my mood as of last posting ...

Archives:

Still have migraines?  Check

Bright RED anime-colored hair?  Check  ;)  (Thanks, Pablo!)

Still treating skin cancer?  Check

My friend is still battling cancer all over her body.  I took her out to lunch and then Christmas tree shopping last weekend.  I had to push her around in a wheelchair.  :(  She was so chipper while she was getting dressed and putting on her wig (she lost all of her hair as expected).  I asked her how she managed to stay so positive, and she replied that she looked at me and said the same thing.  I was momentarily stunned & speechless.  How does one compare lifelong migraines to life-threatening cancer?   I have the security and knowledge that these won't kill me until I sink into an abyss of despair and do it myself.  She doesn't have that security, although I guess we never know when we'll die.  As Mr. Morrison said, "No one gets out of here alive."

Also, please keep my brother in your thoughts.  He has open heart surgery scheduled for tomorrow.  Fortunately, I was able to call and speak with him yesterday in the hospital.   :)  He sounded in great spirits (heh better than me at any rate).  I also gave him the pep talk of we never know when a car will hit us so don't worry too much about the 1% chance you won't make it.  Easier said than done, I know.  I tried to keep him in a positive mood since that is the most important factor of survivability in my opinion (haha, who else's opinion did you expect to get here?).  And, I taught him my trademarked phrase, Pity Party.  He liked that one.  :p  I told him it's okay to throw one for yourself sometimes, but then you need to remind yourself of all the good things you have in life.

I'm sitting here crying watching a crew dismember my Queen Palm.  I was told that the crown is broken, and it will never recover.  I don't believe it since it just sent up two new fronds, but the top of the tree is listing badly.  I made them wait while I called my brother to ask him.  He said if it were his, he would leave it ... until I explained that it was four feet from my house.  Twenty feet of majestic palm-ness gone.  :(

Please keep her in your thoughts as her cancer has spread extensively throughout her body and spine.

I would make a hurricane ride at Disney World and vary the intensity each day so you wouldn't know ahead of time what category it would be.  People would keep coming back to feel them all. 

I went out in the storm with swim goggles on to protect my eyes from the driving winds.  I watched as my trees got buffeted about, pieces tearing off and flying by.  I saw my 30 foot mango tree stumble, lose it's balance and topple over.  I saw & heard roof tiles smashing about.  One of the most amazing sights was whitecaps in the canal behind my house.  It's usually smooth as glass.  The absolutely most incredible site was the birds flying in the storm.  There weren't many who braved it.  Maybe they were the crazy fkrs like me who enjoyed the intensity & sheer powerful majesty of nature.

The eye of the storm hit the west coast of Florida at 6:30 AM and quickly was over me at about 9am.  There was quite a beautiful (if sad) light display of transformers blowing up in the morning (I lost power at 7ish) --- blue lights flashing over the horizon.  By 1 PM, most of the hurricane force winds had passed and it turned into a gorgeous day, with the temperature dropping into the high 60s with bright azure skies.  As I walked through my neighborhood, I couldn't believe how many downed trees there were.  Most of the giants who had survived last year's double whammy of Hurricanes Frances & Jeanne had fallen.  Lots of birds were sitting on the ground in these fallen masters looking cold & bedraggled.

Enough about my computer woes.  On to more important woes.  I'm so sad this morning.  Last night as I was brushing my teeth before bed, I discovered a baby gecko in the bathroom.  There have been a rash of them lately so it wasn't all that unusual except that it was upstairs this time.  I put down my toothbrush and muck around a bit trying to catch him without hurting him.  Then I sneak downstairs & outside in inappropriate attire to let him loose.  All is well in the world, and I can sleep in peace.

Except.  When I wake up this morning, there he is looking even more dehydrated back inside my front door.  I easily catch him as he has no energy and bring him outside.  I brought him to a little puddle, but he doesn't seem to drink (although he's so tiny it's hard to see).  I took a leaf and soaked it in water and draped it over his body, laying him close to the puddle.  I went out to check him a bit later and he was dead.  =(  I never know what to do with those cute little fkrs.  I feel like I'm sending them into shock by catching them, but I know they'll starve and/or dehydrate.  I wonder how the babies always know to find water in the bathroom.

Oh yeah, there's also a hurricane bearing down on me and a migraine wreaking havoc with my spirit.

I've been searching the side effects of the cream I'm using now, and here's what they have to say on 2 different websites:

Drugs other than those listed here may also interact with this. Talk to your doctor and pharmacist before taking or using any other prescription or over-the-counter medicines, including vitamins, minerals, and herbal products.

So now I have a basis of reference for comparison.  This atrocity on my chest absolutely itches like a 1000 fiery suns more than a fire ant bite.  Hmmm, what shall I focus on today?  The crick in my neck, the migraine bubbling below the surface (thank you Imitrex!), the Napalm on my chest, or the fire ant bite on my big toe?

This would be my opportunity to go and NOT have to paddle.  Yay!!  I sat in the middle between Galahad and Uli and quickly learned the German word for spider.  Crikey!  We had tons of them.  <shudder>  We drove up to Jupiter and canoed the Loxahatchee River, which I later learned (thank you Google) means river of turtles.  We saw only one gator but tons of turtles as we canoed through this gorgeous Cypress Swamp.  It was completely different from what I expected but so amazing.  It was also much longer than I expected, lasting 6 hours plus 2 hours driving time.  I was exhausted and I paddled maybe only 10 minutes or so.  Yes, I wore a hat and slathered on sunscreen (even though I think it's poisonous).  We stopped at Trapper Nelson's for our picnic lunch, and I chatted up the Park Ranger there.  Holy shit, she lives out there full time.  It must be so incredible and so scary at the same time.  Plus, I'd go bonkers without the Internet.

All of that nature gave me a mind-shattering migraine.  I think I might have been allergic to the vegetation or maybe it was just too much heat for too long.  It turns out I might be sensitive.  :p

I picked up my meds from the pharmacy yesterday, and the pharmacist wished me luck with everything.  Naively, I assumed he meant the cancer.  After researching these meds online, it turns out they are used for a variety of disgusting and embarrassing skin afflictions.  I wonder what he thinks I have.

I used them last night for the first time, and my chest is itching like crazy today.  Fortunately it hasn't started to bleed yet.  Yet.  :(

I'm supposed to use it 3 times a week cuz it's that strong, and yes cuz I'm sensitive.  I'm glad everyone recognizes that fact.  =)

Anyway, she was genuinely happy to see me and know that I tracked her down.  She looked at the spot on my chest and confirmed what I knew.  I was terrified that she was going to remove it right then or at least biopsy it.  Instead, she told me about a new cancer cream called Aldara that helps the body create interferon.  She warned me that the treatment was ugly, lengthy, and painful, but that it would heal nicely.  I'm all for minimal scarring, so I agreed.  While I was there, she gave me the once over and I pointed out a few more spots I had that were tiny and iffy.  She also confirmed one that I knew was a problem on my nose but had been in denial over.  It's really small like pinhole-sized, but it's been an issue for over a year.  Also, the one she removed on my forehead 4 years or so back never quite healed perfectly.  She cringed and told me to use the Aldara on my nose and some other cream on my forehead.  She apologized profusely on how it was gonna suck. 

