Snow + travel = messy
The younger two were flying out today. Since we live in Denver, which has made headlines lately for getting absolutely dumped on snow-wise, that's not as easy as it sounds. We got up before six this morning and left shortly thereafter.
Road-wise, the streets around the house are horrible. The somewhat larger roads like Monaco and Evans were pretty good. I-225 was dry, and completely cleared off including the shoulder. That was nice. We made pretty good time getting to the airport itself. I was quite surprised at the number of cars driving down Pena Boulevard, but I guess it makes sense.
We arrived at the airport at 6:42 according to my parking stub. Seven hours later, I left again. Well, technically six, but they charged me for parking for 7 hours since it was 6 hours and some change, even if some of that change was because I picked the absolute slowest parking lot attendant. I have no idea what she was doing with the car in front of me, but it had to have taken 10 minutes. They were finally done, and for only $14.00, I was allowed to leave.
Denver is United’s hub, and the kids were flying on United, so of course the check-in line for them was much longer than any other airline. But it's the security line that was ridiculous. It wrapped around the entire terminal twice! Time passed a little more quickly since I was talking to some of the other people in line. The woman in front of us was alone, but I watched her suitcase while she used the bathroom and such. We were easy to find since Rick had dyed his hair magenta and spiked it up this morning. He was a good "line beacon."
It took about two and a half hours to get through security. By then, the plane was scheduled to have already left. But by the time we got to the gate, it was still there. In fact, it was there for another hour after the kids got on board. It finally left at 12:25 PM (scheduled time was 10 AM). I’m glad they made it aboard, at least.
Got home a bit ago and worked on the "driveway" a bit. In quotes because the driveway itself is fine – I’m just trying to clear some snow/ice off the street right in front of it so the van can get out. I exposed the asphalt so that the sun can work on melting it a bit. It'll be a white Christmas for sure, but by then, the roads should be clear. Yay sun!
Labels: snow, travel, weather
Sleepless
Last Thursday was a pretty regular day, waking up at 6:something, going to work, coming home, except that I didn't get to bed that night until 1:11 AM on Friday. I'm no party animal, so this was pretty rare for me. 11 PM is much more normal.
On Friday morning, I woke up at 4:11 AM and played on the computer for a couple hours. I was lucky that one of my east-coast friends was awake, and I ended up chatting for a little while of that time. My doctor appointment was at 7:45. I actually thought it was at 7:15, so I left a bit earlier than I needed to. But that was okay since they were ready for me about as soon as I arrived. It was at their request that I got only 3 hours of sleep. They took me back to a room with a bed in it and hooked me up to the EEG machine - 25 little electrodes stuck to my head. I wish someone had taken my picture. I bet I looked kindof like Pinhead (from
not Phantasm Hellraiser). The test went well, starting with just laying there for a while drifting in and out of drowsiness, and finishing up with a strobe light flashing at me, and finally some panting-like breathing. Once I stopped feeling light-headed, the person administering the test cleaned up the glue spots on my head and I got up.
Once the test was done, I drove home, finding only one spot of glue-stuff that was missed. I cleaned that up when I got home. Then I went to work where I had one of my most productive days ever. Okay, not really. I was tired. I got home last night, made a quick 'n' easy dinner of frozen Cordon Bleu, ate, and watched Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica. Then it was off to bed at the respectable hour of 10:11 PM.
This morning, I woke up a few times, starting around 3:11 AM, and my alarm started going off at 4:00. By 4:27, with the alarm having gone off four times, I finally rolled out of bed. I am driving Cady (daughter) to the airport this morning so she can get on her 7:15 flight. When I woke up, I looked out the front windows and didn't see her car anywhere. Did she get another ride and not tell me? Did she fall asleep at work and not come home? (Wal*Mart sells beds, you know.) So I pulled on my PJ shorts and wandered downstairs. She was sitting on her bed packing. It's 4:40 AM, and I told her we were leaving between 4:45 and 5 AM (no, not 5:11 - though that's probably the time we will be walking out the door at this rate). She got sick last night and someone drove her home. At least that's the story I got.
So she's just finishing up in the shower, and I'm posting this. I thought it a bad idea to go back to bed for just a few more minutes of sleep. It probably wouldn't help anyway. It's certainly not making me any more beautiful.
Oh, hey - the bathroom door just opened. It's now 5:01 AM. I guess I should post this so I will be ready to sit around for another 10 minutes...
Labels: medical, travel
