Today's rambling: I's back
Written on Tuesday, May. 21, 2002 at 10:56 p.m.
while feeling a bit

Last night, Lola and I went bowling. I actually got a couple of strikes...too bad Geoff couldn't've seen THAT, ha ha! :oP As it was, my highest score was 104...and considering what my score was when I'd bowled at the Genuardi's thing, that's a VERY good one, LoL!

After bowling, we went to Dairy Queen and then to see "About a Boy", which was a pretty cute movie. My favorite part is the bit with the duck, hehehe...

And then today my watch beeped me awake at 7 (though I didn't actually get up 'til after 7:30). I got ready, packed the rest of my stuff, woke up Lola...and we were on our way to the airport. We stopped at a Safeway first, though, so I could get that picture I'd been badgering her about for the past couple of days. ;) I just hope it turns out! Heh..."During my vacation, I had a picture taken of me standing in front of a Safeway!!! And I don't even like that store!"

:oP

I wasn't sure how the good-bye thing would turn out...I knew if she started crying at all, I'd just start bawling, hehehe...But we parted ways without a tear shed! Not that that means I was happy to go, though, because I would've rather stayed for another week! *giggles* I hastened into line by the security checkpoint, stumbling over my little rolling suitcase, and after I'd gotten a short ways I turned around to see if Lola had seen me fumbling with the ornery valise. But all I saw was her retreating figure, and it was all rather sad!

The security at this airport wasn't nearly as tight as it was in Philadelphia. Remember how my bag was searched in Philly because of my Gameboy? I made sure to keep it out of my bag this time, so that hopefully they wouldn't decide to search again. As I approached the scanner, I asked one of the guys what I should do with the Gameboy (as in, should I just lay it on the rolly belt-thing, or put it in one of those plastic containers they give you for cell phones and laptops). "Put it in your suitcase," he replied, his tone implying that I was terribly foolish for having thought I could do anything else with it.

"Oh," I murmured, hurriedly unzipping my smaller carry-on. So that I wouldn't feel so dumb, I continued, "I had it in my suitcase in Philadelphia and they searched my bag because they couldn't figure out what it was..." I don't even think he heard me.

So I made it through with no beeps and no searches, and I walked away feeling strangely cheated. Were those guys behind the monitors even LOOKING at what passed through?

Once on the plane, I reluctantly took my aisle seat (though I was grateful for at least not being in the middle). I'd been foolishly imagining that maybe the window seat person would ask to switch with me, because they wanted to talk with someone in a nearby aisle seat or something. But the people next to me were an elderly couple, so my hopes were dashed. At first.

Some short, kinda funny-looking guy with a backwards yellow baseball cap crouched down next to me and asked me (in a pleading tone) if I would switch seats with him, because his friend was sitting right near where I was. I kept asking him what seat he had, because if he had a middle seat then I was going to refuse. But he kept thinking that I was asking because I wanted another aisle seat, or even a middle seat. Finally, I laughed and said, "As long as it's not a middle seat, I'll switch with you." His face brightened up, and he showed me where he'd been sitting (which was only a few rows behind me). To my delight, I discovered that he'd been sitting in the emergency exit row...which mean that I had an insane amount of leg room. The only bad part was that I didn't have a window, but I was hardly going to complain. Not only could I stretch out, but I was right across from the bathroom (which was just nice because on long flights, I tend to want to go, hehe...).

So things worked out nicely after all! I half-slept during part of the flight, waking up every time I felt my mouth start to hang open. The movie they played looked really dumb: 'The Shipping News' (I don't like Kevin Spacey). So I just dozed, listened to CDs, and read Aurian. My rear end was numb by the time I stood up, hehehe...

Mom was waiting for me, right around the same spot that she and I sat at while waiting for me to finally board the flight to Phoenix. We walked downstairs, waited a really long time for the plane's baggage to be pushed onto the belt, and then finally began the drive home.

But we stopped at the store first, so I could get my schedule for Thursday. I was hoping Frank would be there, so I could say hi, and sure enough he was! As I walked into the food court, I only saw Dianne at first...but then I glanced to my right and there he was, coming back from taking trash to the dumpster (at least, I think that's what he was doing). I waved to him, and then when I finally reached him I was like, "Gimme a big hug!"

We stood there talking for a couple of minutes, and then eventually he looked down at the two shopping carts he'd been pushing, deliberated silently for a moment, and then finally said, "Hold on a sec while I put these back!" After he did that, and I checked my schedule, we walked up front together...then walked outside, after he'd paid for a couple of things. I learned that I can't say "moths" very well...It sounds retarded (and Nicole thought I said "condoms" at first)!

And now I'm home. I'm beat from that long plane flight, and I imagine I'll probably end up sleeping really really late tomorrow (thanks to jet lag). With any luck, though, the latest will be 2-something (since I'd been making myself wake up in AZ around 11-ish, which is 2-ish in Eastern time).

I sort of half dread, half look forward to going back to work. Of course I dread it because it is work, after all, and I don't really want to deal with John again. But I'm looking forward to seeing my friends (especially Geoff, ha ha)! I don't really look forward to having everyone ask me how my trip was, though...I know it sounds stupid, it's just that I get really irritated when 50 people all ask me the same thing. I just told all my stories several times beforehand, I don't feel like telling them again! So the first few people to ask me will probably get the good stories, while by the end, those unfortunate few will hear "Yeah, it was fun."

I'm still thinking of just telling them all that I got stoned and went to lots of nudey bars.