Jet Setter

Fact: I travel much more often than the average person.

Myth: I live a secret life while away from home.

Most people get very excited when it comes to taking a trip far away from home.

An airplane ride is a big deal, and is booked several months in advance. A 6 hour road trip is thoroughly planned. Days and days are spent laying out the items being considered for packing. Money for the big trip is saved for months and months. Numerous thoughts & images of the mysterious destination flood the mind. The trip's itinereary is carefully thought through, only after reading numerous online reviews.

My traveling experience is slightly different. MOST of the time, I am on the road for some type of work event, being a Hair Show, Meeting, or simply to visit salons in markets outside of the Twin Cities. My boss lives in a different state than myself, I have a home office, and am only accompanied by one other co-worker in the Twin Cities. The only way to connect with my co-workers is through travel. Pack the bags, hop a plane, meet up with them in a new city. We have become so accustomed to traveling, we have learned to navigate through any city, and make whatever city we are in 'our life' for that period of time.

When I am on the road, the activities I involve myself are similar to those of the average working-class american: Shower, Iron, Makeup. Breakfast. Coffee. Text friends. Meeting. Work. Lunch. Text. Happy Hour. More Work. Dinner. Text more friends. Hit the streets. OR lay in bed, remote in hand, blogging. There is a slight chance, that I may have FREE TIME in the evening after work to meet up with a friend or two local to the city I am visiting. A slight chance.

Often times, I share a room with a co-worker of mine, have no privacy, no alone time, and am caught up in the presence of people that I do not see often. Catching up on the 411 is an obligation. Did I mention that I rarely see the outside of the hotel?

Being away from home for 10+ days, booking a flight less than 3 days in advance, blowing off a flight, navigating large airports, losing my luggage for 2+ days, being caught alone in cities overnight due to bad weather, hopping in random cabs, making friends with cabbies, staying the night in hotels ranging from boutique to Marriot to Days Inn, hopping a flight to New York, or catching a plane jumper from the islands to San Juan are all daily activities for me.

People often associate my traveling with this sort of 'mysterious life' I live. It is hard for them to visualize exactly what it is that I am doing while I am off in what seems like some luxurious place where I have tons of free time to explore the city, meet people, and add names to the list of people I have screwed.

I can remember back to the very first vacation I took with friends-no parents involved. We stayed in a condo on Treasure Island, and spent our evenings running the streets of Ybor City. As we were preparing for our trip, people kept saying to just be careful. "Be careful.... just.. be safe..." was said in the most solemn of voices. People assumed we were going to Tampa to meet guys and get laid. I was taken aback by these ridiculous assumptions. We were headed to Tampa simply because we were offered a condo at an amazing price. Our agenda was sun-bathing, wave crashing, and drinking at the bar. We had no idea Ybor City even existed. We found it though... and this pretty much sums up our time spent there:

We never did shack up with any guys... and that was never our intention.

Fact: I am able to travel more often for leisure due to Miles earned while flying across the country for my job.

Fact: I DO get to see some cool ish and I DO visit some beautiful places.

Fact: I do NOT enjoy living out of a bag.

Fact: Clothing gets lost, shoes get damaged, and luggage gets torn while en route.

Fact: I am in and out of a buttload of Public Restrooms

Fact: Hotel Food disgusts me. (i would much prefer a home cooked vegan meal)

Fact: Staying home is a small luxury. (as far as I'm concerned)