Traveling

I think I've made my feelings on business travel pretty clear, I'm totally over it. When I started 13 years or so ago it was exciting. I got to see places I wouldn't have seen (like Alabama) meet people I wouldn't have otherwise met (like Dwaine Casey the head coach from the MN Timberwolves). But now I'm just over it. If anyone asks you to fly 3 1/2 hours to Phoenix on a Monday only to turn around and go back on Tuesday. Just say no. I tried to get out of it, believe me, but wasn't able to. So I'm groggy and tired and a little cranky now.

Northwest Airlines, my frequent flyer miles, and their free upgrades to first class have spoiled me. So flying another airlines, sitting in the middle seat for three and a half freakin' hours was NO GOOD. And I sat scrunched up in the middle seat both ways. Yuck. The hotel was clean, the meetings worthwhile, but the travel itself sucks.

When I was a kid I was pretty sure that we would be able to warp places like they did on Star Trek by now. I wish it were true. I wouldn't object to travel so much if it weren't for the actual traveling involved. The airlines and their airport employees do their best, but it still sucks. There were well over 200 people on my flight last night. There were approximately 40 chairs at the gate. And of course the plane was running 45 minutes late. This means standing or sitting on the floor like you are about to board steerage on the last boat to Ellis Island.

The flight was overbooked so the plane was packed full by take-off. This means everyone trying to shove black rolly bags into the overhead compartment and saying things like, "I swear it fit in the overhead on the flight out!". This makes flight attendants cranky. Cranky flight attendants can make the whole trip miserable. On one trip last year I actually had a super cranky, seasoned (okay she was old. I think her first gig might have been with Charles Lindbergh) flight attendant tell me that the reason that all the airlines were going bankrupt was because people were using their air miles credit cards to send their kids to college and then flying all over the world for free. As I was in coach at the time, flying to Omaha, on a ticket that cost my company $793, I had to disagree. Do you know where you can go for $793? Many places more interesting than Omaha. Like Paris or Milan. Or even Kansas.

I was in the exit row on the way home (4 more inches of leg room woohoo!) and seated next to people who were not compelled to share their life stories. Plus there was the knitting. With seven hours of flight time in 24 hours, there was plenty of knitting. I finished the back of my Sunrise Circle Jacket and started a sleeve.

I have to go get highly caffeinated to face the day. During my commute I will be cursing the fact that we were practically promised a George Jetson flying car by now. Curse you Hanna Barbera.