one thing i feel i'm getting pretty good at is jimmy-riggin' projectors to connect with the computers...so many great opportunities to practice! #madmcgeyverskills georgia was spot on-she was great with our group and for the amount of time that we had, she was able to impart a wealth of knowledge to get these teachers on their way to a successful beginning!
the next morning i arrived at the airport and met up with suzanne and de an (DeAn.not dean...) and shortly after we were semi-settled and they were going to grab a small something or other, the fire alarm went off in the love field terminal. much more soothing than our migraine-inducing-shrill-as-a-three-year-old screaming alarm at school...it was like the difference between a toddler-screamo band and yo yo ma with a soothing piece from bach...we all just kinda' sat around looking at each other (everyone in the concourse) as if to say, "if you stay, i'll stay..." but rule-followers that we are, suzanne, de an and i dejectedly gathered our bags and moved slowly-like eeyore, making our way, just hoping that someone would stop us and tell us it was all a fluke...and on cue, as we reached the edge of the gate area, a lady's voice came over the gate intercom to a lobby full of irrefutably indifferent people. in a frantic voice, she said, "DON'T FREAK OUT! stay, it was a false alarm." needless to say, her voice was the only thing that was freaked out. everyone had pretty much tuned out the calming beeps. i'm thinking, if it were my place, i'd play something like "THE ROOF, THE ROOF, THE ROOF IS ON FIRE!" and do a laser beam show pointing to the nearest exits with an intermittent shrill alarm (because i like the idea of at least something shrill...mostly because it sounds like krill..and krill oil is good for you and doesn't stink near as much as fish oil..dude, if i keep getting off track like that, i'm never going to finish!) so we finally got on the plane, and the lady and gentleman across and behind me were talking (i don't endorse eavesdropping, but sometimes people just talk a little too loudly, and more often than not, it's blog-worthy...)
he: did you hear the fire alarm? (duh. unless she was deaf, or had malfunctioning cochlear implants, she heard it, genius)
she: yes, i work at a hospital-it happens all the time and we know it's not a big deal, so that's what i figured.
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| please note the lack of "freak-out" |
at one point during the flight i thought about using the restroom, but there was a man. a larger man. and he was in there for the duration of "no woman, no cry" (bob marley), dubbed the longest reggae song--in all transparency, i wasn't listening to it at that very moment, but i do remember dancing to it at a party near utila on jack-o'neil's cay a long time ago, and wondering if it was ever going to end, and how much longer i was going to have to keep up this charade with this boy i didn't know, burning calves and perspiration...i don't exactly remember, but i have a vague notion that at about minute 6 i may have leaned in and excused myself for a restroom break...ironic. aaaaaand there i go again..meds, please...and i don't even take meds. focus...all that to say i thought long and hard about dry hot dry deserts that are DRY for the rest of the flight, and thanked the restroom gods..and the architect of the mci airport that there was a restroom directly outside the gate area.
i really used to like the kansas city airport. perhaps more as a k.c. resident, because it was easy to get in and out and the parking was easy...but now i'm thinking i may have to agree with suzanne, not much space...corridors akin to the birth canal...BUT the PARKing!! #torn #theverdictisstillout
siri was in a mood. suffice it to say that she took us totes backroads. past the "secret-area-prison", and to a house of a man mowing his lawn. it'd be one thing if we'd put in the memo that we were running from the law and needed a crackhouse hide-out...so we used a different device and got to our hotel, but only two of the rooms were ready, so we went to eat at the metropolitan steakhouse near the pretty prison. and the waitress that took our pic was telling us the story about the buffalo that were in the pasture across the hwy (inter-state trading of buffalo...fostering program? idk); anyhoo, she said they are really cute when they frolic in the springtime. remember my frolic on the beach last spring (pic about halfway down)? #frolicfail yes, i'm sure my frolicking was not unlike what i imagine of the baby buffalo, although they are way much cuter.
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| whaddya mean you can't see them? they're the obvious brown clumps..hellooooo. |
- check into hotel
apparently without knowing it, i had ordered the room that shoots a radioactive beam through your ear to allow for super-human auditory functioning...i opted out and kept curious fingers away from the button of doom. - take nap
- meet for dinner at marfields
- order southwest burger (sans the southwest...NO AVOCADO! boo-curse this shortage)
- post-dinner entertainment: exploration
those of you who know suzanne may know that she is all about the exploration-which is great because i do too. "there's a picture of the bridge in my hotel room bathroom-it must be significant." "okay! let's go over the bridge!!" we did. no marker. no historical plaque. nothing. so anticlimactic.
