Work Trips

Hi, welcome back to Eat Your Crest Podcast. I'm Jisoo. And I'm Crystal.

So today we're gonna talk about something that has maybe become a little bit more common as we progress in our careers. We wanted to talk about work trips. Going on a work trip for the first time is super cool and interesting, but there's a lot of little small nuanced things that you start to pick up on. You might start to develop your own work trip routine that kind of helps you stay sane over a long work trip. So Crystal, how many workshops have you been to and what are your general thoughts?

Ooh, I've actually been on quite a few work trips. Just this year I've been on two point five, I'll say. Two point five because one of the work trips was two destinations. So that's the point five part, the second destination. My general thoughts on work trips is overall very positive. I do enjoy a good work trip, especially if we're traveling to a city or country that I like or am excited to go to.

But I guess you can never forget the caveat of this is a work trip. So, you know, on the days that you need to do work, you're gonna be doing work. most likely you'll have pretty limited time to explore the city unless maybe you're able to fly out a little earlier and catch the weekend before the week of work. That's typically how my work trips end up being.

Is that something you commonly do when you are invited to these international work trips? Like try to tack on a weekend before or after to travel, or do you usually just kind of stay within the same duration that your coworkers are? Honestly, I do try to tack on a weekend before or after, as long as the flight price isn't more expensive than if I didn't do this. Right. And then also when I'm tacking on these extra days, you know, like hotels and stuff, of course I would have to pay for myself.

So it's kind of do I have the resources and energy to do this? And if I do, then I'll try to. Dude, I think it's so cool that some of your work trips are international because I have been on I think about three work trips my entire career, and they have always been domestic. Mm. It was still really cool for me to go on those trips, but it certainly wasn't

enticing enough to where I'd be like, Ooh, I wanna tackle on like a couple of days. It's just more like, okay, this is kind of nice that I'm traveling and my flights, lodging and food are like paid for. So kind of jerk Yeah. What about that time you went to Chicago?

So yeah, that was pretty cool. But I guess I wasn't like, oh I'm gonna make like a whole trip out of it. I was like, I think I wanna see like one or two things when I'm there and I just need like half an afternoon to do it with a coworker. Okay, that's fair. Also, if I remember correctly, that was a funny time because we both went to Chicago Around.

The same time for some reason. That's right. And we're of course at completely different companies. But it was a little early on in our career. So I think I also didn't really know what to do with myself. I guess the tips and tricks that I'd known. Yeah, I remember we like kind of tried to meet up, but I think at least I was scared of leaving the group and like doing something personal and I was like, I don't know when I could tear apart from the rest of my coworkers.

But I'm very curious what your tips and tricks are. What do you think you've learned from going on all of these work trips? Ciao !

I think one thing for sure is even if you're not tacking on like a whole weekend before the trip or after the trip. Personally, I do like to try to fly in a little earlier, maybe like a day earlier, or making sure I catch the early flight in the day so that I'm not landing later at night and then immediately having to like work. Uh

I think it's helpful to like be there earlier and get settled basically. Mm-hmm. And then feel more refreshed and ready to work the next day. I'm not really sure about like every company's policy behind this but What we kind of do is we treat one of the days as like the expected travel day. Especially for like farther trips.

for example, like New York or Chicago where the flight is longer, or if it's an international trip and the flight is basically all day, I'll try to like maybe fly the night before. So then I arrive during that travel day where I can get myself settled. That makes sense. Do you have like a nighttime routine once you land? Because I feel like that night before the big work day, you're like pre-gaming for it. Ooh, yeah. Maybe a little bit.

I do kind of like to take this as like sacred alone time, I guess. So another pro is if I'm there a little earlier during this time, there's like no obligation to reach out or hang out with your coworkers because it's like Before the work event is starting. So I like make sure that I'm by myself. I don't invite anyone else.

out to dinner with me or anything like that. And I'll go out and have private time. Go somewhere I wanna eat. Almost like treat myself a little bit that night before, just because it's like These are the last few hours where I'll be like totally alone for X amount of days. Yeah, yeah. Do you like unpack all your clothes and like steam them the night before? Oh actually no.

