What the #@%%$* Is Wrong With People?!?

I had to pick up my parents at the airport on Sunday night. I never get lost at Kennedy & this time I did. I missed the entrance to the Belt PArkway East & ended up going west to the first possible exit. I got off there & looped around back towards Kennedy. I looked ALL OVER to see what was around because I was driving my mother's car & I amnot familair with it. It was clear & I was able to get onto the highway when -- all of a sudden -- a motorcycle comes FLYING up on my left & was apparently furious that I took his spot on the road. He zips past us & then slows down enough that he is pacing my front end of teh left tire. He looks back & I am freaking out because he is soooo close & I was trying to swerve right so as not to hit him. He then KICKS the car! YES!!!! KICKS IT! F%$#&*^N -------- I am not saying it but you know what I want to scream.

Why is it people are filled with this entitlement crap that they can do what they want & others have to bow down to their garbage?

Saw A Fox at Foxwoods

I know~~~corny title. It's the only clean one I can come up with. KDP & I went to Foxwoods Casino on Friday. We left right on time....1:30 & got there around 4:15. Smooth drive. No problems. No traffic. No rain. So opposite of the previous weekend.

We pulled in to the wrong entrance of the casino & had to navigate driving around the humongous complex to find our hotel. I didn't know (until I booked it) that Foxwoods is two hotels attached by stores & restaurants + a hotel nearby. We tried going to the Rainmaker side....where the very nice valet told us how to get to the Grand Pequot side. After almost getting wiped out by a bus, we found the parking garage & made in inside. It was about a mile hike to the Front Desk where we checked in.

The room was very nice. Spacious, clean, great set-up + a fridge! I was so excited because I always bring water & snapple and this allowed me to chill it for the rest of the night or for the drive home the next day.

We didn't settle in for very long because we were starving & had to grab dinner & be back in the room by 8:00. So we went to the Buffet that they had going. I am not a fan of getting food from where so many others are mingling with their hands & arms & germs near what I will be eating, but it looked well-protected & had so much to choose from that I was in.

We ate SO MUCH! I started with their salad bar.....ofcourse......and finished that pretty quickly. I moved on to the Chinese buffet they had going. I put a portion of everything that they ahd up there on my plate & each dish was fantastic. Some of it was the best I have had of that particular dish. Even the fried rice was the best I have had.

I moved on to the pasta station & tried their penne. Good. I wasn't too into the pasta (carbs and all). Besides, I can get pasta anywhere. I can even cook it myself. So I passed on the rest.

The International Buffet came next. I had some chicken, two types of potatoes, a stuffed pepper, and veggies. Yummy! I even went to the Seafood Bar next where I got shrimp & crab legs. It was all good but I am not a fan of eating with my hands & had to shell these items. YUCK! But they tasted good.

Did you think I wouldn't have room for the Dessert Bar? No Way! Ofcourse I did. I had the build-your-own sundae & a piece of chocolate cake. Both fantastic. I got more than my money's worth here.

Back to the room to change & wash up & get ready because we were here to see Nick Lachey. The Fox Theater that they have is a great venue. It's small, very comfortable, and you can see the person performing without monitors. This is quality.

It started at 9:00 with some opening act called Dirty Blonde. The strange thing is that none of them have light hair. They all had brown or black hair. I have never heard of them, nor did I know any songs. They sang for half an hour & then left. We all thought Nick was up next. But, no. Someone named Joanna performed for the next 1/2 hour set. She looked & sounded just like the girl from Dirty Blonde & I said this to KDP. She agreed & we both pondered the whole thing. I couldn't understand one word coming from her mouth but she has apparently been on MTV. I have yet to see her--but I am willing to wait.

Finally, around 10:15 Nick came out. He looked SO GOOD. Dark jeans, maroon shirt, and black blazer. He sang about four songs & then removed his jacket. This produced a lot of screaming & requests to "take it all off". There he was, dark jeans & maroon short sleeves barely covering his TREMENDOUS biceps. It's all about the arms people.

