Last night it occured to me the outrageous amount I’m spending (well, the COMPANY is spending) for me to have a car. Meanwhile, back in Raleigh, I’m spending a somewhat less outrageous amount to store my car in the lot until I get back.

That made me think that there must be some way to cut out the middleman, in this case the car rental places. What if there was a service where a member could borrow the car of another member who was traveling from the airport you were going to? There is probably a lot of cars at the John Wayne airport where I’m heading, and the owners are paying for those cars to just sit there. What if the car owner (or member) could get paid to let others borrow their car?

The rates could be below the rental rates, but still be enough to make things worthwhile. Maybe we could have a third party at the lot who could meet the “renter” and make sure the car was in good shape when it came back.

Its a goofy idea, but with the right controls in place, it might work. It all hinges on the comfort level of the car owner. Gotta figure that part out.

I can really think up some dumb thoughts when there is nothing else to do, eh?

Well, my night wasn’t as bad as I expected. I met up with our partners to grab dinner. One of them was familiar with the area, so we were able to find a restaurant without a wait. Over margaritas, we traded stories about natural disasters, the West Coasters bragging about earthquakes and me bragging about hurricanes. Each side shook its head over why the other would put up with such chaos. 🙂

I am dying to go “say hello to the ocean” as my scuba diving instructor used to say. It’s a ritual where I go splash around in the water. Used to do it before every dive to get things off on the right foot. As I drove past La Jolla yesterday I thought of my diving days, since that was the place I did my very first open-water dive. Kelly tells me again and again how she’d like to learn to dive, but things got sidetracked when The Kid came along. Maybe we can get back in the water someday soon.

Lunch yesterday was at the food court of the Newport Beach “Fashion Island” mall. The guys here told me later that that Newport is one of the wealthiest places around. That explains the Beemers, Mercedes, and Lexuses (Lexi?) I saw parked around my big orange Mustang. The meeting with the customer went well, too, if it ran a bit too long for my taste. I’m still fighting a “midafternoon zone-out” every day, the only jet lag issue I’ve had so far.

One of the guys here is a big cycling buff, and told me Lance Armstrong is in town for a charity event. My friend was threatening to call in sick today to go meet him. Can’t say I blame him, since I’m a cycling fan, too. While I may not get a chance to break away from the presentation today, I did find out that Lance has to catch a flight around the same time I do, so there is a possiblity I could see him at the airport. That would be pretty cool.