BEST. WORK TRAVEL. WEEK. EVER. (Okay, Second Best. But a CLOSE Second.)

So when I realized what my travel schedule for work was looking like this week, I can safely say that "headache" was not too far from the top of my mind. Unlike some other people in consulting, I definitely am not one to thrive off of travel- I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll obviously do it, but all this talk about points and status and privileged access to things (i.e. airport lounge)... well, let's be honest, I could really care less about. (Well, that's not a COMPLETELY fair statement... I have to say- my travel life has certainly gotten easier with the whole Silver status thing on United... a big accomplishment for me!)

Anyway, so when I learned that I would be flying out to Cleveland Sunday night, flying back to Chicago Monday night, and then flying BACK to Cleveland Wednesday night... well, like I said before- headache wasn't too far from my mind (and yes, I know- I'm a wimp because, yes, I know, people do this kind of ping pong'ing ALL the time).

All I have to say is, after this week... I LOVE PING PONG'ING!!! Omg guys, this week has seriously turned into the second best* work travel experience EVER for me!!!!

Okay, so the week started off standard enough- I just traipsed out to O'Hare and took my flight as scheduled Sunday night. Monday, however, I was scheduled for an 8:51 PM United flight back to Chicago. Although my client site was only a half hour from the airport, I left the client site around 5:25 PM, to allow enough time for traffic and all that. Well... I quickly learned that the big, bad cities of Streetsboro and Twinsburg, OH (GOD, I love small town northern Ohio! Hahaha) basically have no traffic. So I arrived with PLENTY of time to spare for my flight. So much time, in fact, that I decided to lollygag a bit in the airport, strolling through the terminal, stopping in the restroom to change into my cozy sweats, etc.

It was only at about 7:05 that I checked my departure gate info and realized that there were TWO flights heading to Chicago ahead of mine... one at 7:15 PM and one at 7:55 PM. I figured it was too late to even TRY to get on the 7:15 PM flight, but since I had to pass that gate to head to the next scheduled departure gate, I threw caution to the wind (okay, so I'm a little overdramatic) and just stopped by the 7:15 PM gate for a friendly inquiry. It didn't seem too promising... the gate was legit devoid of people (everyone had already boarded, obviously) and there was just one little old lady working the desk.

Well, miracle of miracles... it's amazing what a little friendly inquiring can do! She TOTES was able to shovel me on that 7:15 PM flight!!!! Seriously, ten minutes before it's about to fly OUT! Crazy, right?!?!?! As if THAT weren't enough... so I get on the plane and am a little confused because I see that my assigned seat was already occupied. Initially, I got a little nervous, thinking my luck was so short-lived. Well, the flight attendant I stopped to ask about this little mix-up just looked a little frazzled and was like "Well, just take that seat... it's open." So, I look to where she is gesturing... and it's an Exit row seat (extra leg space?!?!?! Yes, PLEASE!). Not only is it an Exit row seat... it's a WINDOW Exit row seat!!!!! WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?!?!?!?!?

Okay. So that was experience #1 of this week of utopian work travel experiences. Not only did I make it home an hour and a half earlier than expected (it was still light out when we landed and everything!), but I did it with extra leg space and a beautiful little window view. SIGH. Happiness.

Okay, onto experience #2. So, I had to fly back to Cleveland tonight (Wednesday night), but this time on Southwest (since I had a travel credit I had to use up). Based on the ridiculous half hour wait for a cab from my Chicago client site yesterday around rush hour, I decided to head to the airport mid-afternoon (immediately after my client work was done), JUST so I would be ensured a fairly easy cab hailing, non-rush hour experience. Okay, so a cab literally materializes out of thin air as soon as I walk to the cab stand. Happiness point #1. THEN, we got stuck in some traffic and, upon getting to the airport, I got stuck in this ridiculously long security line... ugh, talk about luck running out. Anyway, finally I make it through security and check the departures screen. Okay, so it was 5:25 by the time I finally made it through security and was checking the departures screen. My flight was only scheduled for 8:55 but, would you look at that? There was a 5:55 PM Southwest flight. I knew that flight was sold out though (because that's the one I'd originally tried to book), so I knew it was going to be a long shot trying to get on it... but I guess it never hurts to try, right? Right.