I left with 2 prescriptions and a follow-up appointment in 4 weeks.

FFS at people not telling me where her new practice is.  And, thank you Google for making it easier to find her.   Hallelujah!  She takes my insurance, and I have an appointment in 2 days.  Yikes, I'm scared.  I didn't expect one so soon.

I hate hardware issues.  I'm so challenged.   :\

So by mid-week, I had my PC back and needed to reinstall everything and try to recover what data I could.  Fortunately, this is published on the web, so I could copy and paste it.  I lost some data, but I look at it as a housecleaning.

One day later, I had my HD replaced in my work laptop and went through the whole stressful process again.  Of course this time I had warning so everything was backed up to the minute, but it still sucks.  Also, my email wouldn't synchronize properly so I had to call my Help Desk and troubleshoot that for 2 days until I got fed up and started raising my voice.  Grrr, it was a simple fix finally that they said was a known problem.  HINT:  If you have a known problem, try that first.  Sigh.

Not to make this about me (when has that ever stopped me before), but it terrifies me that all this time, she was so healthy and out of nowhere, BAM!  It gets me thinking that could happen to me, too.  How do I know that the pain in my leg is truly from sciatica and not from bone cancer?  She kept going to a chiropractor to get adjusted on my advice because I swore that it can work wonders on pain management when one's body is in alignment.  Anyway, please pray for her or wish her well or whatever it is that your spiritual beliefs would dictate. 

I can't stop crying lately, so I broke out the box of chocolate tonight and decided to write.  One or the other should help my state of mind I hope.   This may be a long entry, so please get comfy.  =)

I was away last weekend at my niece's wedding.  She decided to have it in Utah, ffs!  Yeah that should have been a fun trip, except I had this weighing on my mind plus it was a record heat wave.  It's absolutely gorgeous out there, but it was mostly too hot to explore.  It was very nice to see my family again, but a few didn't come --- some out of hard feelings or scheduling conflicts and ffs, Utah is far away and expensive to get to.  Besides all of that, it was organized mostly by her & her husband (sounds so weird to say that :p).  They're free-spirits and that's the way they organized it.  [Btw, he's a fabulous young man, and I couldn't be happier for them. :)]  There wasn't a lot of communication about the weekend, and most of us ended up staying at scattered hotels.  The one that had the group rate was one of the most expensive hotels there, so most of us opted for our own choices.  Also, I wasn't invited to the rehearsal dinner, so it was kind of awkward when my other brother asked if I was going.  I wasn't in the wedding, so I figured that was the standard.  Fuck if I know about wedding etiquette.  Long story short, my brother bumps into my sister-in-law at the grocery store that afternoon, and she tells him there is no rehearsal dinner but rather an informal cocktail get-together in the mother of the groom's suite (with no A/C in record heat), and we're all invited.  So we all adjusted our frame of minds and went to mingle.  I chowed down on mini-pizza appetizers and got reacquainted with my family and met some of his.  FFS, some were Mormons.  Do you know how hard it was for me to watch my language for that long?!

At that party, we get directions on how to get to tomorrow's wedding and reception.  We also find out that we're riding a ski lift up the mountain to the ceremony.  FFS, it was the first time I had planned to wear a skirt and high heels in years --- probably since my father's wedding.  :p  Good going, Wendy!  <rolls eyes>  Anyway, my niece assures me it will stop so I can get off.  I'm starting to panic and trying not to make this about me.  Haha, good luck, right? ;)  My very first ski lift trip was earlier today when a freak storm came out of nowhere with wind gusts of 75 mph.  Holy shit, and I'm dangling my little feet down like a doggie treat for the trees.  (I found out later that a man died during that storm while kite-surfing in a nearby lake.  He got tea-bagged across the lake and then across the land.  :()  I also fought my vertigo and general fear of doing stuff that defies Mother Nature's laws of gravitivity & polarity.  (Quick, what movie is that last bit from?)

A bunch of us decide to go out to dinner after this since it's late and most weren't as piggy as I was with the mini-pizzas.   Of course since it wasn't planned, we now have to find a place to accommodate 10 of us, including three little kids who are hungry & cranky.  Fortunately, there are a ton of restaurants nearby.  At dinner, a few other people voice fears & hesitation about the big ski lift adventure.  I finally told myself to grow up and do it and tried to reassure my family members.  I would have hated them to miss the ceremony.

The big day arrives, and I decide to take my shoes off since I have skinny feet and they would have fallen off anyway.  Plus, it didn't seem wise to step off on 4 inch heels.  In hindsight, I was brilliant.  =)  It turns out the lift didn't stop, and by the time I'm yelling at those fuckers to stop it and I realize they aren't, I'm a goodly distance back in the air again.  Yeah, I had to jump down.  In my fucking skirt.  In front of a park full of tourists waiting to ride the bobsled thingie down.  Well, fuck the Mormons and all the religious people there with delicate sensibilities.  I basically screamed HOLY FUCK at the top of my lungs in place of Geronimo and hit the pavement.  Fortunately nothing much was bruised except my pride and my confidence.  Omg, I just about started bawling like a baby.  How fkn embarrassing.  :(  So here I am, crying in front of tourists in shorts, trying to hide from the other wedding guests, put my heels back on, and wipe the mascara off my face.  I took a few minutes to breathe again, pushed my shoulders back, and tried to walk confidently on a gdam fkn woodchip path.  The whole time, I am giving myself a lecture of omg, don't be such a baby, and wtf didn't you wear your jeans and Asolos?   Now wasn't such a great time to go with convention. 

I was relieved to see my father's wife had made it up there with her arthritic knee.  They fkn stopped for her.  I also happily noted that my brother, his wife, and their twins (who were starring as the flower girls --- cutest ones ever!) made it safely.  They were very nervous about riding that with their little girls.  The lift also stopped for them.  FKN GDAM LIARS that they don't stop the lift.  It's okay.  I'm not bitter.  :p  Also, the groom's wheelchair-bound uncle made it there as well.  I felt bad watching him have to forfeit some independence to make it across the woodchip path.  A few strong men helped him there and back.

The ceremony was gorgeous, and my niece was stunning.  I am so delighted for the two of them.  =)

Hold on, Bertram, I'm trying to save you!  Poor thing is gonna need therapy soon.  Okay, so maybe I already do.  Yes I know it's just a tree, but it's more than that.  Bertram symbolizes the injustice of Government (of the people, for the people) performing bureaucratic bullshit. 

