If You're Gonna Play in Texas...

FYI: I wrote this post last Friday, 5/27, but am just now getting around to posting it here. =)

As I write this, I’m sitting at my gate at the Austin airport….closing out leg 2/3 of my first business trip, ever. My company is opening a new location here, and I was asked to come down here to hire the staff, train the staff, and perform various other tasks that need to be done before the center can open for business next week.
It’s been a very valuable experience. I always thought I was so wise and independent and could handle anything. On day one of this trip, I realized that actually, no, not so much. On my first day in Austin I rented my first car, and checked into a hotel on my own for the first time in my whole life. Sure, I’ve been on vacation with friends, but never really and truly ALONE. Never arrived in a brand new place, not knowing a soul, hopped in a car, and driven off as if I knew where the hell I was going. I didn’t, by the way. I wound up in tears, driving around unfamiliar freeways, cursing the condescending wench of a voice coming from my GPS for not giving me enough notice. I burst into tears, and the only consolation she, the machine, could offer was a terse “recalculating.”

After stumbling upon my hotel by accident, I checked in, and tried to psych myself up for the next day. Round one of interviews went fine, but I realized at that point that heels were not in fact more comfortable in Texas, and regardless of how sleek and sophisticated I think they make me look, none of that matters when I end the day wincing in pain.

By the end of the first week, my staff was hired. And for the first time in my ENTIRE life, I faced a weekend without the option of company. Sure, I’ve often spent the entire weekend at home with little to no human contact, but have always had the option to call up a friend, a family member, SOMEONE who could alleviate the loneliness. And the loneliness came, and I hated it. Coupled with the paralyzing fact that I was getting hopelessly lost anytime I tried to leave the hotel grounds, it was rough.

It got better. It’s still getting better. I’m starting to regret only being here for 3 weeks (Though I spent last weekend at home for my former roommate’s wedding…more on that later) because I just now feel like I’m GETTING this place. Other than that first, sad little weekend, I’ll only be here on weekdays. Kind of a bummer because the place has so much more to offer than the few snippets I’ve gotten so far. But I will say this experience, thus far, has afforded me a new respect for those brave enough to pick up their lives and go somewhere completely new. I never had that kind of confidence before. Moving away from my home state just never seemed like an option. Now, it’s decidedly less scary. Of course, if I were to ever move out of Seattle, there are several factors that would have to perfectly fall into place. Namely, there’s this guy…more on that later too.

Anyway, that’s what’s going on with me these days…(somewhat) insane, in love, and currently…in Texas.