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Hey a travel thread, I'm sitting here sick as gently caress from being on a plane next to a gentleman who insisted that coughing in my general direction was more effective then coughing into his window, or a Kleenex. I'm a loss prevention engineer for a large insurance company and I specialize in conducting equipment hazard inspections of large chemical plants and pulp and paper mills all over Canada. I typically travel 2 - 3 weeks out of the month with an average stay being 3-5 nights depending on location. I'll sort of break down my experiences as other have; Geographic area I am almost exclusively invested in Canada, with about 60% of my work in Northern Ontario. And by Northern Ontario, I mean north of Thunder Bay, North of Timmins, all the way up to Hudson's Bay if I'm inspecting a mine. Due to employee turnover, I've been visiting BC quite a lot recently, in such exciting and major cities such as Mackenzie, and Skookumchuck. Those are lovely towns, with a paper mill and 0 restaurants, or hotels. I usually find a town nearby and drive to my site. About 2 - 3 times a year I will go to Boston, Vancouver, or Montreal for group meetings, which is enjoyable because I get to meet up with colleagues who I see 1 or 2 times a year. Travel Schedule As stated previously, I'm out about 2-3 weeks on average a month, but spring and fall are my busiest. I spend up to 6 weeks in a row traveling during this time, as this coincides with major plant shutdowns. I'm also a licenses boiler and pressure vessel inspector, so when mills, especially paper mills, shut down their recovery boilers, or do internal inspections of pressure vessels, I usually show up. I usually get about 1-2 months advance notice of a trip. All my travel is based on client availability, and they operate on their own scheduled. I have to be very flexible, so that means lots of changed flights and last minute cancellations. Luggage It depends on where I'm visiting, but I almost always bring 1 piece of large check luggage and a brief case with me. I have to almost always have my hardhat, safety boots, and various other PPE. All bulky, and not really suitable for carry-on. I usually go over the allotted weight requirements as well, especially if I'm bringing my boiler inspection gear with me. I have fall arrest systems, gas sensors, and heavy nomex coveralls. My company allows me to expense this fee however. Flights My assistant confirms my visits, and I'm responsible for the travel details. However, we use an outside travel agent company. I usually call up and tell them where I need to go and they tell me the cheapest flights. I try to stick exclusively with Air Canada, and am currently Elite status. Unfortunately, my company has a policy where if there is a +-15% price difference on a flight I have to take the cheapest flight. This means a lot of horrible West Jet flights, especially on longer trips to Vancouver, Calgary, or Winnipeg. This is what holds me back from Super Elite. In Northern Ontario, I'll fly Bearskin Air quite a bit, although they are VERY unreliable. I've had 3 of last 6 flights either late, or cancelled, stranding me in a small town. I now will prefer to drive 4-5 hours from a larger city like Thunder Bay, or Timmins instead of relying on small northern air companies. Meals I typically have a meal allowance of about $50/meal, so around $150/day is max. Now I don't normally indulge in $50 breakfasts, but I have noticed that prices have shot up recently. I also can expense beer or liquor, with an unspoken maximum of about 2 per meal. My company wants me to use my Corporate Amex card for all my meals, but in most of the towns I visit, they don't accept it. When submitting a due-employee expense, I just need to provide a receipt if the meal was greater then $50 in value. I'm a person with very little self control, and after a long day, especially if I worked through lunch, I'll go crazy at dinner and make myself sick. I think it also has to do with boredom since I'm dinning alone. Rewards I stick exclusively to Aeroplan, and my company pays the Amex bonus rewards so I can collect Amex points as well. I usually 1-1 convert to Aeroplan as I find the points/dollar ratio slightly better. I never use points for flights as I usually travel as part of packaged 'adventure' deals. I've amassed about 200,000 points so far this year. I've used them for xmas this year, getting a dyson hot/cold air multiplier, $500 pre-paid amex cards, and a 32" TV. With Amex and Aeroplan I double up quite a bit, and fill up gas exclusively at Esso. I also park at Park and Fly valet where you can collect Aeroplan, and I look for deals where I can double points by flying to a certain city. Personal Life I'm married and have a young son. My wife met me while I was in my current role, so she was use to me being gone while we were dating. Never really had trust issues on both our ends. She use to get upset when I would entertain clients, because she thought it was a party when it really is very tedious in my opinion. My salary allows her to be a stay at home mom for the time being, and my son is only 5 months old so he doesn't really know what's going on. I have a feeling when he gets older and asks me not to go, I will probably start looking for another position. A big problem on my end is when I come home from a trip, I just want to sleep in my own bed, have a home cooked meal, and do domestic stuff. My wife, cooped up all week, wants to go out for dinner, watch a movie, etc. After eating meals at restaurants for 5 days in a row I really don't want to do that again. I also never see my friends. Weekends are now spent lugging the baby around to the grandparents. It's kind of sad how months can fly by so quickly without seeing one of your best friends and you don't even realize it. Perks When I'm not traveling, I'm working out of a home office. I try and get as much done while I'm away, so I have quite a bit of free time when I'm home. I normally only put in 20-30 hours a week when I'm working from home, as I've more then made up for it during the travel weeks where I basically work non-stop. I get to see really cool stuff. I love industrial processes, and seeing how stuff if made. I've been fortunate to witness and do things very few other people will ever see. Downside After my son was born, I now miss being home, which was never a real problem before. With my wife we could chat, or videotalk, but I can't pick up my son, make him smile, etc. That's been hard on me. I can't keep a balanced meal. In the majority of the towns I visit, there is 1 or 2 restaurants, and for some reason the shittiest Ontario towns have a Boston Pizza which is usually the only place open late at night (I'm looking at you Fort Francis!). All the food there is gross, even the salads. And speaking of salads, I try and have chicken salads without dressing as my main meal, but pre-cooked processed chicken, deep fried on a bed of mushy romaine is really gross, and far to common. I also have a hard time working out while away. Most hotels I stay in don't have a gym, so I bring along my P90 plyo/kempo/yoga and try to do that every day. However, if I had to wake up at 5:30 am, drive 1 hour to a remote plant, work 9-10 hours, drive back, eat, I am way to exhausted to work out. I've been told that my company runs us like work horses, and if I switched to a competitor it would be a bit easier. I believe that's true, but for the time being, I'm getting excellent training opportunities I can't get elsewhere. For me, the deal-breaker will come when my son gets a bit older. I don't know if I want to keep this up when he starts to miss me when I'm gone.
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Dec 10, 2012 12:09
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| # ¿ May 5, 2024 21:03 |
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