I hate to get all Chicken Little here, but we are in a state of decline.  Rarely do people take accountability for their actions anymore.  The Supreme Court ruled it constitutional that local governments can decide that my land would be better used as a fkn strip mall and can take it from me.  I see why our founding fathers had the wisdom to draft the 2nd amendment.  As much as guns scare the shit out of me, I'm glad that we have the right to rise up against a tyrannical government.

Our mango tree is fruiting nicely now, so I'm out there 2 times a day saving the fruit from pesky critters.

P.S.  I went outside this morning and said my goodbyes to Bertram.  Poor little guy.  :(  I thought about taking one of his baby limes and planting a Bertram, Jr.   But then I started thinking ...  what if I became Typhoid Wendy?  What if he is a carrier of Citrus Canker?  The Asplundh trucks just drove by.  :(

/whimper

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out for me.

They have a warrant for Bertram, so there's nothing that can be done.  Apparently, they think he's been compromised. 

They interrupted me before I ate breakfast, so they bore the brunt of my hunger, too.  And now, my migraine is back, and I think law enforcement has been called to escort them to Bertram.  One of the guys on the phone asked me in an incredulous tone if I was crying.  I was sure he was going to quip back.... "there's no crying in Agriculture."  Haha, I would have if I hadn't been shaking so hard.  Gdam fkrs!

The rain just started.  Mother Nature is crying with me.  Yes, I know Bertram is just a tree, but I might have sentimental attachment.  Fkn bullies.  Tree murderers.

Did I mention the Commissioner is named Charles Bronson?  FFS at everyone!

My Basic Nature
Fire: 4
Earth: 3
Air: 3
Water: 2

I think she got my water signs too low.  :p

Spontaneous Orientation
Cardinal: 5
Fixed: 4
Mutable: 3

My Instinctive Desires
Life Houses: 3
Material Houses: 0
Relationships: 4
Psychic Houses: 3

Be prepared for my Prodigious Pity Party...

So I get down to my customer there, after calling them to say I'd be late.  Nice first impression.  Anyway, they start making fun of Miami, too, calling it Little Cuba.  I'm not a gambling person, but I'd bet pretty heavily that at least one of them was Latin.  I guess he's from a different South American nation and resents the Cubans taking over.  At least he speaks the fkn language.

There isn't really anything funny or interesting for the rest of the day except lunch, so I'll spare you the boredom.  The short story of lunch is that there wasn't anything decent close by, so an out of town colleague and I went exploring.  Did I mention I hate driving in Miami?  We finally found a decent restaurant, and there was nowhere to park.  #%#%@!!!  So we kept driving and ended up here, where we had a very nice lunch in a ridiculously LOUD restaurant and then got caught in a downpour running back to the covered parking.  <rolls eyes>

Two hours later, we made it back to the customer, and finished up around 6 PM.  One of the men there gave me so-called better directions to get home faster.  Sigh.  A woman walking in high-heels passed me while I was driving.  I wish I were kidding.

My first flight I ended up sitting next to an MIT geek and a merchant marine geekette.  They were way too geeky for my tastes.  The two of them never shut up the whole flight even though they had just met.  Thank goodness I had my book.  :)

Omg, I was so glad I chose that way.  I was freezing in the training room, especially after I burned through some of those Jimmy Dean calories.  I guess the hotel just likes to keep it feeling like summertime. 

I haven't bought that raspberry cream yet, but I did find a new website that has changed the way I think about my body.  I love Google by the way.  =)

Now this man may be a quack, but I like his theories.  They seem logical and not so hoax-y.  I measured my pH and it was 6, just below the neutral 7 level, which reflects (to me anyway) that I'm mostly healthy but there's room for improvement.  This isn't the first time I've heard of this theory, but he presents a solid argument for it. 

Then, it was off to Neverland with Johnny Depp.  Who knew that would make me cry so much?  I was sobbing by the end of the movie.  Mulan 2 did the trick in making my tears stop.  :)  It wasn't as good as the original, but it was cute and light. 

And to finish off my quartet, I watched Bridget Jones 2.  I had already read the book, but it was fun to see.

They finally announced my departure and I walked through the rain into my puddle-jumper plane.  I goofed to a friend right before that I hoped my seat had the airsick bag in it.  He said if I puked to make sure it was messy.  That made me giggle, and I settled into my seat after turning off my phone.  The Imitrex was kicking in nicely, and I fell asleep before we even took off.  I woke up at the 10,000 feet announcement and 2 seconds before I started drooling.  :p 

I was right at a good spot in my book (Dirk Pitt was foiling the evil plot) when the plane started getting a little too bumpy.  I decided that maybe it would be prudent to stop reading.  Looking out the window didn't help either.  I wasn't sure where to look cuz closing my eyes made the dizzy, sick, spinning feeling worse.  I don't wear a watch but I was sure that we were almost there, so I gave myself a pep talk to not puke for the next 10 minutes.  I even tried pushing on the nerve above my lips and turning the air vent on high.  We were on a roller coaster gone awry, dropping 15-20 feet at a time, spinning a little bit.  I kept waiting for the pilot to say something like they usually do.  He never did.  I'm guessing he was concentrating hard on flying or betting with the co-pilot how many people he could make sick. 

At one point I was wondering if we were going to crash, and my first thought was good, make this fucking pain & misery end already.  Then, I realized that this was probably routine for these pilots and they were enjoying themselves like I do when I drive too fast.

The lady in the row behind me had her face buried in a plastic bag.  She brought her own, and I was jealous.  I finally overcame my shyness and asked the man across the aisle if he had an airsick bag.  Both of them looked, and neither did.  Did they stop supplying those to save costs?  Fuckin' bastards!  I rang the call switch and asked the flight attendant for a bag.  He was scurrying to get other people bags. 

Now I was getting desperate and didn't care about puking in front of strangers.  I just didn't want to puke on me or on the floor.  It turns out the floor lost cuz the bag came 2 minutes too late.  I used it to hide the crime scene, which was tricksy since I splattered the wall going down.  I was so humiliated and so sick (but feeling a teensy bit better after lightening my stomach of the Outback I had eaten for lunch).  I fished out my emergency tissue from my purse and decided that a vomit emergency trumped a snot emergency any old day.  And, I was especially happy to have long hair to hide behind while I was crying and feeling miserable.

