Corporate Off-Sites

So here we are again. Another Monday.

Last week I was at a corporate training seminar in Silicon Valley. Every company I have ever worked for has done off-sites, retreats, seminars, training, etc. The goal is to grow better executives, create synergy, brainstorm and create team building skills. All excellent goals, but for a whole host of reasons, I just don't like these things.

I don't like being prisoner to someone else's schedule.
I don't like the politics and the hidden agendas.
I don't like that one wrong question (or answer) could make you look like an idiot and seal your fate in the hierarchy.
I don't like cold weather.
I don't like being cooped up in overly air-conditioned conference rooms, cold, nervous and potentially bored, which leads to me stress eat and then feel more stressed.
I don't like that there is no time to exercise.

But, I have to admit, the off-site was rather inspirational. After three days of meetings at cutting edge companies like Facebook, GoPro and the like, I left feeling inspired! I felt like I was on the precipice of invention, thinking out of the box, finding my creative inner youth. I no longer could be bothered with such minutia like making a living, running a household or having a boss.

Ah. Then reality kicked in.

After three days of non-stop eating, drinking and getting very little sleep due to late night work sessions, I suddenly feel like crap.  I am retaining water, missing my family, exhausted and now delinquent on three days of not doing my "day job."

Saturday night, I went the Screen Actors Guild awards. (I know what you're thinking: Another awards show?) We were nominated for a Best Actor in a Drama Series, but we lost. It is REALLY nice to be nominated, but you know what? It's just better to win.

So back to reality indeed: laundry, dishes, dog walking, grocery shopping and a ton of scripts to read. Oh joy another weekend!

Sunday it poured rain. No tennis. I read scripts and ran errands. The thing I look forward to most of all, 48 weeks from now, is spending a Sunday doing whatever I WANT to do. Not working. Not juggling. Not worrying about Monday.

But today is Monday. I woke up to a flat tire and it's 46 degrees outside (very cold for LA). I hate the cold. I feel like I am 100 years old when it is cold outside. When I am cold, my body aches... and I eat. I have been eating like a pig since the holidays. Why? Because I am cold... and tired. So now I am cold, tired and bloated... which makes me stressed. It is a trifecta.