Travel delays

So we boarded the plane with the typical efficiency. After lining us up behind a clearly marked sign, they switched to another entrance at the last second, causing a mad crush.

And once again they seized everyone's freshly purchased water, causing some very unpleasant racial remarks.

I had chosen to forgo a center seat in the better cabin, electing instead to take a aisle seat up front. I had also requested a Business upgrade but had been told at check-in that Business was over sold. So I boarded with the first group and tucked myself into my tiny hole. Ten minutes or so passed before a woman came along and told me that I was in the wrong seat. I showed her my pass and sure enough, we had same seat. She went off and got an attendant who informed me that I had won the lottery - a seat in business.

It's been more than 20 years since I worked for a company kind enough to let me fly in the better seats. And in that time, boy has it gotten better. Plenty of room, better food choices, kind attendants, a chair loaded with gizmos, a little bag with slippers and toothbrush, if word ever gets out, the underclass is going to riot. Settling in, I felt like a complete dweeb because I had brought so much stuff with me, things that are necessary to barely survive back there in the poor section.

We got underway and taxied out to the strip. And the we turned around and parked. Seems one of the air conditioners was not working. 5 minutes they said while they fixed it and topped off the tank.

That was almost 4 hours ago. They finally had to unload the plane because without air it was quickly becoming unsafe. It took a long time to get a jet way up to the plane and the people from the back of the plane, allowed to get off first due to the heat in the back, just stood there melting.

I got off and went up the ramp just to stretch and watch the events at the top. Some apparently important 1st class passengers were being met and led away by UA agents. The local girl, holding the door told us to bring our carry on bags, in complete disagreement with what they were saying on the plane. At one point they announced we were cancelled, then they took it back. Now we're told we're refueling.

It's a pretty weird thing being on a plane with no lights and no power. It keeps coming and going because they are apparently trying to reboot the fueling system. It's dark and more than a little spooky and because of this and the lack of people, it feels like you're somewhere you aren't supposed to be.

So I'm sitting here having a Coke and eating miniature Kit Kats and pondering how far I have come personally as a traveler. Used to be I'd be getting stressed and depressed when it was obvious that my connecting flight was long gone and that I was flying into the unknown. Now, I just don't care, it's just another day at the office and another adventure, that, good or bad will almost certainly be worth writing about.

Source = Blackberry

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