Friday April 13th, 2007
I finished up the trip yesterday. It was all travel, so not terribly interesting.

The first flight was at 11:45. I rolled out of bet at about 8:30. I attempted to check out via the hotel entertainment system (tv), but that wasn't working, soI had to resort to the phone. I loaded up the car and headed for the airport.

Once I got in the vicinity, I still had plenty of time left, so set out to find gas. I stopped at an Amco station and filled up. They charged me a 45 cent transaction fee for using a debit card... I've never seen that before. That's pretty lame for the year 2007.

I headed back to the airport and found the car rental return. I pulled into the budget lane and removed the TomTom from the windshield. I moved to the trunk and started packing away the TomTom, and the attendant informed me that he needed to take the TomTom. How dare he. I told him it was mine to which he responded to the effect of "oh". He returned to the odometer and had some additional troubles there. As we concluded our business, several other customers came an went. When at last we were done, I learned that I traveled 126 miles that week.

Check in and security was quick. I found a chair near a power outlet and fired up the laptop. A fwe minutes later, a guy came over and dropped his bags on the chair behind me. Actually, it felt like he got a running start and hurled his stuff at the chair as hard as he could. It was, at the least, discourteous. He then came on my side and stood there for a few minutes. I think he thought I should have offered him that seat, but our relationship was off to a rocky start and that wasn't going to happen. He plugged his phone in, and stood in the corner making some calls. When he was done, he sat down behind, again with unnecessary force. He was a nuisance in general. People sure get cranky when they can't reach the power outlet.

I worked until a few minutes before boarding. I packed up my stuff and headed to the gift shop to get something to drink. Sure enough, Mr. Personality took the seat.

What is to be learned by all this? I don't know.

The flight from Seattle to Atlanta was light. There was an empty seat between me and my neighbor. We didn't talk much because I was too busy watching movies, but she seemed nice. Early in the flight, she spilled a diet coke on the empty seat and herself... good thing it was empty. I helped clean it up, but suggested to the flight attendant that we turn around and get rid of her before things really get out of control. During the 2nd beverage service, she promised to hold on to her drink real tight. That adverted additional catastrophe.

I watched Run Lola Run, The Edge, and the beginning of The Prestige.
LOLA and The Edget are both great movies. I've only seen them once before.

There was very little time between flights, and a lot of walking. I needed food without a line. I found a "fresh" sandwich place, and ordered a ham and cheese. He grabbed it off the shelf and handed it to me. Yummy. I got a bag of jalapeno chips (no cholesterol) to go with it. I still had beverage left over from Seattle.

I walked from B terminal to A terminal and found the gate. It was about to start boarding. Miraculously, I found a seat. A guy nearby got up and tried to entertain his buddy by saying that they could fit more people in a plane if they installed racks. I countered that they could attach a trailer to the back instead. Neither one of us were funny.

The second flight was more full. The DVD player was dead. I read some more of The Prince and the Pauper, then watched "Delta Horizons", which included an episode of Will and Grace.

It was a quick flight, but the bags took almost a 1/2 hour. I grabbed all my stuff and headed towards the car. I cross the street and took a right. There's a lot of construction. The right was a mistake... There wasn't a way to get through anymore. How could I turn around without looking like a dummy? There was no way. I'd have to find an alternate route. Unfortunately, it was a navigational situation that the TomTome couldn't help with, so I'd have to do it the old fashioned way. I took the elevator to the 2nd floor in hopes of finding a way over to the west lot. I hauled all my stuff a good distance before realizing that it wasn't going to work. Defeated, I turned around and headed back from whence I came. I can only hope that by the time I made it outside, the crowd had changed and no one noticed.

I loaded my stuff in to my car, and drove off. After driving a rental for a week, I really appreciated the 300. It was big, comfortable, quiet, and moved with authority when I hit the gas. Heavenly.

The drive home was uneventful. I had to slow myself down twice, though. The 300 wanted to be unleashed.

I walked into the house and was warmly greeted with the love and affection I had missed all week. I am referring, of course, to my three dogs. They were excited to see me, and who can blame them? (Overlook the fact that they get equally excited each time the wind blows). Eventually, Gina dragged herself off the couch to say hello. It was glorious.