I know that I have mentioned it before but the degree to which my life has changed over the past few years is really amazing. When I started this blog my daily routine was wake up, realize that I am living in Kansas City, shake fist at sky, go to work, and either a) go home and surf the net, b) play trivia in a bar or c) watch an unheralded alternative country band with the same fifty people who saw a different unheralded alternative country act the week before. On weekends you could add sit on the corner barstool at Harry’s and drink Boulevard Wheat beer while simultaneously wondering why I was gaining weight. Compare this to my schedule the past few days.
Tuesday: Wake up, take the dogs out, spend some time with the wife and then drive from Fort Myers to Orlando. Attend a conference in which I spend four hours in a windowless conference room discussing minute details of economic modeling software and find it to be a great use of my time and never once think about how Universal Studios is just down the street. Afterwards feel slightly guilty about that fact. Then dinner, call home, write a blog post and fall asleep.
Wednesday: Wake up at four in the morning. Drive to the Orlando airport to catch a 6 AM flight to Chicago. Work on the plane. Head downtown and give a presentation. After lunch try to sort through my emails before heading back to the airport only to discover that my flight has been delayed by an hour and a half. Curse the fact that my resolution to use Weight Watchers and eat better means that I can’t get an Italian Beef sandwich for dinner. Fly back to Orlando, write a blog post on the plane, do some reading and try to relax. Then back to the hotel where people were blowing those vevuzulas from the last World Cup outside my window until midnight. Wearily shake fist at sky as a result.
Thursday: Wake up. Wobble over to the shower and get ready for attending a conference. Grab coffee and remember fondly the days that all I would drink is decaf while accepting the fact that to make it through the day I will essentially be shaking in my chair for most of the morning and then fight off a headache in the afternoon. Spend eight hours discussing minute details of economic modeling and still find that I would rather do that than head over and say hello to Mickey. Drive back home to Fort Myers to Kim and the dogs and not be able to think of a place in the world I would rather be.
I can’t say that it is always like this and the travel schedule can sometimes be a killer but I am in such a better place now it is amazing. I can’t explain how I got from here to there but it has been one hell of a trip.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Here is how tired I was yesterday. I forgot to post a music video. I am going with Kathleen Edwards tonight as she is one of those alternative country acts that I knew before she was referred to as Bon Iver’s girlfriend. Sunday night I will talk about Bon Iver and being an indie rock hipster.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Sunday, July 19, 2009
All just to get to you
I spend a lot of time in airports. That seems to be the nature of my life at the moment. What is strange is that I am not one of those road warrior corporate employees who are never in the same city for more than two days at a time. While I travel for work occassionaly it has never been the focus of my travel stories. Nope, it is just that the nature of my life has me flying a lot to get anywhere interesting. That is just what happens when you live in such exotic locales as Kansas City and Delaware.
I do have to say that as someone who has flown into and out of numerous airports I have never found one that is as mind boggilingly frustrating as the Philadelphia airport. It was apparently designed by Ben Franklin when he was under the impression that we would all travel by zeppelin. There isn't a single thing about that airport that makes a lick of sense. You know it is bad that when you step out of the garage and into the terminal that the carpet splashes due to some unseen leak but that is the least of my issues.
First off, the terminals lack that wonder of the world: the moving walkways. I know this doesn't sound like much and I appreciate the fact that I can get a workout in while getting to my gate but the typical American is not accustomed to walking. Add the fact that the concourses seem incredibly narrow with kiosks selling Rosetta Stone software and buttons from various countries attacking you at all moments and you have efficient traveler me constantly stuck behind people who are moving as slowly as possible. To the point that even I want to bean them with my backpack just to get them to move.
Once I get to the gate my problems still aren't solved. There never seems to be enough seats and I don't believe that they have ever figured out the concept of temperature control. Heating and cooling seem non-existent and when they do exist it is the opposite of the one you want. I also have encountered the gate next to the employee only elevator. Do you know how an elevator beeps when it comes to your floor. Well, instead of a beep this one had a ten second long ear piercing whail. Now have that happen roughly once every four minutes as you wait to board the plane. And boarding the plane always seems to have a whole eastern european flair to it as you tend to end up in numerous lines with people waving tickets in the air and bellowing in about five languages.