I heard the lady behind me yell to just land the plane already.  I heard the flight attendant yell to the cockpit that he had half a plane of puking people.  I wonder who won their bet.  :p  I strategized the path of least humiliation, get off first and let everyone walk by and see my mess.  Or, get off last and block the sight although the smell would probably permeate the already stale air.  That kept my mind busy for the remaining flight time.  The flight attendant came by and put a bag of ice on the back of my neck.  I felt badly for the poor sucker who had to clean the plane afterwards.  :(

I finally saw the sweet sight of over-development and rejoiced when we landed.  I opted for choice 1, get the fuck off the plane fast.  I caught the irony of the pilot thanking us for flying their airline -- 90 minutes late and thoroughly sick & embarrassed.   Because of the heavy rain, we weren't able to get our tarmac-checked bags right then, so now I had to face these people at baggage claim. 

I'm learning new euphemisms like crazy.  Yes, that's how I amuse myself at these things.  I did honestly enjoy hearing my CEO speak, though.  He has such great vision.  Anyway, on to the fun stuff:

1. Bake in into your DNA
2. We're going to have a Darwinian bakeoff (my personal fave)
3. Further up the trough
4. It's a different view of the camel
5. Best of breed
6. Game over for us/them (used interchangeably)
7. Agnostic (technical) platform

I've been pushing my friends away a little bit cuz I don't want to lie and say I'm fine, but I also don't want to cry their ears off.  I did pick one to cry to (lucky sap :p) so I'm not keeping this all locked up.  Plus, I have this outlet, millions (haha don't flatter myself) of semi-anonymous people sharing a tiny piece of my pain.  Thanks.  =)

It's a good thing my body pushes me to eat cuz I'm starting to lose my appetite.  Emotionally the food doesn't taste good, but physically my body is craving nourishment.  I guess that's how people overeat.  Sometimes the food inspires an emotional spark.  Lately, mine mostly tastes dull but I eat it anyway since I can't afford to lose weight.  I haven't even had chocolate in days.  Maybe that's my problem.  I don't want any though.

I announced to him that since I hated shopping so much and since his birthday was coming up, that this would be my present to him thereby saving me from shopping again and letting him pick what he wanted.  =)  It was a win-win.  My only condition was that we leave BrandsMart (immediately if not sooner) and check out Lowe's.  He had been there yesterday and said there was even less of a selection, but I like to compare and nothing at BrandsMart looked just right. 

We stopped for lunch on the way, but the sushi place was closed.  We ended up at a Chinese buffet (I hate buffets :p) since it was nearby and we used to like it before it converted to buffet only.  I was so excited to see they had bean curd buns (not sure of the real name).  Omg, they were so good and I pigged out on those.

Okay, thanks to Google, I've learned it's called kiba dachi.  We stayed in kiba dachi for sooo long until my ankles and thighs burned, all the while practicing new punches.  I had some trouble learning all of these and staying coordinated.  I totally sucked at a few of them and screwed them all up.  Oh well.  Turns out it's tricky to punch and break into 2 fingers at the last moment and then reverse while pulling that fist back.  My fingers were spazzing out by the end of that set.

He had us relax our leg muscles by dropping to the floor for a quick 50 crunches (type of sit-up) with our feet in the air.  After that we held the upwards crunch position for 30 seconds.  I kept up.  =))  Yay!!!

Back to the kiba dachi & more punches and then back to crunches and hold for a minute.  We did this a few times, and I was breathing hard and having a hard time keeping up, but I stayed close.  Galahad is amazing here.  He puts so much energy into every move he does and always asks for more.  I'm thankful I've been able to see this side of him.  I didn't think it was possible to respect and admire him any more than I already do.  He never ceases to amaze me.  :)

Blogger grounded by her airline

Thankfully he was a sweetie, too.  He was very patient and showed me so many times with different pointers when I'd mess up.  The thing is, I felt like I held him back even though I know I always solidify lessons in my mind better when I teach them to someone else.  Haha, he kept telling me to do the move more forcefully, and I kept holding back cuz I was nervous I'd hurt him.  I finally got more vigorous, but then I held back cuz I didn't want to accidentally scratch him with my nails. 

But first we're off to the farmers' market.  I couldn't help myself and was staring at an Amish young man who was staring right back at me.  We both just stared at each other for 30 seconds or so.    I tried to imagine what his life must be like and how foreign it was to mine.  I think his mind was going through the same process. 

So much food there, so little time.  :p  I bought my very own homemade peanut butter sans sugar to take home with me.  Yum!  I also sampled some local birch beer that one of my friends tells me he's addicted to.  It is quite tasty.  Then I got sucked into some lady's sales spiel and felt bad so I bought some of her candles.  The mango scent smelled divine although I was flabbergasted when she said she'd never had mango before. Culture shock kept hitting me from every direction on this trip.

We left there to meet up with our friend's ex-wife that we became friendly with while they were married.  We had been at their wedding years ago.  I was sad they were apart and missed seeing her.   Fortunately, they are still very friendly so all of the awkwardness was on our part and none on theirs.  I joked that I felt like the kids of divorced parents, meeting up at a restaurant and getting driven off by the other party.

We spent a little bit of time with her catching up, then back to his place to pack and drive to the airport.  The weather started shifting and a migraine began to form in my head.  :(  Oh well, it was almost a perfect week.  Imitrex on the plane fixed me though.

Afterwards, we stopped at the Twin Pines Tavern for lunch and my ritual grilled ham & cheese.  The guy in there kinda gave me the jitters and made me feel sympathetic to him all at the same time.  It was very weird.  I definitely would not have stayed in there had I been alone.  He worked there for room & board apparently.   He was very friendly even though his eyes looked like he might have killed someone in the past.  The lady he worked for reminded me of Momma from Throw Momma from the Train.

Then it was time for the long drive back to civilization.  I hate car trips even though the scenery was gorgeous.  My ass just gets numb from sitting for so long.

It is so completely foreign to what I know --- every modern convenience available to me in the blink of an eye.  Almost everyone we met was either local to the area or at the farthest, local to the state.  People looked at me just as peculiarly when I said I was from Florida.  I felt like I had either gone back in time or traveled to a foreign country, where everyone spoke English and drove Fords & Chevrolets, with a Dodge thrown in for color.  Little kids were pointing and laughing when they saw us driving around in the Bug.    I was starting to submerse myself in the culture and wondered if I could survive & thrive here if I had to (assuming I could survive the winters :p).

After the railway adventure, we drove a few towns over to see the Herb Lady.  Even though this next town was tiny, we couldn't find her place, so I called her up.  She gave me directions to get there and then let me know she wasn't open.  Wtf?  She suggested we come by tomorrow.  So I said, but we're here now, so she said, oh come by then.  Haha, so goofy.  Plus, her directions were to take a right at the light.  I asked which light, and she patiently explained to me that they only have the one traffic light.  :p  Her little shop was nice and we purchased a few teas that she had made.  She brewed up a couple for us to try and sat and chatted with us.   I was completely enthralled by the lifestyle there.  Galahad said it reminded him a little bit of Woodstock, NY before it got too commercial.

