experiences « ((little fat notebook))

Posts Tagged ‘experiences’

Working remotely in Hawaii

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: beach, experiences, hawaii, holidays, hotels, ocean, panda, pictures, travel, vacation, work, working remotely

18 November 2014

I spent a week out in Hawaii while doing everything to make it seem like I wasn’t even gone work-wise. It was a last-minute thing: when I realized Veteran’s Day was the following week, I had asked Panda what our plans were (anticipating taking Monday off to enjoy a 4-day weekend). Instead of the type of answer I was expecting, I discovered that would be the week he was slated to go to Hawaii for work. I was so disappointed because I was really wanted to enjoy the weekend with him, but work travel meant he’d be leaving me Sunday morning. In other words, what I thought would be a long weekend would actually only consist of Saturday. For the first time, I was actually serious about joining him on a work trip. I really didn’t want to lose out on making it a holiday weekend worth my time.

So, once it was confirmed that he was going, I decided to make a decision and book tickets too. I’ve never planned a trip like this on such short notice, but it was one of those things I knew I’d regret for ages if I didn’t go for it. I figured I could still get all my work done at the normal EST hours I work and then I’d have the afternoon to enjoy the surroundings in Hawaii. Just like that, we found tickets for times I felt were reasonable and least interfered with work. By Sunday, we were off on our journey to spend a week out at the North Shore.

turtle bay resort at north shore hotel room with king bed

My office for the week.

I woke up daily (except Veteran’s Day and the weekend) at 4:30 HST to start work. I joined meetings remotely, answered emails, and worked on projects. Before I knew it, the sun would be rising and people were going off to lunch. I’d usually have a late “lunch” break and go enjoy the breakfast buffet downstairs. I savored the meals and watched the waves coming in as the heat began to build outside. Then it was back to the room for more work, which flew by pretty quickly. I found myself to be more productive (or at least it felt so) working from the hotel. This was probably because I had very few distractions. I hardly even got up for a drink or restroom break whereas usually at work I’m up at least once or twice an hour.

view of sunrise from turtle bay resort hotel room

Being awake for the sunrise was pretty cool.

view of turtle bay beach and ocean from turtle bay resort hotel room

The daytime view was pretty awesome too.

breakfast spread from breakfast buffet at turtle bay resort

A typical breakfast halfway through the work day!

I tried to finish my day around 1, but it usually went past that, though for the most part I was able to stop working by 2. At that point I had the choice of beaches to play at. One day I went the less traveled route and happily caught dozens of hermit crabs, snails, and even fish. Another day I found other crabs lurking by the rocks and swam around in the bay following a variety of fish around coral reefs. Yet another day I caught more critters and had a staring contest with some ghost crabs. I kept meaning to go to the banyan tree everyone checks out, but there were so many distractions along the way that I never quite made it there. I did have fun filming storks taking off in slo-mo, getting super close-ups of the creatures I caught, and generally basking in the sun.

clear plastic cup with a fish, hermit crab, and sea snail

Just the beginning of my catchings.

As the sun went down, we’d search for dinner and my night would wind down. I’d shower off the sand from the day and spend some time online before calling it a night. I tried to sleep around 8, but oftentimes it was closer to 10 when I got to bed. And then the day would start anew just past 4 as my alarms began to ring. It was much easier to wake up at that time than I thought it might be. I was quickly alert and ready to go! On our days off, we’d sleep in until 9 or so and then grab breakfast before embarking out on some adventure. Panda didn’t get the weekend, but luckily was free on Veteran’s Day and had some opportunities to leave work for a few hours. We went to Waikiki twice, hiked Diamond Head, visited Pearl Harbor, and even swung by the Dole Plantation. Not bad for a working vacation!

