Author: thestampsinmypassport

A professional serving the travel industry for 25 years. Expertise and knowledge in sales, customer care and knowledge of the world. Sharing my knowledge, travel stories and tales from around the world in an engaging way.

Covid Confessional Day 1 – My Cough

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized3 Comments

Actual self isolation day 38

Anyone who has worked with me, part of my family or spent any time with me knows I have this crazy bronchial asthmatic cough. I have had it my whole life. I have made children in my life cry when I have had an attack. My mom tells stories about being looked at in the grocery store when I was a toddler that she was a horrible mother for bringing her child out with ‘that’ cough.

In my past lives in a call centre environment I was even asked to leave the office space. The cough is part of my asthma and once it starts it can take months to recover from. My reply to this person at work was simple, “are you going to pay my mortgage and bills while I stay home” (this was before working remote was an option.

I went to Paris in February 2006 and due to the dampness and the feather pillows in the hotel I was sick before the end of the trip and my cough was full swing. I should include this was just after SARS was finally under control. At the airport on the way home I was sitting in the “non smoking” section (if you have been to Paris you know that is an oxymoron) and every time I coughed I got the death stare. I can say that I almost thought I would not be allowed on the flight.

I was fortunate to attend my Hamilton performance on February 29th. This was the VERY early stages of Covid and I remember commenting that the theatre was full and there wasn’t a mask to be seen. However, I did cough right before the performance started and the woman in front me shuddered, move forward in her seat and turned around to shoot me a look of disdain. That was BC – BEFORE COVID.

I just finished watching a piece on the Today show about coughing. Let’s just say that there is a reason why the masks are important. Very important. Made me very anxious. Anxious of post-isolation life and how we will treat each other.

In the coming days and I weeks I am going to be sharing my ‘covid confessionals’. I feel like the conversations I have been having with my friends are very thought provoking and I am sure many are having conversations with your friend and family groups about the same concerns.

I would love to hear how you are feeling about this post and any other thoughts you may have. Continuing an open and honest conversation about current life and post isolation life and what it could look like.

Until then, please stay home when possible, and when you need to go out, stay safe.

and wash your hands,

Until next time,

Lisa

 

 

 

 

Rainbows after the storm

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized1 Comment

525,600 minutes – how to you measure a year in life?

In a year from now we will look back at 2020 and think to ourselves what the heck was that and how did we get through it. I know we are far from getting through 2020 but I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the last twelve months of my life.

Twelve months ago I was just moving through life. The year started off with making a difficult decision to leave the job at WE. I thought when I landed at WE I really thought it was going to be THE job. For a while it was. Heath passed away and that changed me. During those final months at WE I had a workplace situation with a staff person. It was harassment and I chose to remove myself from that situation.

I took a job that I haven’t really talked much about. Mainly because it didn’t last long enough to make a dent. That job was misrepresented to me in the interview and hiring process and from the first week I worked there I knew that this wasn’t the job they had told me it was going to be.

That would bring me to April 2019. The search for “what next” had begun. I knew one thing for sure, I didn’t want to get back to selling leisure travel again. I wanted leadership development, training and business development. Application after application, months and months. Some interviews and some more that looked really promising. Then crickets.

In June I had a new opportunity propose itself with Goway Travel. I had my eye on the company for several years and it appeared that something would actually happen. I waited until August and then it happened. “We would like to welcome you to are induction class starting September 3rd.”

So after almost five months I was to embark on a new adventure, a European Destination Specialist with Goway Travel. I arrived the building across the street from my old Sell Off Vacations office and met the new team of trainees. Took the empty seat in the front (yes, the front) and met a wonderful ‘newbie’ who would fast become a great friend.

We were a group of five in the office and a few that were online with us from out west. The five of us spent four weeks together. The training room is in the basement, so we were called the basement dwellers. Coming out for lunch breaks to walk or while the weather was nice sit up on the roof top patio which is a bonus I can say I am longing for now after the winter season.

We went up to the reservations floor in early October. We were each provided a coach to teach us the “Goway Ways”. Even after 30 years of being in the industry, this was such a new and exciting arm of the industry that I needed to learn.

I am grateful for my past experience and quick ability to learn and adjust to new processes. I was keen to jump in and start. Patience grasshopper, patience.

Goway is a family run business that is celebrating it 50th anniversary this year. I can tell you that 2020 was ramping up to be a very special time for the company. The company is divided by area of the world with experts who really have unique expertise. So many different cultures in one place. The owners are Australian so there are a lot of Aussies in the company, but really from everywhere in the world, Italy, Germany, New Zealand, Ecuador, France and so many more. We are really a family from the United Nations.

Winter in the Europe department is the time for bookings. January was a blur. Work, home, sleep, repeat. Much like my past experiences but they were not for last minute vacations to the sun, they were for advance bookings to amazing European destinations, Italy being the top selling destination.

The company saw our Asia Expert family fall to victim to Covid 19 in December and when we were ramping up, they were faced with the full stop of travel to China. From the other side of the call centre we could feel pain, but we were too busy making bookings to full understand the enormity of the situation. We did take time out on Fridays at 4pm for wine time (on our first Friday we were on the floor we were told, grab a glass).

