Having a job that requires a lot of travel sounds great to many people. My guess is those people haven’t experienced it.
For a couple of decades my job required me to travel 2 – 3 times a month and certain times of the year it was more than that. Many hours spent waiting in airports, figuring out alternate flights when there are delays or cancellations, missing family functions, finding overnight sitters, living out of a suitcase, eating on the run…you get the picture. Sometimes it was enjoyable, but after a while sleeping in my own bed, having home-cooked meals and attending my son’s choir concerts was what I looked forward to.
Now, years later, I don’t really remember the frustration of late flights, late nights and meeting preparation. I remember some of the silly things that happened.
One of my clients was in New York City. The office was in the financial district and it was always crazy busy with cars, buses and people. I would visit the client a couple of times a year and, for whatever reason, every time I was there someone stopped me and asked for directions. The first time I was so surprised I am sure I just told them, “I’m not from here either.” However, as time went on, I would actually listen to them and most times I could help them out. My client thought it was very funny. They claimed it was because I was NOT a New Yorker… that I looked approachable.
Many times, my boss would make the trip with me and we would do something memorable, like take in a Broadway play or go eat somewhere fancy or unusual. (Thanks Nancy!) I did love visiting New York. One trip we arrived late in the evening, took a cab with all of our bags and luggage to the hotel. As soon as we opened the door to the hotel we realized we’d left an iPad in the cab. We combed the blocks surrounding the hotel and called the company. We looked like we were auditioning for an episode of CSI-New York!
I also had a couple of clients in Phoenix, AZ. A person would think that I would schedule meetings there from November through March. That didn’t happen though. It seemed like every time I was called down there for a meeting it was July or August. That heat seemed to suck the air right out of my lungs the moment I stepped outside the airport.
My clients were great though, so the meetings were always enjoyable. We found a couple of local, neighborhood restaurants that were fun to frequent. On one trip I brought a supervisor of the work group with me to personally meet the client. This was back when GPS was newly available and we were still relying on maps to get us from one place to another. We each had our jobs on this mission. I was the driver and gave him the MapQuest printouts so that he could navigate. We were zipping around in 6 and 8-lane traffic and 5 seconds before we’d need to exit he would tell me “you need to turn here.” Needless to say, I was hot and more than a little cranky after two or three instances. I pulled over, read the maps and told him to sit there and be quiet. My 9-year-old son was great at navigating, I never thought a 45-year-old man wouldn’t know how.
The trips to Los Angeles were always fun, sometimes the meetings could get tense, but because we had a handful of clients there several leaders from the various offices of our company attended. It was great to get together with everyone. We would always make new memories on these trips and find new restaurants that became favorites.
One trip about six of us were at the car rental lot and they were going to give us a mid-sized vehicle. I got out of the car went to the man working in the lot. What I didn’t know is one of the men with us said, “I bet we get a SUV or van.” Apparently, they were all joking inside the car about me talking to the employee. When I went back to them 5 minutes later and told them to get out the whole group busted out laughing. I didn’t have a clue what was funny.
I found out that they were taking bets on if I’d get us a bigger vehicle and if I’d request a certain color, etc. When I found out what they were laughing at, I said, “I don’t care what color it is! Just go get in that blue van.”
Work is work, but the friendships, accomplishments, celebrations and memories will last long after the job.
