Trip #7

Trip #7

March 9-11

US National Dance Championships

Provo, UT

4 flights

Due to the demands in the office preparing for upcoming events, I couldn't commit to be at the entire event at BYU, but offered to make the trip out for Saturday only. I admit it was a little crazy, seeing that I would be in Provo only 24 hours. After work on Friday I flew to LAX, then LAX to SLC and landed at midnight, drove to Provo and was in the Marriott Center by 8am. I had a few hours break in the afternoon so drove over to Salem to check on Gma and Gpa. Then back to the Marriott Center to present the "Tara Christensen scholarship" and the "Arthur Murray scholarship". Then was on the road at 3:30am to catch a 6am flight back to LAX and to Miami. Of course it was daylight savings day so I lost another hour in there somewhere. It was crazy, however, I never regret the few moments I get to spend at BYU, in the mountains, seeing the folks, etc.

Trip #6

Trip #6 - February 24-27

Livi's Birthday

Houston, TX

2 flights

It just so happened I had this weekend available for another quick trip over to Houston for another birthday party. Since Grammy was in Utah at planning a different celebration, I tried to fill her void. It's hard not to have fun at a 2-year old's birthday party!

Trip #5

Trip #5 - February 18-19 - Area Training Meeting - Washington DC

1 flight (and 1 train ride)

After visiting NYC, we took the Amtrak down to Washington DC to attend a regional training weekend for the company. Spent a lot of time visiting with franchisees, dancing a little, and just representing the corporate offices. That's the nations capitol building in the picture, taken from Union Station.

Trip #4

Trip #4 - February 16-17 - Site Insepction - New York City

1 flight

In preparation for our big World Dance-O-Rama next month, my boss and I took a couple days and made a trip to NYC to visit the hotel and get everything in order. Of course we enjoyed visiting the restaurants our participants will visit and see the Broadway show they would attend as well (Sister Act). I ran through Central Park which was fun, although still too cold for me!

Trip #3

Trip #3 - January 27-29 - Leo's Birthday Party - Houston, TX

2 flights

Always fun (& mentally refreshing) to go 'home'. And this time with a great celebration planned!

Trip #2

Trip #2 - January 16-23 - Hularama Dance-O-Rama - Kaua'i, Hawaii

6 flights

A company dance competition at the Grand Hyatt Resort in Kaua'i. One of the most beautiful pieces of earth I have seen. Was there a week and not only was the event a success, but I got to enjoy an awesome resort for work!

Trip #1

After much gentle pestering from various family members, I have agreed to post a note about all of my trips this year. Realize that means it may simply be a sentence and picture of where I am, but this will help me keep track of the number of plane ridges, trips and events I do for the year.




So...


Trip #1 - January 7-8 - National Dance Council of America Bi-Annual Meeting - Dallas, TX - DFW Airport
2flights

This 2days of meeting is held at the Hyatt Hotel in the DFW airport. So I don't leave the terminal and spend 2 days listening to the 'powers that be' discuss the ruling of ballroom dance in America.

I was a runnin'

OK, so I don't really like to 'toot my own horn', but I had to write and tell you of my latest accomplishment. I ran another 5K race on Sunday. It was part of a national series of 13.1 half marathon races that have a 5K portion as well. There weren't as many people in this 5K as the past couple I ran this season, in fact there were only about 300. But I'm happy to say I placed first in my age category. That's right the gold medal! The best part was I decreased my time by over a minute from last race. I ran the 3.1 miles in 25:05 and my pace was 8:13 per mile. I was actually the second fastest woman in anyone my age or younger. It was a chilly morning on South Beach, but we ran the last mile right along the water on the boardwalk and watched the sun rise, which was so cool. The Miami portion of the series had a latin theme (of course) so afterwards there was a live salsa band and dancers, free beer, free arroz con pollo (traditional chicken & rice dish), latin dancers welcoming us across the finish line, latin music played along the whole course. Nothing like a chacha blaring at 6:30 am! My co-workers gave me a 'medal ceremony' the following day and we sang the national anthem! Compared to the other races, it really wasn't that big of a deal, but at least I keep improving! And I know if anyone was chasing me, they would have to run fast to catch me! Or do I want to be caught...hmmmm...:-)

http://www.splitsecondtiming.com/results/2010/131mb5k.html

My Funny Valentine!

