I recently went on a business trip to Ohio. I've never been to Ohio and it was actually the furthest east I have ever been. I'm a west coast guy through and through. I've been everywhere on the west coast from Alaska and Canada to Mexico and California. I've even been to Hawaii and just about every state east of Colorado.
Although I do love the west, I have always wanted to go east. I guess it just has never been high enough on my list of priorities for me to make it happen. As much as I was fighting the idea of a trip to the small town of Reno, Ohio, I am very glad that I went.
I have always been a firm believer in the idea that there is something to learn from everything. It's amazing what lessons you can pull from the smallest of things.
While a trip across the country is not necessarily a small thing, I do feel like I learned a lot of valuable things about myself on this trip.
1) I love my family more than anything. There's nothing like leaving your 15 month old son and beautiful fiance that puts your life into perspective. From the moment I left them, I wanted to return. You don't realize what you take for granted until you don't have it anymore. Being away from them made me realize how much they really mean to me. It might sound cliche, but that doesn't make it any less true. I missed them terribly.
2) I am a resilient human being. On this trip I managed to do things that I have been unable to do in the past and it made me realize that I am capable of much more than I give myself credit for.
3) My job is one of the least important things in my life. This is somewhat of a spin-off of the first item, but it's worth mentioning. I had the time and experience on this trip to really put things into perspective. My family, friends, and loved ones are more important than the job that I have. I am not my job. I am not my fucking khakis. (Fight Club reference) I am much more than the label my company of employment gives me.
4) My biological father is a legitimate douchebag, and hasn't changed. This asshole abandons me as a child, only to have him pretend that he's happy I tracked him down 29 years later. When I fly through a town a mere three hours from where he is at, he can't make the time to come and see me. What, you don't think you have some stuff to make up for you piece of dog excrement? Yes, you do.
5) Changing planes and layovers suck. Especially when your plane has mechanical difficulties. Okay, I already knew this one but this trip brought it to the forefront of my mind.
6) The smaller the plane, the faster they can scare the crap out of you. Small jets = fast movements. When we banked coming into the Columbus airport, it seriously caught me off-guard and I literally thought we were going to flip upside down in the air. Seriously.
7) Applebee's is not a gourmet restaurant. Okay, I may have known this one too. BUT, that's all there was for decent restaurants so I guess I expected them to kick it up a notch. They didn't. (If you consider McDonald's inside a Walmart "decent" then I stand corrected.) Also, if you walk in the front door and ask for carryout, be prepared to wear the scarlet "V" for village idiot. Shame on you for not knowing your place. Evidently, they have a separate door for losers like you. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure "separate but equal" was ruled unconstitutional.
Some of these may not be revolutionary life lessons, but I definitely learned a lot about myself in the whole process. I realized that there's a lot of things that I want to improve about myself so that I can be a better father and fiance/husband.
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