So the trip did not get off on the best foot. We were scheduled to take off from Portland at 8:45 am on Friday, stop in Dallas and then Chicago with an hour and a half layovers in each, before flying to Dublin and arriving Saturday morning. Mother Nature and American Airlines had other plans though.
There was serious lightning storms in Texas so all flights in and out of Dallas were delayed. We were assured by American Airlines that this meant that our flight leaving Dallas was delayed too so we would not miss that flight, and all flights out of Chicago were being delayed for those coming from Dallas so we wouold not miss that flight either. All in all the only change would be that we would get into Dublin a half hour late...
Um, yeah. They lied.
Friday August 21st
8:45 am: Scheduled to leave Portland.
10:00 am: Actually leave Portland
3:25 pm: Regularly scheduled departure time from Dallas to Chicago.
3:45 pm: Our flight's actual departure time from Dallas to Chicago.
3:50 pm: We arrive in Dallas. Doh!
4:00 pm: The departure time for the next flight from Dallas to Chicago. Unfortunately it was then cancelled. Doh, again.
4:50 pm: Take off on the next flight from Dallas to Chicago.
7:15 pm: Scheduled departure time for our flight from Dallas to Dublin.
7:20 pm: Our flight from Dallas arrives in Chicago. (Are you starting to see a trend here?)
The next flight from Chicago to Dublin does not take off until 7:15pm the next day so they rerouted us to London and then to Dublin.
9:45 pm: Scheduled departure time from Chicago to London.
12:00 am: Actually take off from Chicago. (The worst part is we were sitting on the plane for the entire 2+ hour delay. That is 2+ hours sitting on a plane before a 7 hour flight.)
Saturday August 22nd
1:25 pm: Scheduled departure time for our flight from London to Dublin.
1:05 pm: We arrive in London.
Now you are probably thinking that we have a chance of making our flight. Well you obviously have not caught on to the theme of this trip.
1:25 pm: Due to technical difficulties with trying to line up the gate with the door, this is the actual time we leave the plane. Yes, we just missed our third plane by 5 minutes or less.
3:50 pm: Scheduled to leave London for Dublin.
5:10 pm: Actually take off from London. (YES. I do not joke. Our plane was delayed.)
6:20 pm: Arrive in Dublin.
It is now 10:20 am in Portland. We have been flying, running through airports, and standing in customer service lines for over 24 hours. We have been awake and in the same clothes for 29 hours. We have been booked on 8 flights, 4 of which were delayed, 1 was cancelled, and 3 we missed.
We are 10 hours late (NOT a half hour) but by God, we are here!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
I'm back (part two).
I lied. Sort of. This next post will have a different tone as promised; it just will not have anything to do with Ireland and Scotland. I have actually been keeping notes for this post for over a year now and even though I have not been caught in this situation for a while, just reading my notes I am immediately incensed.
This post is about public transit etiquette.
1) If you are sitting in the first row of seats and an elderly person or someone with small children gets on the bus, move.
If the bus is not full then get up, offer your seat, and you be the one to walk a little ways down the bus to the next seat. You will be seen as a compassionate awesome person whom people hope their children grow into.
If the bus is full then stand, offer your seat, and grab hold of a railing. In this situation you will be revered, near sainthood, depending on the denomination of the observer. If you don’t, then you are THAT ASSHOLE. Emphasis fully intended.
Anyone who makes an elderly person, pregnant woman, or person with a small child, stand in the middle of a crowded bus/trolley/tram and try and stay upright through all the swaying, stopping, and staring, all while comfortable sitting on their butt and resting their able legs and arms, is an asshole.
My biggest pet-peeve are those who walk onto the bus or trolley when it is almost empty and sit down in those front seat (which are clearly designated) and then do not get up. I mean come on. That is just lazy and rude, and your excuse for being rude is being lazy.
2) If you are standing on public transit, please be cognizant of your body parts and accessories attached to yourself while swaying, walking, or shifting. Especially your butt, please.
If I am one of the lucky ones sitting, I don’t want to have to be leaning into my neighbor as if we are long lost lovers just because every time there is a tilt your purse, elbow, backpack, or worse, rear-end, invades my personal space that only family, friends, or doctors should be in.
Worse is when your body or accessory connects with some portion of my body and you do nothing to prevent this from happening again. You expect me to move to allow you the extra room you require for unhindered swaying or tilting. Not cool.