I had been home a couple weeks without going out of town somewhere, which was driving me CRAZY, so when I saw that the long holiday weekend was coming up, I checked on last minute airfare deals to find somewhere to go. Luckily, San Antonio was having a weekend fare so I jumped a plane for a few miles and headed to Texas for the Valentine's & President's Day weekend.

I was met at the airport and whisked straight away to The Alamo Cafe where I welcomed some real Mexican Food! We spent most of the weekend really just hanging out, doing a little Hobby Lobby shopping, Target visits, etc. but mostly just constantly PLAYING with Isabelle. She is a funny little girl with an adult mind and vocabulary. It was a great weekend to spend Valentine's Day with those I love. I was hoping to be there for the new baby to arrive, but she is stubborn already! It was a quick trip but certainly always worth it!

Side note, you'll see I ran another race last weekend. I bettered my time quite a bit so I was proud of that!

alOha!

So I started 2010 with a trip to Kona, Hawaii. There was an Arthur Murray competition event there at the Hilton Waikoloa Village resort, so I made myself 'available' to go. With no real official responsibilities there other than to be unofficially official, I had plenty of time to enjoy the resort and amazing weather. Kona is much different than Waikiki, much more remote and quiet and much less touristy. I spent my mornings enjoying a beautiful run on the island, which was necessary since I spent my afternoons drinking fruity tropical drinks by the pool. Of course I also spent time in the ballroom watching the competition and having fun with friends every night. For me, a tropical locale is what I consider a perfect paradise and this certainly fit the bill. It would have been better if Matthew McConaughey would have been sitting next to me, but hey, next time! At least I'm starting 2010 with a tan.

By the way, I have added a new section on the right here of my blog "Running Report". This was suggested by a friend who said it would be cool to keep a log and information about all the places you run over the year. So...I'll try!

Come and Gone...

Another 6 weeks have come and gone...and here is what I have to show for it.

Spent 5 days in Hawaii for an event and luckily it was over my birthday weekend. So I stayed an extra day and enjoyed the beautiful scenery, weather, beach, etc. It's the one day a year I usually 'relax' and I literally sat on the beach under an umbrella for hours. The water was so warm I even spent time wading. I had dinner with friends that evening and it surely made for a nice celebration. I enjoyed my morning runs along the beach watching the sun come up, and of course watching the sun set each evening in Hawaii is the best in the world.

Once the celebration was over, it was back to the grind. Luckily my trip to Mexico City was cancelled this year, so it was just 10 days of 10 hour work days until I left for Superama in Las Vegas. This event is always a lot of prep work as well as a lot of work during the week. That's why it was 'necesssary' that my mom attend the event as well as my helper. I couldn't have done it without her as she was very good to take my directions and run with them. Alex was also there for the International All Star Tournament finals, (as well as celebrating her 1year anniversary), so it was a family ordeal. The event was great, but after a week in Vegas I was ready to come home.

But I wasn't home for long, 48 hours later I got back on a plane and headed to Puerto Rico. This event is always a stress reliever for me after the long Vegas week. The work isn't extremely difficult and it is a beautiful resort on the beach, so I sneak in some lounge time at the pool. The lobby of the hotel is also an event in itself as there are live salsa bands each night and locals come to dance and drink and party. Needless to say, after some salsa myself each night, I didn't get much sleep here, but had a fun time.

I went from 80+ degrees to 30 degrees in just a short few days as I headed to Utah for the BYU event. From my tanktop and shorts to a wintercoat and gloves, crazy! It happened to snow while I was there so I got my fill of winter weather very quickly. It was beautiful scenery as always and I enjoy the time on campus in 'happy valley'. It is a good rejuvination for me at this time of year as I'm starting to get run down and still have plenty left to do. I was glad to see Gma and Gpa & Janice and Hal for lunch, but was also glad to leave the cold. I'm a sissy, I admit it!

So now I'm in Chicago between flights on my way back to the warm. I leave for Columbus though in 3 days so I'm afraid there is more cool weather in my future. Knock on wood I haven't been sick through all of this traveling. Perhaps I'm just waiting to get sick until I'm home at Thanksgiving and my mom can take care of me?! Time to board the next plane...