We had breakfast and chatted.   We stopped at some little hole in the wall to buy some water and supplies.  Smitty's advertised hunting licenses and cappuccinos.  We goofed that their slogan could be "one pump, no waiting" cuz they also sold gas.  Dunno what was funnier, us laughing at them or them laughing at us.  :p  I don't think they had ever seen a Volkswagen Beetle before.  They didn't understand how we all fit in plus 3 gallons of water.   By the time we were leaving to go on the trail, I was ready for lunch.  Bless Galahad's friend's heart, he could eat as often as I did.

So we stopped at another place to buy sandwiches since Smitty's apparently sold only Spam.  While we were there, we decided to eat and then pack a sandwich for the trail.  Lunch was followed up by peach pie.  =)  Now, we were ready to hike!

 The 2 guys quickly decided we needed to leave the trail and hike down to the waterfalls.  Thankfully, Galahad held my hand on the steep inclines.  Towards the end of the day, his friend was holding my hand also to help pull me back up.  My body was just outright fatigued.  I was completely out of breath from lack of oxygen, and my muscles were screaming in pain.  I definitely had burned through my grilled ham & cheese plus the pie already.  It was time to break out the other sandwich.

I kept goofing that we were about to see pixies at any moment.  That's how magical this place felt.  It wouldn't have surprised me much if we had.  At the bottom of the canyon, there was a stream.  I stretched out on a sun-warmed rock and let my mind wander watching hawks circle above.  I saw an osprey get his lunch and fly away holding it.

I haven't even mentioned that all the leaves were changing colors, too.  I had no idea that some of these shades occurred in nature.  They definitely gave my hair some competition.  :p 

My hiking shoes broke about halfway back up the trail.  I had been goofing on Galahad cuz his top-shelf hiking shoes broke during one of hurricane jaunts.  He called the company (that bought the company that made them) and gave them an earful.  They sold him a new pair for a fraction of the price, which he was breaking in on this trip.  I wonder if I can call Asolo and whine.

I wasn't looking forward to the drive from his friend's house to our lodge in the woods by the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.  I hate long car trips.  Fortunately, this was amazing scenery, interspersed with more diners.  =)  I decided to compare all the different grilled-cheese sandwiches & pies.

I started feeling better after a hot shower, lots of glutamine, and an Aleve.  Or maybe it was my strong will telling myself I refuse to fuck up this trip for him.  :p  Anyway, we caught the plane (fortunately it was in the afternoon so I had ample time to feel better).

We landed safely, and I was starving as usual.  I guess I got better although I have no idea what was wrong.  Part of me was apprehensive wondering if I should have canceled the trip.  Maybe I was psychic?  Ha, turns out I'm not.  :p  Good thing I didn't rely on that theory.

I finally fell back asleep and got up at 10.  I heard his dog barking in the backyard incessantly like he'd been abandoned.  I felt sorry for him and went out to take a look.  The dog bared his teeth at me, so I stayed away even though his tail was wagging.  Fucking mixed messages.  :p 

I went to class on 3 Excedrin, 2 glucosamine, and a zinc for good measure.  I'm blaming today's migraine on the weather (and maybe the chocolate rugala I had earlier).  At one point, I almost passed out from the pain, but then it got better and I had a blast.  It helps that my close friend goes, too, and we slay each other.  Haha, she had me laughing so hard that I finished one exercise without even whining.  :p

In listening to the wind whining, I tried to see if I heard the train or the lion roar that these newscasters talk about.  Nope.  One newscaster actually described it accurately, imo.  He said it was the loudest white noise you could imagine.  A few more tense hours passed as I willed our power to stay on.  It started getting light outside and the wind lessened a bit. 

I moved downstairs to eat even more and park myself on the couch.  I was now officially suffering from Hurricane Fatigue Syndrome.  It's not pretty.  I think I ate 5000 calories in the past 24 hours which is a lot even for me.  Also, the muscle soreness from Friday night's class was starting to kick in.  Did I mention the migraine came back last night, too?

I became loopy & delirious when I finally felt safe.  The newscasters kept using a silly line that was redundant, which of course made me giggle.  Yeah, I know --- I'm a geek who laughs at grammatically incorrect usage.  Sue me.  You ready for it?  Sitting down?

Galahad's mom asked if we would come over and help with the shutters.  They had taken them all down last week.  *grumble*  We did some preliminary work outside of our house then drove down there to start that.  I was so tense that I burned through the food I had eaten as we walked out the door and arrived there hungry.  Laugh.  Lucky for me, she's used to my ways and made me a quick snack.  Feeder bands started hitting us at about noon and we got soaked fixing up her house.   Afterwards, we ate again and then left to get home before the strong winds and rain became more consistent.

Of course, me being me suggested we sneak onto the beach first.  Galahad being him thought that was an excellent idea.  =)  Last time (Frances) we tried it using a major thoroughfare and were thwarted.  This time, I remembered a smaller access road, which wasn't blocked off.  We parked in an empty parking lot since everyone had evacuated and walked onto the beach.  The surfers were out as usual even though we were in a Mandatory Evacuation Area.  They seemed kinda chicken to me, but what do I know.  There were several paddled out, but they were very finicky about which waves they would ride in on.  Finally, I was so cold in the driving wind & rain, that I was happy to leave.  We drove North to the next major road to cut over to the mainland.  The police in all of their infinite wisdom had both ways blocked off and told us to turn around and go back the 15 miles to the smaller road.  :(  Sigh

By the time we got home, the feeder bands were constant.  I ran inside to take my last hot shower before the power failed.  It was like the last dinner of a condemned man.  Galahad cooked up a giant pot of dumplings and we feasted on the living room floor using a cardboard box as our dining table.  I naturally brought out the placemats.  No reason to live as barbarians.  =)

We finished up all of the inside stuff that needed securing and wished that storm North.  At one point when it was still aiming right for us and they were saying it would be a category 4 hurricane, I panicked and brought out the Lucky Goat Milk.  It had the desired effect of breaking up our somber mood (and perhaps a side effect of sending that storm north :p).

Jeanne did start veering north although we were still in line to catch the outer edges of the hurricane force winds.  It got a bit scary at times listening to the winds whine & howl.   The power flickered and blinked off at one point.  That freaked us out cuz they had been repeating that if we lost power, it could be 3 weeks to get it back.  I was on my laptop chatting to several people all over the world attempting to remain calm & distracted.  Thankfully this storm was moving much faster than Frances so we had only about 8 hours of really intense wind & rain.  It's amazing what you get thankful for, huh?

Sunday is usually a day of intense muscle pain from Friday's class.  I was in so much pain from my head that I felt none of it.  I could barely eat, and light & sound was killing me.  I had to cover my eyes most of the day and turn the TV volume down to almost mute.  Finally around 4 or so, I was able to eat some chicken broth & soda crackers.  Three cheers for hurricane supplies.  :p  By 8, my stomach had recovered.  I was starving and scarfed down some of Galahad's pizza.