Eventually you get on a plane and you want to breathe a sigh of relief that you are now going to be on your way. You pull out of the gate and then you wait. And wait. And wait. A 40 minute wait to get airborne is typical and a two hour wait is not unheard of. All of this during that time period where cel phones and iPods are prohibited from use. They just book so many flights to take off into the northeast corridor that any inconvenience (a drop of rain, a slight gust of wind, a butterfly flapping its wings in Argentina) will cause the airport to go into a complete standstill. It is just maddening.
Still, I know who is waiting for me on the other end of these nightmare flights. And when I finally arrive and see her it makes all the annoyances and petty grievances worthwhile. Because at the end of the day I will go through anything just to see her.
I do have to say that as someone who has flown into and out of numerous airports I have never found one that is as mind boggilingly frustrating as the Philadelphia airport. It was apparently designed by Ben Franklin when he was under the impression that we would all travel by zeppelin. There isn't a single thing about that airport that makes a lick of sense. You know it is bad that when you step out of the garage and into the terminal that the carpet splashes due to some unseen leak but that is the least of my issues.
First off, the terminals lack that wonder of the world: the moving walkways. I know this doesn't sound like much and I appreciate the fact that I can get a workout in while getting to my gate but the typical American is not accustomed to walking. Add the fact that the concourses seem incredibly narrow with kiosks selling Rosetta Stone software and buttons from various countries attacking you at all moments and you have efficient traveler me constantly stuck behind people who are moving as slowly as possible. To the point that even I want to bean them with my backpack just to get them to move.
Once I get to the gate my problems still aren't solved. There never seems to be enough seats and I don't believe that they have ever figured out the concept of temperature control. Heating and cooling seem non-existent and when they do exist it is the opposite of the one you want. I also have encountered the gate next to the employee only elevator. Do you know how an elevator beeps when it comes to your floor. Well, instead of a beep this one had a ten second long ear piercing whail. Now have that happen roughly once every four minutes as you wait to board the plane. And boarding the plane always seems to have a whole eastern european flair to it as you tend to end up in numerous lines with people waving tickets in the air and bellowing in about five languages.
Eventually you get on a plane and you want to breathe a sigh of relief that you are now going to be on your way. You pull out of the gate and then you wait. And wait. And wait. A 40 minute wait to get airborne is typical and a two hour wait is not unheard of. All of this during that time period where cel phones and iPods are prohibited from use. They just book so many flights to take off into the northeast corridor that any inconvenience (a drop of rain, a slight gust of wind, a butterfly flapping its wings in Argentina) will cause the airport to go into a complete standstill. It is just maddening.
Still, I know who is waiting for me on the other end of these nightmare flights. And when I finally arrive and see her it makes all the annoyances and petty grievances worthwhile. Because at the end of the day I will go through anything just to see her.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
A smattering of random thoughts
Yes, my Illini lost to Penn State last night by a score of 38 to 33. In basketball. I can accept Illinois losing to Penn State by that score in football but in basketball? First of all, since when does Penn State even play basketball? Does Joe Pa teach the players the two handed set shot? But my god, how can you not score more than 33 points when you are playing at home? Unless the entire team was drunk I would consider this the worst loss in Illinois history (except for every single time we lost to Northwestern in any sport.)
One odd travel story from this week: When given a list of places to switch planes do not choose Orlando the day after a three day weekend. That is unless you want to spend the entire flight surrounded by a gaggle of small children, many of whom either have their faces painted or are wearing a princess costume, who will spend the entire flight talking at as loud a volume as they possibly can. There is not a volume level on my Zune that is loud enough to cover up the noise of such an amped up crew. It is not that I dislike children, it is just that I prefer dealing with them only when they are somehow related to me and we are not locked into a confined space.
Oh and on my way down to New Orleans I got to spend a few hours in the Nashville airport, which is quite an experience. It is very much a y’all type of place. The best part of the airport was the country music stars who recorded announcements. So you have the guy from Big and Rich (who may be either big or rich, I can never tell) informing you that you are no longer allowed to smoke inside the terminal building.
