Traveling Friday Five

Mother Laura at RevGalBlogPals writes:
I spent a good bit of time today registering and making travel arrangements for the American Academy of Religion meeting in Chicago at the beginning of November. (Anyone up for a meetup? Shout out, okay?) I'm not presenting this year, so I'm busy sending out resumes and cover letters, but at least I'm not stressing about getting a paper written.

I'll see friends and teachers from grad school, try to resist temptation in the book hall, attend some presentations if time permits, and, God willing, have some preliminary interviews in the everlasting college-teaching-job-search process--prayers welcome, as always. And, thanks to my dear Mom who agreed to babysit and donated some frequent flyer miles, it will also be a busy-but-happy getaway with my sweetheart.

So for today's Friday Five, you're invited to share your experiences with the exciting, challenging world of business travel....

1. Does your job ever call for travel? Is this a joy or a burden?
My former life was on the road a lot. At least 75 nights a year. Although it can start out fun, it gets old very quickly. I think I'm more homebody than I like to admit.

2. How about that of your spouse or partner?
Nah, he hasn't traveled regularly since we've been married. And he said he didn't like me on the road all the time.

3. What was the best business trip you ever took?
One of the ones where I had to stay over a weekend and DH was able to use some of my Frequent Flyer points to come join me -- once to Disney Land and once to Disney World. He never came if Disney wasn't involved. Hmmmm.

Oh, and the hotel chain did bump me to a suite once. a BIG suite. With a baby grand, a fireplace and a living room the size of 4 or 5 rooms (dining room table to seat 10). Kinda weird to have to myself. The piano had cranberry juice on the keys but was reasonably in tune.

4. ...and the worst, of course?
4 extra days (on a 3 day trip) to Texas in September 2001. Finally got out, transferred in Houston, wouldn't let me take the early flight because my bags wouldn't make the plane so had to sit there for three hours, got into home airport after midnight, waited for bags that never came, went to the office: yep, they had come on the earlier flight. Drove the hour and a half home.

We used to have a contest for the worst trip of the quarter. I rejoice that I never won that one!

of course there were innumerable non-smoking rooms that reeked of old smoke, lost luggage, kids kicking the seat for an entire 5 hour flight. Mustn't forget the early Nov trip where the parents were bribing the 3 kids with sugar (Halloween candy) as we boarded the plane for a 5 hour trip -- "Could I upgrade, please?"

Oh, and one mustn't forget sharing the (very nice) hotel with the dairy goat convention (including goats and odoriferous byproducts of said goats).

Or the one with the traffic accident and bump on the noggin at 6:30 am before starting a 3 day speaking engagement.

5. What would make your next business trip perfect?
No plans anytime soon. Only travel now is back to governing body of care to be evaluated ... Don't know that you can make that one perfect, I believe it's intended to be a nightmare, errr "growing experience".

Bureaucracy and checking boxes

OK. I know there's a reason for the process. I recognize most of what the forms codify, but if they really wanted to know where I need to grow and where I've grown and who I am and whom I'm becoming, then wouldn't they have called, or emailed, or snail-mailed, or otherwise communicated in some way over the past 12 months? So it's really hard to take this seriously.

I must fill out the form because it's a required part of the process. But there's no trust, no relationship with these people so I won't be "real" with them. After all, it goes in my permanent folder. So I check off the boxes and say enough to get through, but not enough to give a foothold to questions. And we'll meet, and they'll give me additional "once size fits no one" goals to work on for the next year, and we'll go our separate ways for another 12 months.

What is this process teaching me? Oh, yeah, How to survive in a church bureaucracy. We can save authentic nurturing community for the webring.