Some people would think that I travel differently now that I own my own business, and I’m not expensing it all back to Microsoft.  Believe it or not, that isn’t the case.

I am a frugal guy by nature.  This is different than cheap.  I waste $70 per meal on The Rock, but won’t buy shoes that cost more than $40.

When I worked at Xbox, I used to go through the list of flights, and pick one of the cheaper ones.  I used to look at local hotels and stay at the Marriott across the street instead of the W 20 miles away.  I’d eat a Subway sandwich instead of getting room service.

That said, I want to be clear in my point - spending lots or being frugal should be a desicion - not a standard.

If spending $80 more per night means that you can rest easier the day before your presentation then do it.  If you want to splurge and get that Lobster dinner once per year on the road - indulge.

It’s not smart to be wasteful, but take a look at the big picture.  What are your costs when you factor in time, effort, stress, and worry?

I do, however, have one regret from my years of travel with Xbox.  I’d like to apologize to Quinn Edamura who had the pleasure of coming with me during December to Ensemble Studios, where we stayed at a Marriott, ate at what was basically a hospital cafeteria, and walked through the slush with our camera gear - all in an effort to save money.  I owe you a steak dude.

Being a business owner means that my schedule is a bit more flexible than that of my wife and friends.  That said, it’s nice to feel somewhat normal, and sync my schedule with that of the rest of the world.

It was great to catch up with some friends that I hadn’t spent time with lately, and I got to take in a few new games, and movies.

Here are some brief reviews of the non-gaming entertainment bits that I injested this weekend:

• Red White and Dead Zombie Walk:  While we didn’t participate in the Zombie Walk, I was surprised to see the large turnout of folks in their full-on zombie gear.  It was cool to see several hundred undead doing the Thriller dance.  Pictures were taken, and we think that there was some flirting between a friend of mine and a zombie female in her late 20s, but we’re not really sure.  For the record, I’d suggest this event be named Dead, White, and Blue.
• Twilight Eclipse:  I was expecting this movie to suck.  I expected emo vampires, and corny dialog.  I expected to be bored to tears.  Luckily the movie lived up to every expectation I had.  I get that women wish that they had some perfect romantic life, but this movie didn’t have enough gore or fighting to keep me interested at all.
• The A-Team:  I was expecting to dislike this movie, and wound up really enjoying myself.  It’s clearly a “turn off your brain and just enjoy” experience - but I am most fond of those experiences.  Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was actually a decent BA Barracus, which surprised me a great deal.  I am glad that we went to see the movie, and more glad that I have the ability to turn off my logic and revel in the tounge-in-cheek corniness.
• World of Warcraft Miniatures Game:  I finally got to play some 2-on-2 battles.  I loved it.  The game mechanics are  straight-foward, yet there are enough tactical strategic options that the non-gamers and the games in the group had a good time with it.  I’m sad that there are some transitions going on (UDE lost the license, and Blizzard is supposedly taking the game over), and hope that it continues.

Our 10 day trip to Orlando, Florida has come to an end.  We’ve done the theme parks, the water parks, the heat, and the expensive hotel food.  Now it’s time to get back to reality.

It took us (literally) 17 hours to arrive in Florida, and mid-day on the 29th we’ll be home in Seattle, awaiting real life to happen on the 30th.

With the iPhone 4 launch taking place while I was gone, I didn’t pre-order one, so I need to hunt down and make a purchase.  I also have gaming withdrawl, and need to get back to work planning my next business trip down to San Francisco.

It’s good to be back home, off of vacation.