The Isolation of Life on the Road

I love to travel. There's nothing I like to do more than to hop in my car and just go. I love to see things I've never seen before, even if they may seem boring and mundane to everyone else, they're always new and exciting to me. That's why I thought I would love a job that involves a lot of travel (and perhaps if it was a slightly different job I would), but I am finding out that old line about the loneliness of living out of a suitcase is actually quite true.

What does my day really consist of? I get up at 0600, get down to the yard about 0700, and attempt to spray weeds. Afterwards I come back to my empty hotel room. The next day it's the same thing over again. And the next day, the same thing. The only people I know out here are the two other guys on my crew. Otherwise it's just me.

I get along fine with the guys on my crew, but they're not the people I would probably ever become friends with outside of work simply because we have little in common. So they serve as a lunch acquaintance but that's about it. Most of the time I'm isolated in my own little world.

The feeling of loneliness and isolation is heightened by the fact all of my friends are separated by 100s of miles. Only on the very rare occasion do we actually work somewhere where I know someone. And I only get to see my friends briefly, and those brief visits are separated by five long weeks of work. 

Even in this modern technological world it's hard to maintain any real contact with people. Yes, I keep in touch through the internet, text messages, and phone calls, but there is still the real life distance. No amount of electronic communication can replace the real life interaction with the people you love to be around. Living vicariously through Facebook does not replace the feeling of actually being there.

And so is bred the loneliness and isolation of life on the road with nothing to look forward to for weeks on end except for more spraying. All that I have in my room to keep me company is the glowing of a TV and computer screen. I hear about the fun things my friends are doing while I'm trying to figure out the plan for tomorrow, wondering if it will be too windy or if we will get anything accomplished even if it's not. No, this type of lifestyle is not for me.