Hmmm.  Where to begin??  I've been on the road and am currently in Charleston, SC.  I'm in a waiting room while my dad is having back surgery.  Not only am I sitting here waiting, but my brother is here with me!!!  For ya'll who know the story I am glad to report he is doing absolutely fabulous!  I'm so proud of him!!!  He leaves later this week to fly back to CA to start school. 

You know what I hate?  Getting to the bottom of your meal and finding something inedible in your food.  Although my dad is having surgery at this really modern, fabulous facility, I still got to the bottom of my salad in the cafeteria and found a dead bug.  Just writing about it is making me throw up in my mouth just a little...   Needless to say I didn't bother to capture it digitally to share...

I should also note here that if you're a friend of mine who reads this and lives in SC please do not be offended that I did not call to get in touch.  I didn't tell anyone I was coming because my only reason for coming was to take care of my dad during and after his back surgery.  Once my mother flew out to CO to "take care of me" after I had surgery and I hardly saw her.  She'd make me breakfast in the morning then get in my car and drive all the way to Denver to go antiquing and not come home until 5 or 6 in the evening.  She did this every day the whole week.  Needless to say I didn't feel especially taken care of and I'm not going to do that to my dad.... 

I'm a little brain dead so I'm just going to recount my adventures from most recent back.  'Cuz it's too hard to try and start at the beginning and go in chronological order...

So I drove dad and my brother to Charleston early this morning for dad's surgery.  Last night at dad's it occurred to me that his house is filled with "bloggable things".  Like this:

This is an actual bull ball sac.  Really.  My dad said it was a gift.  Who gives this as a gift?!?!?!?    Apparently this says a lot about my dad's friends...

On my way down to SC I stopped in WV.  (which is how I ended up with my brother.)  I got roped into going to church at my mom's little country church.  And when I say "country church" my brother and I estimated there were about 15 - 20 people, including the kids*.  And they had no piano player.  Apparently she threw out her back baling hay....  And it just so happened that my mpther gave the sermon that day, which happened to be Father's Day.  She said the sermon was on "Loving Father's".  But if you're a church goin' person you also know the story as the Prodigal Son.  My brother and I are convinced she chose that particular sermon because he and I were there.... 

*I was under the impression this was a little country church out in farming country.  And indeed it is small and out in the country.  I guess I also assumed moderate to poor socioeconomic status of attendees too...  But someone pulled out of the parking lot in a new Mercedes SUV.  Corn and hay must be good this year...

The previous night I stayed with my Aunt Newlywed and her husband Fiddler.  (btw - their 4 year anniversary is next week...)  This was the first time I saw their new house up on "the hill".  I'm not exactly sure how many acres they own but it's fair to say they have "land".  Aunt N took me on a tour of the "property" in their 6-wheel Polaris "thingy".  It's like an all wheel drive, souped up golf cart/ mini truck thing.  And we definitely needed the all wheel drive.  We were back on "the hill" in mud.  So in my infinite wisdom I decided to run "the hill" the next morning. Let's say that I definitely need a new pair of running shoes.  And there will forever be a 6" deep imprint of my foot on their land....

I finally got off "the hill" and out to the road.  I saw what looked like a dead little bird in the middle of the road and for some reason took a second glance.  It wasn't dead.  Something was wrong with one of it's legs.  So again, infinite wisdom, I decided to pick it up and bring it back to the house to see if there was anything that could be done for it.  I've been hanging around KVeg too much.... 

When I got back to the house I had to peel off my shoes and socks (and leave them outside) and had to scrub the splattered mud off my legs in the shower.  It was a fun run!!!  (if not exceptionally hard!!)

And now for the best story of all:

Last Monday I was to fly out to Chicago for another meeting.  My original flight at 11:30am had been cancelled and I was rescheduled for a 7pm flight.  I got to the airport and was at my gate by 6pm.  Our airport is little.  They had three flights going out of the same gate at 6:30, 7 and 7:15.  The first two flights were to Chicago and the last one to DC.  Since there were so many people sitting right at the gate I sat in the seating at the empty gate across from where I was boarding. 