I just leave them in the suitcase. If the trip is a week long, four to five days, then maybe I'll unpack it a little bit, especially if it's like colder weather and have like coats or outerwear. Yeah. Then I'll hang those up. But I usually just leave it in my suitcase and don't go too crazy with that. I mean, I haven't been on that many work trips, but I feel like the funny part of a work trip is every outfit is predetermined, you know. I pack specifically for each event in the trip.

I guess my nighttime routine once I land or like arrive there is to unpack everything and just hang it up. Each outfit for each event gets one hanger. So then I don't have to like do any thinking during my actual work trip itinerary. Oh, that's smart. Maybe I'll try that next time. How long are your work trips?

I feel like mine are always like two full work days and then that's it. Maybe two full work days a and a half day or something like that. So the overall trip is usually no longer than five days. Mm-mm. Yeah, I think that's very similar to what I've experienced. And I think it just means that our planners are very considerate. Cause if you think about it, if we had like four to five full days of work on a trip, I feel like we would die by the end. Like we would just be so exhausted.

That is very true. Although, you know, I will say on a work trip, I find that the work is like the least exhausting thing about it, if that makes sense. Because I think the whole point of a work trip, at least the ones that I've been on, is to maybe gather a group of coworkers that don't normally go to the same office. And then you want the people to like mesh with each other, chat. You know, the best collaboration comes from face to face time with your cokers, like that kind of vibe.

So then on like day four of a five day work trip, I always find myself craving actual work and spreadsheets because there's so much FaceTime, you know? Dude, yeah. The FaceTime is crazy. That's why, you know, that sacred alone time before everything is happening.

I also make sure I never book my flight with a coworker. If you know what I mean. Like, hey, book this flight with me. I'm always like quietly booking my own stuff and then, you know, if we're on the same flight, oh ha ha, okay, well, hopefully we're not sitting together. Yeah, I do feel like it's like a unspoken thing of

even if you're on the same flight as your cokorker, you don't have to feel obligated to sit next to them on the flight. Yeah. But there was this one time where I took a flight to go to a different city for this work thing myself and the CFO were like the only two people flying out of the bay. Oh my god.

And then once we landed, the two of us had to share an Uber to the hotel, right? And I was just like, Oh god. It's one thing if it's three people or four people, but like one on one time in an Uber with the CFO was a little intense, you know. That does sound pretty intense. I think I was like one year into my career. Oh my god. Yeah,'cause you probably aren't buddy buddy with the CFO. So it's even you're just like, What do I say? Was the Uber ride long?

I don't think it was that bad. I think it was maybe like twenty minutes or something. Dude. And then we just did very elementary small talk about like, so do you like working here? Like Okay, dude, 20 minutes is kinda long. Dude, that's also why some of the work trips I've been on have been kind of local. So say like a two hour drive somewhere, right? Some of my coworkers will sometimes carpool. Whoa. And I'm like, dude, I don't know. Like I really like my coworkers, but

Two hours in a car with a coworker is completely different than like having a long lunch with them. And I'm just like, damn, you're not even on the clock yet. You know, you're just trying to get there. So true. I mean, like, also, when was the last time we as friends have been on a long road trip like this? It's so true. It's so true. That's a long ride. Yeah. I feel like my default is to just try to sleep on road trips like that.

But then do you feel like you would feel more obligated to stay awake and talk with your coworkers if you were carpooling? I think if I was getting a ride I would for sure not sleep. Yeah. But then I might as well just drive myself. Yeah. I would feel similarly. I think my like socialization energy, at least on work trips, is like a very finite resource. So then I need to, like you said, claw out any

section of alone time I can driving somewhere is like the alone time I think. Can't touch this one. That's such a good protection of alone time to and from the trip. Right.

But I completely agree with you about that social energy being a very, very finite resource during these work trips. So let's talk more about that. Why do you think it's so finite? I think honestly travelling already is a bit tiring. You know, even if you remove the work trip thing. On top of that you have to layer in an air of professionalism or something.

