Tag Archives: OAK

Home for the Holidays

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Well, at least I’m trying to get home for the holidays. I’m currently sitting at SkyHarbor in Phoenix, AZ. And I will continue to sit here for another 5 hours. Jealous? Thought so.

My flight was originally scheduled to land in Indianapolis at 10:05 p.m. and apparently due to mechanical issues, the plane is being delayed.  My current ETA is 1:55 a.m. Again, jealous yet?

I’m trying really hard to find the fun in this. I’m trying really hard to not be angry/bitter/pissed off/full of rage. I’ve trying really hard not to find a flight back to Oakland and forget this ever happened.

I had lunch and a beer. Now I’m eating cookies. I should probably think about water soon but I’m afraid to give up my power supply. The internet connection is super slow so I’m writing all of this is Word. I know you don’t care about how I post my blogs but I need someone to talk to. And Lefty says “you’re it!”

Maybe I’ll get a few new blog posts written since I can’t really nap (which is what I am wanting to do more than anything). Maybe I’ll just sit here full of rage. What I won’t do is drink myself silly because I can’t afford it! I paid $5.75 for a can of Coors Light. Ri-damn-diculous.

I’m not going to lie. I have mixed emotions about this trip. I don’t feel like I’ve been gone all that long. Just on a really long vacation. It’s actually been less than a month. Since moving into the condo, I have had very little time to do anything with it. Due to the company shutdown, I don’t have to be back in the office until January 2. So I would have plenty of time to do things with the new pad, or explore, or adventure or just rest. However, I couldn’t imagine Christmas without the monkeys. My SIL called this morning and is SUPER excited for me to be home. I think she was a bit upset when I didn’t share her excitement.

A month ago when I planned this trip, I figured I could fill my days with friends and family but it’s the holidays – everyone is with their own families. I do have few gatherings planned that I am really looking forward to.  Again, also love knowing I can hang with the monkeys. I hope my bags make it or I’m going to have several pissed off monkeys wondering why Aunt Pammie didn’t bring them anything from San Francisco. Even more, I’ll have one pissed off momma who wants her salt water taffy.

So here I sit. Writing. Periodically raging. Extremely jealous of those people getting on airplanes.  4.5 hours to go.

Rage – there is the cutest little girl, maybe a year old, who has squeakers in her shoes. Think of the sound of a dog chew toy. When I first say here, she was SO CUTE. I totally wanted those shoes. Now that we’ve all been hanging in the terminal for the last 3 hours, it’s not so cute. I must destroy the squeakers. Not the child – just the squeakers.

And I’m still sitting here.

What shall I do to pass the time when delayed?  What is your travel story?

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This is for Realz Folks!

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Greetings from the Indianapolis International Airport. The first stop of my journey today which includes Las Vegas and Oakland.

I should really have some sort of reflective post about Indianapolis and my feelings but all it would be is “I’m really, really, really excited!”. That makes for a pretty boring post.

So we’ll play a fun game of random thoughts that come into my head. Ready? Should be fun.

1. There is a woman, with a baby literally sitting on the bar in Champs at the airport. Totally distracted me. The child was not in a car seat, but sitting on the bar. I would estimate this child to be around 6 months old.

2. As I sat down in Champs, I realized my shirt was backwards. I’m kind of awesome like that.

3. Thursday night I put my PJ pants on inside out and didn’t realize until about 4 a.m. when my bladder woke me up.

4. My mom described herself as a “leaker” this morning. Definition: Someone who cries a little at a time – shed tears, stop, shed tears, stop. Like a leaky faucet. And yes, she did this all morning. And magically the faucet was fixed once we hit the interstate.

5. I might have been a hot mess this morning if not for my 5 hour Beverly Hills 90210 marathon last night. The best of Kelly and Dylan. I was a hot mess at midnight when Andrea said goodbye to the gang for Yale with Jessie and Hannah. Not quite a mess but somewhat messy when Donna and David got married. I followed that up with 13 Going on 30 with Jennifer Garner. I always cry at that movie. So rather than crying at an appropriate time, I got it all out while watching TV into the wee hours of the morning.