The best was the guy from Diamond Rio who informed me that all animals, except for service animals, must be locked up inside the terminal. That doesn’t sound funny on the surface but given a lack of sleep and a southern accent “service animals” sounds surprisingly like “circus animals”. I swear the first time I heard it I thought he said circus animals. I suddenly had visions of tigers wandering down the concourse followed by a guy wearing a sequined jacket. And to be honest, that wouldn’t have been the weirdest site I saw all weekend.
That is about it for tonight. I am just dead tired and I am so looking forward to this weekend just so I can catch up on sleep and relax. When I got back from the airport I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had spent more than a few days in my apartment. These past few weeks have just left me physically, mentally and emotionally drained. Things are good, though, don’t worry about that. I just need to turn my brain off for a little while. Sunday night will be the Oscar Live Blog. Dresses! Slumdogs! Vague questions about the merits of cinematography! See you then.
One odd travel story from this week: When given a list of places to switch planes do not choose Orlando the day after a three day weekend. That is unless you want to spend the entire flight surrounded by a gaggle of small children, many of whom either have their faces painted or are wearing a princess costume, who will spend the entire flight talking at as loud a volume as they possibly can. There is not a volume level on my Zune that is loud enough to cover up the noise of such an amped up crew. It is not that I dislike children, it is just that I prefer dealing with them only when they are somehow related to me and we are not locked into a confined space.
Oh and on my way down to New Orleans I got to spend a few hours in the Nashville airport, which is quite an experience. It is very much a y’all type of place. The best part of the airport was the country music stars who recorded announcements. So you have the guy from Big and Rich (who may be either big or rich, I can never tell) informing you that you are no longer allowed to smoke inside the terminal building.
The best was the guy from Diamond Rio who informed me that all animals, except for service animals, must be locked up inside the terminal. That doesn’t sound funny on the surface but given a lack of sleep and a southern accent “service animals” sounds surprisingly like “circus animals”. I swear the first time I heard it I thought he said circus animals. I suddenly had visions of tigers wandering down the concourse followed by a guy wearing a sequined jacket. And to be honest, that wouldn’t have been the weirdest site I saw all weekend.
That is about it for tonight. I am just dead tired and I am so looking forward to this weekend just so I can catch up on sleep and relax. When I got back from the airport I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had spent more than a few days in my apartment. These past few weeks have just left me physically, mentally and emotionally drained. Things are good, though, don’t worry about that. I just need to turn my brain off for a little while. Sunday night will be the Oscar Live Blog. Dresses! Slumdogs! Vague questions about the merits of cinematography! See you then.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Home is where you find it
Well I am back home again, home being another word for “where my stuff, and more importantly Natalie the Laptop, is.” I can’t say that I have become accustomed to having Delaware be my home quite yet. I haven’t even felt quite at home in my new apartment. I blame the hardwood floors. While they are really sweet and make the place look great it doesn’t have that homey feel of having fluffy carpet underneath your bare feet. Instead I feel like I’m on a gym floor with the coach getting ready to yell at me for wearing the wrong shoes.
It has been a fun few days as I have flown from Philly to Chicago on Wednesday (easiest flight with empty seats), back to Philly on Saturday (full plane but still on time), then off to Indianapolis on Sunday (full plane, several hours delayed, no beverage service and the unnerving realization that one is willingly going to Indiana) and then finally back to Philly today. It is not a surprise that given all of this travelling and the fact that I hung around with my eight nieces and nephews that I am now dealing with a seriously nasty head cold. This happens after every Thanksgiving. I should just immediately write off the next week because I know that I will have a cold. Too many people on planes with no fresh air.
Switching gears, since I was stuck in a hotel this morning I ended up watching the morning news. Apparently Brittney Spears’ birthday is an official news event as it was covered on every channel I turned to. I know that she has a new album and all, and that there is always a measurable probability that she will spontaneously combust, but I’m really at a loss as to how this counts as news. Sure, she performed in a circus tent in New York (no word on whether she was a) shot from a cannon, b) performed on a trapeze, or c) had to do that bit with the spinning plates that they always gave the least talented person on Circus of the Stars) but I really don’t think we need to cover it. There is a slight chance that if we stopped paying attention she would go away.
(Plus, unless My Beloved Lindsay gets equal time I must protest on general principle.)