And I feel like that combination is just killer. But the funny thing about work trips is there's the blocks in the morning where you guys do like actual work things and then there's like times after the work things are over where you do more social aspects like going to dinner or like going out for drinks or oh there's like a fun karaoke slash dance night on this night or whatever. And I feel like you have to go from your work self to like your slightly more casual self.

That's a lot, you know. Not only do you have to be professional and smart and like work ready in the morning, but you also have to be fun, chatty, and social in the evening. It's like you want both sides of me. Dude, I know. It's so crazy. So do you participate in as many of the like after work fun activities as you can? Or are you the type to kind of slowly disappear? I think I'll do like half of it. Mm.

You know the night before everyone like travels back home and stuff? Yeah. I feel like a lot of people like to go hard that night. I'm kind of like, okay, I'll like show up and hang out. Till like eleven PM and then I'm out of there. You know what I mean? Like I need to be in bed at a reasonable time. Oh my god, wait, that's so funny. Wait, why? Okay, I think that's really funny because of two things.

One, that means your team or like coworkers that you work with, they stay out pretty late on average. And then two, that means you're part of the like turn in early crew. Yeah. I kind of try to do my best to like leave an impression before I go back home. Yeah. So that I'm like people will know that I was there, but then I like Irish exit away.

Cause on my team when I travel it's mostly with my team and we have a very distinct different or like line I guess between the turn in early crew and the late night crew. Oh, interesting. And so always there's someone maybe around like eight or nine. They're like, I need I just need to go back now. Sorry guys, like I'm not part of the late night crew and we're like, Oh yeah, we know. You know, these three people leave pretty early and then the next wave is like maybe

nine to ten, but then there's like the late night crew. We usually stay out until like midnight to one. That's crazy. I mean I guess When I'm thinking about my work trips, it wasn't always like my team, you know? Like it's like a bigger group. So then maybe if I was in a smaller group where I'm close to everyone, like I would be compelled to stay out late. Yeah. But in like a big crowd, it's so much so much easier to disappear.

Right. That is true. Do you think you have a bit of a reputation? Like people know, oh G Sue likes to turn in a little earlier or they're like, Oh, Jisoo can hang, kind of that.

I don't think I would have a reputation yet, you know? Yeah. But I'm curious to know if you do because you've been on so many workships with like the same group of people. Yeah, I am definitely part of the late night crew. They're like because I can hang. It's actually kinda funny because they know I'm also very introverted. So they're like

Oh, Crystal, if you need to like leave and go do your own thing, we completely understand. But also late night crew is gonna be getting together like around this hour. So we'll text you where we end up and I'm like, okay. I think it's so funny you have a specific term, like late night career. Maybe they know that I have a weak spine. So I think like if they ask, I'll think about it and I'll be like, you know what? Yeah, like I'll come through and they'll be surprised if I'm like

I'm gonna go to sleep or something. They'll be like, Wait, what? They're like, it's early for you. But if I'm like, oh, I have like something that I'm gonna do by myself or like I'm meeting up with a friend in the city, I'll catch you guys later at dinner or like post dinner, then they're like, Oh, of course Crystal has like some shit to do

I mean honestly that's cool because I think when you travel with your coworkers and you do these like fun social things in the evening, that's when you like truly see different sides of someone's personality that you might not see on like the day-to-day basis.

But at the same time, I'm just like hanging out is fun and all, but I wanna like go home refresh tomorrow, you know? And I feel like that's where my mental cutoff is. I'll like come out and hang, but sleeping beauty, there's like a curfew I need to hit. No, I totally agree because sometimes when I get home during these later nights, I'm like, Oh my God, I'm so exhausted and we have to wake up at like seven AM tomorrow. Yeah. What am I doing?

But funnily enough, the late night crew that we have going on is also the people who are not morning people. Mm. Makes perfect sense. So sometimes in the morning, if people are texting and they're like, Hey, let's meet at the lobby at like 7 a.m. Oh my god. One of my coworkers sometimes will be like, Mm, that's a little early for me. I might be more on crystal time. I like how you guys like section out your alliances basically.

