Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Yeah, so a trip to NYC that just so happens to coincide with the biggest snowstorm in the city's history seems foolish in hindsight, but I don't know if I really would complain.

In short, I got to see my aunts, uncles, and cousin that I haven't seen in 5 years... got to brave a blizzard just to go to a packed bar/lounge where Brian's friends were throwing a VIP-open bar-going away party... and had a hell of a time getting back.

I have quite a few relatives living in New Jersey, and I'm not really sure why. How they stand the long commutes, high cost of living, and crappy school districts is a wonder. Of course, my cousins are brilliant, and I'm happy to say that I found a home for my flute (which I only played for about a minute of my early high school career).

As for going out Saturday night in NYC, I have to admit that Houston nightlife pales in comparison. With the right crowd of people, you can have a smashing good time at every turn in NYC. It will most likely cost you an arm and a leg, but the possibilities would be endless. They just have better DJ's there. It doesn't even have to be snowing like a mofo in Houston for it to be dead... in contrast, the Taj Lounge was packed, and there were even people waiting outside in the snow at 2:30am when we left.

Anyways, as you can imagine, with all flights cancelled Saturday night and all day Sunday... the travel situation was far from ideal. I got about an hour of sleep Sunday night before I caught the 4:20am train to the airport on Monday morning. No one was particularly helpful since the place was packed with frustrated travelers in a line that wrapped around the airport terminal and out the door. I ended up taking quite a convoluted path back home - Newark to Vail to Denver to Houston. My fellow coworkers kept calling me and trying to give me better alternatives, but due to the time difference and my dead cellphone, I wasn't able to get their information in time. Bless their hearts though... they had an army of people working on my behalf. The VP of HR was checking routes, my cube buddy kept calling me, the operations guys even built a model of my flight path.

I have to say that this experience really made me appreciate all of the wonderful people you meet in life. I never told anyone that I was stuck and trying to get home, so they weren't being nice because they pitied me. And before you think it's because I'm a cute girl, let me just say that on that day, I was wearing a huge men's fleece pullover, had my scratched up glasses on, my hair was matted to my head from wearing a hat all day, and my face was broken out and chapped with lovely bags under my eyes from an hour of sleep. I did get hit on while sitting at the gate in Newark, but that just made me think, "seriously dude... you want to get with this?"

When I was in Vail, the direct flight to Houston was full, so the United Airlines guys made special arrangements to get me to Denver. The guy at the counter had some other agents get me through security while he put me in their system... then they held the plane until I got on. The agent at the counter even went as far as to walk on to the plane to make sure I made it on before they closed the door... and I don't even work for them.

Even the people that I met on all five thousand flights I took this past weekend were incredibly nice. On the flight up to NY, the girl sitting next to me was so friendly that I thought she was going to give me a best friends forever locket by the end of the flight. On all the other flights, I had people offer me better seats or offer to help me with my luggage or to put my crap on their tray tables.

All in all, it was a once in a lifetime experience. The traveling wasn't that bad even though it took me 18 hours to get home. My coworkers say that everyone has to have one of these experiences. If you emerge on the other side with your sense of humor and enthusiasm for travel intact... then you were meant to be in this industry.

I guess I passed the test.

If all goes well, I'll be back in Denver next week... but this time I'll get some skiing in.