Wednesday 5pm, I was attending a conference where my boss was the speaker. Then I got a text from husband and said: the oven EXPLODED!!! The explosion caused the cabinet glass to explode. My first reaction was ANYONE GOT HURT? He responded: it burned some of my hair (he’s almost bold). Oh well… he still has sense of humor.
I got home 30 min later and the floor was full of glass. The family was okay, nobody got hurt, the room still smelled gas. What happened was my mom turned the oven on with the gas but didn’t check the flame was on. When husband arrived and noticed that the chicken was not cooking, he turned it on again, this time the flame turned out, and the oven exploded or imploded due to the accumulated gas. The shake was so strong that the cabinet behind the oven exploded.
It could have been much worse so I am grateful that they are all safe. No gas pipe was broken, we only need to repair the cabinet.
The next day, I had another 2 days biz trip to Sao Paulo. I honestly felt so tired by Thursday morning that I could have stayed in bed for 24 hrs. But work is work, not only I had to pack and go, I also needed to smile and be ready to socialize, brief my boss about upcoming meetings, and ensure logistics.
It’s Saturday 6am, I am heading to the airport soon to go back home. I am so looking forward to stay home for a while, and no more biz trip. It’s so tiring, especially because of late dinners (both nights in SP we finished dinner at 11pm) and got less than 5 hrs of sleep.
Biz trip disrupts my routine and my body feels it. I get a feeling of overhang as if I got drunk the night before. The long day, the lack of physical activity, eating food that I don’t normally eat, late dinner, even 2 days is enough to shock my body.
It is nice to go on biz trip with new colleagues that I only see during office hours. You get to know them, and you learn about their habits and preferences.
Yet, I enjoy biz trip for work as I get to know what I am doing, whether what I am doing makes sense, and the personal connection. Maybe I should device a way that is less taxing for my body to make it fun and productive. For instance, I could skip some team dinners to get sleep. I could schedule more breaks during the day to recover and have solo time. I could check gym of the hotel before booking to ensure I keep my exercise routine.
Looking forward to a low key weekend and celebrate mothers’ day with the family. The girls made gifts, I so want to see what they made. 🙂
Our New Journey 
That is SCARY! Our oven is electric, and I’m afraid to have gas. The good news is no one got hurt, the damage was minimal, and I doubt anyone in your family will make that mistake again.
Your business trips do sound exhausting! I like your ideas to make them less so. And, I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!
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Wow that explosion is scary!! I am glad no one was hurt! Yikes!
Your work trips sound really intense. Luckily I rarely have evening commitments as the sales people want to get back to their families and post Covid, most clients do not want to go out to dinner. Occasionally I will have an event but it’s usually done by 8. Those late nights and short nights of sleep would be so hard for me!!
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OMG I had to do some deep breathing there. I am so glad everyone is okay! But aieeeeeeeeeee. That is terrifying! (lol, love your husband’s sense of humour about his hair).
Your work trips sound very exhausting, Coco. Productive and interesting, for sure, but exhausting! I hope you can catch up on rest when you’re back.
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I used to have similar business trips – tight schedules, late dinners, nonstop social energy. What saved me (mentally and physically!) was carving out non-negotiable me-time, usually sneaking in 30 minutes on the hotel treadmill. Even if it was late or ridiculously early, it grounded me and made the chaos feel a bit more manageable.
I love your idea of checking the hotel gym in advance and possibly skipping a team dinner now and then. It’s not selfish, it’s smart.
Hope your weekend will be truly restorative and full of sweet surprises from your girls!
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That is so scary, Coco! Your husband seems very calm about the whole thing. I would have been losing my mind. I’m glad no one was hurt.
You have been going non-stop lately, and you’ve only recently moved to a new country. Phew. I hope you get some much-needed rest and recuperation time soon. ❤
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