Traveling for work.

I honestly do enjoy it. I love it because I am so focused on the work. There’s a direction and in a way, a checklist of what i have to do.

I go in and just go through the checklist and don’t quit until everything is done.

That’s how it was while I was on the latest trip to Dallas and Moorestown. They were getting a new server set up. Went in, racked that beast, get it setup on the network and it was all easy peasy from there.

The server bit isn’t the big issues. It’s the little things that you don’t think of, the troubleshooting that has to happen after each setup and such.

But it was tiring. The long listless flights with no exercise. The lack of sleep in hotel rooms and the long long days. I got sick and fatigued during the trip. Most nights I didn’t want to go out and do anything, but just go back to the hotel, get some food and pass out and that’s what happened.

I didn’t explore Dallas on my last night there. Not that I was too tired, but there’s a traffic nightmare situation that didn’t sound too appealing for me. They were shooting Hulu’s adaptation of Stephen King’s 11/22/63. Yeah, not going to downtown to explore that.

* * *

It’s been a week and it was another long and busy one, but let’s continue.

So, Dallas was easy. Whatever small mistakes I made there, I corrected in Moorestown. That one was easy also, with a few small other things I had to take care of in the office.

Overall, the upgrades were a success. It was tiring, sure, but a success and fun none-the-less. It was actually good to be able to focus and know what I need to do and have a checklist of things I need to accomplish. I miss that. I need a little more direction and I guess these short pressured trips are good for me.

I’m sure Chicago will be the same. I already have a game plan that I hope to stick to.

After finishing up Moorestown, it left a few hours early to visit 5th Uncle/Auntie and then stay at 1st Auntie/Uncle’s.

This was the first time I saw 5th uncle since Linda’s wedding and during that time he got really sick and was in hospice care for a while. He looks really weak and really skinny. He lost a lot of wait, old and gray. Sad.

5th Auntie looks good though. Healthy and energetic for a woman of her age.

Of course my time with 5th uncle isn’t’ complete without a lecture and not so gentle prodding of my love life and when I’m going to have children. Not a fan of that talk, but I humor him. I have to. He’s an elder, and he’s family. I just let it be and I tell him I’m still young. Lots of time.

I left about an hour or so, seeing that he was so tired. I didn’t want to interrupt his rest and then I headed over to 1st Aunties. I sat and chatted with her and uncle for a bit and then Yen came over and then we chatted. We had dinner with Linda and Sung and Liam and then we just chilled and chatted.

It was a nice little thing to be hanging with family, especially family I haven’t seen in such a long time to complete that very long and tiring week.

* * *

Back to work. Back to the grind.

The first few days wasn’t that bad at all. It was a typical work day, but of course there are the remodeling moves that were going to happen mid-week. I didn’t stay to help the bagging and tagging on Wednesday night, but I did come in a little early on Thursday to help with the setups and to troubleshoot if anything went wrong.

Thursday was fucking long as day. I believe I hit 10K steps well before 10AM and the steps just kept growing. By the time I left the office at my usual time, I was already at 30K. I decided to come back to help with the bagging and tagging of the 2nd floor and that was long and kind of frustrating. I didn’t even see the movers at all, plus the whole setting up other people who could have waited until the morning.

All of the users’ stuff were on the carts and I’m just running around from cart to cart trying to find their stuff and it was just long, tiring, and frustrating way to do things. I decided to just pull things that needed to be pulled off per cart and then drop them off in the cubes and then do it that way. So much easier and efficient.

By 8:30, I was heading home. It was a long ass day. I ended it with over 42K steps. 20 miles. 20 fucking miles in a day, and it was mostly work. Sure, I had my typical walking around campus mixed in, but fucking 20 miles. Long and tiring.

Friday morning was no different. I went in a little early to help the 2nd floor and again, it was pretty much done by the time I got there. Again, there were the typical issues of bad ports and poor setups, which I helped fixed along with the big rush of getting the Yamada meeting ready. I did my small part and that was that.

30K steps before leaving the office. Long long long past couple of days. I could barely walk by the end of it. Horrible.

Now, I rest. I chill and rest, lounging in this not so comfortable chair, doing my weekly writing session to clear my mind and to relax. I’m patiently waiting for my therapy later this afternoon, cooking a very meaty and hearty bolognese.

I’m looking forward to it.

I have Chicago next week. It’ll be a long week where I anticipate that it’ll be a very busy day from Wednesday morning to Friday night or even a little Saturday morning.

My bro will be out Saturday night and we have half the weekend to chill then I’ll head back to work on Monday whilst he explores alone and then flying home on Tuesday.

It’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to it.

Not because it is Chicago, but going back to the whole being focus and knowing what I need to do and just doing it. Knocking out my tasks and just getting things done.

There will be a few unexpected things I’m sure, and hopefully I’ll be able to fix them on the fly. For the most part, a huge chunk of my job relies on other people, Dan getting the network up, Nick prepping the mac mini, the movers moving everything in.

Checklist and checklists.

Which reminds me, I need to make a checklist of things I need to do in Chicago.

* * *

Checklist done. It’s a long one, for there’s quite a bit that needs to be done. I have more than enough time to finish everything by myself.

Excited to go and get things done and then I can go explore and relax and enjoy my beloved Chicago.

Another thing I’m excited about, which may or may not happen, is to hang out with my bro and to show him around Chicago and hope that he understands why I love Chicago as much as I do, and maybe fall in love with it himself.

Chicago is a very very special city and I want everyone to experience it and love it too.

* * *

Traveling.

My traveling for this year seems to be winding down. After Chicago this coming week, I’ll just have South Carolina left and then I have nothing else planned.

The main reason is that I feel that I have traveled so much this year, that it was unfair to Pickles that he didn’t get to come and that I had to board him so much. It’s good that I stay with him or that if I plan my next trip, that I’ll see if I can bring him with me.

I’ll be here over the next two big holidays. I’m tired. This year started out to be a non-family year. It was a year of solo independence and it was.

Sure there was definitely a lot of family time mixed in with the wedding and the memorial, but all in all, it was a time of just me and so far I am loving it.

I’m sure I’ll reiterate the same sentiments come time for my yearly Bah Humbug entry this year, but this year is definitely one of my favorite ones.