Adventures in So-Cal

Overall, my business trip went really well. It was fun to finally meet all these co-workers I email every day, and we had some good let's-improve-office-efficiency brainstorming sessions. Everyone there is as nice and good-humored as they seemed to be long-distance, which is always good, and the two ladies I roomed with were as hysterical as expected.

However, Monday night didn't go so well. For me, anyway. So, I hadn't been feeling particularly well all day: perhaps a combination of being a bit sleep-deprived and having my eating schedule thrown off by traveling. By dinner, though, I was starting to feel nauseous; I almost tried to skip out on going, but this was where I was going to meet my boss for the first time, and I thought maybe food would help. I thought wrong. It was an Italian restaurant--normally one of my favorites--and thus filled with the smell of baked cheese and rich spices. Long story short, when we'd been there more than an hour and hadn't even started on hor d'ouevres yet, I decided I wouldn't be able to last much longer in that room. My traveling companion suggested I go sit outside in the fresh air or lay down in the car, and I was going to do so, but my boss--who is probably one of the nicest people I've ever met (fortunately)--hated the thought of me sitting around feeling sick and offered to take me back to my hotel. Which was really close. Or really close, anyway, if you turn the right way down the main street. Which we didn't. Thirty minutes and several stomach-tossing U-turns later, we were finally pulling into the hotel parking lot, and I had a moment I was convinced that we were too late. But it all turned out okay. I ended up only suffering the embarrassment of interrupting a nice dinner and forcing my boss to leave mid-conversation, mid-meal, not of actually being sick in the car. Phew. Although I guess it's not as exciting that way.

I felt much better the next day. And, really, the trip was good. But business meetings aren't as exciting to write about as embarrassing first impressions. So, there you go. My first-ever business trip. Memorable.