From Florida to Maryland and Back..

  

My first work trip out EVER is done.  I went to St. Petersburg Florida from Wednesday until Sunday.  It was amazing!  Not only was the weather beautiful but I gained a lot of independence.  First off, this is only my second flight in my entire life and my first alone.   To say that I've gotten the hang of flying is a bit of a stretch.  All and all I navigated threw BWI well, I had no problems checking my bags or at security since I arrived two hours early.  My flight down was 2.5 hours and went off without a hitch.  I even managed to get myself to the shuttle and to the hotel without a problem.

(Me at Tampa International)

I must say it was amazing to leave the mid 50's here in Maryland and go to the mid 80's with sun.

As soon as I got in I went to the pool. Besides learning at the conference I had one other objective: GET SUN!  I'm getting pale, it's almost mid April and I need a tan badly.  I even sprang for the $10 tiny bottle of SPF 30 kids sunblock, even with that I could only last 2 hours in the sun.

All and all the conference was amazing, I met alot of nice people and connected with a few people that do the exact same thing that I do.  That itself is priceless~!  I've learned that I love meeting new people and I can be independent, I even toyed with moving to FL until I realized I'm not ready to be 100% on my own and leave my family states away!  I even stayed the weekend as an early birthday gift to myself it was great to spend a day by the pool and get a massage and facial.

Calgon take me away!

I felt like I had so many things that I wanted to blog about however, it all escapes me. All and all I had a great time.

Things I learned while away:

1. Always ask the hotel staff- about the area: places to eat, things to do etc.  I didn't and therefore spent alot of unneeded money on room service because I didn't know there was a grocery store right behind the hotel.
2. Opt for a rental car- the added expense is worth not being stuck in a hotel with no other options but an expensive taxi.
3. Bring more then one extra outfit and clothes, you never know when plans change.
4. Look into hotel perks, I paid $10 a day for hotel internet when if I signed up for their club (it's free) I would've gotten the internet free.
5. If given the option to stay the weekend, do it!
6. Make friends, exchange business cards..network, network, network!
7. Relax, you're there to learn and in order to take everything you need to take a deep breath and live in the moment (so not like me).

I flew in last night around 7:30 and got home around 8:15, which in my world was enough time to unpack and be in bed before 10.  I got into work before 9 since I'm still closing out the month and being away 3 days left me severely behind.  I worked until 7:30 tonight and I believe I'm getting back on track to be done by the end of the week.  Tomorrow I have another seminar, although this one is half day. GAH!  Oh and while I was gone I also had to type up my part of the group paper and I completed my mid term before I left.

Goodness, no wonder why I'm flying around crazy, I've got so much on my mind.