I think it should be required for all employees to at some point take a business trip with their fellow employees and bosses. There is nothing like having to spend a week in close quarters with the people who you most likely would never choose to go on a vacation with. My current position as sales manager and tradeshow coordinator has now put four such trips under my belt and boy, do you learn the meaning of TMI. For those of you who don’t have teenagers, that means Too Much Information. Don’t get me wrong; I look at these trips as a positive experience that, as I stated above, should be required.

You experience your co-workers in an entirely different setting and you find that their annoying habit of leaving their coffee mug dirty in the break room sink is nothing compared to the trail of dirty clothes they leave between the bedroom and the bathroom. Sharing a cubicle is downright easy compared to sharing a back seat of a van for eleven hours or listening to them snore all night long. And seeing your boss wearing only a towel in the morning is similar to when they told you that if you are nervous when speaking in front of a crowd, imagine they are all wearing only their underwear. Let’s just say that things will never be the same.

But along with all the awkward moments and the twisted realization that you are working and now traveling with a half-neanderthal, the moments of utter hilarity really do make you a better team player. Why, just last night, the bonding that happened between my boss and our graphics designer was amazing to witness. After several afterparties and the imbibing that is considered protocol, they harassed me to no end when I refused to patronize a local tattoo parlor to have the KOR symbol permanently inked on my ankle. This in turn was then used against me as we argued over who would have to be the first one up in the morning, as they felt that due to my blatant rebellion against a company tattoo, it was obvious who would need to be up and at ‘em at the break of dawn. A very adult solution came to the surface and a rousing game of rock-paper-scissors ensued, which led to me whining like a 10-year-old girl that this game ”always makes me feel like someone is cheating,” to which I insisted we  draw numbers out of a hat. Well, that went over well until the boss was “it” and suddenly all plans changed and no one had to get up early. Ahhh, yes, good times at Camp KOR for junior highers — oh, I mean on our business trip.

One learns about the other’s childhood traumas, their first job, their first speeding ticket, their fear of the dark (yep, that’s me), their apparent inability to wash out their hair from the sink, and how they talk way too much when they have a few too many beers (I am guilty as charged). You find out who is directionally challenged and who thinks that walking 1 1/2 miles in the wrong direction, because that is what Google Maps said to do, after standing on their feet all day is not a big deal. But you also learn about the things that are really uplifting — you find out that there is more to these people that you spend a majority of your day with, people that you really don’t know, but work closely with. They are human, they are funny, they have big dreams, they have opinions, they have hobbies, they actually do appreciate the work you do, they struggle with the same issues that you do, and they are generally really fun to hang out with.

After describing these various scenes that have happened over the last four trips to my best friend, she asked, “Are you sure these are business trips? It sounds more like joining a sorority!” I guess what I am trying to say that at the end of the trip, you have gained something you did not have nor did you ever expect to have from that person on the other side of the padded cell wall that you call your desk — you have gained a friend.