hence we turned around and came back and decided to go back to the hidden prison on the backroads. suzanne slowed down enough to snap pics-there were men out playing baseball, and i'm sure we weren't obvious, or anything...a fine-looking african american male pulled off a flexing pose and i think that pic may be on suzanne's phone-i gave him a thumbs up as we pulled away and hoped that we weren't violating any kind of law...flashbacks of charlie's angels circa 1976- angels in chains...i have no desire to end up in a woman's prison being hosed down by a fire hose!!
on the return to the hotel, there was a cemetery that we stopped at because one of the clusters caught suzanne's eye. we found the mound with tiny headstones all around in a circular pattern, with a cherub in the center. there was no description, no plaque...(must be a leavenworth thing)...we left, and about 1000ft, suzanne was still wondering about it (pitbull, i tell ya. get ahold of something and don't let go!) seriously tough i appreciate the sense of curiosity. i have another friend who is very similar. so we pulled an evil knieval u-ie (i imagine, or did he only do stunt jumps?) anyoo, she'd seen a woman at the office watering flowers, so we were on our way back to ask her about it. we found out that it is called infant mound. very ingenious name. we also learned that they had a facebook page, which de an found and started reading some of the recent posts about loved ones...not depressing at all! #stoptheinsanity
after a good night's sleep (at least for me..suzanne will tell a different story), we arrived at the site at 7am...ghost town-not another soul in sight! great parking, though. finally the lone janitor saw us, opened up and let us go, as we'd come the day before and knew where we were headed. nice guy! quite the traveled fella-military. it was a smooth set-up, and we were ready for the marathon event. 1 hour and 20 min is not really ideal when trying to give crucial points about getting started~but suzanne was a rock star and took the task head-on for like..6 sessions; i'm pretty sure de an clocked her doing 70 mph at one point...hard to recall what's been said from one session to the next in this kind of setting, but the participants were very attentive, even the largest group, which we thought was going to be an issue-they were great. they seemed very appreciative for the responsiveness and preparation that allowed them to dig in and would ensure a great implementation. hopefully there will be an opportunity to return to help them get a better understanding of reports once they get going.
once we'd arrived to drop off the rental, i was really hoping that the shuttle driver wouldn't get to my bag before i did, so that i wouldn't have to tip him, but that one...he was a spunky one, and he practically grabbed the bag out of my hand...spunky little man (i kinda wanted to punch him in the face for being such a pushy little guy-but i suppose that's how he makes his $..so i reigned in my kick-boxing-angry-woman persona and gave him his money). i left the other two ladies to check their bags-i don't mind lugging around the carry-on (i've traveled too much and had too many incidents), so off to the restroom, and then i sat to eat my yogurt prior to getting into the line for security. while i was sitting there, i noticed a young lady with three children, who when she saw me, nodded and smiled (she was on the phone) and so i stealthily looked to my right to see if she was smiling and nodding to someone beyond me, or if she'd mistaken me for someone else. once she got off the phone, she walked up smiling and said, "JULIE ROBINSON! Aimee Minnich-marshal and i got married; i recognized you immediately, as i see your posts and such on facebook!" we very briefly caught up, and she introduced me to her adorable kiddos, and then they had to go find their ride. aimme was one of the k-life kids when i volunteered with klife in kansas city! what a small world-random coincidences! (i need to stay awake and expect more-life is full of them if we keep our eyes open!)
and after i got through security, i found my gate area and suzanne and de an, there was no seating, so i stood there for a bit until a lady next to suzanne stood to go to her gate; then we found out that our flight had been delayed eveyn more, so i went to change in the bathroom to get comfortable. i got some nasty looks from a couple of ladies when i walked out of the stall...and i was so ready to go PINK!(so what)..i know, so mature. anyhoo, we made our way to find some grub...after venturing through a strange passageway we learned that everything in that area was closing down for the evening, so we made our way back, and the mexican joint (not like a doobie...) was packed, so we went to the pork and pickle for a bite. and as we were seated, we got the text that the flight we were on cxld, so suzanne went to get her charger from a random she'd loaned it to (very trusting of her), and i took out my computer and made the call to reschedule for the morning flight for the three of us. by the time i finished, suzanne had returned, and she got on the phone to hold three hotel rooms at a nearby hotel that shuttled...set. relax, eat. and then i got another text as soon as our bills came. this one saying that flight xxx was scheduled to board and depart at 8:35pm. look at watch, 8:30p.wait, what? so we rushed down, and the other two hadn't received the text, so the lady at the counter said go to the podium to check for your boarding pass! when i got over there, they had my name, checked me off and told me to get on the plane, but they didn't have suzanne's or de an's...i had to shake the "no man left behind" mentality...i'm not even in the military! (besides, if it had been one of them, i would've wanted them to leave!) so i got on the plane and found a seat toward the back-an aisle seat, none-the-less!! fortunately suzanne and de an hung around and were able to take last seats as well!