He sang a few more songs & then took off the tshirt. This revealed a black (I hate this phrase) wife-beater...and yet again...many pleaded to have him remove it all.

He sang a 98degrees song and sang two from his upcoming album. They were borderline porno songs....but I can't wait to get that cd. He then went to change again & came back out in the traditional black pinstripe button down shirt with the jeans & looked fantastic. He sang a Led Zeppelin song & the remainder of his album. Lachey was a great entertainer. He pleased the masses. The age range was from 8-78.....even groups of senior citizen women (late 60s-early 70s) were there with their tour shirts on to support him. Also, the audience was about 20% male. Fathers, brothers, boyfriends, husbands......all there drinking beer & watching the show. It was amazing.

The show ended close to midnight & KDP & I decided to explore the casino. We wandered a bit, got a drink at the bar & then played some of the slots that looked interesting. I think we wrapped it up around 1:30.

Classic KDP moment: there are two double beds in the room. We settle into our respective beds for the night. I hear (in the darkness) "This bed seems small". I respond to the voice in the dark "They're double beds". She says "Whose? Your's or mine?" HAHAHAHAHA I lost it. She then cursed me out & threatened to throw stuff at me but she knew I wouldn't give it back. I am more apt to keep it (if it's something I want) or chuck it into the hallway to watch the other person have to go get it.

We check out the next morning & head over to the outlets. Tanger has an outlet on 95 in CT. and it was a good stopping point. We wandered through there for a bit & then continued home. We hit the Bronx & KDP detoured to Manhattan to Build-A-Bear because it was double-points weekend & she wanted to rack up her stuff fur stuff points.

We also stopped for Panera & enjoyed their new Crispanis. I rolled in around 8:30 having yet another good weekend. This is 4 out of 5 weekends that I have been away. I have no plans to go anywhere this weekend. Who is up for a trip?

Boyds & Baskets & Bears, Oh My!

KDP & I had plans to drive to Gettysburg after my dumb meeting on Friday. We were on our way to Boyds Bears & their 2nd Annual Longaberger Basket Festival. I was beyond excited.

I was supposed to pick her up around 5:30 to begin the 4 hour drive there. But, if you remember clearly, the weather was not cooperating & it was pouring. What should have taken 30 minutes to drive took an hour. I only got there at 6:00. She ran out to the car, threw her bags in & off we went.

We did not get out of the NY area until close to 8:30. We literally crawled on the Southern & the Belt to the bridge. Staten Island was not any better. We just sat there for the longest time. I had been hoping to cross into Pennsylvania to eat dinner at Cracker Barrel at 7ish but that was not happening. We ended up stopping at the first place we saw----a rest stop in NJ & having to choke down Burger King. EW! It was horroible. And we were tired. And we were not even close to our destination.

We got on the road & drove. And drove. And drove.

We should have arrived at 9:30 had all things gone according to the plan. We got there at 12:15 am. UGH! I couldn't see straight. All I wanted to do was get uot of the car & stretch.

I tried to sleep, but it wasn't easy. I had that car/humming thing going on with my head & body. You know the kind--when you've been in a car WAY TOO LONG and the momentum hasn't stopped even though the vehicle has?

We got up the next morning & headed on over to the Homestead. We got there at 10 am & figured that would be more than enough time before our basket-making session at 1:00. We were so wrong. There was so much more to see & do than anticipated & we had to scarf down lunch at 12:30 to just make it to our weaving stations.

We had made reservations to weave our own baskets. It was so cool! We were side-by-side & Eric was supposed to be helping us. He started me off & then went to KDP. All-of-a-sudden, he disappears. The man helping the stations next to us, Tom, said that Eric gets frightened by "pretty girls" and that's why he was scarce. Nice save. Tom was nice & he & I chatted a lot about my job, his job, and just how much time it takes to actually become a skilled basket weaver.