Today we replanted 2 trees that were displaced due to Hurricane Frances.  My brother was very nice and helped us.  Omg, it was so fucking hot!  Afterwards, Galahad made a huge feast for dinner with BBQ steak and fresh jicama among other tasty delights.

A piece of trivia I found interesting:  Friday night was the highest incidences of domestic disturbance calls to the police because everyone was all locked up together behind shutters and scared witless.

I lost power Saturday night at about 2am (so I guess technically Sunday morning) and just got it back last night.  Less than 48 hours without power made me crazy.  :p  Our A/C broke, so even after we had power, it was still kinda hot in here.  And the humidity was horrendous.  We had to change all the sheets & towels cuz they were yucky.

All the days started to run together so I can't give too much of a blow by blow.  Cabin fever set in rapidly.  I was thanking my lucky goat milk that we stayed in our house and didn't have anyone else there with us.  The flip side of us not having shutters is that we were able to get a front row seat to the majestic destruction that was happening around us.  We watched as one of our trees knocked over easily and almost rolled into the pool.  We ran outside and tried moving it to a better spot.  The two of us could barely maneuver it.  I think we both strained some back muscles with that.  Yeah, I know ... lift with the knees.  Try doing that when you're standing in 60 mph gusts and driving rain.  Okay, I have no idea how forceful the winds were.  I'm thinking my next present to Galahad is going to be a wind-speed gadget.  :)

Later on, we decked out in raingear and took a walk along our back canal.  We saw so many birds hunkered down for the impending storm.  A great blue heron looked so peaceful in his little copse although I was surprised that he didn't evacuate.  :p 

Big trees were already coming down on Saturday as the feeder bands were hitting.  It scared me to think of what might be coming up.

After we lost power, it started to get scarier cuz I had no idea what was going on and it was fucking LOUD outside!!  Every crash I heard, I kept thinking, this is the one that is coming through the walls or roof.  No power meant no over sensationalized Channel 7 News.  The house stayed somewhat cool that night but really started to heat up the next day.  We opened all the sliders to let the hurricane winds blow through and cool us off, but it also let 9 million percent humidity in.  The carpet started feeling yucky under my feet.  :(

I got crankier as the temperature rose.  It kept raining a lot so that helped, but the breezes started dying down.  We went for another walk at some point (I lost track of time) and scoped out damages and wildlife.  We saw a truly amazing sight.  Somehow every iguana was out trying to warm up and/or dry off.  There were at least a dozen giant ones that we saw on tree branches across the canal.  They were much easier to spot since most leaves were stripped off.  Gronk was out with his Gronkettes and then we saw Grampa Gronk.  He was huge although not as brilliantly orange as he used to be.

I know this is disjointed and I apologize but random thoughts are popping up and like I said, I lost track of time & day. 

Galahad got out his little camping stove and made us hot soup (good thing I bought one edible variety) when we came back inside all wet.  The rain was driving so hard that it finally penetrated our rain gear even though he had just coated it again with silicone (or whatever they waterproof gear with).  He was enjoying himself mightily and looked at all of this as a big adventure.  It was nice because neither one of us got cranky at the same time, so the other one could always boost spirits.  I'll give you one guess who needed more boosting.  :p

I had breakfasted on a Snapple Meal Drink at 5 am when I woke up hungry & in the dark.  I was scared to open the fridge and let cold air out so I just felt around on the counter for one of those.  Just because I can eat anything when I'm hungry doesn't make it palatable.  It was fucking god-awful.   Shiver.  Cringe.  I drank it while sitting on the floor next to one of my big windows and watching our mango tree blow violently around.  It did serve its purpose though.  It filled me up in a quick, convenient manner.

During one of the semi-lulls in the storm, we went out and fished half of a tree out of our pool.  This was a different one from the one we rescued before. 

I spent part of the day bored going through an old box.  I found all of my awards from school, including my Happy Gram from 1^st grade.  Gah, I'm such a packrat, but it was valuable entertainment during extreme boredom and repressive heat & humidity.  I had already finished the book, Digital Fortress, that I was reading. 

Galahad insisted we go out for dinner and I was up for the adventure although I wasn't sure what we'd find.  It was a bit tricky putting on eyeliner by flashlight.  :)  I had him check it afterwards to make sure it was even.  :p  We tried north first but there were curfews in effect and police were closing down restaurants, so we ended up south at a pizza place.  They had ice cold a/c and hot food, so we gladly endured the one hour wait time for food.  They had a very limited menu quickly scrawled on a napkin taped to the front counter, and pizza wasn't on it.  He got spaghetti & and I had ravioli (and a Zone bar from my purse while I waited the hour).

We debated going to his mother's house (since she had power) to sleep or staying home and letting the breezes cool us off.  His mother doesn't keep the a/c very cold so we would have been hot there, too, just without the humidity.  It was about 76°F out with 20-30 mph winds.  Privacy won out, plus the roads were scary to drive on.  There were no traffic lights and giant trees suddenly appearing fallen in the road.  We milked our time at the pizza place and stayed there until we got sleepy.  :p  The people at a nearby table had driven over 20 miles to eat there.  We drove home, brushed our teeth by candlelight, and tried to fall asleep.  I woke up every few hours as I'd been doing since Tuesday or so.

One of my phone lines worked intermittently, so I checked in with family & friends to let them know how we were and see how they were.  We started to set our house back to normal and were cleaning up outside as well as putting all the orchids back out.  Then, we were on Lizard Duty to catch all the ones who had hunkered down in our house.  :p  I rescued a butterfly from the pool while I was skimming out the 6 million or so leaves that had blown in.  It was nice and cold in there so I kept dipping my feet in as I started to overheat.  I didn't really care how dirty it was at that point.  We had chlorinated it beforehand so no bacteria should be in it, just good clean dirt.  :p

By 11 am, I had hit the end of my rope and called one of my brothers to see if he had power yet.  He didn't and asked if we wanted to go get lunch.  That was an easy answer.   I went inside, took a cold shower (yuck but at least I had running water), shaved my legs, put my hair in a ponytail, and tried to make myself presentable.

There were long lines at all the nearby restaurants and since the car had nice cold a/c, we just kept driving further south until we found one without a wait.  They again had a limited menu --- quesadillas or quesadillas.  Galahad ordered a margarita which turned out to be huge.  The guy at the next table was on his 3rd or 4th (that we saw) and was so fucking drunk.  Again, they had good a/c and hot food, so we planted ourselves there for a few hours.  My brother was fun company and we amused each other with reminiscing and good conversation.   At 4pm, we left and drove across the street where another restaurant was opening up.

