Exhausted from the day, we wanted to head back to the hotel to work and/or rest before dinner. They found an intepreter for us, and off we went in a cab. Sometime later, it appeared we didn’t know where we were going. Turns out it was a new taxi driver, and didn’t know the city well enough (!?!).
Lance (Dublin) mentioned something about having the address that made me remember I’d put it in the Memos of my Treo (I try to always put the address and phone number of a hotel I’m staying at in the Memos), and I pulled it up to show to our intepreter (who apologized, but she’s from Bogota, not Medellin) to show the driver, and started us back in the direction we’d come. The phone number came in handy as she called to double check that we were heading in the right direction.
The three of us (Lance, Eric Parks, and myself) were crammed in the back seat, and it was hot and uncomfortable. Given the heavy traffic (rush hour) and the, ahem, scenic tour, it took an hour to go three miles. Fortunately, it wasn’t any longer (Lance was ready to abandon ship at the next hotel and get a real cab!).
So, ok, maybe I’m a bit retentive, but on the other hand it sure came in handy. I also put the reservation code in the calendar for my hotels, rental cars, and airplanes, and my parking spot at the airport lot. I’ve heard of folks who take snapshots of their hotel room numbers to remember them. Just some of the ways I make myself more effective through the use of technology, mobile in this case. How about you?
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