Our first Halloween

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog，Tags: candy, costumes, experiences, fun, halloween, holidays, kids, panda, pictures, play, smokey, work

31 October 2014

It’s our first Halloween as homeowners and you can tell by the massive bags of Sour Patch Kids we gave out (along with Rice Krispy Treats too). The Sour Patch Kids were a hit with pretty much ever kid who came to our door. I think we had a total of twenty-some-odd visitors over the course of about half a dozen doorbell rings. A mostly quiet night, but that’s probably partly due to our neighborhood still being new and many condos still standing empty. It wasn’t easy to tell whether people were home and/or living in each unit, plus with our condo style, the doors are down a sidewalk between the walls of our buildings. The other style condos in the area have the front doors all along the front facing the street, so it’s easier for the kids to run from one to the next.

We made sure to turn on our front door light and we lit up fairy lights in one of the windows facing the road. Inside the front door, we lit up the tiny pumpkin I got from my recent HelloFresh box. Panda originally wanted to shine a light on it to cast a shadow like the bat signal, but the shadow was either too small or too blurry, so we decided to light the mini pumpkin instead. Next year we’ll have to make sure we carve a pumpkin and light it up out by the end of our sidewalk to get more people to our door. It also took use some time to hop off the couch and run down the stairs, so maybe we can read books on the stairs or something to be closer to the door.

Overall it was a fun Halloween, not too crazy, but it had its moments (especially at work). Here are some highlights:

laughing girl dressed up as waldo for halloween blending in with whiteboard with red stripes drawn on

This idea for Where’s Waldo sounded much better in our heads, but still provided for some great amusement today.

halloween trio dressed up as lumberjack with axe, shark, and waldo

In no other scenario would you find a lumberjack axing a shark attacking a Waldo. What fun!

mini pumpkin held in the palm of the hand

Fits in the palm of my hand.

light shining on mini pumpkin inside window by door

Our makeshift lighting for the “pumpkin signal” that didn’t quite work.

mini pumpkin inside window by door lit up by lamp

From the outside, I think you get the idea that we’re open for business, right?

cat chewing on bag of candy in basket of halloween candy

Smokey tried to dig in as soon as the kids were gone and the doorbell stopped ringing.

The homebody lifestyle

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: behavior, experiences, family, habits, home, lifestyle, panda

04 September 2014

Family activities include Smokey getting in the way of some reading downtime.

Panda and I aren’t much for a partying lifestyle. We’re pretty big homebodies, completely content to stay at home relaxing together, enjoying takeout, and doing (or not doing) other such quiet activities. We could spend the whole night watching some shows or browsing online as we tuck ourselves in bed. It’s a nice sort of bonding for us. We may not be doing things together, but at least we are next to each other sharing our space. It’s comfortable and comforting. I’m at the stage where I’m ready to start building a home life. Suddenly I’m thinking about stuff I can get to personalize our home (guess that comes with the territory of having a home to personalize)!

I’ve always enjoyed this sort of home life, even as a teenager. Of course there have been plenty of times that I’ve gone out to various events or just to hang out with friends late into the night, but usually I just want to hole up in my room and spend my time on my computer, chatting with family, or reading a book. Back then I had plenty of homework to keep me busy for ages too. I see a lot of my peers going out to bars and parties and whatnot, but that doesn’t interest me. Similarly, more active home activities like board games or running around the house playing tag or hide and seek don’t interest me either. Maybe it’s not good that so much of my habits are sedentary, but I am in good health.

Just the other night, Panda and I were going out to eat, but on the way decided to get takeout. I enjoyed that option a lot more than sitting at the restaurant. It was really nice to have our food ready, eat at our own pace, and get some other things done while eating. Plus, I got to wear super comfy clothes that I probably shouldn’t go to a restaurant in lest I be taken for a slob. Perhaps that’s my true motivation – being able to relax without people judging me because I’m dressed so casually and never wear makeup. Home is a place to take off all those layers you throw on for the outside world, a place where the true you comes out.

