I have been homesick exactly three times in my entire life. The first time was my first night at girl scout camp at the age of 13. I was so excited to go- it was a theater camp and I was absolutely certain that it would be a life-altering experience. My parents dropped me off, I said "See you later" and by that night I was devastatingly homesick and wanted nothing more than my room and my mom's home-cooked dinner. That feeling passed quickly. By the end of two weeks I was nowhere near ready to return home. I would have stayed another two weeks without blinking an eye. Somehow on that first night, I managed never to write one of those sad "Please come get me" letters to my parents- not because I didn't want to go home, but because I'm not the type who easily admits defeat. In other words, I'm as stubborn as a mule.
Homesickness came a second time was when my parents dropped me off for college. Again, I was excited to start my new life and anxious to see them go until, that is, they actually got in the car and drove away. Then I felt thoroughly ill and not at all sure why I had decided to move eight hours away from a perfectly good place to live. I got over that too. I met some friends in my first class (Music Theory I), who are still my friends- really now they are more like family- and while I loved my home in Pennsylvania, I made a new one in....the bleak cornfields of Ohio.
The third time that homesickness found me was this afternoon. I'm not exactly sure what did it- it might have been the hotel key effect. That is when you walk up to your hotel building, press the "up" button on the elevator, confidently step on and then can't remember what floor your room is on. It starts out slowly. First it's "I know I'm on the fifth floor but I'm not sure what my room number is because I was on the fifth floor at yesterday's hotel too." Then it's "who cares what room I'm in, let's start with what floor I'm on" And no, it's not because I'm losing my mind....at least I certainly hope not.
It could also have been the "which car is mine?" syndrome. This is at least my fourth rental car of this job and if you count the cars I have shared with my boss it's my sixth.... in two weeks. That means that when you walk out of CVS and look for your car, you have to press the lock button to hear it beep at you. This is not because I couldn't remember where I parked- it was because I walked to where I parked and for the life of me couldn't remember that I'm driving a Dodge.
But I think I know what the trigger really was for this odd homesick feeling. It was having a layover in the airport in my very own city. As we were landing there today, at the DFW airport, I looked out the window and could see the skyline of Dallas. I could see the interstate that I would normally take to go home after landing and grabbing my bags and climbing into the passenger seat of a friend's car. Yet, instead of going home I ate a rather gross breakfast at an unnamed chain restaurant and then read my book and wandered the halls of the DFW airport during the longest four hour layover of my entire life. And that is when I started to want to go home.
When I got to the small Louisiana town I'm in right now, the feeling lingered. It lasted for the long wait to pick up Dodge #2, it lasted for the drive to the hotel, it lasted while the hiccuping clerk checked me in, on the elevator ride up to my floor, and then into the door and onto the king sized bed.
So I went to a movie. Because inside a movie theater, one could be anywhere. And when I left, I chased the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen all the way back to the hotel, hoping I would get there in enough time to take a picture. I caught it, just as it was about to disappear over the edge of the earth. It was as bright red as a sun can be with a surreal looking yellow sky. And that is when the feeling finally passed and I didn't mind being in the state of Louisiana at all.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Everything's Up to Date in Kansas City...
The question of what state I'm in has never been so pertinent as during this couple days visit to Kansas City where it's possible at any given moment to be in Kansas or Missouri. I think I'm in Missouri- actually I KNOW I'm in Missouri because my good friend that I just met for lunch explained where the state line is.
Though I typically would not use the musical "Oklahoma" as a judge of any location I visit, in the case of Kansas City, they were absolutely right. I had no idea what a wonderful town Kansas City is until I checked into my hotel, hit the streets and started exploring. There is a beautiful park across the street from my hotel where one can walk a mile loop through trees and fountains all the while stopping at the outdoor workout machines to lift weights, do sit-ups or play on a see-saw. The buildings are old and charming mixed with new restaurants and pubs. There is music floating out of the doors of bistros as people wander in and out and there is a huge art fair in the plaza. It's really quite lovely. While we were eating lunch, my friend tried to convince me I need to move to Kansas City and I was not at all opposed to the idea.
