DC in a Day

I woke up in my room, and I fell asleep that same night in my room. Just like any other day, right? Only difference was I spent the entire time in Washington, DC. If you’re a seasoned business traveler this won’t seem that exciting or strange to you. But this was the first time I’d ever taken an entire round trip flight in one day.

Do I recommend it? Nope. If airlines were reliably on time, and if the Detroit airport wasn’t a high risk for bad weather, then maybe it would be fine. But they aren’t and it is. I wanted a ticket that would give me plenty of buffer time before my 2pm interview. That meant waking up at 4am to arrive in DC by 8. Dressed in a suit (with an extra pair of panty hose), I felt naked going to the airport with just my purse.

Other than the fact that I was exhausted from only having four hours of sleep and my stomach was in knots from drinking too much coffee without enough food, I actually had a great morning. I was able to get some work done and catch up with an old friend from college who lent me his fancy leather portfolio. I still can’t bring myself to buy one. I fully admit that I wanted one for this interview, but all it does is say, “I’m willing to spend big bucks to make me look professional.” Since when was a leather portfolio the standard by which we judge somebody’s professionalism? Kind of like when people insist that fancy resume paper really makes a difference. If I were on a hiring committee, those applicants would have a straight track to the garbage can.

DC is an incredible city. The metro takes you to and from the airport in ten minutes. And there’s no long shuttle from the airport to the metro either, you cross the street and there it is. It really does make business travel a snap. And if I had more confidence that there’d be no delays, I easily could have arrived at noon and made it to the firm in plenty of time. And the firm, well it was incredible. But I don’t want to jinx things because I still haven’t heard back. With any luck though this summer I’ll be posting about a return trip.