By Stephanie Park
We all look back on family road trips from our youth with fond, or not so fond, memories. However memorable they were, the shared experience was always something to reminisce about for years to come. Recently a couple members of Engage PR (EPR), including myself, embarked on our own road trip of sorts down the scenic California coast for a business endeavor. As you can imagine, hilarity ensued.
The day started off like any other in the office with morning meetings and catching up on email. Come noon, Suzanne, Neila and I piled into Jeannette’s car and we hit the road. Surreal as it was, I couldn’t help but think the sunny drive was better than post-lunch cubicle malaise. If you’ve ever ventured down the 101, you know it’s a beautiful but long drive.
On any normal day, I see my colleagues for nine hours a day with a total of around- that’s almost 42 hours come Friday. But there are some things you just don’t know about a person until you spend a solid 24 hours driving, eating, sleeping and working together. For example, aside from Flair Fridays, I bet you never see your coworkers in their pajamas and - let’s hope not – taking a cat nap in the afternoon. No matter how professional the purpose of the trip was, the dynamic definitely mirrored the family trips of yesteryear. However, by now we’ve evolved the “Are we there yets?” to “When should we be arriving?” Fighting with siblings has turned into sharing mobile email and in-car brainstorms.
After several hours, a few pit stops and one speeding ticket later, we came to the end of our road trip adventure. We came out weary but infinitely closer to our EPR family!
A few observations before you consider traveling with your own coworkers:
- Do not be alarmed at disjointed conversation. It is entirely possible to discuss the changing PR landscape and the National Broadband Plan shortly after sharing stories about the kids or debating the merits of rap music.
- Savor the moments; this will come in handy when recanting stories at the next company meeting!
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