Member-only story
How Not to do Paris: A Cautionary Tale
They’re not playing our game. We’re playing theirs.
I wasn’t in England for more than a couple days before spontaneity got the best of me.
Since it was the first time I ever set foot outside the United States, and knowing I might be on a business trip for a while, I brought my girlfriend along. This had all the makings of an adventure, and there was no way I wanted to do it without her.
Adventure started immediately
Our program office hadn’t sent my orders over, so I couldn’t get on base. My contact and I decided the best way to light a fire under them was for me to simply not show up until they did.
I came home to our bed and breakfast in St. Ives — a little 800 year old community just outside of Cambridge. Kat was inside reading a book, and she was surprised to see me.
“Hi, what are you doing home?” she asked.
“Hey babe… wanna go to Paris?”
“Uhm… Sure? When?”
“Now.”
“What about work?”
I jumped online as I explained what’s going on, and I booked tickets on the Eurostar for that afternoon. We had a few hours before it left, but we had to get down to London to catch it.
