Working in the Jet Set Age

One member of the 'snack friends-and-family bunch (although not a regular reader) is currently on a business trip. For some reason, it's been weird to wrap my brain around this one. It seems surreal for so many reasons.

• He found out about the trip last Thursday, confirmed on Friday.
• He flew out to LA on Monday morning, early.
• He has a wireless email device, provided by the company, that works out there. So I have managed to send him driving directions, by request, while on this trip.
• Our email exchange has been nearly as regular as when he's working from his desk here in town. I also chatted with him from his hotel room in Universal City, through the wonders of "unlimited night-and-weekend minutes" and "nationwide long distance included."
• He's been at or near the company HQ, which I have visited, so I can picture the streets he's on and the buildings he's in, and I have even driven the route from his temporary workplace to his hotel.
• With all this, we're still making plans for dinner on Saturday, because he will be back via redeye flight, Friday morning.

I mean, all things considered, he could just as easily be sitting at his desk here just pulling my leg.

We were entertained by the fact that, although his wireless email is provided by the company, the one place it has not worked is the commissary — the employee cafeteria on the main studio lot where the company is based. One wonders if it's a jamming device installed so people can enjoy lunch once in a while.