My brother ordered more food, and we sat there for another hour until Galahad decided it was time to leave to go to his martial arts class.  He had persuaded my brother to join him as they were both missing their normal workout routine, and my brother's gym was still closed.

We drove home surveying the damage and the fallen trees.  Overall, I have to say I was very fortunate.

I guess I'd better explain about my lucky can of goat milk.  Six years ago, a Hurricane was headed right for us in our brand new (to us) house.  I had less flexible hours then at work, so I wasn't able to take off exactly when I wanted to get supplies.  I ended up at my local Publix Supermarket picking up stuff that had been picked through hours ago.  That store caters to mostly retirees, so the only section left semi-intact was the ethnic section.  I was kind of panicking since Hurricane Andrew's devastation was just a few years prior, and I remembered my parents living on canned foods for weeks.  I loaded up my cart with anything edible, whether I recognized its use or not.  I figured that Galahad is creatively talented in the culinary arts, plus I'll eat just about anything when I get hungry.

That night, he's going through the supplies I bought and starts asking why I bought them.  He's new to Florida's Hurricane Season so he's giving me the benefit of the doubt if it's local wisdom.  I started crying and said it's all they had left, and I didn't want to starve.  He reassures me that all will be well and starts his mind going on unusual recipes.

Since then, we've had quite a few close scares and some brushes with severe weather but have come out smiling.  I credit my lucky goat milk.  :p  At some point, he used it or tried to, so it was no longer in our cupboard.  Wednesday night, I went through a similar feeling of "omg there's no food left for me" since I went to a different store and most of the ethnic foods had been cleaned out there, also.  I bought some Goya Tamarind Juice and pigeon peas (both new to my repertoire this year).  You might wonder why Galahad leaves it to me to do the shopping, but he was getting over some cold or virus and working like crazy at work, so I offered.  Plus, I got to hang out and laugh with my brother at a Wal-Mart at 3 am.  =)  As we got to the register, there on the side where someone had decided they didn't want it, was a can of Goat Milk, nearly identical to the one from years back.  Of course I had to buy it.  And so far so good, the storm has seriously weakened and is forecast to hit a bit north of us.

/dance

Web Cam: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

I finally got about 6 hours of sleep last night so I'm feeling a bit better (but not that much).  The storm has slowed way down so impact is now being predicted for tomorrow instead of today, although we did start to feel some of the feeder bands this afternoon.

We finished up the outside work here (30+ orchids in my house along with assorted critters who were hunkering down in them) and then drove to Galahad's parents' house to help them with final preparations.   After lunch there, we stopped by my brother's house since he's on the way to say hello and see how he was doing.  He didn't sound so good on the phone --- too little sleep, too much caffeine, and too much stress.  His house was mostly boarded up by then.  I got to visit with his doggies (always a treat for me =)).  We hung out there for a bit until the transformer popped into fireworks in his backyard and he lost power.  I have no idea what caused that since it was sunny out, and there hadn't been any gusting winds for an hour or so.  Anyway, we decided that it was probably time to get off the roads and get home. 

First we tried to detour to the beach to see the surf coming in (it was still a gorgeous, albeit hot, day).  The police had every access road blocked off, so that shot that idea down.  I think it was smart of them to do that even though I would have loved to take a last walk on the beach before the storm hit.

The storm has weakened down to a Category 3 and looks to still hit a tad north of us, so we'll be on the "clean" side of impact.

I feel a little bit better now.  :p  This will be my last posting before the storm hits.  I'll be packing my PC up after this.  I met my brother at a Super Wal-Mart last night to do our last minute emergency supply shopping.  It just reinforced how much I hate Wal-Mart.  We were there from 2 am until almost 4 am.  And, they were sold out of water.  Fuckers.  Oh well, I got lots of weird soups & beans and my lucky can of goat milk.  =) 

I'm starting to feel a bit frightened and losing some of my normal good spirits.  I only got 2 hours of sleep last night which didn't help, but my mind is too busy to sleep.  I'm also feeling terribly overwhelmed.  I'm not sure what to do first, and we still have to go help Galahad's parents secure their house.  We haven't really started on ours yet.  And, it all seems like a waste of time cuz what can I do against 140 mph winds and 180 mph gusts?  Bringing my orchids inside so that they don't get launched as missiles until after our windows shatter seems a little irrelevant.

We still have a full day to accomplish these tasks, so maybe if I start now and get a few things done, I'll feel better.  Most gas stations have run out of gas already, too. 

Did I mention I'm a teensy bit nervous?  :p  I've enjoyed my time in this house immensely, but I'm not quite ready to give it up yet.  I apologize for my disjointed thoughts, but like I said before, my mind is racing doing a hundred things at once.  Okay, I'm turning this off now.  I'll try to have my laptop up for as long as possible for those of you who have my IM info.

So long and thanks for all the sushi!  =)

Galahad talked me into wearing my comfy black boots instead of my comfy black high-tops.  Fashion and all that.  Gag!  But, for him, I made the effort.  Somehow, they decided not to be as comfy tonight and gave me my first blister.  I've had them over a year and worn them numerous times for hours at a time.  Dunno wtf happened but I finally took them off and went barefoot.  The blister was already the size of a dime and swelling.  Guess I need to buy new boots soon.  :\

In between my whining about the imaginary pebble in my boot, we finally (after 30 minutes of walking) picked out a restaurant to have dinner.  So many places were artificially expensive, or at least I thought they were based on the ambiance and food quality.  We ended up eating Cuban food at Bongos.  The food was tasty and the company was fun.  :)

I'm still happy it missed me though.

So, on to other irrelevant topics.  Are you sitting down?  Remember how you thought I was an intelligent, modern woman?  I'm about to throw a monkey wrench into your image of me.  :p   You sure you're sitting?  Cuz I sometimes stand at my PC, especially while I'm brushing my teeth. 

Today, I used an ATM for the first time.  Yeah, you read that correctly.  Somehow I never used an ATM before for one reason or another.  When they first came out, there was a service charge and I was poor so every penny saved was a good thing.  Then, I learned how not to need one through proper planning and lots of plastic money.  Cash is so dirty.  Also, it seems risky.  Logically I know millions of people use one every day without problems.  But, emotionally, it seems stupid to advertise to everyone "Hi I'm about to have cash here you can steal from me after you knock my 104 lbs over."  And, what if there's some kind of mistake?  How do you prove it?

