Life on the Road
I am currently a traveling professional consultant who recently got engaged and is just trying to get by in life to the best of my ability. Life on the road can be tough, especially when you only get to see your honey on the weekends. Others in my situation say it works out better, and seeing each other less will actually help us in the future. I don't know about that, but I do know that I miss being around people who genuinely really care about me, including him. Being in a new place alone is okay at first, but eventually you miss the feeling of being around people who really know you and your interests. These people know nothing about me except what I do for the 2 days I am there to help them. Some people can be extremely grateful of the assistance I give and they view me as some angel sent from above, while others can view me as the face of change that took away their sense of comfort at work. I can get everything from hugs to the choicest of expletives.
I can deal with the clients now, but I'm really just sick of traveling for work. I hate carrying my luggage around and emptying everything I own to get through airport security. At least I've never been asked to remove my underwear. I especially hate the full body scanners. I don't like the idea of someone seeing all my assets or being exposed to any form of x-ray radiation every week, plus it makes the security line go remarkably slower. You would think they could at least give you the option of the metal detector, but instead it sits there not being used while we all pile up to high heaven waiting to get to our destinations. Then, even once you get through security, you have the possible joy of getting a pat down while boarding your plane. I was the unfortunate receiver of this TSA gift while I was juggling a roller board carry on, book, phone, and backpack. They wanted me to put my items down in the middle of the jet bridge while all of the other passengers were strolling on by and boarding, but I wasn't going for it. I made her pat me down through all of my items, including the backpack on my back. I have gained my status with airlines because of my frequent flyer points and I am allowed to board first. Because of this I didn't want to stop for them. Plus, its ridiculous to try and search someone who already went though security! They only searched my mid-section, so did I really make it through the full body scanners with some explosive item strapped to my chest undetected? That extra pat down on the jet bridge is not going to help if I already made it into the gate.
I'm sure there are lots of rants and raves out there about airport security, but it is just one little hurdle in being a travelling consultant. My biggest dislike of the job is having absolutely no personal time. I end up traveling on Saturdays and Sundays all the time, especially if I have to go out west. My company is very generous at the amount of PTO they give out and that was one perk of taking the job, but there is a catch. I can't just sign up for 2 days of PTO because that makes me unavailable for clients. I was asked to take a whole week instead so it doesn't hurt my utilization. I don't like that I cant really take my PTO when I need it. What if i would have taken a whole week when I really only needed a day for a doctors appointment? Later, I might have actually gotten sick and needed just a couple days off to recover, but I wasted 4 whole days so now I'm out of vacation time. Hopefully my new office job will be a lot different. I'm lucky that now my fiance will be in the same office as I am, although my boss probably isn't excited about that either!
I can deal with the clients now, but I'm really just sick of traveling for work. I hate carrying my luggage around and emptying everything I own to get through airport security. At least I've never been asked to remove my underwear. I especially hate the full body scanners. I don't like the idea of someone seeing all my assets or being exposed to any form of x-ray radiation every week, plus it makes the security line go remarkably slower. You would think they could at least give you the option of the metal detector, but instead it sits there not being used while we all pile up to high heaven waiting to get to our destinations. Then, even once you get through security, you have the possible joy of getting a pat down while boarding your plane. I was the unfortunate receiver of this TSA gift while I was juggling a roller board carry on, book, phone, and backpack. They wanted me to put my items down in the middle of the jet bridge while all of the other passengers were strolling on by and boarding, but I wasn't going for it. I made her pat me down through all of my items, including the backpack on my back. I have gained my status with airlines because of my frequent flyer points and I am allowed to board first. Because of this I didn't want to stop for them. Plus, its ridiculous to try and search someone who already went though security! They only searched my mid-section, so did I really make it through the full body scanners with some explosive item strapped to my chest undetected? That extra pat down on the jet bridge is not going to help if I already made it into the gate.
I'm sure there are lots of rants and raves out there about airport security, but it is just one little hurdle in being a travelling consultant. My biggest dislike of the job is having absolutely no personal time. I end up traveling on Saturdays and Sundays all the time, especially if I have to go out west. My company is very generous at the amount of PTO they give out and that was one perk of taking the job, but there is a catch. I can't just sign up for 2 days of PTO because that makes me unavailable for clients. I was asked to take a whole week instead so it doesn't hurt my utilization. I don't like that I cant really take my PTO when I need it. What if i would have taken a whole week when I really only needed a day for a doctors appointment? Later, I might have actually gotten sick and needed just a couple days off to recover, but I wasted 4 whole days so now I'm out of vacation time. Hopefully my new office job will be a lot different. I'm lucky that now my fiance will be in the same office as I am, although my boss probably isn't excited about that either!
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