Vacation Day One

Well I made it. I beat the snow by minutes. I thought I might lose the battle as I circled the airport looking for the cheap parking. I found the $13 a day park in the snow parking but couldn't find the $5 a day parking in the snow parking. A very nice German lady pointed me in the right direction.

Ticketed, through security, I got the pat down but I prefer to think of it as a mini rub down "Just a little to the left please...yeah, that's the spot."

I boarded the sardine can they like to call an aircraft & I thought I was doing ok. I was sitting by the window because I'm not picky, another woman chose the aisle seat. Ok. They announced it was a full flight & every seat would be taken. Oh the suspense. Then I saw him, the hulking 30 something guy with the legs up to my waist. I knew it was him the minute I saw him.

He made himself comfortable. Very comfortable, in his space, in my space, in the woman with the purple shirt who sat by the aisle's space. I wanted to be her so much at that moment. It took everything I had not to climb over the seat in front of me and head for one of those emergency exits over the wing.

Then he brought out the laptop, the tray came down, his knees came over and so did his elbows. I thought the warmth of his arm in my waist was a little familiar since I didn't even know his name, but it didn't seem to bother him much.

The very funny flight attendant (gotta give Southwest credit, their planes may suck eggs, but they have great help) came by to take our order. Trying to fight off a cold I ordered orange juice. When I saw the look on his face as it was passed to me over his laptop I finished that one and had another. Then I had some coffee, with cream and sugar please. I noticed his elbows moved in as he protected his keyboard. I didn't have time to order a Bloody Mary.

I ordered one at a restaurant during my layover in Phoenix. For $10.98 I got a little tomato juice, I suppose there was some vodka in there, and a stalk of wilted celery. I ordered some fries. I think they pick them up after the lunch rush at McD's. Oh well, they were ONLY $3 and they helped the Bloody Mary go down. When I dipped them in ketchup they made it seem like there really was some tomato juice in that drink.

They had the weirdest tile in that place. It was supposed to look like grass but it didn't quite measure up and I kept thinking it looked like a really big mouse pad.

The short flight from Phoenix to Albuquerque was uneventfuil, the Flight Attendants not nearly as amusing. They said that flight was completely sold out tooT, however, the center seat in my row never did get taken. I wonder if someone was doubling up in the back because they saw the look in my eyes. Hey, I could've handled it for 50 minutes.

It's good to be back in NM. I'm staying with a friend who ironically came home to frozen pipes. I hope she doesn't mind that I used some of the babies water to make my coffee this morning. Maybe later we can cruise by my place & see if I still have any of my frozen pipe arsenal left in the back room.

Vacation!!

I'm heading out this morning, weather permitting. Going to fly home for a week and catch up with my kids and my friends and my house. I keep trying to juggle the short time I have there, I guess it will be ok. A person can only do what they can do, right?

I could've picked a better time, maybe a warmer time, but I needed to get out of here and re-group. It's been a year and a 1/2 of major changes: different jobs, new place, different climate, two different apartments, school, new friends and I feel like I need to just get back to the place where I spent over half of my life and touch base or touch down. Something to make me come back here with a new energy and a new outlook.

My bags are packed, there's not too much snow on the ground, the cold I've been trying to fend off for a week took this opportunity to settle in and take hold. I'm hoping a nice steamy shower will knock some of it loose and I won't be hacking and wheezing on the airplane. Have you ever sat next to someone like that? I have and I wanted to open a door and bail about half way through the flight. I wonder if they're going to let me take my cough drops on the plane? It would definitely be in their best interests.

Ok, I'm just about ready to head out. Of course the snow had to start again. Nothing in my life is ever easy but it's always an adventure.

See you on the flip side.