Changing (p)lanes
Friday, March 11th, 2011I flew to Nashville 2 weeks ago for the day. The night before I had not slept at all. I worked on the blog, facebook, and eventually got in bed and tossed and turned until the alarm went off at 4 am.
At 5 am, I was showered and dressed. Two sleepy kids in their pajamas and an equally sleepy husband who was dressed but not showered got in the car with me to drive the 10 minutes to LaGuardia.
We arrived at the airport around 5:15 for my 7 am flight. Yes, I know, early. My connection in DC was only 35 minutes, so I was hoping to catch an earlier flight to reduce the risk of missing it. I begged at the counter and after some hems and haws, got them to agree to the change (after hearing that they would “waive” the $50 change fee just this once).
We board shortly after and taxi out of the gate. I am staring out the window when I hear the pilot:
“Ladies and Gentleman, Engine #2′s amber light came on. We are going back to the gate to have the mechanics look at it.”
Suddenly, Alanis Morissette songs come earworming into my head…”Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think. She changes planes to be early, only to crash and never arrive.”
A (much too) short time later, the pilot announces it was just a bad fuse and we will be leaving. We had an uneventful flight and arrived still early enough for me to grab an iced coffee before my next flight. Flight from DC to Nashville was bumpy but equally uneventful and arrived in a very windy and soggy Nashville.
My round robin of interviews then began. I interviewed one on one, had a “lunch” interview where I ate 4 bites of a Bosco’s sandwich and 7 french fries and attempted not to drink too much iced tea to float away, and then had a panel interview. During this time, I found out that my flight was delayed and I would miss my connection. Thankfully, the office manager handled everything while I was interviewing and got me on a re-routed flight, to JFK this time, but it would still get me in tonight for sure.
At this time, I had been awake since 4 am Eastern, it was 3 pm Central when I arrived at the airport. Twelve hours of travel and being “on” for interviews was beginning to take its toll but I forged on and noticed a flight at 5 to Charlotte instead of 7 pm. Since I had yet another tight connection (45 minutes this time) I called the office manager and had her re-re-schedule me on the earlier flight. She was much more successful than I was and got me a seat.
I went to the security check and noticed the brand spanking new, controversial scanners. This was getting interesting. I half expected picketers to yell at me as I crossed the line as if I were going into Planned Parenthood. No fanfare but lots of signs and propaganda about your rights, my favorite was if you choose not to be scanned you will get a THOROUGH pat down. I watched as everyone, including a very large male and female biker couple, posed in the scanners, feet shoulder-width apart, arms held high. I was imagining the fierce pose I would strike that would make Tyra Banks proud. Apparently, the TSA did not want to see me naked though. I was waved along to the boring, traditional, walk through scanner. Oh well. I loved Jay’s text when I told him…”What? They want to see Republican grandmas and kids but not my wife? That’s crazy!”
Once inside, I am starving, so I grab some dinner and a Stella Artois. Before too long it is time to board and we are on our way. We taxi out of the gate. For the second time today, I hear the pilot’s voice overhead. After being awake for 14 hours, traveling, and being “on” all day for interview, I find this news even worse than a bad engine. Charlotte Air Traffic Control has given them the red light due to storms and will give an “update” in an hour. Apparently this news was grave enough to warrant us rolling back to the gate, deplaning, and giving everyone back their too-big for carry-on luggage. I recognized one of the crew while pacing outside the gate and asked if he thought we would get out tonight, and he was doubtful. He said the rides between Charlotte were bumpy and it was better safe than sorry.
If we could only get out tonight, I was confident that I could make my 10 pm connection. The 7 pm flight was also delayed, so I still felt good about my decision to change to the earlier flight. That was until I suddenly had the feeling that I was stuck in a traffic jam, with every lane around me moving, until I decided to get into the next lane. Then my new lane would slow to a halt, with my old lane speeding ahead. They announced that the 7 pm flight (my original flight) would be leaving soon from Gate 20. No news on our flight. Really? If this is just about weather, move us out first, people!!!
Apparently, I said that out loud. A few minutes later we too were boarding. It did not take me long to fall asleep at the window and soon enough we were landing. Charlotte was a zoo and my gates were not at all close (Terminal E to Terminal B), so I am glad I moved flights for that reason as well as by the time my connection was boarding, the 7 pm flight from Nashville still had not arrived. Charlotte has a nice airport, but in no way did I want to sleep there.
While sitting on the plane, a gentleman 2 rows behind me started to angrily yelling into his cell phone in an Asian language. The captain had already announced to shut off all electronic devices. Not understanding what he was saying, hearing a very angry tone, and being on edge from all of the travel woes, I lost all my fatigue, straightened up in my seat, and gripped my armrests. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed several people, including men, taking notice as well. After engine trouble and weather problems, it would be just my luck to be on a plane attacked my terrorists. The stewardess walked by several long minutes later and asked both him and the 20-something girl directly behind me to power off the phones. The girl gave her ‘tude back, the man said nothing, and both continued to talk. Another pass later, they were both told again to get off phones. The girl said something and hung up. The man said nothing, again. I waited and waited and never heard him say another word. I realize that is profiling and ignorant of me to stress about this, but if I heard someone yelling like that in English I would have been just on edge, even if he were just talking about what was for dinner.
We took off and despite my uncomfortable middle seat, I quickly fell asleep. Hubby and kiddos were waiting for me in the car, dressed in jammies, and happy to see mommy on the ground. I hit the bed like a ton of bricks as soon as I walked in the door.
**Update** Since writing this…I got the job in Nash…I start a week from Monday!
