Tuesday Blues

Tuesday Blues hit for a variety of reasons and can strike at any point during the very long day. It usually starts in the early morning if you were given a bad hotel room or have dirty towels or find hair in the shower (nasty!). Or, it can hit when you are getting dressed for work in wrinkled suitcase clothes and realize that you didn’t actually do any work on Monday, so have a boatload of work to catch up on. Or, you can be in the team carpool on the way to work and think that you have another two mornings of making small talk with team members well before your morning coffee and that you are sort of over making a Jammahs sandwich in a mid-size Avis rental. Or, at lunchtime you’ll go to the cafeteria with the team and realize that you really, really miss the NYC toss-in. You’d be so happy if there was a toss-in option here. It doesn’t even have to be chopped up--you just really want to pick your toppings and have the salad ingredients protected and away from others—much unlike the 1990s-salad bar that the cafeteria offers. You’ll think how you could make a killing if you brought a toss-in salad and wrap place to the campus. You’ll discuss it with team members and outline a business plan about how you can best market the toss-in among the standard Au Bon Pain, McDonalds and Subway. You start to get really tired in the afternoon—staying up late on Impending Doom Sunday is catching up with you. You wish there was a Starbucks instead of a Fauxbucks in the lobby. You’ll then wrap up the day and be back in your hotel, maybe go to the gym, have some room service (Room Service Man knows the sound of your voice and order—yes, dressing on the side Ms. Jammahs), watch some reality TV and realize that you just miss being back at your apartment. You miss DVR. You miss Mizu. You miss talking to friends in person rather than over the phone--that is if your hotel room had cell reception. The hotel room is bigger than your apartment and you sort of miss being able to see your kitchen, front door and bathroom from your bed. You come to realize that you have another two days before you're back home.

Tuesday is the most interesting day of Life With Two Carry-Ons because you don’t have the distraction of packing/unpacking and, simply put, you’re just there. There could be anywhere in the entire country/world and it’s usually not that glamorous. The Tuesday Blues hit particularly hard when you’re in locations like Harrisburg, PA; Hartford, CT; Boise, ID. You are just stuck…stuck in a place where an order of grilled chicken always comes out fried. Stuck in a place where the fancy restaurant is Chili’s (yes, the fries do rock). Stuck in a place that lacks culture or diversity or walk-in mani/pedi places.

On the flip side, Tuesday Blues aren’t that bad or don’t even exist at all when staffed in locations like Miami or DC. In these places you have road friends or road boyfriends who serve as a much needed and welcomed distraction. There’s sunshine and shopping and really nice gyms. There are views of the ocean and outdoor pools. You have fun on Tuesdays. You leave the hotel and go to new bars and restaurants. You think that maybe you like traveling. You like the change from NYC. You start to settle into Life With Two Carry-Ons and almost don’t want it to be Pack Day Wednesday.