So I mosey on over to the departure gate and ask the flight attendant guy about my chances of getting on standby. I am the 8th person on the standby list. For a sold out flight, the prospect of getting on this THREE-HOUR EARLIER flight was highly unlikely. After waiting for just about 10 minutes, they started calling people off the standby list and... oh my heavens, before I knew it, I was hearing the standard "Christie Mali... Mali-yackel?" (You know, because who REALLY knows how to pronounce my last name, let's be honest here.)

I HAD SO GOTTEN ON THE FLIGHT STANDBY!!!!!! I was in legit shock. As if THAT weren't enough, as I was waiting for them to print out my standby ticket (sigh, I want to frame it, really), there was one lady who had just arrived behind me and she was asking about getting on standby for the same flight... and, no joke, the flight attendant was like "I'm sorry, ma'am, but this girl over here got the very last seat."

Now... normally, I'm not one to like rejoice because others can't get on earlier flights but... for some reason, I just felt oddly PROUD of this accomplishment (and I had NOTHING to do with it! Just... fate, if you will.)

SIGH. Okay, so THEN! The flight was just fine and dandy, I land three hours earlier than expected (it was daylight AGAIN when I landed!), and head to pick up my rental car. Once I'm on the highway... I'm not kidding, the cars that were in front of me throughout my 45-minute drive to my hotel were literally just moving out of my way... as if the highway were alllll mine. (Okay, so maybe that had more to do with the fact that I was careening down the highway at 90 mph for the majority of the drive but... well, what? Ohio's so FLAT... and there's just so much SPACE... and, well, we've already established that there's very little traffic in good ol' northern Ohio... what's a girl to do otherwise? I know, right? Speed. Thank you.)

Okay, get this. So as I was driving along my merry way, I started thinking about what I wanted for dinner. Normally, I really don't enjoy eating out while I'm travelling for work- it's just NOT healthy no matter how healthy you try to be and, quite frankly, I'd prefer eating out to be a "special treat" rather than a normal occurrence. But whatever. Anyway, so as I was driving along, I was thinking about how the only option I could really go for was Chipotle (I mean, let's face it, I was heading to Streetsboro, Ohio. I figured my selection of restaurants was going to be quite limited to begin with.). And I never really crave/eat Chipotle.

Okay, SO, you are NOT going to believe this. I drive up to the intersection where I have to turn right to head to my hotel... and, no joke, there is legit a Chipotle RIGHT across the STREET!!!!

Anyway, as if THAT weren't enough... after a quick pit stop at Chipotle, I make my way to my hotel. And sure, it's nothing super special (just the TownePlace Suites), but I was lucky enough to have gotten a room for tonight (since I'd had to change my travel plans slightly last minute and had just called this morning to see about room availability for tonight). Okay, so not only were they able to get me in (despite them having been sold out per my initial phone call) BUT they were able to get me in... da da daaaa! A TWO BEDROOM SUITE!!! All for just $10 more than what I was originally paying for my standard room!!! And let me tell you... when I walked into this thing, I was like "Wow, I think I could really just MOVE to Streetsboro, Ohio!"... this place is bigger than my apartment... AND it has THREE LARGE TVS?!?!?!? WTF!!! I just want to turn them all on just... well, because I can!!!!

As if THAT weren't enough... GUESS what these people have in their lobby?!?!?! That's right... FREE (SOFT) COOKIESlkjlkfsajdlflaksjdflaksjdflkjL!JLK!J!lkjlkjfds!!!!

I KNOW, RIGHT?!?!?! This night really just can't get any better. But in all seriousness... well, screw seriousness!!! ISN'T THIS THE BEST WORK TRAVEL EXPERIENCE EVER?!?!?!? Okay, still second-best (as I referred to before), but STILLlkfjlskjflkjdsl!!!!

Sigh. HAPPINESS. That is ALL I can say at this point.

*My best work travel experience ever still has to be my very first first-class experience.

My Half-Hearted 2012 Goals

Happy 2012, everyone!