Are we the only ones our age like this? Seems like everyone else always has some grand night or weekend plans coming up. Ours are just quiet – stay in most of the time, get some chores done, maybe go out to grab some food or stroll through Target, and return home again. No happy hours or late nights out or parties of any sort. It’s not that the opportunities aren’t there – in fact, Panda often turns down invitations to social gatherings with his coworkers and I often skip out on activities with my networks. We do like to plan some nice vacation getaways though!

So what’s your preference? Are you still living it up on the social scenes? Or maybe you’re like us and pretty settled into a calmer pace of life?

Tax free weekend scores

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog，Tags: blazers, clothes, clothing, experiences, flats, flowers, jackets, outlets, panda, pictures, products, sandals, shoes, shopping

03 August 2014

For the first three days of August this year, Virginia stores had tax free promos for school supplies and clothing. It’s an official August Sales Tax Holiday every year in the state, apparently. Panda and I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to go try to find some of the shoes and clothes I’ve been trying to get more of. While initially the plan was to go to Dulles Town Center, we decided to go check out the Leesburg Outlet. That turned out to be a great decision and I found so much stuff that we had no need to shop further after browsing those stores. For the first time ever, I actually enjoyed shopping (and Panda didn’t! It’s like we reversed roles). I guess it was because I went with a purpose: I needed some new flats and jackets.

What a fruitful day! Check out some pics:

girl stretching hands out towards giant hibiscus flower larger than both hands

Wow, I want my own!

charlotte russe black and gold tiger sandals

I was tempted, but they’re not ones I’d get around to wearing much.

shopping bags lined up after trip to outlet

Charlotte Russe, American Eagle, IZOD, J.Crew, and Bass & Co bags lined up. I used the little red Target bag as a purse.

j.crew marley ballet flats in cabernet and black

First stop was J.Crew, where I found these super comfy ballet flats! I’d never bought from this store before and I almost got black patent leather wedges too – also very comfortable. I hope I don’t regret not getting them.

g.h. bass & co shoes elizabeth in fuchsia and sophia in yellow

Next up was a store I was not familiar with – Bass & Co. They had these fun shoes on clearance and I decided to spring for more playful shoes for cheap!

cat sticking face into new shoes enjoying the smell

“Mmmmmm new shoe smell.” (as she stuffs her face in there)

izod jackets mixed media in teal and diamond check fleece in black

As we passed by IZOD, a jacket on the rack outside caught my attention. The teal color is fun and the thermal sleeves are different! I then came across the other style and almost got the blue before trying the black. Who knew golf gear would provide the perfect jackets for me?

american eagle outfitters loose knit sweater jackets

A peek inside AE led to two discoveries of nice, loose sweater jackets.

charlotte russe palmer embossed round toe two strap flats in cam, lace pointy toe ballet flats in black, and blazers in neon orange, purple, and blue

And finally, I spent a good hour in Charlotte Russe trying on jackets and shoes. I had a gift card from a previous return that I needed to use and I found a ton of things I wanted! I now have wonderful black and tan flats to choose from, as well as an assortment of cool blazers.

I’m pretty much set with what I want now, so I’ll only need to buy things that really catch my eye. That’s the stage I’m at with dresses too. It feels great to finally have some of the items I’ve been searching stores for, so I no longer have to think about shopping. Today was an anomaly and I actually wasn’t too tired/grumpy from shopping, PLUS I found a bunch of stuff. Usually I get bored an hour in and never even find something I want. I’m so happy to have gotten this all out of the way in one day!

A fun day at work

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: competition, coworkers, experiences, food, fruit, fun, happy hour, office, pictures, shark tank, snacks, work

31 July 2014

Recently, Canvas decided to do a Shark Tank initiative to gather ideas from across the company for what we can do to increase the trial subscriber volume. Everyone was invited to partner up and present an idea to five Sharks – a panel of decision-makers at Canvas. I was interested in participating, but didn’t really have any good ideas. One of my coworkers had reached out to me to partner up and just as we were about to get together, he found out that another guy one our team had already signed them up as a team. I kept an eye out, wondering who else I could team up with, but nothing really presented itself.