Kansas City is also the first non-regional airport I have been in recently. When I landed there yesterday, I actually got excited about flying OUT. This is mostly because I anticipate that the Kansas City Airport experience will likely not include any of the joys that the my recent stints in small airports have afforded me. For example, I hope I never again have the TSA pour a strange substance into my coffee to "test it" and make sure there's nothing in it. I threw that much needed caffeine straight into the trash yesterday, despite the fact that it was not yet 6am. I also like being in airports where there's more than one restaurant and that restaurant stays open past 4:30pm. And believe me, I would pay to never hear this announcement again "Terrorism is in effect. Call the Police if you see something." OH MY. In case you were worried, this was followed by another announcement "I need coffee and a bagel at Gate 2." Perhaps hers was ruined by the TSA as well...
Though I typically would not use the musical "Oklahoma" as a judge of any location I visit, in the case of Kansas City, they were absolutely right. I had no idea what a wonderful town Kansas City is until I checked into my hotel, hit the streets and started exploring. There is a beautiful park across the street from my hotel where one can walk a mile loop through trees and fountains all the while stopping at the outdoor workout machines to lift weights, do sit-ups or play on a see-saw. The buildings are old and charming mixed with new restaurants and pubs. There is music floating out of the doors of bistros as people wander in and out and there is a huge art fair in the plaza. It's really quite lovely. While we were eating lunch, my friend tried to convince me I need to move to Kansas City and I was not at all opposed to the idea.
Kansas City is also the first non-regional airport I have been in recently. When I landed there yesterday, I actually got excited about flying OUT. This is mostly because I anticipate that the Kansas City Airport experience will likely not include any of the joys that the my recent stints in small airports have afforded me. For example, I hope I never again have the TSA pour a strange substance into my coffee to "test it" and make sure there's nothing in it. I threw that much needed caffeine straight into the trash yesterday, despite the fact that it was not yet 6am. I also like being in airports where there's more than one restaurant and that restaurant stays open past 4:30pm. And believe me, I would pay to never hear this announcement again "Terrorism is in effect. Call the Police if you see something." OH MY. In case you were worried, this was followed by another announcement "I need coffee and a bagel at Gate 2." Perhaps hers was ruined by the TSA as well...
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
I think I'm in Mississippi
I have always wanted to travel for work. Mostly because I love to go to new places. I'm not even that picky about where they are (I mean lets face it, I got excited to go to Lubbock the first time...). And I have always assumed that traveling for work all the time would be the best of all worlds...lots of travel and someone else is paying for it.
This thirst for hitting the road is probably how, on the eve of completing my PhD, I ended up accepting a position recruiting for my university, packing a bag and hitting the road for Weatherford, Oklahoma. Yes, you read that correctly. Weatherford was only the beginning. Since I started traveling for work, all of one week ago, I've been to Weatherford, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and now Jackson, MS. And before the end of next week I will have stayed in five more hotels, visited three new airports, driven several different cars and wandered the streets of five new (to me) American towns.
What am I learning? Well, already I've acquired a few tidbits of knowledge.
1. Though parents have always taught that strangers mean danger, most of the time they don't. When you are traveling all over the place by yourself, they mean someone to talk to that isn't a flight attendant. I have already met more than a handful of extremely interesting people. Other recruiters are great because they know all the tips for being away from home- I've discovered great local restaurants and made lists of places to visit in the towns in my future. At the airport, I met a large group of people working for the presidential campaigns- party differences aside they were all just standing around talking about which hotels they stayed at in which city and whether or not anyone had any luck knocking on doors in that last town. None of them had been home in who knows how long. They were fascinating and in no way dangerous...unless you hate politics.
2. Paper weighs more than an elephant. I travel with a suitcase filled to capacity with promotional materials that I hand out on trips. It is a carry-on sized suitcase and it is always scary to put it on the scale at the airport because it is usually just a hair under the 50lb weight limit. The TSA loves to check this bag. They have checked it on every flight I have taken so far without fail. I can only imagine the look on their faces when they unzip the bag, thinking "This bag is SO heavy- there must be something horrible in here" and then instead they find the bright green pens and fliers about being a Chemistry major that are tucked so nicely into large manila envelopes. Oh, and of course they find my razor because I can't take it on the plane and because they should at least find one quizzical thing.