I normally love New Year's. I mean, I love the opportunity to celebrate just about anything and this holiday is seemingly all about new beginnings, fresh starts, etc. So, imagine my surprise when I awoke on 1/1/2012 with sub-par excitement levels regarding the new year laying ahead of me. Sure, part of it had to do with the slight headache with which I awoke thanks to the previous evening's festivities, but I honestly couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why I wasn't all too excited about the prospects to be offered in 2012.

It was only after some serious contemplation about my New Year's goals that it dawned on me. I simply couldn't get too excited about 2012 because, well... 2011 was just so darn amazing. (<-- And that blog post only included the top five reasons why 2011 was so darn good to me.)

I know, I know. Woe is me- I just had one of the greatest years of my life. But let's face it. I hate change. I especially hate change when I have something so wonderful to which it could be compared (i.e. 2011, in its entirety). But whatever. Tradition's tradition, and all that. What would a new year BE without some new year's goals, right? Right. Halfhearted though the list may be, I've at least really utilized my organizational skills to break it into appropriate categories, for your reading ease- you're welcome in advance. So, without further ado, I present to you...

My Half-Hearted 2012 Goals*

TRAVEL

1. Australia - this is #1 on my priority list. It will happen. A bonus goal? To fly there for free... just you wait and see...

Since I'm pretty sure that Australia is going to wipe a fair amount of my bank account (not to mention my vacation days), I've forced my remaining travel goals to be domestic...

2. Vermont - Not only do I just want to go hang out at a ski lodge and sip cozy hot chocolate all the livelong day (haha- screw that whole skiing thing!), but I specifically want to go visit the ski resort/lodge that the VonTrapp family (you know... from the Sound of Music?) owns. I mean, I already did the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, Austria... this is only the next logical step in my quest to... well, fully and completely stalk the VonTrapp family, I guess.

3. New England in the Fall - this has been a recurring dream over the past few years... I mean, have you heard ANYthing but amazing things about those New England states amidst all that Fall foliage? That's what I thought. (And yes, I know I'm kind of cheating since 2 and 3 can be combined here, but oh well.)

4. New York and San Francisco - these aren't really too exciting of goals since I already know I'll be going to each of these cities (at least) once this upcoming year. But hey, whatever I've gotta do to be able to cross things off my list and all that.

FITNESS

1. To become STRONG - you know how most people's New Year's resolutions involve losing weight in some way, shape or form? Not me. Sure, this may come about given my actual goal, but my primary focus is to become STRONG. I recently started going to hot yoga (which, trust me, is not at ALL like my godawful Bikram yoga experience) and am honestly amazed with how you literally are simply using your BODY (rather than, say, dumbbells, resistance bands, etc.) to develop your strength. (Thanks, Alma and Emily, for actively advertising this enough for me to be motivated enough to try it.)

2. To attend the 2012 Healthy Living Summit (HLS) - I attended my very first HLS in 2011 and LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT! Great panels, great friends, great bloggers, great food, great CITY... so excited to see what location they pick this year!! (My hopes? Vermont or Utah... random, I know.)

3. To seriously work on my knee - ever since my snow day experience last February (any opportunity to bring up my national TV debut, really!), my knee really has never gotten back to 100%. After seeing a some sports therapist at my first 5K, I realized that if I really do want to take running more seriously (read: without pain and injury), I need to strengthen my knees. Thankfully, I have my physical therapy exercises ready and waiting- it's more just me being motivated to actually DO them on a regular basis. (Yes, I know. This goal is super random.)

WORK/LIFE

1. To develop a work/life balance - I feel like it's getting to the point where I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that this is simply going to be a constant battle for me. I have finally come to terms with the fact that I may have some workaholic tendencies, but I'm really, REALLY trying to counter that by simply being aware of how potentially unhealthy it can be and forcing myself to focus on other things I love as well (i.e. blogging, becoming the next Oprah... well, you get the idea).

Of course, this list isn't fully comprehensive. I mean, I could stick in how I hope to keep in better touch with people, learn to cook, drink more water, etc. but those recurring goals just have NOT worked out so well for me in the past. And quite frankly, I want my New Year's goals to set me up for success, if you will :) So biased, that I am.