Today rolled around, with pitches scheduled throughout the afternoon. Right before lunch, a colleague who is a good friend started talking about it because she’d just learned about our Shark Tank (she didn’t get the emails). She needed someone to work with, so I offered to join her. After lunch, we met up with our coworker with the idea – he had to leave early and didn’t want to present anyway, so we took the idea and ran with it. He acted as our adviser and really helped make sure we had a ton of great information, so we were well-prepared. We took all that content and broke it into a bunch of slides, then started practicing. We even rehearsed walking in and greeting the Sharks. It was hilarious and so much fun!

I signed us up for the first time slot at 3:30 under our chosen team name: Double Trouble. After about an hour, we were pretty confident in our presentation. We had the entrance, presentation flow, and even synchronized moves all ready. We did a practice run in front of the idea man before he had to run and he loved it! Just as we were looking forward to going first, the Sharks came over to ask us to move to 4:10, the second slot. They had to postpone the start to 4. While it was sad we wouldn’t be first up, it did give us extra time to rehearse! I then booked a meeting room so we could practice clicking through the slides.

When it finally came time to pitch, we went through our presentation nearly flawlessly. Our high energy and funny moments really captured the Sharks and they had a great time with us. We certainly had the most memorable and entertaining presentation! The idea was a hit too, and we finished off on a fabulous note. I think the Sharks were not only impressed with how prepared we were (especially considering we’d only prepared for about an hour and a half), but how enthusiastic we were! I think some of them know us both to be more quiet, and not nearly as goofy as we turned out to be. Wins all around for team Double Trouble!!

We were still high from the rush of joy after that fun experience when we were told about the free food in the kitchen for a “Christmas in July” Happy Hour. Check out the awesome spread, including some super cool Australian dessert – pavlova – and an assortment of fruit as well as cocktail shrimp. We had a fabulous time enjoying the food before I decided to get back to work. I’d lost about half a day due to all this Shark Tank and Happy Hour fun, so it was time to get crackin’ again.

australian pavlova desserts, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, and other fruit for office happy hour

Homemade and oh so delicious!!

The crack in my back

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: aches, back, body, experiences, massages, spine

23 July 2014

Have you ever felt the need to crack your back, but was unable to? I’ve been getting this a lot lately. I try and try and try to get my back to pop in that satisfying way, but the tension in my spine only increases. GAH! I twist and turn to no avail, contorting myself into all sorts of strange positions. It’s the most frustrating thing. I really need some better way of achieving joint nirvana. I think I get these issues because I’m so cold at the office, but I’m not really sure how to prevent it and/or how to cure it.

At least the past day or two I’ve been able to get the crack I want eventually (and I always seem to have to twist to my right). There’s that one trouble area on my spine that always needs a’crackin. Everywhere else is fine! I need to figure out how exactly to get that crack whenever I need it, because I feel like I’m about to snap my spine when I contort too hard and still can’t get the pop I’m aiming for. Any suggestions?

Back in the day I had a friend who could lift you to crack your back. I tried to train Panda to do that, but it’s not working, so perhaps that’s not the solution. Too bad I can’t poke it to crack it or something. The closest thing I’ve been able to do is get another part of my back to crack when I slowly come out of bridge pose. But that doesn’t help with the real tension which seems to be near where the kidneys are. Perhaps I just need to get massages more frequently. I always feel better after those!

Traveling with a kitty

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses，Tags: cats, experiences, panda, pets, pictures, smokey, travel, vacations

05 July 2014

For the long weekend, Panda and I planned a little trip to Pittsburgh awhile back. Panda got it into his head that we’d bring Smokey along and it’d be a grand adventure, but as we started to train her for the car ride, I became concerned that she would freak out too much. However, it turned out far better than I expected and while I wouldn’t say Smokey is looking forward to another trip, she did seem to have moments of almost enjoying herself. She certainly did acclimate to the new hotel room very quickly, but the whole moving vehicle thing still makes her antsy.

