Pointlessness

So, I learned something new and vaguely disappointing this week. If you stop staying at hotels, not only do you stop accruing travel points, your travel points expire.

Which means I lost about three or four free hotel nights and didn't even know it.

Now, the thing is, I wasn't traveling during Covid anyway,  but Matt and I managed some nice hotel stays over the years when I traveled for work all the time. In fact, our hotel and flight were all points purchases when we went to New Orleans. We paid for food and entertainment.  The rest wasn't gratis, exactly - I earned it with the sweat of my brow, and by spending a lot of time on the road.

So, anyway - now I barely travel enough to be considered even slightly premiere anything. 

We are taking a quick vacation to California for a wedding in a few weeks. We are paying for all of it out of pocket - and that is fine. I need to book a kennel for the dog and sort some clothes for a beach ceremony.  The points would not have been useful for this trip anyway,  I just liked having them. 

Then of course there's all the travel for the holidays. From Atlantic to Pacific, gee, the traffic is terrific.

At the moment, and the reason I even learned that I lost my points is that I am in Chattanooga.  A visit to the Mothership so that I can partake in new manager training.  Much needed. I feel like I was able to get through year one on adrenaline and novelty. Now I need to get down to brass tacks.  And Brass Tax. And learn how to, you know, manage people.

After that, I am meeting with 3/4 of my team, working at the Mothership. In fact, I came down spe ori early today to go to an All-Managers social - a little cocktail hour in the courtyard of the office. It was nice. Hors d'oeuvres, beer/wine, fruit teas.  I schmoozed as one does.  Saw some friends, made some friends.  It was good. 

Now I am tired. I am going to do a spot cleaning where I managed to get some artichoke dip on the black pants I intend to wear a second time on this trip,  which is to say tomorrow.  It's an old traveling woman trick. So, after that, I will collapse and prepare for tomorrow.

That's what you do when wandering pointlessly. But not aimlessly. 

This wanderer stuck with water.