Thursday, April 10, 2008

It's All I've Got Right Now

An email sent this afternoon before I got home:

Hi Honey,

Glad you made it on time this morning.

Looks like I will just miss you.
We are leaving the venue at 12:30 into Paris.
I'm sure someone will purchase the internet on the bus,
Maybe even me.

We gotta go.
I miss you baby.
Love, Your husband

So far it doesn't seem that anyone has purchased internet on the bus. So, I'm not holding my breath for any more word from my husband tonight. This has been the toughest thing about this tour for me - not being able to reach him on a regular basis. When he travels outside the USA, to save money I only use Skype to make calls to his hotel room because their rates are dirt cheap. I learned my lesson a while back when he was playing on a cruise ship off the coast of Italy. That phone call cost me $100!!! So, if Michael has an Internet connection, then we can use Skype to talk for free computer to computer. But, if the Internet is too expensive, he doesn't get it, and I have to use Skype to call his hotel. So, most of the time it's me making the calls because the Internet at the hotels has been very expensive so far.

The other night, the ringer on the phone in his hotel room was turned off (Michael didn't know it was), and I tried for hours to reach him. I finally had the operator put me through to the drummer's room (really nice guy), and I was just about in tears while I told him that I'd been trying to call Michael all night and he never picked up the phone. He calmed me down and said he'd just seen Michael at breakfast and that he'd run downstairs and tell him that I had called. The hotel even sent someone up to his room to check on him because I was so worried and I'd called numerous times - they were familiar with my American voice by then. Anyway, that's when it was discovered that his phone was turned off. He said to me, "I wondered why you didn't call last night." Now we have an agreement that if I don't call when he knows I usually do that he's got to make the call.

I mean how long do you go without hearing from your spouse when they are traveling before you start to worry? For me, it's about 12 hours between calls. After that, I start to worry and my imagination gets the best of me.

I do look forward to the day when he no longer has to travel for work.

12 comments:

Mary and Skip said...

Hey Joannah...
For me it is about 15 minutes after the slated time we were supposed to get in touch with each other....if I don't hear from him.

If HE doesn't hear from ME...it is more like an hour before he starts calling looking for ME.

Something to keep in mind! :)
Love, Mary L.

Two Kayaks said...

K2 and I work together, so we don't have the issues you have. When he goes away for a weekend with friends, we usually don't call one another. I'm so sorry that you are missing your sweetie. It's not fun.
Thinking of you.

Sandra said...

This must be so tough.
I like to be able to be in touch with Matt whenever I want, so when he is traveling and I need to wait for his call so I won't disturb him in a meeting.

Hang in there!

wzgirl said...

Oh Lordy. Thats rough, bud. I was just gone for the weekend & hubs and I texted alllll weekend long. My heart goes out to you two. xo

Michelle said...

12 hours? Dear Lord, I must be some kind of freak because if I can't get a hold of him after four hours I start to freak out! When I went to China with my sister, I set up my cell phone with International service so I could call him whenever I needed(I travelled alone). When I got back and got the cell phone bill, I about died. Guess how much it was? Go on, guess..........it was SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. But I was alone-and lost- in Hong Kong for five or six hours and the phone conversations with him are the only thing that kept me from completely losing it. I wish I'd known about SKYPE then!

Joannah said...

Hey, when he's not traveling we talk off-and-on all day long. But with the time difference from here to there, and only using our computers to make calls, every 12 hours is about the best we can do.

It sucks!!!

Paula said...

Yea, that would be rough. So much nicer if it was a tour in the US.

Alyson and Ford said...

Heck, I get the lonesome feeling just not having Aly around for a little bit. I don't even want to think about her gone for weeks at a time. Sounds like you have a plan to help stay in touch. This has to be tough on you all...

peace
fm

OH MY #6 said...

U poor thing!

enjoy your weekend.

Lea

Jacquie said...

I hated that part when my husband traveled. He is working in the city now and it's a change after being on the road for the last 6 years.

Kayce said...

Sorry Joannah...I hope you have fun plans for the weekend to keep you busy. Thinking of you!

Michele said...

I don't know anything about SKYPE, but I use ONESUITE.COM and it is VERY cheap. I call China often and it is very cheap!!
You have to preprogram the phone numbers that you are going to call FROM and you can call ANYWHERE for pennies!
Michele