I’m so proud of how she did! We made it home with no issues and boy has she been living it up. I’ve never seen her sleep so well. Well, it was quite the eventful day for her, so she’s pooped. I checked in on her earlier to find her sprawled out along my windowsill and she didn’t even lift her head up when I turned on the light in the room. Here’s a look at how taking our cat in the car for a road trip went:

On our night drive out of town, she found a few favs including this spot.

Upon arriving at the hotel, she decided this was the optimal perch.

The next morning she chilled in her new spot.

We came home to find her staring out the window and eventually coaxed her to bed.

This morning, noises outside made her suspicious.

Got a quick break of playing in before hitting the road.

She loved perching on top of the carrier.

Just trying to get some shut eye.

A few times, she’d get overwhelmed and pant.

She really loved having her paws on the center console and her feet on the back seat… leaving her belly to hang.

Making sure this driving thing is working right.

“Is it over yet?”

Gathering herself for some zen moments.

Nauseous or sleepy?

Hanging on for dear life, lol.

Home! I see home!!

Blinding

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: experiences, eyes, eyesight, optometrist

23 June 2014

Yesterday I spent the day relaxing at home, spending a ton of time on my beloved technology. I think the entire day I was either staring at my phone, my iPad, or my laptop. So as the light started to fade outside and the phone started to blind me a bit, I thought it was just an adjustment issue. But when it didn’t go away, I started to get confused. One corner of the screen was so bright I couldn’t tell what was on it. Then when I looked over to my laptop, I noticed that I had a blind spot to part of the screen. I tried blinking it away, but there was no change.

As I started to notice a strange halo-ish glowing pulsing in the right peripheral of my vision, I tried to pinpoint where it was coming from. It felt like it was related to my right eye, but when I closed that eye and covered it with my hand, the brightness still made its way through my eyelid and caused the same pulsing glow. Looking out at things like the rooms of the home and the buildings outside made the effect less obvious, but I could see how small areas were distorted and jiggling. I thought I’d try a headstand since an inversion could bring more blood to my head and perhaps flush out the feeling (yeah, I wasn’t thinking straight). It didn’t change a thing.

I figured my eyes might be strained from all the technology, so I looked outside for awhile, but the blurred spots remained. I started to imagine what I could do… should I go see an optometrist? They wouldn’t still be open at 8 or so on a Sunday. Perhaps I should wait until the next day. What if it was still like that tomorrow? Would I be able to drive? Could my neighbor take me to the optometrist? Could I drive there slowly with my hazard lights on?

At that time, I started to get worried and really wished that Panda was around. I tried to look in the mirror to see if there was unusual movement with my eyes or something visible on them, but with my poor vision I couldn’t tell. I tried taking a video and playing it back, but that didn’t help either. Looking at any screen just didn’t seem like a good idea anymore. After about 20 minutes (and some pondering how life would be without my eyesight – or losing it in one eye), I went to go take my contacts off. They didn’t have anything on them, but soon after removing the right one from my eye and stumbling around trying to figure out where my glasses were, the effect went away. Was it related to my contacts or just coincidence in timing, that the effect faded just as I decided to finally try removing my contacts? Hard to say.

Today I put the same contacts back in and haven’t experienced any problems. I’ll be monitoring things closely to see if anything weird happens again. After all, nobody wats to go blind or have severely impaired vision, do they?

Our kind of weekend

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: experiences, panda, pictures, smokey, weekend

09 June 2014

This weekend was the first in quite awhile that Panda wasn’t traveling or working shifts or volunteering (and neither was I). We planned to have no plans and it was lovely.

cat sticking head into small cat carrier

Smokey was quite curious about her new carrier from Target.