Until we started to hear that the small towns in Northern Italy were falling sick to the same virus. Then Milan closed and the flights started to stop flying to the north. We continue to book our European holidays because, who knew? People were starting to ask us about their summer travel, but this was February. We had no idea of what was to come.

From what we are all experiencing here in North America, the rapid chain of events cannot even be described. Every morning and every day at the office there were updates, and changes, and anxiety.

I feel that when someone says “I can only imagine what you are going through”, no you really can’t. That would apply to any industry. Just like I can’t even imagine what the front line medical workers are going through, you just can’t.

From a customer’s point of view, I had to cancel 50th birthday trips, 25th wedding anniversary trips and even my own bucket list trip to London. My training manager put it best the other night, it is okay to mourn the loss of all your months of hard work.

And of course, after watching every single part of the travel industry shut down from cruises, to airlines, to Disney, and everything in between come to a grinding halt full stop. This week was incredible rough for the local community. Many travel agencies have had to temporarily close their doors, suspend operations for the time being.

My Goway family joined that team this week. Many of my family members, including myself now find ourselves listening to the PM’s daily reports knowing it applies to us now.

I am sad. I am sad because after a very rough time the past 18 months I had a great family again. A place that I enjoyed going every day, with people I enjoyed spending time with. My fellow ‘basement dweller’ was part of the first round of family leaving. We ate lunch in the lunchroom together every day since September. I couldn’t even go to eat lunch down there after he left.

What will life look like when we emerge from this period of self isolation, no one knows. I hope that I will be able to return back to my Goway family and begin to create new European dream trips for those who had to put their dreams on hold for this virus.

I know that it will be hard to look for the rainbow because we are not through the storm yet.

Until then I will respect the distance, share my food photos and share my stories.

Stay safe and healthy, and please stay connecting but socially distanced.

Lisa

Respecting the Distance

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized2 Comments

For those of you who follow me on Facebook and Instagram you know that just over a week ago I had a very traumatic experience at Walmart. It was the weekend of hoarding and panic buying. It really sparked a level of anxiety I don’t think I have ever experienced before. I know I am not the only one who felt (feels) that way.

The start of my work week was much like the week before. I went to the office and it was all hands on deck. Being in the travel industry, which is an ‘essential’ service, we were helping people get back to Canada, facilitating clients who had to cancel their existing bookings and be there for each other. If you know someone who is a travel professional, you may have some understanding of what this time has been like for us.

On Wednesday I finally had the go ahead to work from home. When I left the office I called my parents to ask what they needed from the store as I once I got home I would not be going out again for many days.

I went to the No Frills at Centrepointe Mall. I walked over to one of the produce staff and thanked him. He said, “what for”? I said, for make sure all the customers got what they needed. He was very vocal about the insanity from the weekend before. He really shed a light on the process. Because of all the panic buying and food hoarding, it set back the supply chain about 72 hours. They can’t catch up while the people are storming the stores and grabbing everything in sight.

But that changed towards the end of the week. The city and province put rules in place for “social distancing”, limiting the number of people in the stores, recommending special hours for seniors and those with compromised immune systems. Thankfully I was tucked in at home and didn’t need anything.

Until yesterday…when I went to make KD for lunch and took out my milk, which had gone bad. Yup, no milk for my coffee or my KD. What was I to do? Well, nothing yesterday. It was already the middle of the afternoon and I wasn’t going anywhere at that time of the day.

I woke up early this morning and arrived at No Frills on Centre about 8:45am. There was a line which didn’t bother me. I got my cart and took my place in line. I would say that for most folks they were leaving a shopping cart length between, except for the man behind me who didn’t have a cart and was too close to me. I moved up two inches, he moved two inches. I was about to say can you back the “f’ up, but just moved the cart around.

I was observing the folks leaving the store. Do you know what each and every cart had…you guessed it… TOILET PAPER.

I spoke to the owner when I entered the store and thanked him. I told him that this was the least anxiety I have had since this started. He said they were just waiting for the directives to be put into place to help level it off.

There was meat, chicken, lamb and more. There was a full case of meat and chicken in the Kosher section, milk, eggs cheese and more. Some of the milk options were limited, but there was at least milk to buy.

I thanked the clerk who checked me out and came home. Home is where I plan on staying for quite a while. There is no need to leave (except for walks). My fridge is full, my freezer is full and my pantry is full.

I was quiet at home, resting on my couch when I got a text message – it said go to ur balcony. I had a nice surprise visit when my brother brought my two nieces for a quick hello from the street. Made my day.

I am looking forward to talking to you, my friends on the phone or on FaceTime any time you want. Those of you with families have a busy house with lots going on. Take the time to remember those who are alone. Social distancing, or self isolation is hard for those who live alone, no matter the age.

I think we all need to get used to this new normal as I feel it is going to be here for a while. I think quite a while.

I will be here, and sharing my love for storytelling with you. I hope you will come on this journey with me. What else do you have to do?

Stay home, safe and secure and most of all stay connected.

Lisa