ARIGATO!

Once again I am sitting in the Admirals Club and have some time to spare between flights so I can update my travel log. I just flew into LAX from Tokyo. It has been quite a quick trip, which perhaps is ultimately going to help my jet lag. I never really had time to adjust. We'll see tonight if I'm able to go to sleep though. I left Friday morning early with a short flight to Dallas, then a long 13+ hour flight to Tokyo. I ate three times on the flight, watched 4 movies, worked on my computer, read a book, stood for an hour in the area next to the restrooms, slept for about 4 hours. Luckily I was in first class so the seat layed down flat into a bed and I could actually get some sleep. I didn't say one word to the man sitting next to me the entire time, a typical Tara tactic.

I arrived in Japan 1 day and three hours later than I left. So the entire time I was there I felt like I was really sending messages from the future back home. My own little 'Lost' moment. My first impressions of Japan were of great organization, order, respect, cleanliness, and very friendly. Something as simple as standing at baggage claim, the people stand behind a red line and then when they see their luggage step up to get it, no pushing, no talking, no loud noises. I took a bus limo to the hotel in Shinagawa area which was about 1.5 hours ride. We passed Tokyo Disney on the ride and I saw the castle, matterhorn, space mountain right there in Japan. I fought hard to stay awake on the bus ride because it was really the only time I got to SEE Japan, even though at this point it was 13 hours ahead of Miami time. The country was green and lush and a lot of farm land.

Once I checked into the hotel, I went straight to bed. I felt bad, like I should be out exploring, but I literally couldn't keep my eyes open. So I was sleeping at 6:30pm, woke up at 10:30 pm, read a while, went back to sleep, woke up at 2:00 am, called my mom, slept until 5:30 am, got up and read for a while until the sun was up and I could go for a walk. I ventured out through the community, and found myself at the train station area where there was a little coffee shop right next to McDonalds. So I sat for a long time drinking a mocha and watching the people come from the train station. So interesting to watch all of these people just living their life half way across the world from me, no matter what or where, we are all the same. What isn't the same is the McDonalds menu, they are all hot dog value meals! Hot dogs everywhere! After wandering through the shops a little I headed back to the hotel, took a bubble bath and got ready for the day. The day was spent mostly in the competition, coordinating with our photographer, etc.

OK, gotta get to the next flight, will finish this later with photos!

OK ready to finish...
The event was quite exciting, as the USA won the World Championship title for the first time! (our couples took 1st and 3rd) I think I was actually the only American there other than the two couples, so it was kinda fun to cheer on the champions! I spent some time after the event writing the report to be posted immediately on-line and getting pictures from our photographer. We relaxed a little at a little cafe before heading to bed. My flight wasn't until 4pm the next day, but I only slept 3 hours and was up at 6am again. So I went for a walk again, enjoyed sitting at the coffee shop watching people go by, walked through the gardens around the area and took my time getting packed and ready to go. I took the bus back to the airport, with the new world champions, and found out we were on the same flight. So we enjoyed relaxing in the JAL club in the airport (which was EXTRA NICE with a full buffet and bar and massages, etc.) then got on the plane for a 10 hour flight to LAX. Luckily they were more tired than I was and we all slept about 8-9 hours of the flight!

I took another 5 hour flight home while Katusha (world champ) went to see her sister on Dancing With the Stars in LA. (Anna dancing with Michael Irvin) We had sat in the club and watched them practice live through webcam on the computer that morning, so it was interesting to see it happen on TV that night.

It has taken me a whole week to feel 'normal' again. Luckily I wasn't there long enough to really get my time converted, just long enough to feel a little confused. I'm heading to Hawaii now though on Tuesday and going 6 hours the OTHER direction in time. So I just have to sleep when and where I can, which is usually on a plane! This was a cool experience though and one I wouldn't trade, even with the craziness of it all!

Since the last time I wrote . . .

Since the last time I wrote...here are some details of my comings and goings...

