Adventures in Flying

I had a travel adventure yesterday.  After being in meetings for work over the last two days (1), I was headed back to Small Town South.  My travel began as I arrived at the airport early and was able to snag a spot on the flight out before mine.  Success! (2)   Then we find out that this flight is delayed 1 hour due to bad weather in a connecting city … Okay not a huge deal, we are still taking off before my original flight. 

So I board, happy that I am travel savvy enough to successfully catch an early flight out and win the race to get my luggage on before all of the overhead bins are full (3).  Success #2!   Once about 1/3 of the plane boards, we notice that no one else is getting on … great. Then the voice on the overhead informs us that we will again be delayed for 2 hours.  We have the choice to stay on the aircraft, or get off.  Seeing as that I have my dinner, computer, magazines and sky mall (4), I sprawl out on my row of seats and began to take a quick cat nap.

After about an hour and a half, they begin to reboard the plane.  Everyone gets on fairly quickly but the flight door remains open … After 20 minutes everyone in their seats, we are alerted by the pilot that the flight is again delayed.  45 minutes pass. We are ready to push back from the gate … finally.  We slowly … slowly make our way down the tarmac.  We are going at a snail’s pass, barely moving.  Actually wait, we aren’t moving at all.  Just as I begin to think that the pilot is stalling for the inevitable, he comes over the speakers, “We’re sorry to inform you that they have stopped all flights in and out of the airport (again), and frankly we don’t know when we will get in the air.” (5)

After an hour or so, the people around me begin to plot mutiny.  “What’s the new law on how long you can hold passengers on a plane?"  "It's like they've got us as prisoners in here."  "Seriously they aren't going to even give us water and snacks?" (6)  Finally we get the go ahead to take off at 11:30 - 4.5 hours after our scheduled takeoff and 40 minutes after the last connecting flight to Small Town South left the big city airport.  

We wearily arrive at 1:30am. Noting that there are in fact no flights out for the rest of the night (7), I blow past passengers bedding down for the night and the Delta counter, where there are 2 Delta employees and about 100 tired, angry customers.  I am only a few hours drive away from Small Town South so I head towards the rental car area.  After visiting every rental car counter, I find there are no cars left (8).  With no flight, no car, and no bed - desperation sets in.   It's 2am and I begin to call people I know in the city.  Call one -answer. Call two - no answer (9), etc. I begin to come to terms with the fact that I will be up all night guarding my belongings from the creepy airport people who are wandering around, eying everyone's luggage. Then I get a text back from Call # 1 "Did you mean to call me?"  I immediately call back and beg my new heroine to pick me up at the airport and let me sleep on her on her futon for a few hours.  

By the grace of God, she agreed and by 3 am, I was snuggled in her futon. 3.5 hours later, I was up again. Ready to catch my rescheduled flight at 8:30am.  The most wonderful friend ever's husband dropped me off at the train station on the way to his work that I could get to the airport (T - 1 hour 25 minutes to flight).  Unfortunately, I greatly underestimated the time.  What I thought would take 30 minutes was more like 50 minutes (T - 35 minutes).  Once I got to the airport, I realized that everyone that didn't get out last night was trying to get through security that morning, at one time (T - 30 minutes). (10) I get through security with no issues and knock over a poor older lady getting on the train to the terminal (11) (T - 10 minutes).  I hop off at the terminal and began to run. Only 30 gates stand between me and my flight (12).  I run up to the counter to find that my flight is again delayed (13).  

To wrap things up after a minor mechanical issue, which turned into major mechanical issue (14), we switched planes. It's now 2 hours after we were suppose to take off, and we have a new gate, a new plane but not a new take off time.  In fact we don't have a take off time at all.  Apparently the flight attendant is injured and they are having trouble finding another.  Now, I know I don't work in this industry but don't you think that you could find an extra flight attendant in say .. an airport?

After another hour, they find a flight attendant and board the team.  A short hour long flight and I am home, exactly 12 hours after I was suppose to be.  On this flight adventure, I did learn a few things though:

1. Know people in every major city that are liable to be awake or answer their phones at odd hours  
2. Be prepared to buy that person a large, expensive bottle of wine
3. Don't be afraid to knock over old people to make your flight
4. Heels are a horrible idea for an airport, always pack sandals
5. Get a good nights sleep before you fly anywhere because you never know when you may have to stay up all night to guard your luggage from creepers in an airport 

1. Which went well, thank you for asking

2. Foreshadowing 

3. Mr. MedSchool does not understand the importance of being on the plane first but after having my carry on checked on too many times b/c of too much luggage in the overhead bins , I am ruthless..

