Me, probably off on a tangent…
So what are the odds of everything going smoothly when I travel to teach? 50-50. Either they will…or they won’t.
And when they don’t, they usually don’t in a rather spectacular fashion.
I’ve grown used to things not being ideal. You learn to get flexible very quickly, or you would drive yourself bananas.
So I make lists, check them twice (thrice, more) hope I remember everything. But usually I forget something.
Like the time I forgot my little travel purse on the kitchen counter. I managed to phone Doug and get him to pick it up and deliver it back to the airport at the very last second. But I was the absolute last person on board. I think the only reason they didn’t leave without me is that I’d already checked into the gate and they knew I was there – somewhere.
The time I had a massive allergic reaction (several times) and threw up all night and was brain dead or near as, the following day.
The time I got food poisoning.
The time my plane couldn’t depart due to fog, mad scramble to re-book, bought a ticket on another airline because their plane had radar and could take off in the fog. Of course that meant I didn’t get reimbursed for the second ticket out of town, had to have the original airline rebook on all the flights I missed, arriving at last at midnight with a two hour drive to my hostess’ house falling into bed at 2 am with a 7 am wake up call.
The time a conference seminar assistant didn’t realize she needed to pick up the class handouts so I had to do the entire complex topic with no references for the students. Lots of air drawings that day. And I did a terrible job because I didn’t have my handouts, which threw me for a loop.
A friend asked if things didn’t get better. Nope. Nope. Nope. Read Daryl Lancaster’s blog for some of her adventures with travelling.
So why on earth do I keep doing this? Well, I’m not. I have stopped taking bookings for guilds. (Unless I get arm twisted with a reason for me to make an exception.)
I have cut back to only teaching the Olds master weaving programs (with, as mentioned, a few exceptions).
But yes, I have done this for a rather long time. I have been teaching since the month I quit my ‘real’ job in order to become a professional weaver. My first workshop was a spinning workshop – coincidentally the very same night my father died.
I drove to smaller towns and villages in the region. I have white knuckled my way through snowstorms, white outs/blizzards, black ice, pouring down rain and thunder storms.
I have flown all over the place in good weather…and bad…sometimes missing flights, arriving late, arriving at a completely different airport with people on the ground scrambling to get me.
I have arrived without my luggage. More air drawings, until it caught up to me.
So, then, why? Why keep doing this?
Well, I could be flippant and say I’m ‘warped’. But the fact is I am passionate about weaving and I am passionate about trying to help people understand the craft.
The next two trips are both driving. I am hoping for good weather, but it either it will be good…or it won’t. Either way I will hit the highway Friday am as early as I can for the nearly 500 mile drive and hope it goes smoothly.