Friday night, we did start off with light plans – yoga for me and volunteering for him. That’s when I swung by Target and got some great products. Saturday we slept in and lounged around at home before sauntering off to the mall. Panda claimed a free coffee at Cinnabon and I got a free piece of chocolate from Godiva (watermelon-flavored!). I happily took advantage of the Yes To deal also mentioned in the Target post and wandered around the Body Shop deciding what to purchase. I have a Groupon for that store that I need to use by the 28th. When we passed by a Hot Topic, Panda wanted to take a look and I ended up getting some hilarious sunglasses! I’m sure you’ll see them featured in pictures in the future.

wearing new blue heart-shaped sunglasses seen in mirror of car

Great timing on the new sunglasses.

guys wearing similar clothes looking at potted plants

Yes, I made him stand there for photo proof of the resemblance.

On the way to dinner, we decided to stop by Merrifield so Panda could show me around. As we arrived, I found Panda’s doppleganger! Even being in the car next to him, I thought the guy browsing plants was him. We explored the plants and got some popcorn to enjoy as we walked around. I found my beloved Venus fly traps and will definitely get some at some point. We also came across a super cool PINK blueberry bush! If only I had a yard, I’d totally get something like that. Alas, for now I’m restricted to herbs, flowers, and other small plants. We sort of got full from the popcorn, but continued on to enjoy excessive amounts of sushi (using a Groupon deal where we needed to get $40 worth of food!).

At night, I decided to try out one of my Homegrown projects: the olive oil and herbs foot soak and scrub. Panda and I sat by the tub, soaking our feet in hot water steeped with rosemary and lemon peel. After a good long session, we scrubbed our feet with olive oil and sugar for super smooth, moisturized feet. I completely forgot about the pumice stone part, but my feet felt so soft it hardly mattered! It was a nice slow night with plenty of time to talk to each other and enjoy the weather.

What brilliant flowers!

trio of three types of carnivorous plants in dome

Looove carnivorous plants.

five types of sushi rolls on single platter

All these rolls plus two entrees for dinner!

Came across these mating dragonflies!

On Sunday, we made sure to make it to the pool before the storm clouds rolled in. We were the first ones to show up and I swam around in sunglasses, which was a strange feeling. I’d never done that before, but it was so bright out that I really needed them. Sometimes it’s so liberating doing something different like that. I laid around enjoying the warmth of the sun before Panda and I made our way to the local Walgreens. I skated and he walked, sometimes pulling me so I didn’t have to kick. I wasn’t sure if they’d let me in without pants (see picture – I was in swimsuit loose top only), so I wrapped a towel around my waist before going in.

Our goal was the Arizona green tea iced tea jugs; they’re one of my favorite sweetened tea drinks! We grabbed three one-gallon jugs and another of an Arnold Palmer flavor for Panda. Can you imagine us, a girl in a swimsuit on her skateboard and a boy with a giant beach bag, carrying these huge things home? It’s less than a mile I think, but quite the adventure. As we were turning in to my community, I scraped my big toe on the asphalt and next thing I knew, my foot was gushing blood. I’ll spare you the picture, but it’s surprising how much skin flapped around!

Back at home, I cleaned off my foot and hobbled around getting pictures of my latest Fabletics outfit and doing the other project from my latest Homegrown box: infusing olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I even got around to cleaning up some of the boxes I have lying around. And of course there was time spent enjoying Smokey’s company.

Quality time with Smokey.

For dinner, it was out to CPK for some new dishes I haven’t had before. Every time we go there, something seems to go wrong. The first time, Panda forgot his wallet. This time, he left his main credit card at home. Alas, it’s always troublesome! We had a good meal though and then made our way to Walmart to get Smokey a harness and leash. We’re going to train her to walk! Or least we shall try… she seemed ok with the harness, so now we’ll practice walking. And so concluded our oh so nice weekend that was stress-free and a wonderful bit of family time. These are just the types of slow-paced weekends I look forward to! We’re just homebodies who want a relaxing time.

