I have a cough that won’t subside… chest & sinus congestion. I’m starting to feel warm all the time and have a lot of head & sinus pressure… my eyes are heavy and my hair hurts to touch…
…this is feeling… eerily familiar…
*sigh*… Kentucky…
So I thought today would be a good day…
..got work done in the office and everything is clean. Bar is swept, surfaces washed, all the dishes are done. Nothing serious to come home to next weekend.
Played with the kids all weekend and worked on their Aquasaurs this morning.
Joli and Beastt: If you think Sea monkeys are fun…try even more work and these suckers only live for about 20-90 days… yeehaa.
Drove to the airport and got a front-row parking spot.
Flights all showed on time, the weather was cooperating… all seemed good.
Until US Airways changed equipment and gave us a different plane that didn’t have half the front row on a sold-out flight… and then the luggage crew at BUF decided to dick around with the luggage balance on the plane for… 45 minutes... and then the pilot missed his approach at DCA and had to circle back around and get back in line…
…and then our flight landed at DCA and parked at gate 26. My connection was leaving from 35A. Which meant I had to exit one plane, walk across the concourse, back outside a door at gate 23, down the stairs and get on a bus. Then we had to wait for the bus to fill… to dive us over to the other concourse where we get off the bus, go up some stairs, across the concourse to gate 35, down some stairs, get on another bus which drives us out to the express jets on the tarmac.
And... to do all that in… 15 minutes.
Needless to say I didn’t get my crab-cakes and merlot at Legal Seafood in DCA, but the bartender/host at the hotel in Louisville kept the kitchen open late for us tonight. I got there just in time to grab a double Makers Mark, and he had the cook whip together a grilled salmon Caesar… mmm… huge salmon filet… that was enough without the salad.
So if you ever go to Louisville, stay at the Garden Inn near the airport – go see Brandon in the restaurant. He is the man. Props.
Turned out to be an ok day with just some annoyance in the middle.
Time for sleep.
...trying to get as much done this week in the office as I can, before I spend the next 5 weeks without a single work day in the office.
Dealing with Dell today... we have a partnership with them but they make things so complicated... too many layers... too many different people to have to talk to just to get simple things done. Why can't they manage to keep our tax information associated with our account? Why do I need a different account number for everything? Why do I have to talk to someone in India to order spare parts instead of just sending in one purchase order to one person to cover everything?
I cringe when customers place orders that involve Dell...
Also dealing with the IRS... penalties, interest.. they want their money... for money they already received and on time. Their disorganization causes me weekly stress and headaches. Why do I have to spend time addressing things that I addressed EXACTLY as they wanted them addressed when they were originally due?
Who compensates me for this? Time is money... I have to deal with this, I'm not dealing with my customers, I'm not bringing money in. It's ridiculous. I can't imagine how large companies that have so much more going on deal with it...
COMMENTS
have you told them this?
excuse me BIG business person, do not disturb me at work for my job is people and my time is money. when you take me away from the people you reduce my income and put my job at risk...so sot off and call me at home. for if i get fired you will get not a penny from me. hmph
it works with the credit card companies anyway.
..preparing to start a 5-week job in Louisville, KY. Over a month in one place that isn't home. That's going to be a bit weird.
But then I need to ask... why Kentucky? Good gawd. Why couldn't I get sent back to Melbourne for a month? Or Montreal? Hell, even Seattle or Anchorage... but... Louisville, Kentucky... that's what I get.
BTW, any Linux experts out there I can tap into a bit? I've never touched the stuff and I need some help with something. :)
COMMENTS
I got plenty of Solaris experience (8,9 and 10) not much difference. What's up?
Crazy day. A tale that actually began and ended at Gate 2. The gate used by the flights going to and returning from Regan National.
I had to go to Louisville today for a couple days worth of work which I managed to finish in just less than 5 hours total time. So I turned myself around and grabbed a flight back home. Made for a nice 20 hour day with travel and all, but being at home and alone I guess is better than being in Kentucky… at all.
Almost didn’t get there though… this morning at Regan National, they couldn’t find our plane.
If you’ve never flown US Airways Express through Regan, consider yourself lucky, but then listen to how archaic this system is:
Flights all park out on the tarmac and the airport busses the passengers to and from the planes and the terminal. They have two gates from which all express flights depart from, which basically just designates which bus you get on, but they release three flights for boarding at a time.
Fortunately this morning was a light traffic day – unlike the afternoon and evening when Regan National turned into a zoo because of the inauguration ceremony tomorrow. There were only about 10 people on the flight to Louisville but we all got a tour of the departure area because they couldn’t decide which plane was actually ours. So the bus took us from the terminal, to a plane, and back… then back out to the planes, then back to the terminal… then back out to the planes…. Then back to the terminal.
In between each trip the driver had to have a face to face discussion or argument with crew, ground personnel and the gate dispatcher… he had a radio on the bus – we still have no idea why he had to drive back and forth to discuss these things in person.
But eventually we found a plane they would let us use and imagine the surprised crew who had been there waiting for us for 20 minutes…
Ahhh… Monday mornings are the best.
And next week I start five straight weeks of work in Louisville…
I will need drinks. Lots of strong, strong drinks…
COMMENTS
Maybe John Madden isn't so crazy.
Ok, that does it. I am driving to Arkansas. Thanks Birra...lol. Off to check how long I got ahead of me.
Major props to the pilot for doing an incredible job. I can't imagine the courage and calm it takes to save people in a situation like that.
*sigh*
....And you travel so much...
Ohhh.. common'... these things don't happen every day. And think of the odds... now that it happened once, what are the chances it will happen again any time in the near future?
Great job by the crew!
And Mori...Most plane wrecks are quite survivable as long as you follow flight crew instructions and know where the exits are.
...and that one was immediately cancelled... and then they thought maybe Indianapolis... but, nope.. that got cancelled.
Now I get to train another new person instead.
Yay for me...
...why can I not get anything to work with this new version of the software? FEH.
Looks like I might spend next week up in Minnesota helping out another team doing a job at Mayo Clinic...
Going there always reminds me of...
COMMENTS
-
Morrigon
01:19 Jan 29 2009
*frets*
imagesinwords
01:20 Jan 29 2009
Doesn't that just bite the big one?
Maybe you should pack that Airborne stuff with you.
Isis101
02:45 Jan 29 2009
Wow...this is the 4th journal I've read so far within 5 minutes where the writers are sick...
Hope you feel better soon!
Joli
06:29 Jan 29 2009
Kentucky Krud...they should develop a vaccine :(
Pai
08:15 Jan 29 2009
Nothing a few licks on your face won't fix ^.^
MysticMoon
15:03 Jan 29 2009
you should ask captainglobehead for his home remedy it works wonders on him :)
faeriemoon
01:42 Jan 31 2009
It's all LML's boyfriend's fault! He started it I swear!
Seriously though, feel better, and don't go passing out on any airplanes.