I did the most irresponsible thing a responsible employee can do, I showed up in San Diego a week early for a work conference… alone… with a journal… and an agenda that said: eat • write • move.
WEEK ONE: VACATION BRAIN
I wandered Balboa Park and met artists who casually hand you a new worldview like it’s a sample tray. I bought jewelry. I learned how to turn a patio umbrella into a custom art installation, which is either “creative expression” or “the moment my neighbors start a group chat about me.” I found my mod-art doppelgänger (perhaps in my opinion only, but who else counts?) on a beach in Encinitas.
Also: I thought I discovered a nude beach.
Plot twist: it was one nude guy.
Everyone else was clothed, minding their business, and honestly, its the most corporate metaphor I’ve encountered all year.
By night: I ate like I was being audited by the gods.
Oysters and Mezcal at Mia’s in Solana Beach, where the wait staff reminded me why waitressing is still my favorite job. The Baja Beach Cafe in Mission Beach brought ocean views, sick margaritas (plural), and strangers who invited me in like it was normal. Then Italian in Chula Vista with colleagues I genuinely adore before the main event. [Andrea, Jennifer, Nicole, Sophia].
WEEK TWO: CONFERENCE BRAIN
I moved from a surf motel ten feet from the ocean (thanks again for the tip Vinnie!) to a resort + convention center. Translation: from “writer in the wild” to “adult with a name tag.”
Reentry is always messy.
Right on cue, the rain arrived with mild hurricane ambition. Sideways trees and I was soaked to the skin in a ten second run from restaurant to Uber (memories Sarita.) And then social whiplash: reconnecting with people I hear 95% of the time on Zoom [cameras off.]
I recently learned the word “omnivert.” Which means I can look cool while my internal battery is doing that low-power warning sound. It also means I can appear unbothered while:
-meeting sponsors I’ve never met in person and hoping they’ll partner with me to build meaningful content
-accidentally moderating my first panel at a Merchant Advisory Group conference.
-having those politely awkward hallway conversations with colleagues I don’t regularly work with, where I realized: it can take years to know someone when your relationship lives in meetings, messages, and email threads.
Then I flew back to a blizzard warning (and as of 9pm ET on 2/22, my driveway is auditioning for Everest). Assuming I have power today, its back to the follow-ups, debriefs, and work that shows up after the work.
And here’s the part I don’t want to lose:
The trip reminded me that learning doesn’t only happen in structured sessions and meetings. Sometimes it happens in art studios, awkward hello-hugs, sideways rain, witnessing a nude man living his truth, or in the moment you realize you’re more creative (and tired) than your calendar allows.
So, tell me in the comments: What’s your hardest “reentry” after a trip or conference?
