Business trips are exhausting...

I went on my first business trip Monday.  Well, it was my first business trip that directly affected MY job.  I went to Vegas a few years ago when my husband was awarded Employee of the Year at MetLife Auto and Home, and once I tagged along with him to Freeport, IL and North Carolina, but those don't really count.  This week I had an opportunity to experience firsthand even MORE chaos in my life!  This business trip felt like just another day in my life, except that I came home completely exhausted!

We have two new clients out in Phoenix and I am managing one of them.  So it made sense for me to go meet the and really get a feel for what they NEEDED.  So after a chaotic morning (in that Kris and I woke up late and had exactly an hour and a half to get ready, get to his mom's, have her drop us at the airport and board our plane after the 2 hour long security check), we boarded the plane and set off at 7am for sunny Phoenix.

I think we got into Phoenix around 9:30am, PST (11:30 CST).  We picked up the rental, had a quick bite to eat while we checked in on the office, then went straight to our first meeting.  It lasted for several hours.  It was really a great meeting and I came away feeling more equipped to give my clients the support and service they deserve and expect.  Once we left there, we checked into the hotel and had about an hour to log in and work and talk about our meeting before a vendor picked us up and took us our to a fancy restaurant for dinner.

After dinner, we talked briefly and then Kris and I settled in to work on our calendars (diaries) to try to get through some things we needed to get done.  By 9:45pm (11:45 CST), we were done.  We collapsed into bed and were fast asleep within minutes.

The morning greeted us at 6am.  We got ready, had breakfast, and then got back on the road at 8am to meet with a vendor.  We went from there to our other new client and had a meeting with them for two hours or so. After leaving there, we stopped for lunch before returning the rental car and returning to the airport 3 1/2 hours early.  At the airport, we made good use of their free WiFi, each of us connecting and working until about 4pm (6pm CST).  We boarded our plane around 4:30pm, flew to Salt Lake City, deplaned, re-boarded without sitting down and flew back to St. Louis, arriving around 11:30pm last night.

By the time we got home, ate and went to bed, it was 1am.  We were back to work around 9:15am and I am really feeling it.  So ready to relax at home (if only we had food in the house for dinner!)....and go to bed early!  Anyone who thinks a business trip is just a vacation on the company's dime is really reaching.  At least, in our company, it is not!  All in all though, I'd do it again!

If there are any typos, you'll have to just correct them in your head.  I'm exhausted and proof-reading is the farthest thing from my mind right now!