3) Number three is my most controversial complaint and I’d say only half of the people I mention this to agree. The other half really don’t want to talk to me for a while afterwards, so here goes.
If you have not showered or changed clothing for more than three days, don’t get on public transit during rush hour. This goes for people suffering homelessness or those going through an au natural period in their life.
I know that sounds rude but here is my honest opinion. If either by choice or not, you smell like a port-a-potty that has been sitting in the sun, you probably don’t have a job that requires you to ride public transit during rush hour. If you do, you are about to get fired. If you smell that bad you are most likely not heading to a job interview or job training that requires you to ride public transit during rush hour. In fact I am hard pressed to find a reason that you are on public transit during rush hour, but I do know that you make about 25 people already squished against each other extremely uncomfortable and in some cases nauseated. It is especially angering when you are lounging across two seats because no one can sit next to you without fainting.
This may seem rude, but dude, you have no job, you can ride public transit to wherever you are going at whatever time you want, but you choose rush hour.
So there are my three biggest pet-peeves with public transit. Loud cell-phone conversations and screaming kids are not included because I listen to podcasts and do suduko puzzles while on public transit. Which might make a few of the above that more infuriating…
4) Don’t mess with a girls’ daily suduko puzzle!
This post is about public transit etiquette.
1) If you are sitting in the first row of seats and an elderly person or someone with small children gets on the bus, move.
If the bus is not full then get up, offer your seat, and you be the one to walk a little ways down the bus to the next seat. You will be seen as a compassionate awesome person whom people hope their children grow into.
If the bus is full then stand, offer your seat, and grab hold of a railing. In this situation you will be revered, near sainthood, depending on the denomination of the observer. If you don’t, then you are THAT ASSHOLE. Emphasis fully intended.
Anyone who makes an elderly person, pregnant woman, or person with a small child, stand in the middle of a crowded bus/trolley/tram and try and stay upright through all the swaying, stopping, and staring, all while comfortable sitting on their butt and resting their able legs and arms, is an asshole.
My biggest pet-peeve are those who walk onto the bus or trolley when it is almost empty and sit down in those front seat (which are clearly designated) and then do not get up. I mean come on. That is just lazy and rude, and your excuse for being rude is being lazy.
2) If you are standing on public transit, please be cognizant of your body parts and accessories attached to yourself while swaying, walking, or shifting. Especially your butt, please.
If I am one of the lucky ones sitting, I don’t want to have to be leaning into my neighbor as if we are long lost lovers just because every time there is a tilt your purse, elbow, backpack, or worse, rear-end, invades my personal space that only family, friends, or doctors should be in.
Worse is when your body or accessory connects with some portion of my body and you do nothing to prevent this from happening again. You expect me to move to allow you the extra room you require for unhindered swaying or tilting. Not cool.
3) Number three is my most controversial complaint and I’d say only half of the people I mention this to agree. The other half really don’t want to talk to me for a while afterwards, so here goes.
If you have not showered or changed clothing for more than three days, don’t get on public transit during rush hour. This goes for people suffering homelessness or those going through an au natural period in their life.
I know that sounds rude but here is my honest opinion. If either by choice or not, you smell like a port-a-potty that has been sitting in the sun, you probably don’t have a job that requires you to ride public transit during rush hour. If you do, you are about to get fired. If you smell that bad you are most likely not heading to a job interview or job training that requires you to ride public transit during rush hour. In fact I am hard pressed to find a reason that you are on public transit during rush hour, but I do know that you make about 25 people already squished against each other extremely uncomfortable and in some cases nauseated. It is especially angering when you are lounging across two seats because no one can sit next to you without fainting.
This may seem rude, but dude, you have no job, you can ride public transit to wherever you are going at whatever time you want, but you choose rush hour.
So there are my three biggest pet-peeves with public transit. Loud cell-phone conversations and screaming kids are not included because I listen to podcasts and do suduko puzzles while on public transit. Which might make a few of the above that more infuriating…
4) Don’t mess with a girls’ daily suduko puzzle!
I am back!
So, um, I have not posted in a long long time. I got a little busy, okay?
No really, I have been busy this last year. As can be predicted, school started up again in September so there is my first excuse.
I also joined a fraternity. Let me clarify, it is a business fraternity – co-ed of course. Actually let me clarify again, I did not actually join a chapter of the fraternity, I signed up to create a chapter at PSU. Oh, and did I mention I have the position of VP of Membership. Yeah, second really big excuse for being busy.