Damn, seven AM is so early. For me it's kinda like if it's in the morning, I'll show up at the latest possible time I can. Oh yeah. Same. You know how it's always like, Oh, breakfast is from eight to eight thirty, but like sessions start at eight thirty. Yeah. I'm like, I'll be there at like eight twenty eight. Yeah. Yeah. No same. Mm-hmm. I'll be like, I'm just gonna skip breakfast then. Yeah. Sacrifices must be made. Exactly.

But I think also there's two different types of trips that I usually take. One is for events where my team is the host. essentially, like the organizers of the event. And then there are other trips where it's more like a an off site where we're, you know, bonding and doing some work activities together.

So during the events though it's like more grueling because we have to be up early and like do rehearsals in the morning and make sure everything is good to go. Right. So those ones I think I get really burnt out by the end. It's just like late night and then early morning. But sometimes it's easier or quicker for everyone to disperse at night.

Mm. As the event is still happening. And then kinda like what you said, the last day or last night is when we're like, Oh, we're done, yay. And then we actually maybe stay out a little later. Yeah, I guess like the pressure is different if you're the team hosting or like helping throw an event. I've always been on the side of receiving the sessions. You know, like someone is presenting the sessions to me. Yeah. So I've never felt, Oh my God, it's over, like let's celebrate.

It's more of just like, We're about to go home tomorrow. I am curious though because if you're celebrating the event that you're hosting being over, then the celebrations could be big and very happy, which I feel like sometimes means a lot of drinking. on my three work trips that I've ever been on. I've seen some people get really, really crazy. Is that something that you commonly see on your work trips as well? No, not at all actually. Really?

My team doesn't drink that much as a whole and as individuals. My team actually is very responsible. I really noticed this because like one of the earlier work trips that we went on, my team knows that I'm into wine so they often let me choose the bottle of wine to order for dinner.

I'm like, oh, this wine is so good. So I'm like drinking it and pouring like second glass or whatever. And then I'm like on my second glass and I look around and everyone's first glass is still like full. And I'm like, oh Maybe I should slow down. Clearly, we are drinking at much slower pace than I realized.

Yeah, I guess if your team is not big drinkers and most of the people that you interact with on your work trips are like your immediate team, it's probably like a smaller chance to see people really rowdy. Yeah. If anything, I probably get the most drunk. You're like, someone's gotta do it. But then I'm like, if everyone else is very controlled and responsible, I must match the vibe. So I try not to get too fucked up. Makes sense.

I mean, I think like every work trip that I've been on, I've heard of stories of like, oh, this person got a little crazy last night. And I always find it so funny. I can't imagine waking up the next morning to like maybe slack messages or something from your coworkers. Hey, just checking in. Are you okay? Oh my god. So then when I'm on work trips I always try to like pace myself, leave early. Uh-huh. not be that one coworker that's like getting checked on, you know.

Yeah, I think it's probably also better this way. Just because, like you said, being that one coworker who's like a mess or like really went over the line is kind of a reputation killer. Oh yeah. Totally. And then also like you still need to survive for the next days. Yeah. So I think that's what keeps me, um, in line.

But there was one time where I felt like I got a little more drunk than I should have. But it wasn't bad or anything, but it was more just like the next morning I was a little hungover. I was like, Oh shit. Can't be doing that because we have work to do. I will say one of the perks of being on a work trip is that all expenses are paid for. So it's like the line that to toe, you know, it's like I wanna kind of enjoy and indulge because everything is free.

but have to cut off before things get a little crazy. Yeah, that's true. Our policy is like the the highest level person at the table pays. And then like if you're just by yourself, you have a cat. Usually for work events I'm out with my team so like I don't have to deal with the charges and expenses. But then also I feel like that helps me stay in line too. You know, because they're all very responsible. Right. So yeah.

So I kinda wanna circle back to like this concept of interacting with coworkers during a work trip. Like we talked about, sessions are a big thing, dinners are a big thing, but I think Some of the together time on a work trip actually exists in the gray area between these big like blocks.

