Planes, NeverLost, Airports, and Hospitals
When it rains it pours...
I just got back recently from a work related trip and the trip itself went fine but anything that involved an airport or an airplane just plane sucked ass.
I'll try to rant briefly with a quick, lightning recap:
*Arrived at airport and TSA agent treats me like a terrorist
*We land and rent car with NeverLost...still get lost.
*Get Hotel in Newark and discover that the hotel is nice but Newark, NJ is the armpit of the "garden state".
*We arrive on jobsite and client doesn't let us even see the software we're software we are supposed to be re-designing.
*Get to hotel and realize I left my travel kit. Of course the airport has a "gift shop". Deodorant costs 7.00 bucks (Prison pricing).
*Move to new hotel since the armpit hotel is like a 45 minute commute to the client site.
*Never lost routes me to a toll way where I discover that tollbooth willie doesn't take any kind of credit card.
*Arrive at new client site and get new hotel (only after the sixth visit do I find one that comes in under budget that isn't booked 100% with Japanese tourists).
*Continue to visit various client sites (All over NJ) and discover that along with my Shaving Kit which I left in Arkansas I also discover that I left all my charging cables so in short order my cell phone and laptop battery go the way of the dodo-bird.
*Work all day with clients and most of the night to return to my room which for some reason or another smells like a mildew experiment.
*Next day we finish up with this client and try to fly home.
[So begins my nightmarish trip home]
Let me step back a second and relate to you that we moved this trip up due a client schedule conflict and the intention was for me and work buddy to fly out for a Wednesday-Friday trip which was supposed to have me home on Friday Night and I was supposed to fly back out on Monday for the rest of the week.
*Arrive at airport around 3 PM for 5 PM flight direct to LR.
*Departing flight is delayed about every 30 minutes.
*After 5 hours of incremental delays the flight is cancelled. Of course this is the last flight out of NJ to LR and I've already turned in my rental car so I'm basically stuck at the airport.
*Of course almost every South or Western Flight is cancelled so the airport can't get me home until 7pm OR SO the next day. To top it off I'm told that to get home I have find a way to the LaGuardia airport.
If you're not real keen on airport Geography I'm in NJ and LaGuardia is in New York.
*Now I rent a car at the last minute and try to drive into New York after Midnight, with no idea where I'm going to find a hotel I've never been too to catch a flight, which If I'm luck will get me home late on Saturday.
Next Morning - Saturday - After driving to NY.
*Arrive at airport with plenty of time to spare.
*The new flight I'm supposed to catch is no longer a direct flight. It's now connecting to Houston. Geography check. Houston is way past the LR airport.
*After we pull out of the gate (on time mind you) we park on the tarmac while a storm rolls in.
*Storm lasts three hours. Before we finally get to take off we do the math and figure out that unless we can teleport the plane to Houston we've already missed our connecting flight to LR.
*Arrive at Houston and we discover that we are now on booked on the last flight out of Houston to LR. Bad news it's storming and the Layover is now Seven Hours.
*When I finally arrive in LR and walk in my front door it's after Midnight and I discover that My Air Conditioner is out and I'm due to catch a plane to NJ again in less than 24 hours.
*Did I mention also that after all my luggage schlepping and airport/plane travel I've someone managed to throw my back out of whack!
I've got a lot more but I'm tired now and I'll sum up the rest to say that on each and every flight going and coming the next week the best thing that happened was that I had a 4 hour layover.
Now I'm finally home a week later and my back is still pretty much fucked and my mother in law is now in the hospital having emergency surgery. She is now having something one or two organs removed and she will probably need a some kind of external fluid bag for the rest of her life. What else is going to go wrong.
Did I mention that my new job which I've only held for almost a month is now being replaced! I just want some normalcy in my life!
Posted by Jeff Estes wishing that my life would just return to normal.
I just got back recently from a work related trip and the trip itself went fine but anything that involved an airport or an airplane just plane sucked ass.
I'll try to rant briefly with a quick, lightning recap:
*Arrived at airport and TSA agent treats me like a terrorist
*We land and rent car with NeverLost...still get lost.
*Get Hotel in Newark and discover that the hotel is nice but Newark, NJ is the armpit of the "garden state".
*We arrive on jobsite and client doesn't let us even see the software we're software we are supposed to be re-designing.
*Get to hotel and realize I left my travel kit. Of course the airport has a "gift shop". Deodorant costs 7.00 bucks (Prison pricing).
*Move to new hotel since the armpit hotel is like a 45 minute commute to the client site.
*Never lost routes me to a toll way where I discover that tollbooth willie doesn't take any kind of credit card.
*Arrive at new client site and get new hotel (only after the sixth visit do I find one that comes in under budget that isn't booked 100% with Japanese tourists).
*Continue to visit various client sites (All over NJ) and discover that along with my Shaving Kit which I left in Arkansas I also discover that I left all my charging cables so in short order my cell phone and laptop battery go the way of the dodo-bird.
*Work all day with clients and most of the night to return to my room which for some reason or another smells like a mildew experiment.
*Next day we finish up with this client and try to fly home.
[So begins my nightmarish trip home]
Let me step back a second and relate to you that we moved this trip up due a client schedule conflict and the intention was for me and work buddy to fly out for a Wednesday-Friday trip which was supposed to have me home on Friday Night and I was supposed to fly back out on Monday for the rest of the week.
*Arrive at airport around 3 PM for 5 PM flight direct to LR.
*Departing flight is delayed about every 30 minutes.
*After 5 hours of incremental delays the flight is cancelled. Of course this is the last flight out of NJ to LR and I've already turned in my rental car so I'm basically stuck at the airport.
*Of course almost every South or Western Flight is cancelled so the airport can't get me home until 7pm OR SO the next day. To top it off I'm told that to get home I have find a way to the LaGuardia airport.
If you're not real keen on airport Geography I'm in NJ and LaGuardia is in New York.
*Now I rent a car at the last minute and try to drive into New York after Midnight, with no idea where I'm going to find a hotel I've never been too to catch a flight, which If I'm luck will get me home late on Saturday.
Next Morning - Saturday - After driving to NY.
*Arrive at airport with plenty of time to spare.
*The new flight I'm supposed to catch is no longer a direct flight. It's now connecting to Houston. Geography check. Houston is way past the LR airport.
*After we pull out of the gate (on time mind you) we park on the tarmac while a storm rolls in.
*Storm lasts three hours. Before we finally get to take off we do the math and figure out that unless we can teleport the plane to Houston we've already missed our connecting flight to LR.
*Arrive at Houston and we discover that we are now on booked on the last flight out of Houston to LR. Bad news it's storming and the Layover is now Seven Hours.
*When I finally arrive in LR and walk in my front door it's after Midnight and I discover that My Air Conditioner is out and I'm due to catch a plane to NJ again in less than 24 hours.
*Did I mention also that after all my luggage schlepping and airport/plane travel I've someone managed to throw my back out of whack!
I've got a lot more but I'm tired now and I'll sum up the rest to say that on each and every flight going and coming the next week the best thing that happened was that I had a 4 hour layover.
Now I'm finally home a week later and my back is still pretty much fucked and my mother in law is now in the hospital having emergency surgery. She is now having something one or two organs removed and she will probably need a some kind of external fluid bag for the rest of her life. What else is going to go wrong.
Did I mention that my new job which I've only held for almost a month is now being replaced! I just want some normalcy in my life!
Posted by Jeff Estes wishing that my life would just return to normal.
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