There & Back

I woke once or twice during the wee hours, getting up for good at 420am, or ten minutes earlier than I planned. I felt fairly well rested but was nervous/antsy about the day ahead. I thought I heard distant thunder and perhaps even a few dull flashes of lightning. I hit the go button on the coffee maker then completed calisthenics. Finished sit-ups and curls at 430am straight up.

Stepped briefly out onto the deck. Above the sky was perfectly clear, perfects a slight bit of haze, but that’s it. In fact, about half a moon light the sky from directly overhead. Hmm? Once the coffee finished brewing I headed to the PC but only for a couple minutes. My goal was to leave for my run by 445am.
Checking the weather radar, I could only laugh at the irony. All summer long the storms have largely found a way to steer clear of west Columbus despite many surrounding areas getting hammered. Today, however, there was only one small storm cell anywhere in Ohio and it was just a few miles to our west and barreling in on south Hilliard. It was small but bright red on the radar, not the type of weather one wants to be running in. I could only shake my head.

Because it was small I figured I would try and wait it out. I went again to the deck to check it out. The moon was still visible overhead but the wind was kicking up and clouds were moving in fast. Lightning and thunder were frequent and getting more and more intense. 5am came and still it hadn’t rained but the lightning, thunder and wind intensified. Between then and 515am a heavy burst of rain hit and the lightning and thunder continued. Waiting, Waiting. As 530am neared I began to get really antsy, my mind busy calculating how much time I might still have before I’d have to call off my run before preparing for my flight out of CMH. I figured I still had a 20-25 minutes window to operate with. I checked the radar, both on my PC and then on the TV. The red was shrinking but the rain area getting bigger and bigger. More importantly, the lightning and thunder were still very prevalent.

I gave consideration to taking my running clothes with me to Chicago and running after our meeting but before heading back to the airport. I also thought about waiting until I got home around 9pm. That didn’t sound good at all. What I wanted more than anything was to run right then! Around 535am the storm (lightning/thunder) seemed to be moving NE and out of our immediate area. I waited with anticipation at the front door counting the time between the lightning flashes and the thunder. Another five minutes passed without as much as one lightning strike. It was still raining but that was of no concern at all. In fact, the rain was welcome. I did add a shirt that would’ve otherwise been cast aside. I headed out near 540am, but got only about 100 yards before a relatively near lightning flash and burst of thunder. I turned immediately around and headed back home, worried that I had my priorities in the wrong place.

I checked the radar and glanced outside for another five minutes. No more lighting, thunder, and now not even any rain. At 545am I headed out for my run. It was warm, humid, and damp. But there wasn’t a single strike of lighting or drop of rain. Because time was now working against me, I figured I had no choice but to trim my run back to only three miles since my original plan was to leave for the airport at 630am. At least I was smart enough to take care of some packing logistics while pacing nervously waiting for the storm to pass earlier. Pretty much all I needed to do was shower, dress, and choke down a bit of food.

Got back home near 620am. I headed directly to the shower, but not before taking Mindy the cup of coffee she requested I bring her just before we fell asleep the night before. I was quicker than quick with my shower and ready. I was clean, dressed and downstairs by 635am. I hurriedly woofed down a croissant roll and small glass of juice before heading out the door. I took a quick inventory of my stuff: wallet, laptop and cords, flight/car itinerary and driving map. Golden!

I was backing out the drive by 638am, or just 8 minutes later than I planned. Because it was so early, getting to the airport was a snap. I pulled into the Blue Lot parking around 650am and was on the awaiting shuttle and heading to the gates by 7am. I had nothing to check so all I had to do was get a boarding pass. That was quick too. There was an incredibly long line at the nearby security checkpoint, apparently a heightened security day. Must have been at least 200 people in the slow moving line.

I my haste, I mistakenly put my gallon Ziploc containing my tooth brush, floss, paste and mouthwash in my travel backpack. They pulled me aside for a search. A women without much of a sense of humor pulled my mouthwash out and said it was a violation, and then asked what I wanted to do with. I suggested that she gargle! Seeing that she wasn’t at all amused I offered that she should either allow me through or throw it away. She threw it away but said I was permitted to take the rest. Onto my gate – A3.

I had an hour before take-off, but only 35 minutes before boarding. I co-worker, jay P. called my blackberry from Cary, NC. We chatted for a while catching up on what one another have been up to. It was good to chat. Time to go.
I was seating group B57 (close to last). There were only middle seats all the way to the back. However, about 5 rows up form the back I spotted a window seat available. I nabbed that. We took off on time heading NW. Just before we pierced the low cloud cover I saw a few direct lightning strikes to the immediate south that were spectacular bolts to the ground with an explosion at the impact site. Seconds later we went into the storm clouds, which made for an extremely bumpy ride for about 5 minutes until we were above it. The rest of the ride in was smooth and fast. Seems you just crest before they declare that we’re making our initial descent.