And one of it is sometimes on work trips I think people can have roommates. So is this something you've experienced? And if not, how would you feel if your workplace was like, Yeah, you're gonna room with your coworker for this trip? Oh my god. I luckily have never had to experience this, but I know in the past my company has done it before. Mm-hmm. So I recently went to an event.

This was like the first time we had it again since COVID. And before COVID, when we ho had this event, people had roommate. Oh God. Yeah. Also, one time I went to LA to help take photos for uh someone else's off site and they had roommate. for that event and I was like, Oh my God. So I m messaged the the manager who I guess hired me.

Um to take photos. And I was like, Am I gonna have a roommate on this trip? And she's like, Oh no, don't worry, we didn't give you a roommate because like you don't know anyone in this org's. Thank God. So I almost had to experience it. Oh God.

I think similarly for me, I've also never had to have a roommate on a work trip, but I have heard rumors of like, oh, a couple of years ago we did have roommates, or I think sometimes it's the case where like the hosting team, that group or that org may have roommates, but then some of the supporting teams that are invited on these trips are not forced to have roommates, if that makes sense. So then I'm like, thank God. But I will say like

I don't know if I would necessarily mind that much to have a roommate because sometimes I feel like semi awkward walking to a session or like walking to dinner by myself or something. And I usually like to text one of my closer coworkers like, hey you guys want to walk together just so we can like chat on the way there. So I was like, I guess if we room together, we wouldn't have to arrange that. You know, we could just like always go together.

Okay, I have a question. At work, do you feel uncomfortable if you're like eating lunch alone? I guess I haven't eaten lunch by myself in a while, but yeah, I would prefer to eat with a group of people. I think I'm a little different from you because I am totally fine walking by myself and I almost prefer it to like be alone for these events, for meals,'cause I'm like, oh my God, this is like quiet time. I don't have to open my mouth and like talk to people.

Wait, but I think it's also like dependent on the size of the company. You know what I mean? Like there's a little bit more anonymity in like a bigger company or like a bigger event or something. But say you're on like a work trip where you know almost every single person there. Yeah. Like then I would feel more uncomfortable eating by myself or like walking by myself. Yeah, I can see that. Yeah. Dude, but like the roommate situation.

I don't know. I don't know if I can do it. Sorry, this might be gross, but like just think about what if you had to like poop really badly and your roommate is just in the room. Oh God. Okay, yeah, that's true. The logistics of sharing a bathroom does su And I guess sleeping habits, I like am a snore, so I guess the person I'm sleeping with would be subject to that. That does kinda suck. But it w like, would it be the worst thing in the world?

I personally I think I would suffer because when you're in your room after the day of the events, that's also like precious alone time. Winding down, you know. sleeping and then also maybe in the morning when you wake up you're a bit of a mess but you have to like, you know, put yourself back together. But are you ready for your coworker to see you like that?

Okay, that is true. It definitely wouldn't be the preferred setup. Yeah. But I guess I'm just thinking that there's like mini perks that come with being forced to have a roommate. That is true. Like you'll always have a companion everywhere. Dude, now I'm just imagining it would happen in movies before where a girl would put on makeup before the guy wakes up in the morning so that he thinks she looks perfect all the time. That's like how I imagine having a roommate at work would be like.

You like put on mascara before bed so that your coworker doesn't see you with a bare face. Ha ha ha. Yeah, that's true. Honestly, sometimes on a work trip after like the social events, I'll like walk back to my room, close the door, and I'll be like You know, like big sigh of relief. Like, oh thank God I survived this day and it's all over. Yeah. So I guess you would be deprived of Mm-hmm. Is there any coworker right now who you could see yourself rooming with?

Yeah, I think I do have some co-orkers who were I'm like, I think this would be fine if we like room together. But you know, it is one of those things where that's like my hypothesis, right? Like I believe that me and this coker would be fine, but when you actually room together, you never know how it'll turn out. So then maybe it's just all in my head, like, Oh, I'm sure it'll be okay. Yeah.

