At the close of business hours on Monday, I learned I would be traveling to Norfolk, VA to support a Navy project. My to-date focus at this company has been solely Internal Revenue Service (IRS), so this effort was certainly going to be a challenge. And when you factor in my direct-line at said company--Boss Man, also focuses his efforts entirely on IRS work, I will admit I was nervous.
I am writing you now following my first working vacation. I started Wednesday morning at 5:00 am with a shower and a Starbucks drive-by. Black fuel in hand, I managed to be at the office by 6:00 am for a prompt departure. I traveled the four hours to Naval Station Norfolk with a coworker I have only crossed paths with in the halls of headquarters. The conversation was filled with the long, awkward pauses of two people who have near nothing in common and share a respect for work boundaries.
The work portion of the day may have began later than my typical 8:00 am start, however, I was expected to put in a full eight hours of cube-land grind. As the day progressed, my fried brain could not wait for the clock to strike 6:00 pm; my stomach was crying with pains of hunger by this time. The only things I consumed all day was the apple I packed and a slice of greasy pizza. This, as you know, is a very untypical Wednesday meal plan. Now joined with four additional coworkers, together we traveled 30 minutes to the hotel in downtown Norfolk. The day was not over. I had 15 minutes to change into an outfit less dressy than my business suit and nicer than my usual post-work sweats. I savored this brief period of alone time.
I gathered with the crew in the lobby a little before 7:00 pm. There I grew increasingly aggravated and grouchy--my hunger intensifying--as we waited for the dawdlers. Then, collectively, we decided on Thai food. This was not my first choice for cuisine. My one hang-up being, I had plans for Thai with friends, not coworkers, at Bangkok 54 back in Northern Virginia on Friday. But I am sure you know how that is. At least a decision had been made without too much commotion! Thankfully my dinner was spectacular for an empty restaurant sitting amidst an unpromising downtown.
At 9:00 pm, I was free to return my hotel room, where I was greeted with the pings of several work emails coming through. I was unable to log into my company's VPN on the Naval Station, and I owed one final monthly report to Boss Man. (This would have been handled first thing this morning... had I been sitting back in Chantilly, VA racing through my normal routine.) At least I had Modern Family playing in the background. I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep quickly after; I slept well.
By 6:30 am, I was fully clothed and in the lobby, waiting for my ride to Yorgo for another spectacular meal--bagels. We had breakfast off-site to grab additional emails from the network before going into "lockdown" on the base. I have coworkers making this trip on a regular basis to appreciate for finding this off-the-beaten-path gem. But we were working by 7:10 am... and the day ended around 5:00 pm, at which point I still had the four-hour drive home to Northern Virginia.
Aside from the faces of distant coworkers, a short walk to dinner, and the drive to-and-from the naval base, this is what I saw of Norfolk:
That was a lot of babbling and pontificating, to convey my sincerest apology. There is nothing remotely close to that feel of vacation when it comes to travel for work. There was no time to plan, not that I do a ton of that prior to travel anyway. There was virtually no time to explore. There was hardly time to pack!
Ever since I was your little girl, I envied all the vacations work took you on. In my heart of hearts, I have always been a traveler. I enjoy finding that fresh perspective travel brings, escaping the ruts of daily life, and discovering new cultures and places. I particularly long for the places that make me appreciate my life. You have been on some "incredible" vacations--Aruba; Berlin, Germany; Cancun, Mexico, to name a few from the previous two years. But after my 39-hour excursion to Norfolk, I have come to realize these dream destinations, among your more mundane trips to Detroit, MI, Minneapolis, MN, San Antonio, TX, and San Francisco, CA, are noting like real vacations. They were longer than average working day, in conference rooms and cubes you are unfamiliar with. They were spending time with people you would rather limit yourself to 40 hours (ha!) a week with. They were simply doing your job.
Before closing, I will thank you for encouraging me to take on challenges and teaching me the importance of team work. Mostly, I want to thank you for instilling in me a solid work ethic. One that does not include "counting" hours and instead giving quality hours until the task is accomplished.
I will no longer be referring to these nights away from the home you built as vacation.
Much thanks and many more apologies!
Love, Sister
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