Stuck...

...and not happy about it. What's a traveler to do?

Of course this is a metaphor rife with life lessons and pithy quotes and Buddhist teachings.

But at the moment I'm talking about actually being stuck in the f'ing airport. I was supposed to take a 6 a.m. flight to Boston, but it was canceled. Not for the reason you're no doubt thinking of. (But Ms. Bizarro, the Nor'easter...) No, I was informed that it was canceled 3 hours before take off for "maintenance." If you're good at math, you can figure out that that meant I received an automated message from U.S. Air at 3 a.m. I then spoke to a representative who booked me on an early afternoon flight through Philly. Okay, well it meant less of a day with JET, my dearest friend who I essentially booked this flight to see.

I finally fell asleep at 6 a.m. Got up around 9:30, made breakfast, took my time, got to the airport in plenty of time, and after I checked in, got through security and got comfy waiting for boarding, the announcement came that the flight was 2 hours delayed. They announced this at 12:15 for a 12:30 boarding time.

And so now...stuck. In the airport with the screaming baby and his very ill mother a couple rows from me. They are a pair, these two hipster parents. I feel a little bad for them, and for the bambino (a toddler, not a real infant). But I also feel bad for me because I was supposed to have been in Boston an hour and a half ago. And I'm here, instead.

So now we've got later connecting flights out of LaGuardia, one of which will hopefully get us to Boston. And I strongarmed the U.S. Air ticket lady to give me a later return flight (Saturday instead of Friday) since I'd lost an entire day thanks to them. They tried to make me pay for it but I raised a mild tsunami and they eventually caved.

This means, however, that some lucky family member o' mine will have to get me to Logan by 6:30 a.m. on Saturday (I hadn't thought that far in advance - with spring breakers coming back to college it's going to be a mad house). Soooo I probably just traded one nightmare for another, right? I hope not. Bizarro and I have plans for our anniversary on Saturday.

This is a whole lot of venting because right now this is my only outlet. But let's take this being stuck thing to a whole...'nother....level. Being stuck is a state of mind. Yes, it's true, I cannot do much about my physical situation. I have options - stick this out and hope to God I eventually reach Boston, or cancel the entire trip and stay home for spring break. Other than that, I'm at the mercy of U.S. Air. I can be angry and indignant and walk around with a cloud over my head (which is tempting, I admit), or try to make the best of an unhappy situation. This is the reality of life in the air. Reality is what it is.

However, being the kind of person who always sees opportunities for optimizing, I would like offer this airport a few pointers:
- more outlets
- food options in the terminal (aside from coffee and lollipops)
- more seating
- more than 2 air carriers (U.S. Air and Continental Express)

That is my constructive criticism. It is much more helpful than a wanton rant.

And I really don't know where or how to end this post. I think I'll just sort of drift off into the ether...

And now a real post

As mentioned earlier, my birthday was this past week. I'm not a big birthday celebration kind of gal, though it's always nice to do something fun. I usually plan my own birthday celebrations. The way I see things, it ceased being someone else's responsibility to plan my birthday after I turned 21. I'm not so keen on b-day cards because quite honestly it's a waste of paper and I just end up recycling them. It's fine to receive them and I always appreciate the thought, but the main thing is, it's not what makes my birthday special. Spending it with cool people is what makes it special, without the absurdity of "it's my birthday therefore I am queen."

This year Bizarro and I went with a couple friends of ours on the Seneca Lake wine trail. We hit about 6 wineries but paced ourselves so we could actually enjoy the wines and soak up the wine knowledge dropped on us by the somaliers. We even hit up Hazlitt, which was to us the bottom of the barrel (get it?) when it came to class, wine, and atmosphere. Our fave was Castel Grisch, followed closely by Red Newt. Our friends also treated us to a lovely lunch at Glenora winery as a birthday/ upcoming 5th wedding anniversary celebration. The day was awesomesauce - sunny, funny & boozy.

Heading now into the last week before spring break. I expect it will be crazy busy in the writing center where I tutor, and I've already heard whining from students with work due before and after the break. Honestly, I'm just getting a little too old for that nonsense. I really want to tell them to cram it and deal with it because if they think THIS is bad, just wait until six months after graduation when the first student loan payment is due.

Spending spring break in Boston with my fam and friends. Excited to see folks and spend St. Patty's day with Rrrrache (we have a long history of St. Patty's Day together). My main concern, though, is spending some QT with JET, who is going through something of a hard time right now.