*Haha. Just rereading that title... talk about a BUZZ-KILL. Sorry! Happy, happy New Year, to one and all!

cupcakes... in more detail than you ever imagined possible...

so one of my absolute favorite people in LIFE came to visit me in my new hometown (is it too early to start calling chicago home? oh well.) this weekend! drumroll please... id like to introduce you to the one and only archie p! while arch and i have traveled quite a few places together... travel is a slightly relative term... somehow, i think very few individuals would travel the way we do, complete with self-guided "the notebook" tours in charleston sc (i mean HELLO! southern CHARM at its FINEST!), pathetically weak attempts to bike ride around charleston in sweltering heat (i just cringed), ridiculous cooking/baking adventures in archie's DC kitchen (trust me... if you ever want to make vegan cupcakes, you can just give archie p a ringeroo), blueberry picking by the mountains in seattle (rather than watching some big OSU vs. UW football game... please- priorities here, people), gorging on magnolias cupcakes in new york...

oh magnolias. where the cupcake sprung to life- from a mere birthday dessert to an absolute ART FORM, in my eyes. i could eat magnolias for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and trust me, i have before, so dont put it past me- vanilla vanilla, you canNOT go wrong). sad to say, any other cupcake place i sampled in new york and SF just paled in comparison to magnolias.

but then i came to chicago. and... oh what the heck. i was going to just type out the ins and outs of the cupcake scene here but it would basically be a copy/paste of my email to arch in preparation for her visit to chicago (please keep in mind that the poor girl was not even in the US at the time this email was written... she was in cambodia saving the world... and im emailing her about cupcakes. fab.)

"arch you have to come home soon. and by come home, i mean, sure fly into dc but then immediately come down and visit me in chicago :) i just discovered yet ANOTHER amazing cupcake shop today! i stumbled upon it while i was walking to barnes and noble. it's on the cutest little street and the name of it is: sweet mandy b's. how cute is THAT?? i dont know which i like better... mollys or mandys! mollys is amazing and i go there at least once a weekend (this weekend i went three times- it was kind of disgusting but whatever) but it's kind of pricey... however, the cupcakes are SO DIVINE. mandys is definitely cheaper and much simpler (ie: the frostings are all kinds, the cakes portion are as well, but they arent filled with like cookie dough or peanut butter like mollys does). anyway. it was pathetic- i stumbled upon mandys and you KNOW i helped myself (i cant stop myself from trying a cupcake shop!!)- i had a lemon cupcake with vanilla buttercream divinity frosting. it was great. but then i felt guilty because i felt like i was cheating on mollys so i just stopped by mollys just now and helped myself to a mixed berry cupcake which was just mediocre. however, i must admit that mollys has been solid on most of the others ive tried... i had a chocolate one with peanut butter filling yesterday (it reminded me of our buckeye cupcakes!!) and then there's this choc chip cookie dough one, that is a choc chip cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting and cookie dough filling in the cake part and topped with the cutest little choc chip cookie... OMG AND ARCHIE on friday i got a mini pumpkin caramel cheesecake. i mean, seriously, it's getting outta control. im cutting myself off starting tomorrow i have told myself. well. until you come and then we embark on a self guided cupcake tour around chicago. i mean, honestly, im quite surprised with the high quality cupcakes ive come across here. because in new york, the only ones i truly enjoyed were magnolias- all else paled in comparison. sigh. anyway. i todl you this was going to be all about cupcakes. its rather sickening but also maddeningly delightful."

for your reference: 'mollys' refers to "Molly's Cupcakes" while 'mandys' refers to "Sweet Mandy B's"... amazing deliciousness captured in every bite... in case that wasnt remarkably clear from the above...

ive also heard of quite a few other cupcake places in chicago but i havent yet tried them... you KNOW that youll be hearing about those places (in unnecessary levels of detail... kind of like here) as i visit them as i continue on my neverending quest for the cupcake that could even DARE try to beat out my magnolias... ha. right.

good luck, chicago cupcake shops/bakeries... maliyacks is on the way... yikesers!