It all sounds corny, but these baskets are quality & way too expensive. But so pretty that it is easy to get conned into becoming a rep. for the company.

We didn't leave the homestead until 4:00 & still had to drive 4+ hours home. We were so lucky that there wasn't any traffic coming home & it was smooth sailing. I believe I stumbled into the front door--basket & all---around 9:30.

I had a basket that I made (I keep saying I am now one step away from becoming an underwater basket weaver) filled with bears & birds, and kittens, oh my!

So--anyone want to buy a basket?

Convocation Crap

The last post I left off with should have detailed the first major meeting of teh new academic year. It's great. Twice a year we are forced to sit through the same lies that never change. Crak, Blessed Mary, & I did not pay much attention to what was going on. We write notes, play hangman, and Crak has been bringing Time Out NY with her to entertain & plan the nights out that keep escaping us.

The meeting ended rather early before the lunch break. Our group does not like to waste time & we wanted to move up our afternoon dept. meeting to 11:30 so that we could eat lunch & then (hopefully) go. We volunteered Crak to go ask the chair if we could have the meeting & the chair said no. ??? Why, you ask? She needed "down time". Time to relax & unwind from the 2 1/2 hours we had been sitting there. I understand this, but come on. Who doesn't want to get out early?

Disruntled, Crak & I went to the cafeteria where we tried to put together tables for our department. SOmehow--a bunch of oddly-mixed stragglers sat with us. Crak was so hoping that the chair would do her socially inept routine & tell them that they ahd to leave, but this didn't happen, much to our dismay.

Surprisingly enough, while eating burnt pasta (I know--don't ask) the chair held our meeting over lunch. SHOCKER! It was quick, short, and sweet.

We had a stupid fire drill & one more info session & then it'd be time to bolt. I was leaving soon after this pointless meeting to go to Gettysburg & Crak asked me if I was "giving an adress". I did not get this when she asked....I blame it on having had to sit through the mindless drivvel.

They're Back

So it was Day One back at -----------------. I can't even bear to say the name of the location. You all know where I was. Oh yeah. And it was brutal. The classes are HUGE. The students were not always told to go to the correct classroom on their schedules. How can a place that is in business as a higher ed. institution get so many simple things wrong. I had two classes there beginning at 8:25......then ran to do 2 at the farm.......then went back til 10:30 at night at ---. I am so tired. I am too old to be keeping such a rigorous schedule.

I could do thins a couple of years ago. But it does take it's toll on me. I crashed 10 minutes afer getting home. This will keep up for the next eight weeks. UGH!

I must say that I have moved into a new cube. It's spacious. It has cabinetry. It has a phone. It's MINE! And--even funner--Crak is an aisle away on the other side of someone else's cube. We're going to drive him crazy. As it is, she came into my cube to find out my number & then called me. I could hear her over the cubes & on the phone. We were cracking up! I feel so bad for the cubby people. Crak & I agreed (in fits of giggles) that they will petition to have us crammed back in to some random office together because there will be no rest. Ah--good times.

A Moment of Silence

As everyone knows, today marked the 5th annivesary of the day our world changed. My heart & prayers go out to all on this day.

Continuing the Literacy Campaign

I just read and assessed the diagnostics from the farm tonight. Can anyone read and comprehend the words in front of them anymore? The essay topic posed to the two classes was something along the lines as follows:

Select a story from your childhood. Discuss it's significance in your memories of your childhood. Was this a book read to you? Was this a family story passed down through generations? Summarize the story and respond to the topic.

I read the first essay & it was about a book called "Freddy the Frog". Good! The next essay was about the Shining, then Night, and then Twelve Angry Men. It continued from there. I had one about The Green Mile, another of The Catcher in the Rye, and two about Go Ask Alice.

These are not childhood stories. These are middle/high school required readings. I believe one-third did the assignment as requested. The other 2/3? Don't get me started. And these are supposed to be my smart students.

A Looooonnnnnnngggggggg Semester Lies Ahead!

