Back in May, I was offered a new gig for which I had to travel to Boston. Well the job ad said "Boston". But it was actually Concord. Concord, MA...not Boston. Not even close to Boston unless you consider an inconvenient 40 miles away "close", which I do not.
I work in the entertainment industry and traveling somewhere for a show may be part of the deal depending on what I'm working on. Honestly, that is my favourite part about my job. Well, that and meeting actors, directors and producers I admire! Anyways, my recent work travel experience was less than fun.
I had to fly from home in Phoenix to Los Angeles and then off to Boston. First leg of the flight, delay...and I had just enough time to get to LA, switch terminals and get to my next flight. The delay made me worry, except that there was another flight later in the day from LAX>BOS. So, actually, no worries at all!
Then I was finally on the plane to LAX. Originally it was delayed due to the fact that LAX is under construction. Fan-freaking-tastic. LAX is a hot mess as it is, so the added construction was probably making an already inefficient airport even less efficient. And then we sat on the tarmac...and sat some more. At least it was a direct flight to BOS. I'll land just before midnight, take an Über or Lyft and be on my merry way to Concord.
Or that's what I thought...
Finally, we were off the ground and headed to New England. Yes, we got in just after midnight, but so did several other planes. The airport was BUSY! It seemed like an eternity for my bags to make their way to the carousel, but then they appeared and I headed out to find a ride share. But...
I launched my Über app and there were no Übers available. WTF? How in a city as large as Boston are there not enough people driving for that app? I tried Lyft but there was something wrong with my Lyft account, so that was a no-go. Taxi it is. I got in a very long line, then was told the line actually started waaayyyyyy over there. It was, no joke, over 400 people deep! Holy shit! It's now 12:30am and I have to work in the morning. I am exhausted.
The taxi line was moving a bit quicker than I thought, so that was good. When I was about halfway through the line, a van driver asked where I was going and if I would like to ride with him, provided others can come along so he can do multiple drop-offs. "Yes!!" I replied, so tired my "stranger danger" alarm didn't register as this being a weird idea. I quickly hopped into his van, noticing he had a lanyard with his ID, so I figured he wasn't a serial killer. He told me to wait a few minutes while he asked around for other passengers to fill his van. Once three more people entered the vehicle, we were off! One woman was so nervous about accepting a ride with this van driver, but I assured her it would be okay. And, guess what? It was more than okay! He charged about $75 for my share of the ride, and honestly, that was probably the same as an Über to this part of the state. Besides, my company was reimbursing this work-related expense.
Sometime after 2am, I was dropped off at my hotel in Concord. I emailed my new boss, who I never met before, that I would be in sometime after 10am due to the crazy travel day I had. She was cool with that.
Anyways, this crazy travel day was a precursor to the crazy show I worked on for the next three months. It was a show I had zero fun on and, had I known what it was going to be like, I never would have accepted the position. I was more stressed than I had been on my most stressful shows (that I had lots of fun on working with friends) and has made me rethink my career in the industry. I was also so stressed out I couldn't write on my blog for MONTHS!
And the main reason I took this gig was to get my hours back up so I can get off COBRA and back on the health insurance plan through my union. And now I am off-topic (health insurance in the USA is another topic for another time). And it was the worst gig I have ever been on.
So what are some of your crazy travel stories? The one I just wrote about is one of many and I know we have all had at least one!