Landed at Midway at 830am, or roughly the same time we left CMH, due to being in the central time zone. But as luck would have it, we had to sit on the runway for a solid ten minutes waiting for a gate to clear. It was still before 9am when I made my way off the plane and towards the ground transportation area. Just followed the signs. My care reservation was with Budget. Again, as luck would have it, it was the only car rental company with a line. They moved fairly quick and were friendly assisting me. Soon I had my car arrangements/paperwork and was advised where to go to pick it up. Just up the elevator one floor then to the booth in the garage and the benches. They would bring me my car.

There was an even bigger crowd waiting on their cars. Seemed very disorganized. I got the sense that thing were amuck just by looking at the faces of the others already waiting. Ten minutes passed and still not one car came for any of us waiting. A girl came out of the booth and asked for my paperwork. She returned a couple minutes later with a revised packet and keys. Told me I’d find my car just down the way in slot $%#. She apologized for the delay. I thanked her and got in the car. It was an obvious upgrade from the economy car I paid for. I started to pull away when I realized that the gas tank was resting at a quarter tank. I definitely didn’t want to drive that car without bringing the dilemma to their attention. I called it to the attention of the women who was no helping another couple. She came over and verified my findings. Asked if I wanted to take it anyway. No. I would be expected to return it full. NO problem, She said she’d get me another car, or the third one. Oh boy! Took my paper work and returned a few minutes later with yet another revised packet and keys. Took me to a nearby Chevy SUV where she confirmed the gas tank was full herself. She asked if that might do the trick. Yes. TY.

Off I went. Suddenly I was sure if I would make it to my destination by the 1030am meeting time. I still had a 41 mile drive and according to Google, it would take 61 minutes. By then it was passed 930am. The first 13 miles were straight up Cicero Rd from Midway. Anyone that knows south Chicago knows what that’s like. I’d liken it to E. Main St in CMH but much, much worse. Scary! Traffic was slow too. It was 1015am before I made it to the route 90 entrance ramp, which would take me the rest of the way into Hoffman Estates, a NW suburb.

As expected, I got a call from the account manager right at 1030am asking my ETA. Shared that I was 4 miles out. No problem, said he had my badge and to give him a call once I was in the lobby. I found the campus no problem. The Google Navigation got me there without incident. However, the place is enormous. I would liken it to getting directions to OSU but not knowing what hall to meet in. I called the acct manager for more specific directions. He talked fast, almost too fast (isn’t that just like an account manager?). I found it and headed in. I heard him say to the larger group just as he was hanging up that he needed to go after a straggler. I could’ve allowed that to piss me off, but quite frankly, I didn’t care.

I took the nearest open seat just before round the room introductions. I hate those but quickly introduced myself as Frank, Frank Zappa (just kidding). The presentation was long and there were five other presenters other than me. My piece was fourth. It went longer than expected. I didn’t get to do my piece until 1240pm CDT or 100 minutes into it. Delivering my stuff to an unfamiliar audience as well as basing the deliverables on the account managers interpretation of what they wanted is always scary. Turns out, though, they loved my stuff and commented as much. But as expected, it provoked even more questions. We were only supposed to be in the conference room until 1230pm. That came and went. It was now 1pm and I still wasn’t done. They insisted the information was great but that we needed to end the meeting. Thanked me for the time.

The account manager, his boss who is also from Hilliard, btw, apparently had lunch planned with the client execs. They didn’t invite me. I wasn’t disappointed though. I was eager to take my time getting back to the airport perhaps grabbing a bite to eat somewhere along the way. I hadn’t had a thing to eat or drink since the juice and croissant at home at 630am. I could’ve eaten shoe leather!

