Stormageddon, Part 2

So, apparently this thing that's happened is being dubbed Stormageddon. Cool name. Last I wrote, I had gone through a bunch of crap just to get from Detroit to my hotel in Harrisburg. Well, the craziness that started while I was in Michigan just got even worse as I got to PA.

After getting less than two hours of sleep, I go out to the meeting room to start setting up for the day's presentation. It didn't take long to realize that the banquet staff the night before had booked it home early to avoid too much snow; we had been moved to a room WAY too big for our 35-person seminar and WAY too dirty to have been cleaned after the wedding party who-knows-how-long beforehand. Luckily, one of the waitresses from the restaurant decided to come in and volunteer, even though she had no banquet/event experience. This let us get a pot of coffee brewed.

The day goes by, no participants show up, we cancel the seminar, and I spend the afternoon on the phone with the office to get travel details ironed out. The highways get shut down due to a state of emergency, our flight gets canceled, and, to top it all off, no cab companies in the area are open. We get scheduled for a train from Harrisburg to Philly and I bribe the owner of a cab company to get her and her husband to use their personal 4-wheel drive SUV to get us into town (thanks, Pam!). Before we leave, we find out our train has been canceled, but the next train, over two hours later, is still a 'go.'

We get to the train station and try to pass the time and not freeze too much. I napped while listening to the Fanboy Radio podcast (thanks, Dan) and my presenter caught up with some phone calls. The last train of the night finally comes and we board with the TWO other passengers...on the ENTIRE train. I've always wanted to ride a train long-distance, so I was pretty pleased to get to do this on the company's dime. Amtrak actually has some pretty cushy commuter cars, so it was at least comfortable.

We wait almost an hour at the Philly train station to catch a SEPTA train to the airport, but then find one of the only cabs running in the area instead. Shared the cab with a couple that had been waiting for that train for over two hours, drive down some one-way streets the wrong direction, get turned away from the highway by the National Guard, and finally get to the hotel.

I get two nights at the Hampton Inn and will hopefully get on a direct flight to Seattle tomorrow evening to start my week-long vacation. Time to kick back and get stuff done (we'll see how this website redesign goes...).

What a day!

I began today in Detroit at the oh-so-excellent Embassy Suites over in Southfield. What a great place, especially if you show up for each evening’s manager’s reception. My presenter and I knew there was some snow in the forecast, so I kept an eye out on our departing flights all day. Just around 2:30, only fifteen minutes before she let out for the day, I come to find out my two flights for the evening were canceled. Grrrreat. However, a quick call to my manager gave me an opportunity to get on an earlier flight going through Newark to get to my destination at a reasonable hour.

We get to the airport, I return the rental car, and get booked on another airline just in time to get my bags checked and go through security. Then the fun begins.

Switching from my canceled flight with US Airways to a new itinerary with Continental, at the Detroit airport, requires a terminal change, which means I had to sprint outside and catch the next shuttle available. I get there with less than ten minutes to spare before the baggage check deadline and get through security with no problems (or lines, for that matter). I have just enough time to grab a quick sandwich from Wendy’s before rushing to the farthest terminal, only to find the plane is delayed, but in-transit.

An uneventful flight into Newark was a pleasant surprise. Not so pleasant was arriving to find my connecting flight was delayed an hour. Not too terrible, but not great considering the new departure time was 10:00 p.m. with slightly more than an hour’s travel time. All seven of us passengers that didn’t give in and make the 2.5 – 3 hour drive from Newark to Harrisburg had to sit in the back three rows of this small prop. plane in order to balance out the weight. We must’ve sat on the tarmac waiting in line to de-ice for at least another half an hour before taking off.

Finally we get to the Harrisburg airport, which is much nicer than I had imagined. As things end up, the airline lost my personal luggage (the tech. case showed up alright) and, after waiting forever to talk to someone about that, I was the last passenger in the airport. At this point, all taxi cabs and rental car agents are gone. Totally gone.

After calling a few cab companies that were all closed due to the snowfall, I find one that had a single guy working that didn’t mind coming to pick me up (he wasn’t even supposed to be working the airport route). With the snow and dark roads, we eventually made the twenty-six mile drive to get me all settled in my hotel room by 3:45 in the morning. What a day! We’ll see if anyone shows up for the seminar in a few hours, especially considering the estimated 10” of snow expected by morning.

Locked Out

Last week, I learned what NOT to do when having a late night arrival at a hotel then getting a room on the ground floor: lock yourself out.

So, after a long-delayed flight out of Detroit to Kansas City, my presenters (yup, two of them, again) and I check into the Courtyard Marriott and I get a free upgrade to a jacuzzi suite (sweet!).

Upon entering, I immediately close the security bar on the front door (force of habit by now) and go to drop my bags on the floor, bed, or wherever. I then notice that the hotel has a nice courtyard between the sleep rooms and the adjoining conference center (Adams Pointe). I step outside and, as I close the door behind me, I notice the security bar starting to fall into place as my room keys are both still on the bed. Crap.

The front desk staff helps me get another room key and, by this point, I had forgotten about the lock on the front door. Not for long, though. Now I've gotten myself locked out of the room TWO different ways. Great job, genius.

With some dedication, wire coat hanger, and frozen fingers (why did I have to leave my jacket inside, too?), I managed to jerry-rig the sliding door's lock out of place. By this time, it was almost 12:45 a.m. and I hadn't even started unpacking.

Not a good start to the Kansas City visit, I'd say. The next day proved to be a bit better, especially with the sympathy from the front desk landing me a free mini-bottle of wine to enjoy at my next destination.

One more week until vacation

After yet another long week of traveling with two very great presenters, I found myself somewhat energized to get back to Seattle and do something productive (if not only to catch up on a little sleep). I actually spent most of the flight between Chicago and Seattle reading and doing things on my computer, which is unusual since, by the time the doors of the plane close, I'm usually fast asleep.

I came home to both of my roommates being away for the weekend and my final W2 form waiting for me on the living room table. Woke up today after the first decent night's rest in at least a week to the chipper sounds of birds chirping in the trees outside and the rays of the morning sun reflecting off the house next door. What a beautiful city this is, especially when the some comes out!

After deciding against heading up to Ballard to do some rock climbing (that can wait for vacation in a week), I got out of the house to go get a haircut. I've walked past this local barbershop so many times since moving out here in October, but today was the first time I stopped in to Westside Barbershop for an appointment. After scheduling a haircut, I headed to the one local comic book shop, Arcane Comics. Dan would be so proud of me because I finally spent money on some comics and even went so far as to get a subscription service started (don't worry, I'm just looking at two specific titles right now).



A quick walk to the Seattle Public Library, West Seattle Branch, to drop off some materials, down to the Admiral Viewpoint to enjoy the blue-skied view of downtown Seattle, over to a few other stores for various things, and then back to the barbershop to trim up my attempt at the 'Pete Campbell.'

Attracted by their Super Bowl specials, I headed over to Swinery Meats, "Seattle's first and only sustainable butcher and meat shop," and bought some lamb & beef meatballs with a delicious romesco sauce. Meatballs, spaghetti, steamed veggies, and a nice tall Franziskaner beer were dinner before another night spent packing up my weekly food, clothing, and entertainment.

This time, I've only got a four day week with a change in presenters mid-week before the staff meeting on Friday preceding a week-long break. Valentine's Day is coming up quick, everyone, don't forget to start making your plans (if that's your thing).