The Beginning of My Ulcers & the End of My Sanity

It's Sunday morning. I have today & tomorrow & that's it. I return to (as Crak calls it) Briarcrap on Tuesday for our first day of the semester. I am NOT HAPPY. I have already been there for a meeting & a change of office cubicle. I have had agita heaped upon me in person, on the phone, and in letters that pay me $20k less than it should be. I can't sleep. The pounds are packing on much easier than they should. I have little tolerance for anyone or anything that is in front of me. I can't concentrate.

Think I have problems with my job? Sorry~~my sarcasm is running on overdrive today. I know. You look & say "It's only 10:15 am on a nice day. How can she be this strung out with things?" Believe me. If you had to face the realities I will be facing on a daily basis & know that this is what life has been reduced to, you'd have run crying to the sanitarium ages ago. My family can't figure out why I haven't cracked yet. Four reasons: 1. supportive family & friends/colleagues who either listen to or will commisserate with this garbage 2. good food that I have been having 3. shopping & the latest fall fashions. Sounds shallow, I know. I don't care. Pretty colored fabrics & accessories always make me smile. And 4. I am a fighter. I don't back down easy & I don't quit. I try to do what's ethical/moral and best for interested parties. I can't take it that the voice of reason exists in so few that I work with.

I have sent out letters & requests, talked to people & even became an entrepeneur, but nothing has caught on yet. My patience is wearing thin. My waistline is not. I will be the woman on that "relacore" commercial if things don't pick up. I used to lvoe the first day of school. It was so exciting, so fresh, and so open to possibilities. What happened?

An Evening With The MIU

I believe this is the first time I have ever seen the MIU twice in less than a five-week span. We usually go six months at a clip before going out to catch up on all the latest events. We met at our usual Starbucks & sat for 2 1/2 hours chatting away. He has a lot going on. He's had a few bbqs in the last couple of weeks. He went to Buffalo over Labor Day weekend to have wings at Duffs & beer in Canada. He started a new job on Tuesday. Congrats to him! We talked & compared stories, and laughed a lot. It's always a good time. And--to top it off--he finally let me pay for the coffee. Chivalry is not dead (MIU thinks he has to keep it alive on his lone shoulders) but it is nice to have someone reciprocate, isn't it?

And The Stupidity Just Keeps On Rolling In

So I call my chair & leave a message about my disappointment in the fact that my designated classes aren't running & they tell me this now. Two days before we begin. After I finish setting up the course. We are to give them ample warning about EVERYTHING but they can give us less than 48 hours. So I point out (in my message) that I put time into this. I point out that my numbers for my classes are HUGE whether they are online or not, and I also say that I have been doing this 6 years and it shouldn't matter who is in the class. If they are not strong students they will do poorly anyway, online or traditional.

She calls back at 5:30 and says "I got your message & I understand. You said you put a lot of time into this & I want you to know that I put a lot of time now wasted into this as well." Ummm....do ya didn't. You sent an email. After I sent 5. You are getting paid with your 12-month contract. I have no contract. I am doing all of this work on my own time. So who wasted time? She has no tact at all. AND not only did she say this to me -- she had the nerve to repeat it two more times. Like I didn't hear her the first time. Dufus.

Stupid Stupid Stupid

Today was the "First Day of School" for me. I went to Farm to teach my two compositon classes. The students seem pretty good. They all showed up 5 minutes early. The two issues I had there were:

1. during the first class a knock came at the door 20 minutes into the lecture. I opened the door & a young guy (18) walks through & says "English?" I said "Yes, can I help you?" "Yeah--I'm in here." He has no book, no notebook, not even a pen, nor does he have a print-out of his schedule. I said "You have the wrong room." He says "How would you know?" I said "Because I am the profesor. That's why." He says "Yeah--but how do you know?" I reply "I have 22 on the roster & 22 in here. You figure it out." With that he left & my class was in stitches.
2. I have two woemn in their fifties in my second class. They came up to me & said they "have problems". Great. What is the problem? One works in Queens at 3:00 and the other has children getting off the bus at 3:30 in Queens. They would like to leave at 2:30 every day. Ummm.......no. But I did offer them the option of sitting in the first class & not doing a drop or switch or anything. I will record attendance & grades with class #2 but they will sit in class #1. If they drop they will not be enrolled in my first class as it is maxed out. And if they do plead a case & to the switch the right way I'll get two more students that I will have two more sets of papers for. So we're doing this my way.