I kept an ear our for my flight number and destination.  I kept hearing they were boarding to Chicago but it wasn't my flight number.  So I waited.  After a lot of folks got on the plane and out of my gate area seating I moved over to my gate.  I continued to sit and wait.  I even asked the attendant about my flight.  And I asked by flight number.  She replied that it was late and the plane coming in wasn't even landing until 9:45pm.  Ugh.  Oh well. I decided to just sit and read.  at 9:50 they boarded a plane to DC.  After that the attendant came over and asked me what flight I was waiting for.  I looked up and I was the ONLY person in the waiting area!!!!

WTF!!!

I must've sat and watched my plane board several hours earlier!!  And when I asked about my flight number the attendante must have misunderstood me and gave me the info on the flight to DC that had just boarded and left.

She booked me on the 6am flight for the next morning.  So I had the hubby come and get me.

But wait, there's more!!

I got home and set my new voice-activated clock's alarm to 4:30am for the next morning.  I set out my outfit so all I had to do was get up, brush my teeth, change clothes and go.  At some piont I woke up and saw a little bit of light starting to peek through our door.  I thought "well, the hubby took off all the blinds because we had new windows installed so that would make sense that I see a little light.....  But NOT at 4:30 in the morning!!!!!" 

Aaaaaahhh!  I sat staright up in bed.

My clock read 6:10am!   My alarm didn't go off and I missed my flight AGAIN!!! 

WTF!?!?!?!?

I was immediately on the phone to reschedule myself on the 7am flight.  I literally brushed my teeth, changed my undies, slapped on deodorant and jumped into my clothes and was out the door.  It was a close call but I made it on the plane.  (barely)

So, the moral of this story is - no matter how often you fly you can still screw it up!!

This week I'm going to try and relax while I'm taking care of dad.  And he's decided he wants to drive home with my later this week instead of driving up himself week after next....  So we'll be hittin' the road as soon as he's able.  And next week I'm back in the office as usual.  I'm sure I'll be bored...  ; )

The Earth has stopped rotating

The Earth as I know it has stopped rotating.  The spinning has stopped and it's thrown me for a loop.

Why?  you may ask..

I just realized that I lost my status with USAir. 

Now for those of you that don't travel often this may not seem like much of a crisis.  Most people who travel don't have status.  So yes, I now have to travel like "everyone else". 

Except that I do a lot of traveling for work.  (although apparently not enough these days...)  I have had status with an airline my whole professional career.  While there is an upside - I'm not traveling as much as I used to - the truth is I still have to travel.

And this is a problem. 

Within the next 6 weeks I will be on a plane for 4 of them.  That's a pain in the ass - regardless of what kind of status you have.  But consider that I have to fly this next month and a half without:

• priority check-in
• priority seating
• free checked baggage
• priority boarding
• possible upgrades to first class
• not to mention bonus miles for flying and a bunch of other little tidbits that I won't bother mentioning here

I know, I know.  You're thinking "boo hoo.  poor little thing has to travel like the rest of us in cattle class."  But consider this.  Remember back to the last time YOU traveled via plane.  Did you pay an arm and a leg to check your bags (and maybe that of your whole family)??  When you checked in did they tell you they couldn't assign you a seat yet?  Did you get bumped from your flight?  Did you get stuck in a middle seat flying from JFK to LAX??  (NYC to LA)  When you flight was cancelled did you not get the best alternative flight because everyone with "status" filled that flight too??

If any of the above happened to you I'm sure it was a royal pin in the ass.  But I'm also betting that you were traveling for vacation. Maybe a wedding...  But you weren't traveling for work.  Where you're expected to show up at your destination.  On time.  And ready to "work". 

And the last time you flew I'm guessing you probably did it only once, maybe twice within one year.  (Ok, Christy and Neda are exempt from this.  But on the other hand you probably feel my pain.  And maybe Emily too.  Especially Emily because maybe you flew a lot in the past pre-babies and now have to look forward to traveling forever in the future with twin babies....)

I'm on the road four of the next six weeks. 

Not having status when you're traveling for work SUCKS!!!!  As a matter of fact, having status makes it worth it to be on the road for as long as it takes to get it.

So excuse me for the next six weeks while I travel all across the US and back several times....  If I'm cranky you'll know why.