Which this [blog] is not. It is merely a blip as I bide my time before my much anticipated return to the land of kangaroos and koalas. Anticipated perhaps is a stretch. Probably more like the impending doom by my colleagues who nicknamed me the boomerang. As much as I wish I could say it is a term of affection, I cannot lie. It is because as hard as they try to get rid of me, I keep coming back.
After being home for a week, it was time to hit the road again. This was going to be a real treat – flying within the good ol’ USA and getting to come home on the weekend. WOOT! I was actually looking forward to a short flight within the contiguous 50 states and no immigration and customs to get hung up in. And I was organised. Sunday I managed to get everything done by 5pm. Yippee! This meant I could go to bed after The Amazing Race so I would get a good night’s sleep and wake up feeling refreshed at 3:30 am. Yeah, right! But hey, I did get a good nap in. What else could a person ask for?
Happily, I skip down the stairs and to my car. What a beautiful morning, why the sky is... dark and I can’t see a bloody thing, not to mention it’s freezing outside. Who the heck books a flight at 6am? A dumb ass, aka as me, that’s who. Ugh! Drive. Red light. Red light. Red light. Red light. Slow car. C’mon man, at least go 15 mph. Please, please, please don’t go to long-term parking. Of course, where else would you be going? Please don’t turn down the same... yes, okay. Patience. I’m working on patience. Thanks for the oh, so gentle reminder. Just keep moving. 15 minutes later (okay, I might be exaggerating here but it’s not like I’m the only impatient person on the planet or even in Reno for that matter). Finally. Grab the bag and head over to the terminal. Betcha can’t even guess what happens next. Yes. Somehow the driver in the slow car made it downstairs before me and is standing on the red carpet. Sigh. Oh well, at least there is only one person in front of me. Not like the economy line which was full of young adults with too much energy for o’dark thirty in the morning. Lucky them, headed to Mexico for spring break. But unlucky for all of us, several had incorrectly booked their tickets and their names did not match their passport. All three agents had their collective heads together trying to sort the mess as the lines grew by the minute. I finally was able to self-check in and waited patiently for someone to notice me and tag my bag so I could head upstairs. Alas, the harried agent noticed me and apologized for keeping me waiting. I laughed because she called me ‘Ms Premiere’ (a status level of United, which I’m not) but checked my ID and came around to put the priority baggage label on my luggage. She said to go ahead and leave it there. Sure, right. No worries. I am perfectly fine leaving my bag on the wrong side of the counter in the midst of growing chaos. So long, bag. Hope to see you again in Denver.
It seemed like a lifetime but when I got upstairs security wasn’t even open. Sigh. So I get in line with the masses. That’s right. You have to show ID and a ticket. The TSA agent checked my ticket and ID with a careful eye and magnifying glass. Then he informed me that I didn’t need to wait in the regular line, I should use the First Class line. Didn’t even know we had one but it really wasn’t that big of deal. It is never really a big deal in Reno. After all, it is Reno – it’s not like there is a lot of traffic in and out of the small airport. Then comes the undressing – shoes, coat, sweatshirt. Then unzipping the side pocket for not so quick access to the laptop. I never carry liquids or other sharp objects. So I proceed to push the belongs of the person in front of me into the x-ray machine. Par for the course. Next you stand at the metal detector waiting for the mall cop (oops, slip of the tongue... I mean the very valuable TSA officer... but can you blame me? Most look like someone you would run into at the mall) to wave me through. Then, inevitably, I am always behind the people who have to redress themselves standing by the x-ray machine. Sigh. More patience as I wait for people to move so I can collect my stuff and move away to put my shoes back on and place the laptop back in its place. Next, water and Coke Zero. And more then I get to wait some more.
I got to sit next to a very surly teenager who wasn’t anymore happy than I to be up that early in the morning but at least I was old and wise enough to know that sometimes in life you do things you don’t want to do. She was also not thrilled when I mentioned she couldn’t keep her backpack at her feet (we were in the first row). After giving me one of those looks, she grabbed her bag and threw it in the overhead bin. Yikes, was I ever that sullen? Nah, not possible. At least she managed to get a nice nap which is more than I can say.
Arrived in Denver with no issues which translated means when you land right-side up and walk off the plane it is a good flight. And... you’ve got to be tired of reading as I am tired of telling the story. Not really the end but it’s all that I have in me. TTFN.
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