6. The song “Home” by Phillip Phillips is my theme song right now.

7. I made sure to brush the cats this morning before I left. That way they hate me and won’t miss me so much! I am the devil. Plus, I won’t miss them knowing the last thing they did was bite and hiss at me. (I’m sure you all totally believe that!)

8. I’m on beer two and have an hour until my flight. Given #5 on this list, I may sleep like a baby!

9. I’m super excited about my new book on my Kindle – Shit Show Part 2.

10. This shirt is getting really uncomfortable. I have a tank top on underneath. Would it be weird to pull my arms through and turn it around? I was hoping I didn’t get an food on it because explaining why I have food stains on my back would be interesting.

11. I really want to turn this blog into a West Coast/Relocation/Midwest Girl Meets West Coast blog. However, there is so much poor pitiful me and I’m so fat and I’m working out/not working out and I’m a runner/not so much a runner that I’m afraid readers will judge me. So basically I’ll just stick with my randomness.

12. I hate ending numbered lists on odd numbers. So you get #12.

Wheels up in 45 minutes! Next post from California!

xoxo

Spilling the Beans – Part 2

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So, where did I leave off? Oh, I was ready.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, my mom and I said goodbye to the kittens and headed toward the airport. I promised my mom I’d leave this part out but it’s just too cute to pass by. So, there were tears when we left. Not because she was going to get on a plane, or because of what this trip could potentially mean. Nope, she was very upset to leave the kittens. We had very good cat care lined up. My friend (and neighbor) and her two sons were properly trained on the cat care guidelines. All three loved the cats. They were in good hands. But, as mom said several times, “it’s not the same as I would take care of them.” I would say we were parking at the airport about the time she got herself under control. Maybe it was because she had come to terms. Or maybe it was because I was giving her instructions – should she ever have to do this in the future – by herself.

Parking.
Airport shuttle.
Baggage check.
Security.
Finding the gate.

To most travelers, this is standard. I explained every. single. detail. of what we were doing, why we were doing it, how I knew to do it. I tried as much as possible to be patient with her. I really did. I know she hasn’t flown much. Actually the only time she’s ever flown is with me – one time to Ft. Myers, one time to D.C. And it has been at least 5 years since we were in D.C. Some times she looks like a deer caught in headlights. Some times just really confused. Other times, I don’t think she was paying attention to me at all!

I think the most frustrating part, for both of us, was my pitiful explanation of the Southwest cattle call system. It wasn’t until my second trip out in October when I checked in and found out I was A1 did I actually realize that she understood what I we had been doing.

One thing mom had been worried about was changing planes. So the first flight, we didn’t actually change planes. We had two stops but never left the plane. We stopped once in Las Vegas, once in Burbank and then our final stop in Oakland. We will never, ever, EVER do that again. Absolutely exhausting. I just wanted to jump out of the plane and run around so badly. I just needed fresh air! And the ability to move freely!

While in flight, mom did pretty darn good. She loves looking out the window. We brought a little lunch and snacks. Besides going stir crazy, it was an enjoyable journey.

By the time we land in Oakland, we are hungry and tired. Glad to be off the plane but tired. So we wait………wait……..still waiting……for our luggage at OAK. Slowest baggage claim ever. Then headed off to the shuttle to the rental car station. Waited some more. Got the car – very nice, I might add. Although for the life of me I cannot remember the make or model.

And as I’m sitting in the car, adjusting the mirrors, air, radio, it dawned on me……I have never driven in California. And my mom’s with me. Crap – I hope I can do this. So, I confidently set my GPS to the hotel address. Say a prayer and move forward.

Now, you may not know this about me but when I’m hungry – I get extremely grumpy. When I’m tired, watch out. When I’m hungry and tired, look up the definition of the word bitch in the urban dictionary and you’ll find my picture.

Needless to say, it was a tense trip to the hotel with a few missed turns along the way.

Find the hotel. We stayed in Emeryville – perfect!
Find hotel room.
Find food.
Find sleep.

Seriously, we  were in bed by 8 p.m. PST or 11 EST.

Best. Sleep. Ever.

And due to the hurt the San Fransisco Giants are putting on the Cardinals (especially in the 3rd inning), this post has taken entirely too long. More later….GO GIANTS!!