The kicker that makes this day stupid is I come home to a message from the chair saying my hybrids are cancelled & that they are beyond maxed in numbers anyway so I now have to re-vamp my syllabus & go in everyday. I am not happy. I picked my hybrids in March. I had to remind them to deal with this from April up to last week. Today--two working days before the semester begins there they change it. yeah--right. I'm doing hybrid days anyway. I just have to figure out how to get around these looneys. Stupid STUPID STUPID!

Stuck In A Jar With The Not-So-Great Gatsby

I have been reading a lot fo chick-lit this summer & decided it was time to do some classic, serious reading. I haven't read Bell Jar or The Great Gatsby in over 12 years & figured it was time to again. Crak was kind enough to lend me her copies & I had my reading for the plae rides. I must say I was bored & depressed with this selection. The Bell Jar was more of a downer then I remembered. And I didn't remember much of Gatsby except the parties & the love for Daisy. Crak & Minsky (another coworker) LOVE this book. Me? Not so much. It was okay. I don't get the big hype over either. Do I acknowledge the grate craftsmanship of the writers? Yes. Do I acknowledge the times in which this was written? YEs. Did I enjoy them? No. I began feeling smothered & unsatisfied just like the characters in the books. I'm going back to chick-lit for a few more weeks. I need to boost my spirits.

Turbulent Travel in a Tin Can to the Hee-Haw Reunion

Trip #2 in recent weeks was to Ohio to visit Cowboy. I know, I know--he lives in Oregon. But when I called him to say "Hey! I found cheap airfare to fly out & visit over Labor Day!" He replied "That's nice but I'll be in Ohio. You can come there if you want." Hmmm........$40 cheaper to fly, only 1 1/2 hours of flight time vs. 8+ and a change of planes, & I get to stay in my own timezone. Sure I'll go to Ohio. I've never been there. The catch? I'd have to see his parents. I haven't seen them since Christmas of 2004. (I may have written about this in a previous post, but I'll write it again incase anyone isn't caught up yet.)

My flight was on Saturday & we were to take off at 2:59 (can't they just make it 3:00 at this rate?) and would land at 4:30. Pretty nice! The problem? Ernesto had sent us lots of rain & wind. Most flights out of LGA were on time & doing just fine. Not mine! My plane had yet to arrive. It finally did at 2:40 & they'd board us asap. So we finally get on the plane at 3:15 & immediately taxi out towards the runway. The plane? May as well have been a sardine can--literally. It had 19 rows & 3 seats per row. BUT--the first two rows on one side were for the closet & another seat on the two-sided one was a closet. So there were 50 seats in all.

The young woman sitting next to me was reading the same exact book as I was. Now, this may sound like no biggie, but we were reading The Bell Jar & didn't really know why. I mean, I asked her why she was reading it--if it was for school or something. She said that she had overheard someone's conversation and they had said it was their favorite book. So since she had yet to read it, she decided now was a good time as any. Too weird. (Not to mention the person who said that must have some serious issues to deal with if that is their favorite book.)

We sat & sat & sat some more because the captain told us Cleveland was not taking any flights in at this time because of the storm. We were free to use our cells to call out if we wanted. Well, it's 4:00 & I am not taking off yet? Okay--let's call Cowboy who landed 1/2 hour ago & let him know I am not there yet. He says "there's nothing wrong here in Cleveland. It stopped raining at 2:00 and there isn't much wind. I'll go ask the Airlines". He calls back & says "You are taking off in 10 minutes & will be here at 5:45". I hadn't heard any of this from my own crew & was a bit ticked that Cleveland (& Cowboy) knew this before we did. So we hang up & with that comes the announcement that we'd be taking off momentarily & prepare for it.