So much meat! I could only eat one slice.

Travel pains

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: delays, experiences, flights, travel

27 May 2014

It’s 8:58 and my 8:50 flight still says departing on time. Obviously, something’s going on here. The day started off normally, with my mom and I heading off to LAX just past 5:30 am. We arrived an hour and a half later, plenty of time for me to check a bag (I decided I couldn’t be without my precious skateboard all summer so I sprang for the $25 checked baggage option).

I got through security and made it to my gate, noticing that my flight was one of the few delayed. It still gave me 35 minutes to get to my connection in Raleigh, which seemed fine. As the minutes ticked on and we got delayed with little buffer time left, I got anxious, but then we were on our way. On the flight, I suddenly realized I didn’t have my boarding pass for the next leg of the flight. Oops!

5 pm came and went as I wondered when we’d land. The captain came on to tell us that we were stuck in a holding pattern while we waited for a storm to move through. Luckily, that only lasted a few minutes and we were cleared to descend. I think we arrived around 5:40 and the instant we taxied off the runway, I turned on my phone to get my boarding pass. Thankfully, the gate I was going to was very close to the one I was arriving from and that next flight was delayed a bit too.

I had time for a restroom break and even enjoyed a free cupcake from a celebration of RDU flying to London for 20 years now on American Airlines. We boarded our flight, I settled in, and I was ready to be on our way.

Then it came.

A pop-up notification on my phone said my flight was cancelled. How could that be? We were boarded and so close to closing the door!! Alas, not two minutes later, as I was hoping it was a fluke, the captain came on to tell us the news. We all filed off and got in line to be rerouted. A few people got put on a 7:30 flight, but I was pushed to the 8:50 one. I thought about trying to get it changed, but I figured the earlier one might get cancelled.

I wandered round to get some food and settled in to wait. Lo and behold, the 7:30 one first got delayed, then cancelled. I kept checking the status of my flight, which remained “On Time” – whew! But as 8:50 crawled nearer, nothing happened. And the captain went to check, disappearing down some rabbit hole.

[It’s now 12:40 and I’m waiting for my SuperShuttle ride home.]

Finally, not long after 9 we started to board! Everything went quite smoothly as we sat down and started the safety presentation. Oh, but little did we know what as in store for us now. Air traffic control wouldn’t let our plane up in the air for at least half an hour! So we sat there waiting with some other planes as the captain updated us that the delays continued. The flight attendant came around with water and snacks.

Eventually, the captain decided to turn off the engines to conserve power. Of course, just a few minutes later he was given the all clear so we revved back up and got up in the air within 5 minutes. I took the chance to take a nap and woke up just before descent. I’d totally forgotten I was going into DCA, so I eagerly tried to recognize the buildings below me until I realized this was not IAD.

As if the day wasn’t long enough as is, we had to wait for our gate for ages… I mean, my stomach was starting to hurt at this point from the exhaustion and stress and impatience. We all rushed to baggage claim and I was glad that went by pretty quickly. The SuperShuttle check in was right there and now we’ll see how packed mine is. Will I make it home by 2? How did one domestic trip become a 17-18 hour ordeal? Storms are no fun when I’m trying to travel, that’s for sure.

I must say I’d rather wait at the airport for a delay than get airborne and sent to land somewhere else or have to endure a shaky landing. Once the winds were so high that I was nauseous from the approach to landing and you could tell the pilot was struggling against the gusts.

So it’s 3 am and I just got home. Long story not even done being told, but I need rest! My tummy hurts bad.

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((little fat notebook))

Posts Tagged ‘experiences’

Working remotely in Hawaii

Our first Halloween

The homebody lifestyle

Tax free weekend scores

A fun day at work

The crack in my back

Traveling with a kitty

Blinding

Our kind of weekend

Travel pains

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laelene

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