Changing gears once again: Did they turn the lights on again in Kansas City? Just want to make sure that was done in my absence. Actually, in my five years in Kansas City I never saw the Plaza lighting or went to the St. Patrick’s Day parade. The first was because I always went home for Thanksgiving and the latter was because, well, I lived closer to bars than the parade route so I never quite made it there.
This brings me back to the start of the post. How long it takes me to feel at home. As much as I knew from the start that Kansas City was just a stopping point it did turn into home for me near the end. I do find myself missing things, or at least the convenience the town had. I certainly miss the bars, which really matched my style, and the music scene. I fit in pretty well there. It wasn’t a perfect fit but maybe I give it a little too much grief than I should.
Best of 120 Minutes: Since I didn’t post on Sunday I thought that I would make it up here. Consider it more of your Alternative Nation moment for the day. In honor of the election cycle here is everyone’s favorite socialist Billy Bragg. Watch for the cameos by Michael Stipe and Peter Buck of R.E.M. and, if I remember correctly, the house is Bill Berry’s. So this is really an R.E.M. video without the guy with the glasses.
It has been a fun few days as I have flown from Philly to Chicago on Wednesday (easiest flight with empty seats), back to Philly on Saturday (full plane but still on time), then off to Indianapolis on Sunday (full plane, several hours delayed, no beverage service and the unnerving realization that one is willingly going to Indiana) and then finally back to Philly today. It is not a surprise that given all of this travelling and the fact that I hung around with my eight nieces and nephews that I am now dealing with a seriously nasty head cold. This happens after every Thanksgiving. I should just immediately write off the next week because I know that I will have a cold. Too many people on planes with no fresh air.
Switching gears, since I was stuck in a hotel this morning I ended up watching the morning news. Apparently Brittney Spears’ birthday is an official news event as it was covered on every channel I turned to. I know that she has a new album and all, and that there is always a measurable probability that she will spontaneously combust, but I’m really at a loss as to how this counts as news. Sure, she performed in a circus tent in New York (no word on whether she was a) shot from a cannon, b) performed on a trapeze, or c) had to do that bit with the spinning plates that they always gave the least talented person on Circus of the Stars) but I really don’t think we need to cover it. There is a slight chance that if we stopped paying attention she would go away.
(Plus, unless My Beloved Lindsay gets equal time I must protest on general principle.)
Changing gears once again: Did they turn the lights on again in Kansas City? Just want to make sure that was done in my absence. Actually, in my five years in Kansas City I never saw the Plaza lighting or went to the St. Patrick’s Day parade. The first was because I always went home for Thanksgiving and the latter was because, well, I lived closer to bars than the parade route so I never quite made it there.
This brings me back to the start of the post. How long it takes me to feel at home. As much as I knew from the start that Kansas City was just a stopping point it did turn into home for me near the end. I do find myself missing things, or at least the convenience the town had. I certainly miss the bars, which really matched my style, and the music scene. I fit in pretty well there. It wasn’t a perfect fit but maybe I give it a little too much grief than I should.
Best of 120 Minutes: Since I didn’t post on Sunday I thought that I would make it up here. Consider it more of your Alternative Nation moment for the day. In honor of the election cycle here is everyone’s favorite socialist Billy Bragg. Watch for the cameos by Michael Stipe and Peter Buck of R.E.M. and, if I remember correctly, the house is Bill Berry’s. So this is really an R.E.M. video without the guy with the glasses.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Life amongst the masses...
I can’t believe that I went through the entire list of Christmas specials and did not find a single mention of Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas. What type of world are we living in where we do not show every child Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas? Where else will children learn what happens when they punch a hole in the washtub to create a washtub bass, thus ruining their mother’s ability to earn a living? Or knowing that one day their mom is just going to go out and sell your tools just so she could buy a dress? It’s like Gift of the Magi except, you know, with otters.
(O. Henry is rolling over in his grave right now. Not because of the special though. More due to the fact that they named a god awful candy bar after him. Meanwhile the Three Musketeers are celebrating in the next world.)
