Recently, I’ve been very fortunate to be afforded the privilege of catching flights for both work and fun. After such a long hiatus staying at home, it was good to refresh myself on some travel essentials.

For Business

Previously, the furthest I had traveled for work was 2 subway stops away to visit a client when I interned in 2018. Now, I can check off the west coast.

For Harrison and Star’s (H/S) first live pitch since 2019, I participated in my own “first” in San Francisco. My first pitch. This was such a good experience to be exposed to the anxiety of the time crunches, the stress of the heavy workload, and the thrill of presenting in person. And for the return of in-person workshops, I was sent out to Los Angeles to Gilead’s Kite offices. People were checked out after lunch being out of practice from all-day workshops, but it was great to meet the client in person and witness the workshop firsthand. Finally, I had a last-minute ticket out to Chicago for ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology). I found out the week before that I’d be going and booked my plane tickets the day before flying out. A little crazy, but absolutely worth it.

  • Jet lag had me catch the sunrise in SF
  • Santa Monica workshops
  • ASCO!
  • Gilead booth I helped work on

For Pleasure

Work hard to play hard. I extended the LA trip to hang with my best friend. It was nice soaking in that LA sun. Later, I found myself on the bus to Washington DC in May. I don’t recommend taking the bus, but, alas, Amtrak is pricey. I had a fun weekend there and a long weekend in Chicago for Memorial Day weekend (non-ASCO reasons). It was my first time in the midwest and I fell in love with the city (the warm days of Chicago, at least).

  • Santa Monica Pier
  • Capitol Building
  • Chicago River
  • Jeni’s Ice Cream

Travel Essentials

1.

First and foremost, I like to avoid checking in a bag at all costs. You should never carry that much baggage anyway. Work, relationships – leave the extra baggage behind. Come with fresh eyes and an open mind. This might mean that you have to repack everything in the last half hour before you need to leave because someone from new business dropped off this huge backpack called “The Pitch Kit.” And, because it’s your first pitch, you don’t know any better than to take it in. Don’t let that deter you. You get your roommate and start shoving things into your carry-on and backpack. You save so much time not worrying about your items or waiting for your bag to come around the carousel after the flight.

2.

TSA PreCheck. $85 to zoom past the common villagers *with your shoes still on* is absolutely worth it. All jokes aside, it’s important to invest in yourself when you can. This is one of those moments.

3.

Go ahead and lug that big water bottle (empty pre-security, of course) because we stay hydrated. Conference rooms don’t always have easy access to water. The little plastic ones just don’t cut it when you’re in an all-day workshop. Also, it’s a good reminder to keep up with healthy habits even when you’re traveling.

4.

Make sure to pack a snack. You don’t have to look like one while you’re flying, however, the Biscoff cookies might not last you for the whole 6+ hours you’ll be without a meal if you’re flying coast to coast. It also comes in handy when the group’s hangry. Tensions are sometimes inevitable because traveling can be a bit crazy, but people are more likely to be better behaved when well fed.

Fun Additions

5.

Although maybe not essential, I learned my mom packs an ace bandage with her when traveling. I don’t. I sure as hell wished I did, though, when I sprained my ankle in LA. I fell down the stairs in a humbling experience that resulted in me UberEats-ing an ace bandage to the tune of $18. A physical and financial ouch moment.