Traveling is not my favorite thing in the world. I am glad not to be a field sales rep that travels every week to various places across the country and meeting with a host of customers. I'm not cut out for such a lifestyle. From what I understand from my sales rep friends, my travels are far more exciting. As the Events Coordinator for two companies, I only attend the conventions that are larger, more involved, and span across a week at a time. That's why traveling isn't my favorite: it's a lot of responsibility and I'm gone for a good week each time I go - - approximately 7 weeks each year. I know it probably sounds silly and doesn't sound like it's a lot, but to me - - - an interior-house kinda guy, I'd rather be home with my family.
Preparing for traveling at the office is stressful. All the things in the office that I've been working on now must be done before I leave - - just in case someone has a question while I'm gone. I run my cubicle as an "open book" because so many people utilize the information I provide. With sales and marketing and editorial all attending each event, they need to have access to my files as they are preparing. So my organization needs to be one step ahead of theirs!
Preparing for traveling at home is also stressful. My wife is the one who knows that I'm not as organized as my co-workers think I am. I take my time in selecting my clothes and accessories to take with me to my destination. I keep the financials, so I make sure that everything is paid and "good to go" so she doesn't have to worry about things while I'm gone. Explaining to the kids why Daddy has to leave again is the most painful. They don't understand why I'm gone "so much" from their little lives, when it's just a week. Sometimes that week includes a baseball practice or a trip to the grandparents - - and I miss it. That's why I don't like traveling.....at least at this stage in our parenting opportunities.
Once everything is prepared, I get up the next day and put on my "airport clothes" before heading out. With all the security stuff, I try to make it as quick and clean as possible: stuffing anything and everything into my "checked" luggage without going over 50lbs. I like to check 1 bag because I get a little freaked out having to have another thing to worry about on the plane with me. Anyway, I normally wear a pair of jeans (without a "siren signaling" belt), flip flops or socks/sneakers (my wife calls these "tennis shoes": I'm not planning on playing tennis anytime....but I digress), a t-shirt, and a jacket. I have my wallet and cell phone in my pockets and everything else fits into my carry-on backpack.
I apparently leave super early for my flight. Others like me who travel to these events get there "just in time" to board. I never know if I'll hit traffic on the way (I don't plan by checking out road or weather conditions - - it's not in the Faust blood....on mom's side of course) I like to get there, go through all the security crap, and have some time to relax before getting on the plane. Sometimes I am able to dine alone and plan "my" schedule for the event and sometimes I just like to watch people while getting a little work done on the laptop.
Because I'm gone so long, I have learned to park in the long-term parking area instead of the economy lot. See....the economy lot is humongous. I used to make a mental note of where I parked (J572) so I could remember when I returned. After a long week, however, my mental note was fried and I wandered all over the lot in the dark wondering where my wonderful wagon was. Now I park in long-term. It's closer to the terminals and I can remember the A1 location - - a great steaksauce!
The car is locked and my walk is short now so I'm in the terminal without any issues. Those little computer things just let me walk up, get my boarding pass, and worrily weigh my checked luggage to meet the 50lb requirement. Otherwise, I have to pop open that puppy and figure out how to take something with me as a carry-on. This is where I pray that I packed properly before my underwear comes flying out! (yep....it's happened)
I send my bag off to luggage luxury and head to security. Not quite as polished as George Clooney in "Up in the Air", I have a little neurotic "system" that gets me through the line quickly, with limited bins. I try not to get behind families with kids - - oh my goodness, what a nightmare. As much as possible, I choose the line with the "big wigs" who travel all the time - - they know what to do. Laptop, wallet, cell phone out. Jacket off. Shoes off. 3 bins max - then my backpack. One time recently I left my water bottle in my backpack. You would have thought the building was going to explode. The guy with the blue rubber gloves cautiously removed it from my bag before it went through the tunnel of x-ray, asked me if he should throw it out (well, duh!), and proceeded to carefully place it in the trash can nearby. Now I make sure that all my liquid is out of my bag before I go through. Geesh.
Another funny story: about 3 events ago, I had to take out a wireless credit card machine from my checked luggage -- that's when the underwear went flying - - anyway, I forgot to open the box before it went in the tunnel...didn't think about it actually looking like an "interesting device". Then it happened. I was asked to bring all my stuff over to the other lady's station with the blue rubber gloves. This time she pulled out some swabs and really started touching and woman-handling the device. I was getting a little uncomfortable, so I decided not to stare! LOL! She kept asking me what it was and I kept trying to explain it's function as a wireless credit card machine. Apparently it worked, not without a couple more waves of swabbing and touching. After I was released to go through, I felt most sorry for the machine itself. If it had a thought, it wouldn't have been a good one!
Once "inside" I make my way to the gate and find a seat with a plug nearby. The wait for a plane is pretty relaxing. No one is overly conversational - most don't bother me. And I find that I can get a lot of work done on my laptop in 2 hours than most people do all day! So - - I do some data entry, catch up on emails, and work on larger projects that require that "alone time" I don't see much of in my office cubicle.
