Better late than never?

Yeah, I suck.  My life has been a little crazy lately.  First, I've spent the last month trying to move, trying being the operative word.  I had to delay moving day by a week, and I'm still not completely unpacked, and it's having a profound effect on my ability to deal with life.

Second, I just got back from a week-long vacation in Canada where I got to visit with my brand-new niece!

She is the most beautiful little girl, and I am completely in love with her.  It was sooooo hard to leave her and come back to my boxed-up home.  Luckily, my sister is all about the technology, and we've already Skyped several times, and I've been getting 'baby-of-the-day' photos in my inbox everyday, which makes me very happy.

Third, since I've been home, I've been sewing.  Many of you have already visited Colby's blog, so you know how awesome she is.  This week, I made her a dress.  No, not just a dress, a snake dress.  For last night's Harry Potter opening, Colby was dressed as Nagini.  It was pretty epic.  Soon, I shall have photos to share, because it really was awesome.

I know, I know, I shouldn't have abandoned you all like that, and I'm sorry, Blogglings. But I have been busy, and out of town, and it's always been my policy to refrain from mentioning any travel plans online until after I have returned.  I am, however, fully back, with real internet and everything at home.  Hopefully, this post marks the return of your regularly scheduled blog-reading.

Enjoy your weekend!

What I Did on the Weekend

I finally got to see Savannah! I'd been there before, but I was helping a friend move, so all I saw was the inside of his old apartment and the inside of his new apartment.  This weekend, I saw the Hyatt (and a dance competition where Colby and Will rocked!), and then we wandered up and down River.  It was a pretty standard tourist area, but it was still cool.  Also, I learned that none of the little gift shops sell Kleenex.  And we found the really cool echo-square.

Since we were already out that far, and there was still plenty of gas in Ruby, we drove up to Hilton Head (because I'd never been to South Carolina, either).  I got my butt kicked by a traffic circle (another first for me!), but I managed to get it figured out by the second one I reached.  I also managed to drive over several bridges without hyperventilating, so yay!

Unfortunately, that plague I was talking about on Friday?  Yeah, it's been kicking my ass.  I've got to say, the moment of my fever breaking was a really cool experience... messed up, but cool.  I was more than a little delirious, I think.  Still feeling like crap today, but we got a snow day at work.  This is a good thing - it means that I can take a sick day tomorrow, without feeling guilty.  Of course, given how I feel, guilty was probably not going to happen anyway.

I'm off to continue recuperating - be glad that you can't catch this plague from a computer screen!

Maybe yay?

My luggage has been located! CommAir in Charleston called me today - my bag was there! The woman said she'd send it to ATL on the 11:30 flight, and that she'd call them to let them know it was on the way so it could be delivered to me. Unfortunately, I haven't heard from anyone else yet... and the luggage should have arrived about 8 hours ago. I'll keep you posted. *sigh*

At least it's not in Peru, right?

Flying's a bitch

Well, some people get what they deserve.

Because of that idiot who tried to blow up a plane in Detroit, everyone flying into the US had to endure all sorts of extra regulations this post-holiday weekend. I flew from Winnipeg to Minneapolis on Saturday, and we were advised to arrive at the airport three hours prior to the departure time. So I showed up nice and early.

When I checked in, I was informed that carry-on luggage was not permitted. I had to check both my main bag AND my backpack. At least they let me take out my iPod, cell phone, and computer. If I'd had a purse, I could have taken that, but my purse was in my first suitcase. The one that ended up in Peru. The one that is still MIA.

Customs was quick and painless, and the security checkpoint seemed to go fairly well. I then sat upstairs in the teeny, tiny international terminal. Did I mention that it's teeeeeensy? And full of people. I bought a $3 bottle of root beer and a $17 book, and sat down to entertain myself. For four hours. Because not only did I get through the check points much faster than expected, my flight was delayed.

Once the plane actually arrived, it took over an hour to get everyone on board. They separated the men and women, and everyone had to have a secondary security inspection. This time, though, they physically removed everything from your purse/pockets/computer case and examined it, and gave you a full-body pat-down. Whee.

Finally on the plane, I was informed that I could not have my computer case stowed under the seat. EVERYTHING was to be placed in the overhead bins. We could not have anything under the seats, we could not have blankets or pillows, and, because the flight time was only 54 minutes, we were not allowed to move around the cabin at all.

When we finally arrived in Minneapolis (2 hours late), I had missed my connection. I was given a number to call to get a discounted hotel rate. Not a free hotel, which I would have had if the delay had been mechanical or weather-related. I didn't get my luggage back because it would have been a 3-4 hour wait to get it onto a carousel. At this point, I was only going to have about six hours to sleep, once I got to the hotel and hunted down food (which ended up being a $13 salad), so I decided to sleep in my clothes and get a toothbrush and comb from the front desk. If it hadn't been such a swank hotel, I would have been REAAAAALLY pissed off. As it was, I was kind of irritable.

So what is the moral of this? The idiot who covered his crotch in explosive crap deserves whatever he gets. If you're going to be that stupid, you deserve third-degree burns on those sensitive spots. Plus, you've ruined the days of many, MANY people. Jerk.

Let's NOT make this a tradition

Two years in a row, my luggage has been 'misplaced' by the airlines. Last year, United had my stuff to me within three days. It wasn't optimal, but it was acceptable. This year, I'm at seven days and counting from Delta. I spent every penny allowed to replace clothes - my little sister's wardrobe had moved with her when she left my parents' place, so I couldn't just steal her clothes out of the closet.

This is not cool.

I've been assured that my luggage will arrive in Atlanta at the same time that I do. If it doesn't, I think I'm just going to sit down in the airport and refuse to move until it shows. Maybe I'll hold my breath, too.

Delta is getting a very unhappy letter from me, and they're going to be paying for more than just the replacement cost of clothes. Did I mention that my luggage hadn't arrived by the time I left to go back home? Which means I needed a new suitcase, since I had a bunch of clothes but nothing to put them in!

Can you tell that I'm a little bit irritable about this?

Next year, maybe I'll fly Air Canada. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Right, like I'm EVER flying through Toronto again if I can avoid it!