If you’ve already read through the instructions and are ready to enter,
click here to go to the Entry Form.
BEFORE YOU START, read these Words of Wisdom
Below are the three tasks that make up this year’s Road Warrior contest.
Before you click the link to go to the Entry Form, we
highly recommend that you:
(a) print these instructions (we’ve kindly provided a
PDF version)
(b) prepare your answers in Word or another word-processing application, and
(c) when you have all of the components in one place, copy and paste them into the Entry Form.
WHY?
Despite the fact that we are now in the 21st century, you
cannot save the Entry Form. (And once you hit “Submit,” that’s it. It’s gone forever.) That means you
cannot fill out half of it, save it, and then come back later and finish it.
Also, these entry forms tend to time out. So you might spend 30 minutes working on your essay, go get a cup of coffee, and come back, only to find all of your hard work gone — poof.
We promise. All of this has happened before. So trust us.
Now, let’s get to your “tasks.” Again, if you’d like to print them and keep them handy, you can
click here for a convenient PDF version.
Task #1, Best and Worst: Traveling for business can take you to some exotic locations, as well as some, let's just say, "less exotic" places. Looking back on your years as a Road Warrior, please tell us the one best and the one worst experience you've had while traveling on business. Perhaps you got to see the Eiffel Tower because of a meeting in Paris, or enjoy Chinese street food with a local client. Or maybe you had to suffer through Chinese street food with a local client or had to go to Hawaii and spend the week in a conference room — without windows. And remember, we’re magazine editors and designers. Creativity and personality rate
highly with us. So write the stories just like you would tell them to your golfing or shopping buddies.
Task #2, Your Itinerary: Although they long for those days, Road Warriors are rarely found sitting behind their desks. More often than not, they are running between gates, airports, meetings, taxi cabs, and hotels. But for those of us who consider “travel” our commutes to and from work, it’s hard to imagine such frenetic energy. So share with us your itinerary for one month of 2008, anytime between January and June.
For example:
Miami, May 3-7
Toronto, May 8-9
Seattle, May 11-13
Chicago, May 16-18
Orange County, May 18-19
Dallas: May 20-22
New York: May 22-28
Task #3, The Hunt: Consider this task that canceled meeting, the rescheduled business trip that cuts into your vacation, or the last-minute conference call. Achieving this task will require brainwork, legwork, and ingenuity. But remember, there are some incredible benefits (read: boss prizes) involved. So we need to cut the wheat from the chaff.
We have identified 12 things in five popular airports. With help from the clues provided below, you have to find
just one of these things.
Can you find more, you ask (as any overachieving Road Warrior would)? But of course. However, it bears repeating: We’re only asking you to find
one, snap a quick picture (you can just use your cellphone's camera), and include it with your entry.
Here are your clues. And a tip: Google and similar resources are your friends.
| Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport |
|
In terminal 
There’s only one place where 1,440 minutes of every day
You can buy baby formula, snacks, a hair dryer … and plenty more
A wall of convenience, minus the human touch
Need a hint? Find it near this: 4 x 4 + 5 [to the 2nd power] – 12 = gate number
|
In terminal 
Is a home away from home if you’re fatigued in fatigues
Just a little reminder
That freedom isn’t free
A thought to ponder if you’re sipping a Venti Cinnamon Dolce Latte next door |
In terminal 
Near a club where Farragut, Nimitz, and Halsey would feel at home
Flies a proud American bird of prey
Illuminated by atomic number 10 |
In terminal 
The view is best from above
Especially from a Giant ranch immortalized by Edna Ferber
Artfully, the whole is greater than the sum of its tiny, colored parts
All contained in 360 degrees
|
| |
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| LaGuardia Airport New York |
|
In concourse 
We’re looking for players willing to evade ghosts:
Blinky, Pinky, Winky, and Clyde
Or battle waves of space aliens
1980s classics, with buttons and joysticks |
In concourse 
Dial up a piece of the past, all in a row
A wall full of ways to reach out and touch someone
From the days before anybody ever said
"Can you hear me now?" |
| |
|
| Chicago O’Hare International Airport |
|
At the juncture of concourses
 and 
Between France and Germany
You’ll find seven continents in the sky |
In concourse 
You’ll find water on the wall
About 35 feet long and 5 feet high
But instead of hydrogen and oxygen
Look for glass and porcelain
|
| |
|
Los Angeles International Airport
|
|
In terminal 
There’s not a better sight, pound for pound
Especially if you’re carrying
Leks, pulas, drams, florins, or riels |
|
| |
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| Miami International Airport |
|
In concourse 
By Au Bon Pain and a cluster of cars
Things get a little fishy
Got Any Jacks? is not a question from childhood
But an artistic tribute to the life aquatic
|
In concourse  (low)
Stands an African even-toed ungulate mammal
The real kind eats up to 140 pounds of leaves and twigs a day
And this one might like to wash it all down
With a beverage sold nearby, at a place named after the fourth governor of Massachusetts
|
In concourse (high)
You come to a fork in the road
Left or right to get to your gate
Or straight ahead to cheer on your favorite team
Slake your thirst and pass the time
|
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Road Warrior 2008 Entry Form