On the road again

I think what I became to accustomed to on the road was the novelty of the situations you get yourself into, and I shouldn't have taken those for granted.

Here I am, in Minneapolis, at the Embassy Suites near the airport, in a huge room with a living room attached and an Irish roommate I barely know, to start training for a five week job. We got off the plane, took a shuttle over, checked in, was told there was free booze for 20 more minutes, drank 3 drinks with our Chicago group, went to the bar for another, then hung out in a co-workers hotel room to keep drinking a case of beer. These are all people I met for 45 minutes a few days ago, and now I am spending 3 days in Minnesota with them (and working with them the next five weeks). I forgot how strange life on the road can be, and how different it is than normal life. Being back on a plane, then in a hotel, brings back all the on the road memories in full force. I don't miss the not being home, but I do miss the stories I could tell about that one time in, dot dot dot.

People all the time tell me they wish I had my jobs because of how unusual they are. Instead of sleeping in my bed tonight, I'm in a hotel. It's something I've been doing for the past year, but after a few weeks away from it, was beginning to really enjoy being home, and was dreading leaving again. I love the change in scenery, and I really love that it's only for two nights. For two nights I can meet new people, drink at random bars, be a little hungover for training, and enjoy the free trip. The travel part is not my life, and I'm still very glad for that. The novelty is back, at least a little bit. I never want to get to the point again where the novelty of the situation is gone.

I know how lucky I am to have my jobs, with all the craziness that comes with them. I have no set schedule, no guarantee for work, but I have awesome experiences, meet new people, and have fun. I'm back to enjoying my life.