3. Hotel rooms are mostly all the same, but hotel lobbies are what tell you how much you spent. If you are at the Fairfield Inn, you are not going to hang out in the lobby. If you are at the Hilton, the lobby looks like a wealthy person's foyer or a church sanctuary. Also, ironically, the cheaper the hotel is, the more likely it will come with free things like breakfast and wi-fi. Aside from this, the sheets will be white, there will be a desk, a chair and a TV and the thermometer is always set at 69 degrees.
4. When the rental car place says they are out of cars, don't just say yes to the giant truck that is the only motor vehicle they have available. You will not be able to park it. You will make a million point turns, while bystanders laugh at your inability to drive a Nissan Titan. You will worry that the 14 clearance ahead of you is probably one or two feet short and you are about to total your first rental car and be fired forthwith. Don't worry, the Nissan Titan lives on.
A big thank you to Jackson, MS for the average-sized Dodge sedan I'm driving around your streets. People in parking lots everywhere are letting out a sigh of relief.
This thirst for hitting the road is probably how, on the eve of completing my PhD, I ended up accepting a position recruiting for my university, packing a bag and hitting the road for Weatherford, Oklahoma. Yes, you read that correctly. Weatherford was only the beginning. Since I started traveling for work, all of one week ago, I've been to Weatherford, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and now Jackson, MS. And before the end of next week I will have stayed in five more hotels, visited three new airports, driven several different cars and wandered the streets of five new (to me) American towns.
What am I learning? Well, already I've acquired a few tidbits of knowledge.
1. Though parents have always taught that strangers mean danger, most of the time they don't. When you are traveling all over the place by yourself, they mean someone to talk to that isn't a flight attendant. I have already met more than a handful of extremely interesting people. Other recruiters are great because they know all the tips for being away from home- I've discovered great local restaurants and made lists of places to visit in the towns in my future. At the airport, I met a large group of people working for the presidential campaigns- party differences aside they were all just standing around talking about which hotels they stayed at in which city and whether or not anyone had any luck knocking on doors in that last town. None of them had been home in who knows how long. They were fascinating and in no way dangerous...unless you hate politics.
2. Paper weighs more than an elephant. I travel with a suitcase filled to capacity with promotional materials that I hand out on trips. It is a carry-on sized suitcase and it is always scary to put it on the scale at the airport because it is usually just a hair under the 50lb weight limit. The TSA loves to check this bag. They have checked it on every flight I have taken so far without fail. I can only imagine the look on their faces when they unzip the bag, thinking "This bag is SO heavy- there must be something horrible in here" and then instead they find the bright green pens and fliers about being a Chemistry major that are tucked so nicely into large manila envelopes. Oh, and of course they find my razor because I can't take it on the plane and because they should at least find one quizzical thing.
3. Hotel rooms are mostly all the same, but hotel lobbies are what tell you how much you spent. If you are at the Fairfield Inn, you are not going to hang out in the lobby. If you are at the Hilton, the lobby looks like a wealthy person's foyer or a church sanctuary. Also, ironically, the cheaper the hotel is, the more likely it will come with free things like breakfast and wi-fi. Aside from this, the sheets will be white, there will be a desk, a chair and a TV and the thermometer is always set at 69 degrees.
4. When the rental car place says they are out of cars, don't just say yes to the giant truck that is the only motor vehicle they have available. You will not be able to park it. You will make a million point turns, while bystanders laugh at your inability to drive a Nissan Titan. You will worry that the 14 clearance ahead of you is probably one or two feet short and you are about to total your first rental car and be fired forthwith. Don't worry, the Nissan Titan lives on.
A big thank you to Jackson, MS for the average-sized Dodge sedan I'm driving around your streets. People in parking lots everywhere are letting out a sigh of relief.
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