I'm not bothered by the plane itself or the flying. Landing isn't the best, but you get used to it. Unfortunately, I have no stories about being on the plane. I'm not one to chat with my neighbor. I get my window seat, put my head to the side, and usually take a nap for the entire time. Occasionally I'll wake up in time for the snacks, but usually I'm "out" the whole time. I hope I don't snore.
Once I get to my destination, the worst part is getting OFF the plane. My knees are stuck in the bent, sitting position (stretching is not an option in those seats). Seems like we just sit there forever before they open the door - - it's like we're all crammed in a chicken house with only fake air to breathe. Once that door opens, all of the sudden, the silly "chickens" are squawkin', jumpin' up, and trying to fly out that teeny opening for fresh air!
The bad part about checking luggage is having to wait for it to arrive in baggage claim. The funny thing is, it's always a mad dash to the baggage claim area......and then we just wait on the guys to take them off the plane, then ride them around the airport on those little Toy Story carts, then put them on the conveyor belts of doom and hopefully finding their way to our specified metal wonder circle! ("I wonder if that ones mine" - "I wonder if it's that one" - "I wonder if mine was lost" - "I wonder if I can find my claim ticket" - etc)
Retrieved and now in a city I don't know, I head for a shuttle. When I first started traveling, I took the shuttle to the hotel. These days - I've bumped to the taxi. Scarier? yes. Faster? yes. Shuttles are great, if you have 3 hours to spend with 65 neurotic strangers who want to know where you're going and are eager to find out if it's for the same convention they are there for! After spending most of my day by myself, you'd expect me to crave people time. Not so. At this point, I want to get to the hotel and get settled. Taxis provide that for me, and thus.....I have changed my travel methods. Occasionally I'll get into a taxi with a talking driver.....honestly, the one-on-one conversation is much more interesting to me - - and they provide a lot of good information about the area if I need to get somewhere else.
The hotel is the one place I'm usually not comfortable in. Convention hotels are usually the closest to the convention center and at a "convention rate" to help the budget, they are not overly expensive. They are normally a Hyatt or a Marriott or a Hilton - - not what I would normally stay in....my choices would be Best Western, Holiday Inn Express, or Hampton. It's not like we spend a lot of time in the room anyway. If it's got a comfortable bed, I'm happy. Cuz at the end of a long day on the exhibit floor, my legs need-a-restin' and it had better be comfortable!
Once I get to the location, I'm usually good. With other staff from the office and from the field, we quickly get into our schedule and complete the tasks at hand.
One thing I have recently been bothered by is that I have distinctive differences in my eating habits. Convention centers do not provide the most yummy food you've ever tasted and the exhibit schedules are often not conducive for staff eating at "normal" times throughout the day. My job as coordinator of the event schedule is to make sure everyone is given their lunch & dinner breaks. Often times, I act as their "replacement" on the floor until they get back and to my fault alone, I don't take the time to feed myself......silly, I know. Thus when the exhibit floor is closed, I feel starved and eat everything in sight. At least that's how I used to do it. I try now to take some snacky foods with me - - Special K bars are my favorite right now: the chocolatey drizzle kind - mmmmmmm - - - they hold me over until I have some time to eat. I also drink more water and iced tea while traveling. I find I become dehydrated if I don't. The soda thing is only on special occasions. I stick to tea and water to keep me going during events.
As you can imagine, staying at the "fancy" hotels means that there are plenty of "fancy" places to eat. And sometimes that's all the options there are. Very few cities have Wendy's and McDonalds around the corner downtown. Instead they promote their steakhouses and specialty restaurants. This translates into a lot of yummy, more expensive food than what I'd eat normally with my family on a weekday evening. Still...we watch the budget. Staff dinners sometimes include over 10 people at a time, then add authors or guest customers, and the bill can be significant. We try our best to keep things reasonable. That said, I find myself a little more neurotic about my food after a long day of standing on the exhibit floor or running all over the convention center with an author's handouts. Recently I found myself sending back a burger that was a little more rare than I would have liked. I eat neater now - - almost fancy-like, with the fork in my left hand and the knife in my right. I request smaller portions and more specific side items. I savor each bite and I pay attention to my servers more, conversationally and with great gratitude for their work.
I think of myself as "overly introverted" especially in large groups of people. Traveling alone & with co-workers, I find that I am becoming a bit more engaging to the rest of the world. Words spoken are intentional and laughter is best with friends. Meals shared after a long day of working together are just that: shared. Even though bothered by traveling during the year, I am consistently being stretched in different areas of my life. I come back with stories to tell on myself - - and others. I grow closer to my co-workers. And I enjoy life at home much more because I can see what's missing when I'm gone. Times of reflection in my hotel room remind me to cherish my wife and my kids when I'm with them. Funny things happen when I travel, and those stories help me reconnect with family and friends when I return. As much as I hate to admit it, traveling - - for me - - is probably a good thing.
I started out writing about a SNOB : a "silly, neurotic, overly bothered" travel snob.
I ended up writing about a SNOB : a "stretched, navigating, optimistic, balanced" travel snob.