Oh the flight! We barely made it off the ground before the wind hit us hard & sent us down pretty fast. The pilot picked us up again & ascended higher. We get hit to the side & down again. We aren't smacking the ground because we are already a few hundred feet in the air but we may as well have been bounced like a basketball for the sensation that goes through your body & turns your knuckled white. Scary flight all the way there. We were tossed around like a child's toy boat in the bathtub.

The flight is also no frills. The flight attendant opened the large bag of mini pretzel bags & handed it to the people in the first rows & told them to take one and pass it back. So we served our own snacks. I thought this was pretty funny. Then she came around with Coke, Diet Coke, or Sprite. That was it. It was already on a little tray & you just reached up & grabbed it. Heehee---love this! It made everyone feel so close & homey.

I land at precisely 5:45 & call Cowboy to find out if he is in the building or went to get the rental car. He's in the building, but on the other side. That's where I have to go anyway. Cleveland airport is HUGE! I had to get off the stupid tin can, climb down the ladder that they call a staircase to the tarmac, run up a flight of stairs into the building & then see the entire airport while charging to the baggage claim.

It was so good to see him! We had that "airport reunion" thingy going. Ah~~very movie-like if you ask me. He grabbed my suitcase & we walked out to the car. Then he informs me that it will be an hour+ drive to his sister's house. Oh no--more waiting & travel. We got there, said "hi", ate dinner with the sis & parents & then left. This would begin our adventure of getting lost the entire trip. What should have been a twenty minute drive took us almost two hours to find. Yeah--so not happy. We got to the room & crashed.

9:00 the next morning I had him up & out so that we could drive to Newark (still in Ohio--not New Jersey) so we could go to Longaberger Baskets. I was so excited & this was the only other reason I went to Ohio. We were driving about 45 minutes and he said "let's stop & get a map". He buys a map of what he said was Ohio & off we go. Ofcourse, the exit was the next one on the Interstate but we knew that thanks to the map. We had been driving south for so long & I was still sort of asleep that when I saw a sign that said "KSU Next Exit", I exclaimed out loud "Kentucky State University? How did we drive through the whole state to get to Kentucky so fast? Did we miss the exit?" Yeah--that would have been KENT State, NOT Kentucky. Oh the blond moments just keep on rolling. This is when we also realize that the reason Colombus & Newark are not on the map because it's only of the northeast corner! DRAT!

We made it to the Longaberger Homestead & had a blast. It is a cute little village set-up that one family developed. Their baskets are very expensive but oh so cute. We wandered through the whole village before going back to make my selected purchases.

From there we started on towards Colombus. This is where we met up with Cowboy's friend--Hottie. They met while living in an apartment complex in Ashtabula (can that town name be any hokeyer?) and have stayed in touch ever since. Hottie was so much fun to be with. He lives in a townhouse that he rents with another guy & gave me the grand tour. He acts like he's known you forever...which is nice. I've never met a friend of Cowboy's that has been around for years (due to his moving like an army brat) and felt nervous. So he even opens up the bedroom doors & says "Go In. Check it out." Weird walking into some guy's room who isn't even there for you to meet before you go into his bedroom & closet. The townhouse is 2-story brick....stunning! There's a living room, galley kitchen, and small area for a dining room set, and a 1/2 bath downstairs. They also have two garages + two parking spaces. The living room has a 40-foot cathedral ceiling with a skylight. Upstairs has the two aforementioned bedrooms each with private full baths & walk-in closets. They pay $950 total. That's for the monthly rent, the maintenance, and the utilities. They will sell you the unit for $180k. I wanted to cry. It was right in the middle of a suburban area with grocery store, panera, mcdonalds, and some swanky restaurants. We ate at a place called 'Burgundy', which was a tapas restaurant that focused on wine pairings. We stayed with Hottie 'til 11:30 at night. He wanted us to go into the city (20 minutes away) with the newly arrived roomie + friend in tow. Cowboy wanted to but understood that I didn't want to stay overnight here with no personal effects with me. So we made the drive back to Geneva---4 hours. We got back close to 4am & dropped instantly.

