The last couple of weeks have involved lots of work travel and all-day meetings/conferences. It has been exhausting, and I am missing the “normal routine” badly. I’m not spending ZERO time with M. and the kids, but it has been abbreviated, and the feeling of upcoming work obligations always makes that time seem even more rushed/less relaxing.
Of course, not every aspect of work travel is unpleasant. I commuted into Washington, D.C. two days last week, and it was kind of fun to get swept up with the rest of the masses riding the Metro, pounding the sidewalks, and in general moving with purpose. No one walks slowly in D.C.! My new Kindle (and the engrossing book State of Wonder) definitely helped pass the time during the lengthy Metro ride. Food I don’t cook myself, conversations with new and familiar-but-rarely-seen faces, (for last night and tonight) a big hotel bed all to myself... there are some bonuses to work travel. But I never sleep as well – I imagine that, even though M. told me that Lucy woke up 3 or 4 times last night, I probably would have had a more restful night of sleep had I been in my less-than-crisp, crowded bed at home. And I miss my family.
A few observations from the last few days -
1) There is nothing like an alarm malfunction to allow for speed records to be set in the sport of “getting ready.” Last Thursday I was supposed to wake up at 5 am and leave my house by 5:30 to begin the long trek into D.C. (for a meeting that was beginning at 7 am). My alarm did go off at 5, but without any volume at all. It was apparently caught between radio stations, or some such nonsense. Fortunately, an act of God made M. look at the clock at 5:34 am, and he woke me up. I was out the door 15 minutes later, and only 5 minutes late to my meeting. Why is this kind of speed not possible on a normal day?
Panic + no kids + showering the night before + advance outfit planning = 15 minutes
On a typical day, that equation looks more like:
No early morning meeting + snooze button X 2 + shower + clothing deliberation + rousing the kids X 12 (because this step is really hard) + making kids use potty + dressing kids + forcing kids to brush teeth + brushing Lucy's hair X 46 (really, really hard) + shoes, coats, hats, mittens for all / the inverse of all the bags that need to get carried out to the car = 5 thousand years
Addended to add that I at least matched my "getting ready" record this evening - I arranged to meet work friends for dinner at 6:30 tonight, and decided to work out on one of the hotel treadmills beforehand. And by beforehand, I mean 5:40-ish. Foolish? Perhaps. But I was determined to get in a workout. I made it back to my room at 6:21, showered, dressed, and even put on some make up, and was out the door to meet them by 6:34. So apparently the appeal of dining kid-free with friends and the promise of wine is also quite motivating for me.
2) Surgeons start meetings WAY too early. A 7 am meeting in D.C.? Cah-razy!
3) I am currently attending a two-and-a-half day meeting where many different scientific and medical professional come together in an expert capacity. Representing their fields, their institutions, etc. Last night was the formal "kick off" dinner, though formal can mean many different things within the science crowd. I accept this, I know this, I understand that I will see more than one pair of jeans. And yet. I was more than a little surprised to see a woman wearing slippers.
Time to get back to my clearly-not-High-Def viewing of House Hunters, and the glass of chardonnay keeping me company. One more day to go, and then I'm back to all the wonderful comforts and discomforts of home!
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A hotel room, to yourself? Room service, booze and terrible tv all the way! There is no way I would ever make a 7am meeting. I cannot believe you did that, let alone did that running late!!!
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