4. Cubicle missile launcher pg 86 … awesome!

5. Yeah, I’m not kidding, he said that.  Great now we have a pissed pilot too

6. PS Lady, if you ask the flight attendants nicely, they will give you water, just not booze - they aren't allowed to give that out if the plane is stopped on the tarmac - major bummer

7. Unless I had a ticket to Seoul, Korea

8.  Except for the 100 that I can clearly see in the parking lot across from the counter

9. Not that this is surprising because it is 2am and we aren't as young as we use to be

10. Printed boarding pass the night before I left the airport to skip the ticket counter - Did I say savvy traveler? 

11. Take no prisoners ... make the flight

12. Yeah, may not seem like a lot but when you are dodging 7 and 70 year olds, it takes its toll 

13.  Not happening again .. no more delays ... argh....

14. Big oops by the Delta Mechanics team

Who are These People and What I am Doing Here?

So I must apologize for my absence.  This week has been slightly crazy to say the least as I try to slide back into the world of the working.  So I started my new job last Monday, not sure at all what to expect.  My first day went well. I was very productive and got to know everyone in the office pretty well (1).  However, for the first three days, I wasn't exactly clear on what was going on.  You see I was told I was "helping with marketing (2)," which is pretty vague.  However after long talks with the designers and account managers, I finally figured it out.

I also discovered quite a few other perks to working in a small agency.  First we have a kitchen full of food (M & M's, granola, goldfish, pretzels, mini candy bars, and other brain food) and a fridge of sodas (3). I get the feeling that this will be a fun office because not only do we have a foosball table and an air hockey table but while rummaging around in the kitchen the other day, I discover a half of a handle of tequila underneath the sink (4). Finally we have an office pet.  It's a cat, that lives in our office.  Apparently it's our owner's cat who lives in the office because the cat and their other pet, a dog, don't get along (5).

Overall I think that it will turn out okay (6).  I am finally getting my feet on the ground and ready to start running.

As for Mr. Med School, he is doing well, just adjusting to me not being around all the time.  I think that Santiago (7), his Cadaver, is taking my place (8).The Cadaver Count for this week was 9 hours, which was less than the 12 that he spent last week.  We'll see what this week hold but an upcoming test tells me that he, and Santiago will be very close this week too.

1. There are only 12 of us in the office, it's not that hard to remember 
2. Seeing that we are a marketing company...doesn't everyone "help with marketing"
3. So how's that diet working?
4. Must mean people are working late nights...
5. And apparently she doesn't get along with anyone else because I'm told she bites 
6. Seriously, let's face it, I'm just glad to have a job at this point
7. Yes, literary allusion to Old Man and the Sea...don't ask, Mr. Med School has already been informed that he is a nerd
8. But he'll never be as good of a cook ... hahahaha

First Days

Pencils, paper and new book smells.  That was my day today.  Do you remember your first day of school at a new school?  You were kind of nervous that you wouldn’t fit in or that the teacher would way over anticipate the load that you could take or that you wouldn’t know how to use your brand new T-83 Calculator.  That was me today…except it wasn’t school, it was a new job and it wasn’t a teacher, it was boss and it wasn’t a calculator, it was a new Mac Book (1).

So since Mr. Med school and I moved, I have been searching for a new job in Small Town, South.  Finally last week, the heavens opened up, and I received an email that said “Please Call me, 555 – 9820.”  This email was from the head of a small marketing agency that I interviewed at several weeks ago.  When I called back, they offered me a job starting on Monday.

Sweet, so now I have a job.  However, this is when the nerves started.  What if they pile the work on me on the first day, and I am overwhelmed (2)? What if all of my coworkers resent the new girl (3)?  What if I sit there bored all day because they don’t give me anything to do (4)?

It all turned out to be okay though (5).  Everyone was friendly, and although they did throw me into work, I wasn’t completely overwhelmed.  I did get a new Mac Book as my computer, and the work environment is nice (6).  I think that things are gonna be okay.  Wish me luck!

1. I realize, welcome me to the 21^st century
2. I can totally act like I understand everything, and then just take it all home and study it
3. I can win them over with my bitter sarcasm charming personality
4. That’s why BlackBerry puts Brick Breaker on their phones   
5. Except for the Mac part.  It took me 5 minutes to figure out how to turn it off because I was too proud to ask anyone
6. 2 word: Foosball Table