or perhaps practicing adjustable gastric band fills on fake fat slabs. Or charging everything to someone else's credit card. Flight? Paid. Rental car? Nada. Hotel? Zip. Sweeeeeeeet.

But for a girl who is quite independent, occasionally to a fault, this trip was definitely not without apprehension, stress, sweaty palms, and nervous laughter at every "recalculating route" warning from the lovely GPS female voice. However, it appears wrong turns and a grumpy Dollar Car Rental receptionist were the only hitches to this small gig. Of that I can forgive and forget.

But the real burning question is, can those I left behind in the Lone Star state forgive and forget my lunchtime blunder?

Meh, just charge the momentum created from the serious eye rolling to the company's credit card.

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Next stop?

Cincinnati, Ohio. Coming in June 2009.

Watch for it at a theatre near you.