Next morning we were up & out by 10 am. Breakfast was at my favorite out-of-state Crackerbarrel. From there he gave me a tour of all of the towns he lived in. SO many towns....all so different. We got to stop at "a" Starbucks....we only saw 1 of them the entire time. We even stopped at a mall quickly so I could get KDP's stuffed friend, adam, a cleveland shirt. Then it was on to family reunion #1. We walked in with Cowboy's sister + 5 kids & everything at the gathering stopped. It was like City Slickers meets Beverly Hillbillies. Not kidding. We stayed as long as we could handle it (2 hours) and then took off for reunion #2. Cowboy's in-laws wanted to see him & his parents. We stayed there a bit & then piled 2 of the 5 kids in the car & my tour of the counties continued. I saw Pres. Garfield's house, Lake Erie, the famous nuclear reactors & the school district that is the most state-of-the-art thanks to the reactor. We dropped the girls off around 7 & took off to relax before looking for something for dinner.

While Cowboy slept the 1/2 hour, I finally called home to catch up with family for a bit. He woke up & off we went looking for anything open for a snack. But--unlike New York--EVERYTHING was closed. We settled on Pizza -take-out to go back to the room at 9:00 when we finally gave up.

Tuesday brought breakfast with his parents.....the second time I actually had to sit down with them. But his sister + the littlest one were there, so things went smoothly. He & I headed off to wrap up a few things & then went to his sister's house so the two of them could talk. It was so nice to see him interact with her. He's seen me with my brother so many times but being that his life is in another state I never get to see this side of him. It "normalized" him for me.

It was time to make the 1hr 15min. drive back to the airport. I stayed with his family until they had to board their plane. I had an hour to waste once they boarded so I went to grab dinner. I foudn this great little place called Tequilaria & ordered some yummy tacos & rice. I was 1/2 way through with them when I double-checked the time and realized I was going to mis my flight. Rememebr how I mentioned that my gate was at the furthest end of the airport? well, I had to make that same sprint back to that area. I literally threw the money on the table and sighed that the meal was so good but only 1/2 eaten & ran off.

I went through 1/2 the airport, down an escalator, over two moving walkways, up another escalator & then down a long corridor to smack right into the desk by the gate. The gate was closed, there were no people, nor was the rope there anymore that guides people in. I almost freaked. The gate attendants looked at me strangely as I tried to catch my breath. I panted "Has this flight left yet?" It was now 5:12 & the flight would take off in 8 minutes. As I am freaking out I look at the board behind then taht says the next flight is a 6:15. How did I miss it? I have NEVER missed a flight. I had a connecting one once that landed so late & I had to take off like a shot to get to the door & then the attendant had me on the gangway and slammed us back into the soon to move jetliner to signal that there was still a person not on. Well, there were actually 10 of us from that 1st flight, but I was the first one there. I had to tell them to hold the plane. Sorry--back to the latest one. The gate attendnat says "Oh--taht flight is delayed 'til 6:15. Relax. We'll let you know when it's ready." ????????????????

I could have eaten the rest of my meal? There was no reason for me to break a sweat? UGH! We finally get the call to go & it's down another flight of stairs, out to the tarmac, and up the ladder to the plane. I settled in for the 1hr 15 min flight home that would once again be quite turbulent. We bouced & shifted right to left & dropped a bit but made it to LGA at 8:00 pm. An hour late but home safe.

I had fun. Cowboy & I fell right into sync with one another as if we hadn't been separated & now I am missing my best friend more than ever.