I'm trying to think if there's any coworkers that would be good roommates for me. Mm-hmm. But it is a little difficult because I do have a lot of early sleepers in my team. Oh yeah.

On a similar vein but slightly different is I think having a roommate on a work trip, but your roommate is not a coworker, as in Say you got invited to go on a work trip at a different city and then you brought your SO with you. I think that is also a very unique experience. Because in a sense you're on this work trip, but then you kind of also have to entertain your SO, you know. Yeah. Have you ever hosted your partner on a work trip? I have.

One time when I went to New York I was like, Oh, do you wanna come? Like you'll have to buy your own plane tickets but I know I'll have my own room so you can join me in my room. And I'll be working, so you'll have to entertain yourself for the whole week. Like I kind of gave the rundown before the trip. And then how did it work out? Was he just like fine doing his own thing while you were at your work event?

Yeah, yeah. It was it worked out pretty well. And then actually on one of the final days when my team went out later at night, I just invited my boyfriend to come along because by that time it's like, you know, like the work hour's done. You're welcome to join us. And so then my team met my boyfriend. Wait, actually it was kinda funny. My team lead was like, So what are your intentions with our crystal? Or something like that.

He's like, You didn't prepare me because That is really cool though and very cute that he was able to join on the last day and like meet everyone. Yeah, I think it's kind of fun to like meet your coworkers, uh, significant others.'Cause you hear so much about them, right? Like in the work day. And then like, oh my God, I can't wait to like meet them in person someday.

I feel like I always have a mental image of who my coworkers are talking about when they say stories about their SOs. Yeah. It's like so jarring when they show a photo and I'm like, whoa, okay, this does not match up with the idea that I had in my head. Yeah, you're like, wait, put that away. Yeah. How about you? Have you ever hosted or been hosted?

Yeah, I've been hosted but I've never hosted on like my work trip. But I did tag along with my husband's work trip. It was kind of funny because the trip wasn't to a major city where there would be like a ton of things to do. But coincidentally I like knew someone who lived in the city. So then I got lunch with her, caught up, chatted. So it was really fun that I was able to like see this person who I hadn't been able to see in a while.

The other part was I was also working just remotely that month. I was just stuck in the hotel room doing work at the hotel desk for like eight hours every day. Yeah.'Cause I didn't have an office to go into, obviously. And because of security reasons I couldn't go into my husband's office. Right. But I think aside from that, it was nice to be able to go out together and get dinner after work and um just explore a new city without having to like pay for lodging and stuff. So that was pretty cool.

It was like a mini vacation. Yeah, it's a nice little adventure if you're able to get the logistics down and be hosted and or host. Your significant other. I feel like where it would get complicated is if you had a family, then you would have to book like another either an additional room or like you would have to pay your own money to like upgrade your room to be able to fit everyone.

So like right now is a perfect time to be able to be like, oh, I just have that one other person who can tag along. Like might as well. Yeah, dude, it's also so interesting because Trip I was hosted on.

city. So he kind of had his own routine. You know, like he had this is my favorite coffee shop. This place has really good pizza. He had created like a mini life there. Oh my sister strips. Yeah. So then when I went there I was like, oh this is where you always call me or like this is where you sent me that photo of that pizza and it felt like I was connecting the dots on like our previous FaceTimes when he was on those other business trips.

Aw, that's kinda cute. He's showing you around his his area, his hood. I was like Wow.

But similarly it kind of reminded me of how growing up my dad would go on a lot of business trips and Like you said, it's really hard to bring your kid on a work trip, your SO and your kid. But now that I am like a almost thirty year old adult, my dad can now bring my mom on his work trip. Oh yeah.