Once I get there (flying) I'm going to rent an car and will hit the beach for some writing time every day. If I had a few more bucks to spare, I'd stay overnight at the hotel on the beach where I stayed last summer, but this time around I'm spending more on travel. It's all good. My brother and his wife will just have to put up with me. Heh.

Time to wind down the night and get a good sleep in before the onslaught of the week.

The Summer of 2009

Well ladies and germs, the summer is rapidly closing. Another week and 2 days and it's back in the classroom. I have a full teaching load this semester: 2 sections of intro to screenwriting at the Other School On the Hill, and one section of English 99 (developmental writing at the paragraph level) at the community college. For these gigs I am grateful. Now I'm trying to cram as much summer into the coming week and 2 days as possible. Summer weather is finally here, so swimming and patio grilling are required activities (though there are t'storms coming but whatever, as long as it's hot).

As you know, this was not the summer I'd planned. I ended up not teaching at all, and instead worked as a transcriptionist, tutor, and house keeper for the Catlic' Chorch, scrubbing the priests' terlets and washing their undies. (My sister-in-law asked whether the skid marks in a priest's undies are in the form of a crucifix. This is why I love my sister-in-law.)

So, no, not what I'd expected but the truth is that in true form, the Universe provided just what I needed. In fact our money was very tight this summer, but it forced us to be more mindful of our spending, and helped us to come together for the betterment of our household. Tracking expenses and keeping more in tune with our financial situation has been good for us both, and for our marriage.

The work I did at the rectory was actually quite easy, and since I was alone and autonomous, I had plenty of opportunity to manage my time as I saw fit, and I believe that the physical nature of the work was good for me. I tend to get stuck up here (points to head) and that's not always a good thing.

The transcription work was just fine, and it might even be useful in the future to say that I am familiar with chemical notations (who knows what kind of technical writing I might fall into at some point).

The tutoring is always fun and keeps me on the ESL map for my C.V.

Aside from my work, I had plenty of time for writing, and I was, I must say, rather prolific. I am just about finished with Sentinel, have started a new project, and most thrilling of all, I met a producer/filmmaker from L.A. who is producing a short script of mine, and who has connections that could really help me out.

I didn't get to go windsurfing, but I did spend a day at the Nor'easter Surf Shop in Scituate, Mass. and took excellent notes for my surf-related T.V. pilot. I also made a great connection for surfing lessons when I am able to give that a whirl. And the surfing season isn't over in September, so there's still a chance I could get a long weekend in and get a surfing lesson! (I'm talking surfing, not windsurfing, to be clear on that.)

Despite our financial hardship, I found a way with the help of friends to attend the Live Adventure this year (the annual live action role playing weekend I've been part of since 1991). That was a magical, wonderful, fun (if hotter than hell) weekend of beloved friends, creative imagination, camping, and music. I am so grateful!

This summer gave me ample time and opportunity to work through my grief, and I managed two trips to Massachusetts, one with Bizarro in tow, which has been extremely beneficial in my healing process. I was able to spend some QT with my beloved nephew and his family, my Big Bro, PMP, JET, Rachee and a couple other people I've known and loved for years. This recent trip was exceptionally fun with Bizarro - our day in Boston was delightful, especially hanging out with PMP who took us for fabulous cannoli in the North End. I also got to play in the waves at Nantasket, despite the drizzle. Oh how I miss the ocean!

I feel like I'm starting to finally come out of the darkness that was last winter, just before, during and after Mom's death. I am feeling more alive than ever; I can feel the possibilities of life, the energy of creation, and the wealth that is mine in so many ways. In the parlance of Live Adventure folk: Game on!

Announcing...

Baby May, born to JET on Sept. 26 at 11:53 a.m. Spoke with the new mom for about 3 minutes tonight. She sounded peaceful, relieved and tired, about what you'd expect. Says JET of Baby May, "She very cute." I can't wait to meet her next month!

Over it

I guess all my heart-wrenching drama has played itself out because I woke up this morning not feeling stressed by the prospect of quitting. I guess I got it out of my system. I will do it when the time is right and I am guessing that will be mid-October.

Feeling a whole lot better on the amoxacillan. Got some good stuff done today and will have a busy weekend catching up on work and helping Mom with getting rid of more crap.

JET was scheduled for her C-section this morning, and she'd promised to have her sister email and let people know... I'm dying to find out how it went. It's so weird - JET and I grew up together, so she's my age, and this is her first (and only) child. It's just a strange feeling - but a good one!