I am on my first of five trips and have to say, gosh it feels good to be back on the road.  Maybe it is the two beds (one for napping/eating/tv watching, one for sleeping), or that my hair gets vacuumed off the floor every day, or maybe it’s just getting out of the office for a bit.  Whatever it is, all of the reasons I love recruiting came flooding back the instant I got a soy milk upgrade at the LAX Starbucks and kept the receipt to be reimbursed.

I live alone, so my standard of living already excludes pants and getting out of bed before 10am on weekends; but even I find guilty pleasures to indulge in when away from home.  I mean, in order to get fresh towels you HAVE to leave them on the floor!!  Also, hotel air conditioning is just one of the best things in life.  My goal last year was to eat at Whole Foods as much as possible and I must say I was pretty successful.  This year, the dream continues as I add those extra pieces of chicken to my salad and throw in a side of six dollar brussel sprouts for good measure.  Also, the sunsets from that Whole Foods parking lot aren’t too shabby.

When you keep your territory, it is interesting to watch as the city develops between your trips.  The highway construction is completed only to find a new part is ripped up, the renovations to the mall are done, a new restaurant has opened.  The same bearded barista at Starbucks tells me to have a fantastic day, the same counseling secretary comments on the weather in LA, the same teacher thinks I know more about Lane Kiffen than I do.  Hertzel is the headmaster’s dog at The Emery/Weiner School and getting a high five from him after my visit is actually one of the highlights of the trips. The signs of life are more palpable when you have been gone for six months and remind you that, while you were at your desk reading applications and smiling your way through admitted student events, life went on without you.

I have explored many a mall, outlet mall, movie theater and Starbucks.  I can confidently tell you that the Forever 21 at The Woodlands Mall is outstanding, the Houston Premium Outlets in Cypress are dangerous and there is not a Starbucks I have found that does not have a line around 8am.  To me, it is fun to have the time to just wander and take a road trip.  My Austin trip is a week away but I am already looking forward to catching a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse and meeting up with a college friend one night.

One of my favorite things to do when my rental has the technology is to track my mileage and how long I spend in the car.  This trip I drove just shy of 500 miles and spent almost 20 hours in the car.  This is actually nothing compared to some of my colleagues who drive through entire states in a trip.  I will always associate football season, pumpkin spiced lattes and Route 44 diet cokes with lime from Sonic with recruitment because they have accompanied travel for the past few years.  It’s nice to be able to indulge a little while away from home and also be able to wear the same two outfits all week because no one sees you enough to notice.  Ah recruitment, it’s good to see you again.

By Sam Schreiber