a new hangout

i have been forced to a new hangout. well, i suppose it really is a result of choice and my own ill-planning (but who wants to claim that?). the new digs? the airport. yep. much like unto tom hanks in the terminal, i have been spending quite a bit of time at the airport. i’ve learned my way around, made a few friends, reserved my own stall in the restroom, contracted a poor starving musician to play where everybody knows my name when i arrive. i am becoming quite familiar with this place. and the routine that has regrettably become my norm whenever i fly.

tonight i've been here for 6 hours already. about 5 more to go. and all i have to say is that i really hope that i can escape this fate. i don't really want everyone here to know my name. though, i wouldn't mind if the cute tsa guy remembered it ...

for the second time this month, i find myself with too much airport time on my hands -- and unfortunately with too much hot chocolate on my shirt. :S (okay, it's only the first time for that this month, but yeah: as you can see, it's been a great evening.)

about two weeks ago, i missed my flight to houston by 20 minutes. argh. it was a surprisingly painless experience once all was said and done. but let me sing the song of that evening for you.

my flight was to depart at 620. i calculated that on a wednesday evening, i could leave my client's office by 430 and arrive in perfect timing -- perhaps i'd have to walk briskly through the concourse. of course, when making my calculations, i didn't take into account the huge accident that was to occur mid-way from my client's office and my house at 422 on this particular wednesday ... so, instead of the 15 minutes that it takes to get from westlake village to my house on a *regular* wednesday, it took me 1 hour. which then ruled out using the flyaway with its stressfree ride and $4-a-day parking. so, in a panic, i called my 70-year-old roommate ... and she graciously saved this pathetic, punctually-challenged punk. the drive down to lax usually takes about a half hour -- i needed it to take 20 minutes, max. which of course, it didn't. because it was a wednesday. i guess. so ... leaving my house at 530, we pulled up to terminal 5 at 645.

now, don't start to think too much ill of me. not only did i have enough capacity of thought to call my roommate as i stared at the 40 gabillion red tail lights between my client's office and my house, but i also thought it prudent to call continental airlines. y'know, see if maybe they might hold the plane for me. umm. that’s a no. apparently.

"okay, so is there another flight tonight?"

"well, there aren't anymore flights tonight, but there is one that leaves at 1 am and i can put you on that," the customer service rep suggested.

"great."

"there’s a $100-change fee ..."

of course there's a fee. "... uhh, okay ..."

"... and then you just pay the difference in the airfares -- which is $600. so for $700 i can get you on the next flight." she sounded altogether too perky to be delivering such news.

perhaps because of her perkiness, i thought about that for about 37 seconds, but ultimately concluded, "umm, i can't do that."

"okay. is there anything else i can help you with?" again with the perky.

"no. thank you," i said, with a new determination to make it to lax in time.

when i arrived, i walked straight up to the ticketing counter.

the cute guy there asked "what time is your flight?"

"i just missed it."

"to houston?"

"yeah. is there another flight i can get on?" i asked.

"yes, the red-eye. it leaves at 1."

"yeah? can i get on that?" i tried to seem like this was new information for me. maybe i could get out of the enormous fee if i looked desperate enough.

"certainly." i liked this guy.

"umm, and how much is it to change?" please don't say $700, please don't say $700.

"it's a $25-change fee." i really liked this guy. evidently continental airlines has recently implemented an i-didn't-plan-ahead special. that's okay by me!

so after saving myself $675 that evening, i figured i could splurge when my brother-in-law suggested that i buy a dvd to watch on my laptop while i waited the 6 hours for my new flight. and it was a good idea. it took some looking, but i finally found a shop that had dvd's: a bunch that didn't interest me at all, but they had stranger than fiction which i originally had no desire to see because will ferrell stars, but my sister said that she really liked it, so i thought i'd give it a try: there weren't too many options. and i *loved* that movie. (except for the ending, which completely, totally, and entirely disappointed, but that's fodder for another blog.) i was quite entertained by the story and the storytelling, and there were only a few moments where i felt like the "message/moral of the story" squelched the entertainment value. quite good. yes, it was quite good.

tonight's events followed a similar melody with a few variations (for interest): left work at 6 for a 9-o'clock flight, attempted the flyaway this time since traffic wasn't quite so bad (it's not wednesday after all ... well, *now* it's wednesday, but it wasn't when i decided to take the flyaway), got to the airport at 820, but didn't get to my terminal until 850. i missed boarding by 5 minutes. ugh. but ... i've already been through this routine ...so it was less stressful. the only problem is that the next flight to salt lake isn't until 8 in the morning.

at this point, i have already watched my new airport flick pick (eragon -- not bad), downloaded the pictures from my camera onto my hard drive, named them, removed all the red eyes from them, spilled hot chocolate on my brand new white tank, and now i fear that this black seat is forever molded to my boney hiney. i might need to leave an apologetic letter to future occupants ... if i can ever pry myself up. which ... i should consider doing ... i think it's about time for a potty break ...