Life of a Road Weary Road Warrior

I made the realization yesterday that I know the staff of my favorite San Diego Holiday Inn Express better then I know my Landlord.

(For any travellers out there, HIX Seaworld is the best hotel in SD. Not because it’s nice (it’s surrounded by nudie bars), but because the staff are phenomenal. They have had zero turnover in the 3.5 years I’ve been staying there…Shoutout to Luz!)

I've lived in my current apartment for just about a year. Our complex is small, maybe 10 units. My landlord lives on the property. In a normal life, our paths should (and would) cross quite frequently. I see my neighbors in passing two or three times a month. I write them thank you notes on colorful post-its for organizing my mail while I'm gone. I don't even know the name of the man who lives below me.

Is that weird?

For a Road Warrior like myself, nothing is normal. In fact, we try to live the most normal life possible, in the most abnormal conditions.

I started this “Up in the Air” lifestyle almost 4 years ago. It was a job and a position I never really thought I’d end up in.

(Who grows up wishing to be a traveling Study Abroad Rep? I wanted to be a Senator’s wife…or a princess. Neither of which ever came through for me.)

My commute is a little different then most. I wake up, I get dressed, I grab my suitcase and head out the door. Whereas most people return home at the end of the workday, I see my apartment on the weekends.

I have two of everything. Two toothbrushes, two deodorants, two hairbrushes, two iphone plugs.

(I’m kind of sounding like a child of divorce)

I have a suitcase that is always packed. Sundays=Clean Clothes. Thursdays=Dirty Clothes. My belongings rarely see the inside of a dresser drawer. Suitcase to washing machine and right back to the suitcase.

My bags are filled with Southwest drink coupons, old peanut wrappers, crumpled receipts and more often then not some sort of company swag.

My office changes daily. Most of us don’t even have a desk. And if we do, we never see it. One day I could be in LA, the next day I could be in New Orleans. One day I could fall asleep in Oakland and wake up in NYC (those are my favorite days). We take “change of scenery” to the extreme.

It’s a take it or leave it lifestyle.

For now, I’ll take it.