The easy part

I've been busy over the past few weeks to say the least. I've been working on some really big shows that have been taking a lot of time. The good news is that I've settled into my cruise director role on the truck.

Wednesday was career day at the track. An industry group provided an opportunity for about 20 students to learn about the remote television industry. This is a fairly common thing for us now. Part of their career day is that they get to spend 2 hours with me. I give a tour of the truck, explaining the different parts of the system and how they all go together to make the pictures get to you at home. I have different levels of engineering speak depending on the level of the students and what exactly they're looking to do. Many times the crew members will help out with their areas of expertise as we get to their area.

Students are able to ask questions as they go, and I usually try to leave 10-20 minutes at the end in a quiet room to answer questions and go over things. JT was with us this week, and was hanging out in the room where the Q&A happens at the end, and we were all having a conversation, and he said something that is so true- The engineering that we do is the easy part, It's the travel that's rough.

That is so true. Every aspect of the travel takes it toll- the flight delays, getting on a plane, sleeping in a hotel, eating bad food. Beyond that, your interpersonal relationships suffer. The engineering is easy. I can do that in my sleep. It all just makes sense. With all of the technology going on and all the interconnected systems, the hardest part really is the travel. Today is day 26 away from home. I'll be home for under 24 hours and leave again for 6 days. So many people say they'd love to have my job, or they'd switch places with me in a heartbeat. I don't think most could last a month.