So the two of them travel together a lot. It's just so funny. Like my mom is doing the same thing, kind of like chilling at the hotel room while my dad's out and then they'll like go out together for dinners and stuff. So I like hearing about their like mini work trip adventures over cacao ta. Yeah. Oh, that's cute. I think actually my dad took my mom on a business trip once. I can't remember where they went. But I remember my mom being excited and I was like, Oh, that's kinda wholesome

So cute. It's also so funny to see like what parents do because when my dad is out doing work stuff, sometimes my mom will like go out by herself and go shopping at Marshalls. And I was like, Marshalls, Mom, like you just do this at home. Like why are you doing this on a work trip? Oh my god, so true. Does your dad still go on a lot of business trips now, or is it like much more sparse? He still goes on a lot of business trips, but I don't think it's as bad as when I was growing up.

When I was younger he would go on business trips frequently and like pretty long ones. Oh yeah. So then I don't know. Now that I'm older I feel like I can kind of understand the things he used to say. One thing is he used to go to all these like major cities.

and a lot of international work trips as well. And I would be like, Oh dad, you've traveled so much to all these different countries and cities. Like, have you been here or like have you been to this landmark? And he would always be like, No, because on work trips there's not that much time to like Sight C Yeah. And I was like, What are you talking about? Like you're there anyway He's like, No, no, like seriously, like every minute I'm working, you know Yeah. You're like, Oh, I see now. Yeah.

And then there was this other thing too where on every business trip he would go to Denny's. Oh my god. Like he would like land and then go to Denny's. And I could never understand that. I'm like, you're going to a new city, why don't you like go out and have like a nice meal or something? Mm-hmm. Later I realized okay, like he's not always going to really, really big cities like New York. Like sometimes he's going to like

smaller cities, maybe close to a factory or something. So you only want to go to like a brand name or like chain restaurant. He also said Denny's is 24 hours. So it's just like my nighttime routine. No matter what time I land, I can go to Denny's. Earlier we talked about you booking your flights earlier so that you land earlier, and I guess Denny's was like my dad's workaround if he wasn't able to do that. Wow, he had a whole routine. Yeah.

That's smart though, that he chose a twenty four seven place. Maybe he's a big pancake guy. Yeah, I think my dad has probably tried every single thing on the OG Denny's menu. Is there anything where maybe like your coworkers do these things during trips where you're like, oh my god, I didn't know I could do that.

I guess as an example,'cause a decent amount of my coworkers have been on a lot of trips for work because they've worked with a lot of higher ups and stuff. So sometimes they are required to travel with them. And so sometimes when they're really tired, they're like, Okay guys, I'm just gonna call it tonight. I'm gonna go home, like to the hotel and I'm just gonna order room service And I was like, Oh my God, you can just do that? Wait, that's crazy.

Yeah. And I was like, wait, you totally can. Like as long as you stay under your daily cap, you can totally order room service. And that was like a mind blow like I was mind blown because I feel like you're probably similar where like we grow up and room service is such a like It's like a luxury out of reach. Yeah, like luxury. So I was like, oh my God, like I guess I will order some room service. Wait, that's wild. Actually

I have noticed something that one of my coworkers did, which I was also mind blown. It's not as like something you can expense, but you know how sometimes you go on work trips and you're forced to eat very like western or like catered food that might not be exactly what you're craving. Yeah. So my coworker brought a cup noodle. Okay. From home. Because she was like, Oh, I know usually on day three or day two of the work trip I start to really crave something like

spicy and like brothy. So she was like, Yeah, I just bring like a cup noodle from home and I like make it in the hotel room after. And I was like, You're a fucking genius. That's genius. Wow. I love that. Yeah. Planning ahead. Yeah, that's so true. If you're eating catered food all week, at some point you're like, oh god, thank you for the food, but like can we eat something else?

Right, right. I think especially like if it's a environment where maybe people expense like individual things less, then it's like super smart to just bring something from home. Yeah. I think that's also partially why some of my coworkers like to order room service because they're like, oh, I didn't love the food options today. And you know, it's like day three or four now and I I just really want some comfort food. Like I'm gonna order the chicken tenders or something.