New York City - spent 5 days in the 'city that never sleeps' and that was pretty much me. I enjoyed my morning jogs as usual across the Brooklyn Bridge and took the subway up to Times Square on one of my breaks on the 4th of July. Lots of people in Time Square on a holiday like that! The weather was quite pleasant while I was there and it was welcomed. Miami is headed into hurricane season which means hot and humid. The event was well attended and high caliber as always. One of my favorite of the year!

Irvine, CA - home for a week then off to So Cal, such a highlight of my year. I love the weather, the smell, the atmosphere, everything. This was an Arthur Murray event and one that I didn't have any direct responsibilities at, except to be a corporate face. So I had plenty of time for my regular jogs around UCIrvine, trips to SouthCoast Plaza for shopping, a pedicure, laying at the pool, and lunch at Rubios Baja Grill (something I really miss!) I had fun with friends here and pursued a little extra 'friend' time with one of my 'favorites'. =-)

Washington DC - home for 1 day then off to the nation's capitol for another Arthur Murray event, one I had complete responsibility for. The annual VIP Club was at the Four Seasons hotel in Georgetown, so I didn't mind spending 6 nights in a suite there. As this is an incentive vacation for our attendees, my responsibilities at the event are to make sure everyone has a VIP experience, thus I get one as well. Not too hard of work! My mom joined me and was treated to a little VIP exerience as well. It was great fun to have her along to enjoy all the sightseeing and free time I had, not to mention all the little tasks she helped me do as 'work'.

San Francisco - Home for 2 days then off to San Fran for a competition. Nothing really spectacular here, I saw the inside of a hotel, that's about it. The hotel is right on the bay so I did get to run along the water and watch the planes land. And it was cold! In the 60s! Which made for a nice run, but a little chilly in my Miami running gear. I did get to enjoy an In-N-Out burger there, that's worth mentioning! And I did get to see my 'friend' again as he lives there.

Houston - Home for 4 days then off to Houston to see George Straight with my dad. Since everyone else was out of town, it was just he and I and I convinced him to go to the outlet mall for me before heading to the concert. Of course that also meant a great Texas BBQ lunch at the Texas Roadhouse before hand. We missed Julianne Hough, the first act, because it took us so long to get into the stadium to park, and only saw a few songs by Blake Shelton, but Sugarland was really good, a welcome surprise, and then of course Gorgeous Georgous was so amazing. What a legend. It was a long night, but so fun!

Las Vegas - Home for a 10 days then off to Vegas for an event where it was 110 degrees. Actually my runs there were so nice, even though it was like 90 degrees at 6am, the dry heat was so much easier to run in and didn't zap my energy like the weather at home is doing. I never started work until after noon each day here so I got to lay at the pool in the morning each day and enjoy some peace. The event was quite nice and easy, although there were late nights. Which meant on the very last night there was no sleep at all since I had a 6am flight.

I've been home now for a week but head out tomorrow again. With a few days at home now and then I've seen about 10 movies in the theater, watched the final season of Prison Break, and done too much shopping. Along the way I am also working like crazy! A busy season is coming up, not only for traveling for me, but also in the office, so expect me to be a little crazy. It's all good though, I'm not complaining about it all, someday I will want to slow down, but I guess it's not today!

Up next... So Cal, San Antonio, Tokyo, Hawaii, Mexico City, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico, Utah, Ohio...all before Thanksgiving

On the Road Again...

Since my last post I have continued to be on the road. I was home most of May (except for the infamous family trip to Disneyworld in Orlando you have all seen on my family's blogs) but once the end of the month hit it has been non-stop ever since. I first went to Phoenix, which is always a fun trip because I get to see my cousins and even stayed a night at my Aunt & Uncle's home before the event began. I love it when work takes me to cities where I have family.

From Phoenix I went straight to Blackpool, England. As usual, the dancing was great but the city is such a bore. Luckily I didn't have to worry about jetlag though because I pretty much stayed on Miami time: going to bed at 4AM and waking up about noon every day. Pictures: Blackpool pier, Ballroom, my friends and coworkers at dinner, me on the train from Manchester airport to Blackpool.

Since then I have been to Boston for a tough event where I worked from 7AM - midnight for four days. Luckily it was raining most of the time so I didn't really miss much outside. Picture of Boston skyline from MIT.