it wasn't a long flight home, the 'long' was in the fact that once we were cleared to land, there was still an AC on the runway, so we had to pull back up and do another spin of the loop before landing, and once we actually landed, there were no gates open. so we waited for a bit and every 15 min. the pilot came on for an update-at least there was no wind-noise, so we could hear him at this point. 3 gates were about to come open, and we were 6th on the wait...this was worse than being on wait at the restaurant...i kept thinking about the emergency rafts that pop out over the wing, and how nice it would be just to evacuate that way. out of courtesy, once i got off, i waited for the others, even though i knew that they would probably go to the baggage claim first, so we parted ways and as i turned left, as always, there was the statue of the ranger-( i must just look up at the wrong moment, but every time it makes me chuckle because there is something inadvertently lewd about it). eeeee.
arrived home at midnight...midnight at the oasis (just a little favorite) time didn't matter, just happy to be home!
julieonce we'd arrived to drop off the rental, i was really hoping that the shuttle driver wouldn't get to my bag before i did, so that i wouldn't have to tip him, but that one...he was a spunky one, and he practically grabbed the bag out of my hand...spunky little man (i kinda wanted to punch him in the face for being such a pushy little guy-but i suppose that's how he makes his $..so i reigned in my kick-boxing-angry-woman persona and gave him his money). i left the other two ladies to check their bags-i don't mind lugging around the carry-on (i've traveled too much and had too many incidents), so off to the restroom, and then i sat to eat my yogurt prior to getting into the line for security. while i was sitting there, i noticed a young lady with three children, who when she saw me, nodded and smiled (she was on the phone) and so i stealthily looked to my right to see if she was smiling and nodding to someone beyond me, or if she'd mistaken me for someone else. once she got off the phone, she walked up smiling and said, "JULIE ROBINSON! Aimee Minnich-marshal and i got married; i recognized you immediately, as i see your posts and such on facebook!" we very briefly caught up, and she introduced me to her adorable kiddos, and then they had to go find their ride. aimme was one of the k-life kids when i volunteered with klife in kansas city! what a small world-random coincidences! (i need to stay awake and expect more-life is full of them if we keep our eyes open!)
and after i got through security, i found my gate area and suzanne and de an, there was no seating, so i stood there for a bit until a lady next to suzanne stood to go to her gate; then we found out that our flight had been delayed eveyn more, so i went to change in the bathroom to get comfortable. i got some nasty looks from a couple of ladies when i walked out of the stall...and i was so ready to go PINK!(so what)..i know, so mature. anyhoo, we made our way to find some grub...after venturing through a strange passageway we learned that everything in that area was closing down for the evening, so we made our way back, and the mexican joint (not like a doobie...) was packed, so we went to the pork and pickle for a bite. and as we were seated, we got the text that the flight we were on cxld, so suzanne went to get her charger from a random she'd loaned it to (very trusting of her), and i took out my computer and made the call to reschedule for the morning flight for the three of us. by the time i finished, suzanne had returned, and she got on the phone to hold three hotel rooms at a nearby hotel that shuttled...set. relax, eat. and then i got another text as soon as our bills came. this one saying that flight xxx was scheduled to board and depart at 8:35pm. look at watch, 8:30p.wait, what? so we rushed down, and the other two hadn't received the text, so the lady at the counter said go to the podium to check for your boarding pass! when i got over there, they had my name, checked me off and told me to get on the plane, but they didn't have suzanne's or de an's...i had to shake the "no man left behind" mentality...i'm not even in the military! (besides, if it had been one of them, i would've wanted them to leave!) so i got on the plane and found a seat toward the back-an aisle seat, none-the-less!! fortunately suzanne and de an hung around and were able to take last seats as well!
it wasn't a long flight home, the 'long' was in the fact that once we were cleared to land, there was still an AC on the runway, so we had to pull back up and do another spin of the loop before landing, and once we actually landed, there were no gates open. so we waited for a bit and every 15 min. the pilot came on for an update-at least there was no wind-noise, so we could hear him at this point. 3 gates were about to come open, and we were 6th on the wait...this was worse than being on wait at the restaurant...i kept thinking about the emergency rafts that pop out over the wing, and how nice it would be just to evacuate that way. out of courtesy, once i got off, i waited for the others, even though i knew that they would probably go to the baggage claim first, so we parted ways and as i turned left, as always, there was the statue of the ranger-( i must just look up at the wrong moment, but every time it makes me chuckle because there is something inadvertently lewd about it). eeeee.
arrived home at midnight...midnight at the oasis (just a little favorite) time didn't matter, just happy to be home!
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