Oh, and I joined the honors program at the business school at PSU. It was not that difficult to join, just a 3.75 GPA, and all I need to do is maintain that GPA and take 6 extra workshops/classes. What is that? Why yes! Yes, I am a masochist. Why do you ask?
So you probably think that I am a nerd with no life outside of school. Well you might be right if it weren’t for that whole masochist thing we just discussed. (Cue maniacal laughter.)
No I did not take on world hunger or something like that, just poor feral cats. There is a non-profit in Portland that helps people to trap, neuter, and return feral cats that they are feeding. I was feeding close to 15 feral cats and growing so it was a perfect fit. The trapping only took a night and the clinic was the next day, buuuuuuuuuut, there were the two small kittens that were part of the colony. Yeah, if you know me, then you know those little ones were not being released, but were going to be socialized and found a good home.
At this point please do not think I am some wacko who thinks having a social life is being a cat-lady. Oh no, after a year of being on my own in a new town, Derrick moved down. I am still unsure how we did not kill each other living together in my small one-bedroom apartment with three cats for a couple of months.
Well anyways, I leapt into relationshiphood. (Word does not seem to want to acknowledge that as a word, but I have never really had high regard for Microsoft so I don’t feel that bad about ignoring the red squiggle lines… well except that I can almost hear my Dad’s voice and the words dictionary and grammar floating around in my head. And now I realize that I have written way too much to be acceptably contained in parentheses. Eek! And I just started a sentence with ‘and’! Oh no, I just did it again! For the love of God, close the parentheses!)
Phew.
So Derrick moved down to Portland and we moved in with each other. This of course was not a major ‘thing’ and is barely worth mentioning because I was so calm throughout the whole thing. Hell, I barely noticed that change! Can’t you tell?
So that has been my year - scuse the phrase but - a shit load of school, cats and kittens, and the mixing, melding, and compromise of sharing a kitchen with someone who fundamentally cooks differently than you.
This Friday I am off to Ireland and Scotland so the next update will be a completely different tone. I promise.
No really, I have been busy this last year. As can be predicted, school started up again in September so there is my first excuse.
I also joined a fraternity. Let me clarify, it is a business fraternity – co-ed of course. Actually let me clarify again, I did not actually join a chapter of the fraternity, I signed up to create a chapter at PSU. Oh, and did I mention I have the position of VP of Membership. Yeah, second really big excuse for being busy.
Oh, and I joined the honors program at the business school at PSU. It was not that difficult to join, just a 3.75 GPA, and all I need to do is maintain that GPA and take 6 extra workshops/classes. What is that? Why yes! Yes, I am a masochist. Why do you ask?
So you probably think that I am a nerd with no life outside of school. Well you might be right if it weren’t for that whole masochist thing we just discussed. (Cue maniacal laughter.)
No I did not take on world hunger or something like that, just poor feral cats. There is a non-profit in Portland that helps people to trap, neuter, and return feral cats that they are feeding. I was feeding close to 15 feral cats and growing so it was a perfect fit. The trapping only took a night and the clinic was the next day, buuuuuuuuuut, there were the two small kittens that were part of the colony. Yeah, if you know me, then you know those little ones were not being released, but were going to be socialized and found a good home.
At this point please do not think I am some wacko who thinks having a social life is being a cat-lady. Oh no, after a year of being on my own in a new town, Derrick moved down. I am still unsure how we did not kill each other living together in my small one-bedroom apartment with three cats for a couple of months.
Well anyways, I leapt into relationshiphood. (Word does not seem to want to acknowledge that as a word, but I have never really had high regard for Microsoft so I don’t feel that bad about ignoring the red squiggle lines… well except that I can almost hear my Dad’s voice and the words dictionary and grammar floating around in my head. And now I realize that I have written way too much to be acceptably contained in parentheses. Eek! And I just started a sentence with ‘and’! Oh no, I just did it again! For the love of God, close the parentheses!)
Phew.
So Derrick moved down to Portland and we moved in with each other. This of course was not a major ‘thing’ and is barely worth mentioning because I was so calm throughout the whole thing. Hell, I barely noticed that change! Can’t you tell?
So that has been my year - scuse the phrase but - a shit load of school, cats and kittens, and the mixing, melding, and compromise of sharing a kitchen with someone who fundamentally cooks differently than you.
This Friday I am off to Ireland and Scotland so the next update will be a completely different tone. I promise.
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