And then last weekend I was in Tampa. More great dancing and decor, more late nights, but time to go out and run around the bay a little between sessions. Picture of pink hotel.

I'm actually in the Admirals Club now in the Miami airport on my way to New York City, although the flight is delayed 2.5 hours thus why I have time to actually update my blog. Can you tell in the picture who will be sitting next to me? This is my favorite event of the year though so I'm looking forward to the week ahead. It kindof rejuvenates me for the rest of the busy summer. July still holds trips to Southern California, Washington DC and San Francisco so I need to be ready!

Sunny in Seattle!

So I survived Seattle! And it was sunny! I was expecting it to be gray and gloomy and rainy, but luckily for my first trip there ever, it was blue skies. It was a little colder than I would have liked though. But anything below 70 degrees is cold to me now. Not only did I spend time at the competition, but I had some time to discover the city. I found a running path down along the port and bay so I started my mornings with several miles of fresh air. The open market was full of fish, flowers and fruit. It was kinda stinky and I HATE the smell of fish. I got to see them throwing large fish which makes the market famous. I walked to the space needle and rode the elevator to the top for a view of the entire city. And of course I did my fair share of shopping in the city, there was a huge 2-story H&M right across the street from the hotel so I was in trouble! And of course in Seatlle there was literally a Starbucks on every corner so I used my discount card to the max!

Of course I also had fun at the event, hanging out with friends and dancing with certain 'friends'. =-) It was a long ride home across the country, but Suzanne got a little crazy with her camera and documented the day, even down to me eating my salad on the plane. I didn't put ALL the pictures she took on the slideshow, believe me there were quite a few. In fact, we were being so goofy and laughing taking pictures that the flight attendant on one flight asked us if we were going on vacation. So far from it! But at least we were having enough fun that it appeared that way. It has taken me all week to recover from the time change. This week is the family trip to DisneyWorld then I have a week until Arizona then England.

UPDATE, UPDATE!

Here I am again, in the Dallas airport on a layover, & I finally have time to update my blog. I'm headed to Seattle today to a dance competition for work. I have no real 'responsibilities' there other than to be a corporate person there, so that's kinda nice. After the past month, I really need to play it low-key.

Since my last post, I finished the trip in Utah and headed back to the office to prepare for the month ahead. On my way to Las Vegas for our big competition, I stopped in San Antonio so I could celebrate Isabelle's birthday with her. This event always conveniently falls on the weekend of her brithday and I am able to make a long lay-over on the company! We had a great 48 hours, how can you not with a three year old that wants to go to the mall for her party.

The event in Vegas was a success and I had a fun time, which is nice that I can have fun while working. I got to hang with some people that I enjoy and don't get to see that often. Plus it was nice to show off the new 'me' and receive compliments on how I looked. It's been a long time since that was the case. We went to see Bette Midler while there, which I can't say that I'm like a big fan or anything, but the show was fabulous.

Once I got home from Vegas I was in the office EVERY DAY (including weekends) until this past Monday... that's 28 days straight working. That's because our International Franchisee Convention was just last week in Miami Beach and this is a program that falls completely on my boss, thus ME, and has been in the works for two years. I believe in the end it was a great success but it was a lot of work and stress for me. And, being the perfectionist and overly organized person I am, I wasn't about to let anything go half-baked, so I caused myself plenty of extra stress. In fact, my boss fell ill the last night because of exhaustion and I had to finish things up. Good thing I am in good health so I didn't fall myself, because it would have been warrented. We had the very first franchisee as a key note speaker, she opened the first franchised studio in 1938 and she is now 105 years old. And she even danced onto the stage...pretty cool.

After the past few weeks, my boss proclaimed this past Monday "tara holiday" and I had the day off. I had stayed at the beautiful Fontainebleau Resort on Miami Beach for almost a week and didn't get to enjoy it all, too bad I couldn't spend my day off there. But a pedicure, a movie and a trip to the mall made for a pretty good substitute. Now I'm off to Seattle for a few days, I've never been there so hope to get in some sightseeing, although it's raining there today (big surprise) so hopefully I can still get out. I'm gearing up for a very busy June, which heads to a busy July, then August...so these moments in an airport are very cherised!