I figured I would get back near the airport and then perhaps pull off somewhere for lunch. I programmed the Midway airport into my Droid. It had me taking a different route back, almost all freeway. I wondered why it hadn’t taken me that way on the way out. Either way, there were tolls on both paths. I had no change or $1 dollar bills for that matter. The car, however, had a ipass/zpass transponder on board. I figured out that all I had to do was flip it open and it would address the toll. It wasn’t until leaving the customers lot that I read the fine print. It would bill my tolls to the rental company who would bill me separately, but with an $8 service charge. Whatever! I buzzed through 5 or 6 tolls. I hope it worked.  I made good time getting back to Midway. I stopped for gas and lunch at what’s called an Oasis, much like an urban rest stop, complete with gas station and several fast food joints all in one. The restaurants are housed in a building that looks like an overpass, much like the Cap on Goodale over I-670 in CMH. The car took only 4 gallons of gas. I headed to the restaurants eager for some McDonald’s which is food I never eat at home. For some reason it sounded awfully good then. I ordered a double-quarter pounder combo. Generally speaking, McDs Cokes are delicious. This one was a little watered down, but still decent. I took my food back to the vehicle but sat in the lot to eat it. Oh boy as it good! Ten minutes later I was back on the road. The airport was just 8 or 9 miles up the road.

The rental car return was uneventful and only $59. I was at my departure gate by 235pm but my flight wasn’t slated to depart until 540pm. I had three hours. What to do? I did a little people watching but then used some time to write in my blog. That ate up a good 90 minutes. I checked a few work emails via blackberry. Despite leaving an out of office message, there were a number of people wanting my help. I tried logging on but there were no free networks. Too bad!

The gates near mine were all filled with people. Hardly a place to sit. I noticed that my gate would be hosting two flights: one to CMG at 540 and then another to PDX at 645pm. I talked with Mindy near 5pm and joked that I was going to get on the PDX flight. The rest of the time went relatively fast. I played on my Droid and dipped on other people’s conversations. Some folks are just plain annoying. 

Our plane didn’t get into the gate until almost 515pm. I figured that meant a delayed departure. But SWA did a great job turning the flight over. We were pretty much on time. Once again, my boarding group was near last – B51. They warned that every seat would be taken. I employed my earlier tactic hoping to get a window seat near the back, passing up a middle seat in the very front row. That backfired. Nothing but middle seats available.
No biggie. It’s such a quick flight to CMH.

I did some reading and before I knew it they had us preparing for landing. Seemed almost too fast. The girl to my left by the window was out cold. I looked out the window tracking just where we were. I could see both Alum Creek and Hoover Reservoirs. We then turned south and I could see Dublin and then my office building. About the time I started stretching my neck to look straight down to possibly see my house we passed into thick black storm clouds. It was clear over Dublin & Hilliard but socked in by clouds elsewhere. The rain was pounding against the plane as we descended into port CMH. Took a while to deplane, but without any luggage to retrieve, I was quickly to the ground transportation pick-up area waiting on the Blue Shuttle. A couple Green and Red shuttles arrived to pick-up one or two folks. The Blue line was packed, of course.

Soon enough the shuttle arrived and took us to our cars. It was pouring rain as I exited the shuttle and loaded into my Accord. I was thrilled to be home, but also hungry again. I had to pull over as I exited the airport to shut my trunk, apparently after hitting the release when unlocking the car. Called Mindy once I was on 670 for home. She reminded me that we had the boys, and then she shared that Jacob had impetigo on his legs and needed antibiotics. He acquired sores on his legs from playing soccer and apparently his filthy shin guards caused them to get infected. Gross! Home sweet home!

Arrived home just before 9pm. Bella and Mindy greeted me with hugs. I was starving. Mindy had the leftover chicken out for me to enjoy, but she was busy warming some for Landon at the time. I changed my mind and opted for the leftover t-bone steak still in the fridge from Saturday. I woofed down some cheese too. Landon ended up eating two pieces of chicken and wanted some steak. Rocky had a few bites of steak. Apparently they hadn’t eaten dinner. Despite them saying so, Mindy doubted that Lindsey hadn’t fed them. Still, they were hungry so we fed them.

Mindy still hasn’t been sleeping and was already in her pajamas and robe. She bought some over the counter melatonin to take as a sleep as well. I am one who believes in meds as a last resort. Worries me. Mindy excused herself to bed near 910pm. Jacob, Rocky, Bella, Landon and I stayed up watching the NFL preseason game between the Packers and Chargers, but also bouncing back and forth to the Olympics. Mindy asked that I have Rocky & Landon in bed by 930pm. Landon fell asleep in the family room chair while the rest of us shared a bowl of popcorn.
As soon as the popcorn was gone I declared it bedtime for all. Bella wanted to stay up playing on her laptop. I only asked that she turn off the lights. I tucked the other three kids into bed. Rocky insisted on having the TV on. I’ve never met a kid more afraid of the dark and being alone. And since we’re not the parent, it’s not our job to be heavy handed and break him of sleeping with a light on and TV.

Sadly, Mindy was still struggling to find her sleep when I my head hit the pillows. I’ll bet it didn’t take me 5 minutes before I was out cold, but not before reviewing my I ams.