As a member of the marketing department for a holiday company, I’m pretty used to friends and family responding to my job title with “Oh yeah, can you get me a free holiday?” I’m also pretty used to smiling as if this is the first time I’ve heard the joke and telling them…no. No I can’t. However, as a content writer, the big perk of my job is that I do get the odd company-funded trip myself.

Now, these aren’t holidays, by any stretch of the imagination. The last work trip I went on was for TBEX Europe in Lloret de Mar, and between conference seminars, meetings, networking events, live tweeting and responding to emails from the office, we were working about 16 hours a day. There was no sunbathing, no sleeping late, and when we got home late Sunday night, running on empty, it was straight back to the office on Monday. That being said, there was the odd moment that looked like this:

So yes, if it’s honesty hour…it could be considered a pretty nice perk. Even when it’s exhausting, it’s still exciting and interesting and just an all-round pretty fantastic job.

So today I’m being sent away for 6 whole days to the Balearics – my workmate and I are spending 3 days in Ibiza and 3 days in Majorca, running around with cameras and trying to pack as many experiences into our time as humanely possible. I’m missing a few awesome things happening in Leeds during that time, but I must admit I’m pretty excited.

A few things I’m looking forward to:

1. Getting out of the office for a week – I love my job but I hate spending 8 hours a day trapped behind a desk in a stuffy office! It’s nice to have a change of pace from time to time, especially if that change of pace is in Spain…
2. Playing with a GoPro – When I go on a content research trip I get set loose with a GoPro camera, which I love! I can’t justify buying one for myself, so playing with the company one for a few days is awesome. Now I just need to learn to edit my own footage!
3. Making my Periscope debut – Yes, my colleague and I are hopefully kicking off the company Periscope account with some live streams from Ibiza! I’m horrendously awkward on film and hate hearing my own voice, but life begins at the end of your comfort zone and all that…
   

     Image credit: oklanica on Flickr.

4. Reviving my fading tan – My Croatia holiday seems a million years ago, in part because my skin has almost completely returned to its naturally pasty shade. I’m very cautious of sun damage and never tan excessively, but who can resist a lovely golden glow?
5. Putting my creative brain to work – I’ve been doing a lot of dry, research-based stuff at work recently, and a different setting and some new experiences are really going to get the creative juices flowing.
6. Getting back to my hostel roots – I love hostels but it’s been a while! We’ve got a private room in a hostel in Ibiza, and in true hostel form it’s super cheap but has loads of awesome stuff a cheap hotel never has. Including a roof terrace decorated with beds and sofas…

Of course, first I have to pack. See you in a week!