It's like everyone has their own things that they need to do to survive the work trip. Yeah. Get over the hump. Yeah. All right. Well, as we get close to the end of the episode.

let's talk more about checking out and, you know, ending the work trip. Do you have any preferences for that final day? Like do you try to get out of there as soon as possible or are you like, Oh, maybe if I can push my flight back a bit and spend a little time around the city or area that we're in. Oh yeah, I actually tried to check out as early as Cuban. And like high tail it out of the

I think usually by the last day I'm just like ready to go home. Yeah. Ready to like shower, sleep in my own bed, just be in my own environment. And I think a lot of the work trips that I've been on, you still have to work the day after you like get back. Mm-hmm. So I just want to like settle back into my normal routine as early as possible. But it's so funny because

Honestly I say as early as possible, but it's probably like I check out like an hour earlier, you know what I mean? But I always do see coworkers at the checkout line. Oh my god. And internally I'm like noting like, Oh, you guys are also like Trying to get here as soon as possible as possible. Dude, you know what's crazy is that I have actually never seen someone checkout.

Unless it was planned. Like, oh, you know, meet at the lobby and we can like take an Uber to the airport together. Yeah. But otherwise I never see people check out at the same time as me. And I think it's maybe because I'm like Not an early person. You're like requesting late checkout or shit. On average, I try not to stay like too late, especially because, you know, we have to check out of our hotels by noon, usually the latest.

More commonly it's like 11 a.m. If you fly later, 5 p.m. for example, you have five hours of where do I put my luggage or do I have to come back to the hotel to like pick it up, you know? So I think I usually just stay long enough maybe to have a lunch. And then I like go to the airport. And then maybe that's why I don't see anyone because everyone else is like, Yeah, I'm going to the airport right now.

I feel like the urge to leave is just like so big, you know, the second all the work things are over, it's like, why am I still here? Although if my work trips were abroad in countries where I wanted to explore more, then I could see myself staying a little bit longer. Mm-hmm. I think maybe part of it too to me is this is another precious alone time pocket that I can carve, you know. Yeah. I don't have to Uber with my coworkers to the airport.

I can just like check out a little later and have a quiet lunch to myself and then like fly home or whatever. I feel like your worst nightmare would be like to run into your coworker at the hotel lobby. You run into them at the restaurant where you wanted to have like a quiet lunch by yourself. Yeah. And then your coworker's like, Oh, should we just Uber together?'Cause it w Ha ha. We're together anyway. I would be like, I should have just woke up early and left. Ha ha ha.

I'm also imagining you asking all your coworkers like, oh, what time's your flight? And usually when people ask that, it means like they want to Uber together, right? But for you, you're like, oh okay, I'll like try to slot my Uber, you know, away from all of you guys. I think actually luckily a lot of people on my team are also introverts. So when it's like the end of the trip, they're all kinda like, All right guys, see you back in the office. Yeah. Yeah. Which I'm thankful for.

It's nice when you don't have to do the force interactions anymore. Yeah, I think maybe like the more you go on trips, the more you learn about people's work trip personas or habits. And then like for my team I think we kind of understand and respect everyone needs to wind down their own way. Yeah. And sometimes people are just like, hey, I got a crash tonight. Like I can't I can't hang today. And everyone's like, you do you.

You know. Hell yeah. You guys are like a well oiled machine now after so many work trips together. Yeah, I guess we are.'Cause it's like, hey, you need to do what you need to do to make it the next morning, you know,'cause we got work to do. And then at the end it's like, Yeah, we're all s really tired. So whatever you need to do, just like do it. Right. If you need a Irish exit, you Irish exit. Yeah.

Well, this has been really fun to talk about all things work trips together. I think I've actually learned a lot of tips and tricks now, like from your work experiences. So I'm itching to go, well actually am I? I'll I'll slot this information away for my next work trip, which who knows how soon that'll be.

But thank you, Crystal, for sharing your expertise today. And for any of our listeners out there, if you also have work trip tips or if you also fight to carve out as much alone time as we do on your work trips, then let us know. We have Instagram at eatyourcrestpod and we also have email eatyourcrestpod at gmail.com And don't forget to follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you listen to podcasts, we upload new episodes every other Wednesday morning. Thanks for listening.

And don't forget to eat your crust.