However, through bad planning, I ran out of checks before I got my new ones.  My friend needed money right away, so I resolved to get over my ATM-phobia.   We made plans to meet there in the morning before the storms got bad.  She went to the wrong location accidentally, and I was a nervous wreck by the time she got there.  First I cased the whole place to look for unsavory types.  There were a few.  I decided to try my hand at this magic machine while the unsavories were at a minimum even though my friend wasn't there yet.  It turns out that even though I can withdraw a large sum of money per day, it can't be done all in one transaction.  So now I had to stand there for several minutes inserting my card back in each time after pocketing wads of cash.  I was sure I had a GIANT target on my back saying "OMG, I just won the lottery and have all of it on me!!!"  Speaking of winning, is it just me or is this more fun than slots?  I insert my card, pick some numbers, and BAM, I win and out comes cash.  I could see how this ATM thing could become addictive.  :p

After all of the excitement of the Hurricane and my ATM Adventure, it was time for my 2^nd conditioning class with the crazy East German guy.  I am ecstatic to announce I did much better this week and did NOT cry at all.  Yay!!!  I did have one iffy moment when I couldn't get enough oxygen into my body and I couldn't stop yawning.  That got me scared cuz that's usually a precursor to a migraine and I had forgotten all of my meds (so much poor planning lately).  I forced myself to relax and take deep breaths.  I had also taken some aspirin during the day to counteract the effects of the storm so I was hoping & wishing that my head would stay pain-free.  It did!  And there was much rejoicing.  =)

So here are two of mine.  Yes I know they're corny, but they work.  :p

O-o-h Child

Guess what I'm doing tonight?  Hehe, one of my male friends continues to remind me that men don't enjoy these guessing games nearly as much as women.  :p  So blame him that I'm ruining it and telling you.  =)  Omg, I'm skeeeeeered. 

I'm going to Galahad's martial arts conditioning class tonight.  My close friend really wants to go and persuaded me to try it once with her.  This is the class taught by his east German instructor that gets him so sore he can barely walk by Sunday.  He told me to stop when I can't do something, but I know me.  First, I like a challenge and usually don't stop until it's too late.  And, second, I'm going to be embarrassed if I have to stop too early.  Sigh.  I hope I don't cry.   I also hope I'm brave enough to go back next week even if tonight sucks.  I would love to get back into better shape.

/whine

/swoon

I was in a meeting all day at the airport hotel in Philadelphia, daydreaming in between important points being made.  During one of our breaks, we noticed that the line for security was so long that it had spilled out of the airport and into the hotel.  It turns out they had evacuated everyone from the airport because of a security issue.  I called a colleague of mine who had left about 20 minutes prior.  He said he hadn't gone through security yet but was close to the front once they reopened it. 

I jumped on CNN.com and MSNBC to see if I could figure out wtf was going on.  Nothing.  I tried Federal Aviation Administration.  Zilch.  I called my airline where the agent knew less than me.  However he did say all outbound planes were grounded currently.  Inbound were allowed to land.  He had no idea when they would resume but said the planes had to leave cuz they needed them at their destinations by the morning.  I asked about availability for tomorrow morning.  He told me there were 7 seats left on 2 of tomorrow's flights.  Another one was already sold out.  I'm actually amazed he disclosed the number because they never used to do that.

Someone near me spouted out that he saw an AWACS in the air circling the airport.

I started to weigh my options and thought about staying the night.  By this time, apparently so did everyone else because my hotel was overbooked, so I'd have to rent a car (if available) or hop a cab to an alternate hotel.  I called Galahad to let him know my status.  He explained to me what an AWACS is, and I started to feel a twinge of uneasiness. 

AWACS: Airborne Warning And Control System. Aircraft fitted with long range radar that provide tactical and target information to air and ground control units. Usually big, slow and extremely high priority, both to defend and to attack.

We decided to go ahead and get our boarding passes and see what the situation was after that.  My manager discovered that the security line at the next terminal was about 45 minutes shorter.  Fortunately I was stuck with a couple of the fun guys so we laughed & joked our way down the long lines and outside down the street to the next terminal.  One did the limbo under the nylon ropes used to keep people in orderly lines.  Security was in fact much shorter there.

We finally had to split up as we were headed to different gates.  Our flights were still showing on-time.  Lying bastards.  I did see planes in the air again which reassured me quite a bit.

Of course I needed to get food so I followed a flight crew member since I figured he'd know where the good places were. :)  For a little bit, people seemed nicer while we all shared a potential crisis.  However, as the mood got back to normal, so did attitudes.  People got cranky again as fear & bewilderment turned to anger -- a much more acceptable emotion for most.

I finally boarded my plane (after talking to Galahad a couple more times to give updates and share some love just in case... ).  He was very busy at work though so I didn't want to bug him too much.  Amazingly enough, we left the gate only about 10 minutes late.

It had been approximately 3 hours by now, and I had heard 3 theories of wtf may or may not have happened.  One, it was a glitch.  Haha, nice line.  Two, it was a security breach.  And three, it was a test.

About 5 minutes after we backed away from the gate, the pilot said, "this is your captain and uh ... what can I say ... this is a mess."  I had to respect his honesty.  He said we were in line behind a gajillion other planes and only one runway open.  I snuck on my cell phone and called Galahad to let him know I wouldn't be home any time soon.  About 20 minutes later, the pilot came on again and said no change, feel free to turn on your cell phones.

I meant to start it on the trip up when I had more energy, but I got all involved eavesdropping on the woman next to me.  :)  Rich people really have a different reality at times.  And I quickly succumbed to the lure of being privileged.  I boarded first with quiet dignity.  I received 3 bottles of water (the lady next to me had a Bloody Mary.  Galahad goofed that I should also when I called him before we left.), 4 cookies, 1 bag of snack mix, and a set of free headphones.  Remember the flight is only 90 minutes long, and the peasants in the back were lucky to get 4 ounces of some beverage.  I also skipped a 30 minute wait at Security by asking for the first class line.  A girl could get used to this.  ;)  Plus, it helped me to be relaxed for my presentation, which went very well if I may say so myself. 

I showed up at the meeting in time for lunch, ate my delicious sandwich from the Atlanta Bread Company, did my dog & pony show, laughed quite a bit since I have a good group to work with, and left to get back to the airport in plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely dinner of sand crab cake sandwich cuz when you think Atlanta, you think crabs.  :p

So now I'm sitting on the plane in my roomy, leather seat -- listening to the man two seats over although his conversation isn't nearly as interesting as the woman this morning.  He must have received a complimentary upgrade.  :)  Don't even get me started on the man next to me.  He's having some sort of testicular issue and having to adjust quite a bit, definitely not first class material. 

[Side Tangent: Wtf is wrong with men that they think this is socially acceptable?  A woman would never dare do something like that.  And if she were in extreme discomfort for some reason (tries not to think why anyone would be), she would at least try to disguise it a little bit instead of pulling & tugging away every 5-7 minutes.]

I think I wouldn't mind traveling as much if I could fly first class all the time.  I'm treated like a real person whose business is appreciated instead of like cattle whose presence is merely tolerated.  I'll take it as a lesson to remind myself to treat all of my customers with genuine enthusiasm even if they're doing dumb shit.  ;)