A little late here. Went with a friend to London about a decade ago. I thought it would be great because he used to live in Bath, UK, and I knew London like the back of my hand. We were in Oxford, a city neither one of us has been.

Sir Browse-a-Lot liked to browse and I didn't know he would take a lot more time. He knew he had to meet me at a certain time a few blocks away from where the car was parked, then we could go together. Unfortunately, Sir Browse-a-Lot was 40 minutes late and I got a parking ticket. He was adamant that I be there at the corner because he wasn't familiar with the city and said he'd be there on time, but he wasn't. Not only that...

We got back to the hotel a little late, near midnight, very much to my chagrin since I wanted to be back at 7:00 p.m. That night, I told him we'd have to get up at 6:00 a.m. because the M-4 traffic could get bad. He immediately protested and informed me he had to get his eight hours of sleep. "We should leave at 8:00 a.m." He also made it clear it was not negotiable.

I warned him, "The M-4 will be a nightmare with the traffic. It could take more than an hour and you would be late. We need to leave at 7:00 a.m. even though that's pushing it. Leaving at 6:00, it could take an hour, but leaving at 8:00, that's two hours and you'll be late."

Sir Browse-a-Lot started panicking, "Great, that also means there's no time for yogurt and banana!" He neglected to inform me that part was also not negotiable. He had to have his eight hours of sleep and a yogurt and banana.

I suggested, "Okay, you can get up and then sleep in the car while I drive you. You'll have your eight hours of sleep and I'm sure I can find a Pret a Manger in London. I'll even let you still sleep in the car while I get that for you and then when you wake up, I'll have it ready."

I had to treat Sir Browse-a-Lot like a delicate flower, making sure he slept comfortably in the car while I drove at 6:00 a.m. I took great care not to wake him up by driving gently. He got there on time and I was back at the airport at 10:30 a.m. to drop off the rental car and catch my 1:40 p.m. flight. A month later, he sent me an e-mail suggesting a trip to Asia since he had so much fun with me in Oxford. Then another one a week later asking why I didn't respond and wondered if I got it. Then a couple weeks later, reminding me he wanted to go about two months later, and time was getting closer. Then, a week before the trip, it was a short e-mail wondering if I changed my e-mail.