Well, as most of you either know or could surmise I just came back from my third trip to Chicago in four weeks. Travel wasn’t that bad given that all you ever hear is the “worst travel weekend ever” stories. No real delays and the weather worked with me, which made my life very easy. Heck, I didn’t even mind sitting next to a one year old on one of the flights. I know no one believes me on this but I really like little kids, especially in small increments. I’m great as Uncle Chris and I hope that one day I’ll be able to turn it into more of a full time job. I’m not all cynicism and sarcasm. Ok, pretty much all but there is some niceness in me.
Anyway, I am now very familiar with Southwest’s new seating policy. In an attempt to just confuse the hell out of everybody they’ve changed their procedures after a few years of my gaming the system. Now when you check in you do not receive an assigned seat but you do get a specific place in line. So instead of lining up as a B group you line up as B13 in some game of airline bingo. What this means is that you no longer have people camping out in line for an hour before the plane even reaches the gate. Theoretically this will speed things up and at least make the gate area more organized.
Sadly, this ruins my brilliant plan that has worked wonders for me. See, I never check bags and often can’t check in online early. Hence, I usually check in at the airport. Now in the old days here is what I would do. I’d get one of the last B boarding cards, go to the gate, and sit down at the front of the B line. Slightly less comfortable than one of those plastic seats but not by much and I’d have a chance to read and burn time before my flight came. When it did I was essentially in the A boarding group getting a good seat and being assured of a spot for my bag. Now I’m stuck wondering if they’re going to have to check my bag because people continue to bring on roller bags that are bigger than the steamer trunk my grandfather had when he came to this country. Yes, I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about this.
Best of 120 Minutes: I really think that I could listen to The Sundays every day for the rest of my life and never grow bored. Man, Harriet Wheeler had one of the best voices ever. This band never got the attention they deserved and I still miss them.
The five random CDs of the week:
1) The Waco Brothers “To the Last Dead Cowboy:
2) The Tragically Hip “Trouble at the Henhouse”
3) Jon Dee Graham “Escape From Monster Island”
4) Richard Buckner “The Hill”
5) Cowboy Mouth “Are You With Me?”
(O. Henry is rolling over in his grave right now. Not because of the special though. More due to the fact that they named a god awful candy bar after him. Meanwhile the Three Musketeers are celebrating in the next world.)
Well, as most of you either know or could surmise I just came back from my third trip to Chicago in four weeks. Travel wasn’t that bad given that all you ever hear is the “worst travel weekend ever” stories. No real delays and the weather worked with me, which made my life very easy. Heck, I didn’t even mind sitting next to a one year old on one of the flights. I know no one believes me on this but I really like little kids, especially in small increments. I’m great as Uncle Chris and I hope that one day I’ll be able to turn it into more of a full time job. I’m not all cynicism and sarcasm. Ok, pretty much all but there is some niceness in me.
Anyway, I am now very familiar with Southwest’s new seating policy. In an attempt to just confuse the hell out of everybody they’ve changed their procedures after a few years of my gaming the system. Now when you check in you do not receive an assigned seat but you do get a specific place in line. So instead of lining up as a B group you line up as B13 in some game of airline bingo. What this means is that you no longer have people camping out in line for an hour before the plane even reaches the gate. Theoretically this will speed things up and at least make the gate area more organized.
Sadly, this ruins my brilliant plan that has worked wonders for me. See, I never check bags and often can’t check in online early. Hence, I usually check in at the airport. Now in the old days here is what I would do. I’d get one of the last B boarding cards, go to the gate, and sit down at the front of the B line. Slightly less comfortable than one of those plastic seats but not by much and I’d have a chance to read and burn time before my flight came. When it did I was essentially in the A boarding group getting a good seat and being assured of a spot for my bag. Now I’m stuck wondering if they’re going to have to check my bag because people continue to bring on roller bags that are bigger than the steamer trunk my grandfather had when he came to this country. Yes, I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about this.
Best of 120 Minutes: I really think that I could listen to The Sundays every day for the rest of my life and never grow bored. Man, Harriet Wheeler had one of the best voices ever. This band never got the attention they deserved and I still miss them.
The five random CDs of the week:
1) The Waco Brothers “To the Last Dead Cowboy:
2) The Tragically Hip “Trouble at the Henhouse”
3) Jon Dee Graham “Escape From Monster Island”
4) Richard Buckner “The Hill”
5) Cowboy Mouth “Are You With Me?”
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)