I remember when I was interviewing for jobs I would always ask about how much travel was possible. Now I realize how foolish I was to think that business travel is some kind of treat. Especially if you have a family or any semblence of a life back home that you would rather not leave for weeks on end. Luckily audit work in Chicago averages only about 20% of the time out of town. I have friends doing cosulting and special projects that are out at least 50% of the time if not more. Anyway, I am determined to make something fun of these opportunities by combining a little pleasure with the business.

One of the perks (see last week's journal) of the job is that you can do a little creative travel planning. The best way to get a vacation on the company's account is by staying over on the Saturday before or after a week out of town. Generally the cost of the plane flight will go down considerably and the firm policy is to allow the employee to spend that difference. I guess the idea is that you have saved the client X amount of dollars by going out of your way. However, if you then spend all of the X dollars, you haven't really saved anything, have you? Anyway, here are a few examples of how I worked the system.

As of today, I am starting a week in Miami to audit the benefit plan of a non-client of mine. The regular audit senior is also down here, so he talked me into staying at this classy business hotel which is in the same office park as the client. The problem is that we are set to work, eat, and sleep the week away without ever seeing any of what makes Miami famous. A bit of a shame for a couple of over-worked saps. SO, I have made arrangements to switch to a hotel in the historic Art Deco district of South Miami Beach. The price is about the same and the commute is only a little longer. Besides, one of my roommates is coming down on Wednesday night to make a bit of a vacation out of this opportunity. She would be bored out of her mind if she stayed at this stuffy hotel. Anyway, the plan is to see the sights around Miami through Friday. Then Saturday morning we will head down to Everglades National Park and on to the Keys.

Business travel can be rather frustrating to someone who really likes independent travel, but one nice thing to do is stay over the weekend. Often a plane flight becomes much cheaper if you have a Saturday stayover. Therefore, instead of leaving on Friday, enjoy the weekend in some exotic locale like Miami and then charge in a hotel or two for the amount you saved on the plane ticket. If you are working out of town for more than one week, most companies will either fly you home, fly a friend in, or send you on to someone at the same cost of going home. Now, at the end of a week or two out of town, you often feel like just heading for the refuge of your own bed, of course. But if you still have a little adventure left in you, take a mini vacation.

Even in places like El Paso, Texas, there are things to do over the weekend. Last time I was down there I made plans to drive in to the city of Chihuahua, visiting the sights and whatnot along the way. I flew in the Friday before my work there and rented a car. However, the car rental company told me that I couldn't drive more than twenty miles into Mexico without some kind of special permission which required a couple days leadtime. I had been told I could take the car to Mexico, so I was a little frustrated. Instead I ended up driving up to the town of Truth or Consequences, NEW Mexico and taking a look around there. On Sunday I cruised the border town of Juarex, Mexico. Next time I intend to get the proper permission to drive a bit deeper in to Mexico. Eventually, I plan to see Copper Canyon and some of the other wonders of Northern Mexico.