Nomad Life

I fried my eggs today in olive oil.   That is because for a 10 day stay I did not want to buy more than one fat.   How exactly I ended up on olive oil is moot, though it was the smallest bottle I could order, and I guess I imagined myself frying something in it?   Or making salad dressing?  Though I bought no vinegar.  Butter might have been a better choice since the only thing I can imagine frying is eggs and possibly cheese sandwiches, and butter would have been a better choice for both. 

Nevertheless, having only one fat, an needing for it to make do, brought me back to my decade or so as a consultant for ILOG and IBM.    When I took the job, I knew it required a LOT of travel, and there were years when I traveled more than my friend Bruce, who was a renowned traveler (an even featured once on the cover of American Airlines’ magazine!).   I got to enjoy preferred status at some point in my career from each of our major American Airlines, and years and years of elite status with Marriott. 

Which brings me to living on the road, which I actually enjoy.  While there were times that I really did not want to go on a trip, and certainly many times when I missed my loved ones at home, the Nomad life rather suits me.  The forced minimalism (I’m definitely NOT a minimalist at home) and reduction of much of life to basic tasks is pleasant to me.   While no one would call me an introvert, I do enjoy my own company, and times for silence and solitude.   I am, for example, not going crazy with loneliness, though I am very glad to have an ongoing social media connection with my husband and my family (and tomorrow I have an appointment to call my granddaughter!). 

Back to the olive oil.  As a consultant, for that decade or so (2002 to 2018) I became a real aficionado of the Residence Inns by Marriott.  They were affordable (especially with the ILOG, later IBM corporate rates) and they had a full kitchen, and a defined living area, table to eat at, and cookware.    I would cook most of my dinners there (breakfast was included, and available via a really nice buffet).  It helped me control my calorie intake (eating out all the time really can pack on the pounds) and my diet (as a vegetarian it can be challenging in some areas to find healthy things to eat.) 

I discovered that there are a myriad of dishes you can make from ingredients from the salad bar, and I’d regularly get my veggies there.   Think veggie pastas, stir fries, even, sometimes, salads!  At one time I contemplated writing a cookbook of my Residence Inn recipes.   If I was managing a long term job, I’d often throw a dinner party for my colleagues.   I made gnocchi from scratch for Alessandro Campioli when he was my boss, and lots of oven barbecued chicken.   People were always impressed, and I often had room to entertain, because I had that Marriott gold status and when I would check in, I’d tell the desk clerk, asking for extra plates and chairs for my entertaining night, and they would often upgrade me to a larger unit.  

Which is to say that I’ve fallen into many of those habits as I spend this time in Scotland in self-isolation.   My larder is a little more stocked (after all, it’s 10 nights, rather than 3, and breakfasts and lunches as well as dinners) but the idea of having limited ingredients and making do is still there.  

And I’m not feeling anxiety about being away from home.  Just a little bit of missing the ones I love.  

Dear God, bless the minimalist tendencies in me.  Bless my instinct to improvise with what I have.  Bless my wandering soul, and bring it back safe home, because that is a place I love just as well as the road.  Amen.