2/8/16, “The
Return Journey”
Palm Beach
International Airport, Florida (PBI)
I’ve had
flights cancelled before, but two in one trip, that might be a first. I should not have time to write an entry with
this dateline. I should have been at the
gate about half an hour before my flight.
Now, it will be at least 2 hours before I can get on an airplane back
home. I should have been flying to LGA,
the most convenient airport to get to the office. Now, I am flying to EWR, the least convenient
one. I should have been getting to
office only an hour or so late. Now, I
will not get there until the afternoon.
Fortunately, I have a laptop with a full charge and VPN access, so I
will be able to work remotely, but it is not the same.
After I closed last, night, we settled in for
the game, taking my pizza and wings from Papa John’s out of the oven. Better Ingredients, Better Pizza, Papa
John’s. It had been a long time since I
had pizza from Papa John’s, and I was not disappointed. I also began my process of drinking an entire
2-Liter bottle of Diet Pepsi. The best
part of the Super Bowl is usually the commercials, but they were extremely
disappointing this year. The best one
was by Bud Light featuring Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer pretending to run for
president, with an off-color joke about having a “big caucus.”
The game was so sloppy. The Broncos won the game 24-10 with three
field goals, a defensive touchdown, and one measly offensive touchdown (along
with a two-point conversion). If they
had missed that two-point conversion, I would have won a lot of money in the
office Super Bowl pool. They made it,
but I still will be able to cash in the bets I made with various people in
favor of the Broncos, no small amount of money.
No one expected the Broncos to win, I did. I knew that Peyton Manning wanted the
glorious finish to his career so that he could retire on a high note. The game was not glorious, but a W is a
W. When lists are made of the Greatest
QB of all Time, his name will always be included in that conversation.
After the game, there was a special episode
of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which my father and I watched until I
was ready to go sleep. I set an alarm
for the morning, 4:30 AM, or so I thought.
My mother had arranged a taxi to pick me up at 4:45 AM. I figured that the taxi would be a failsafe
to call me even if I overslept.
I woke
up at 4:36 AM. My alarm had not gone off. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? I had never pressed the “DONE” button to
finalize the alarm. I raced to get ready
and heated up some pizza. I headed
downstairs. It was now about 4:55
AM. No taxi. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? I called the taxi company. They had my reservation, and they asked if
they would like to call the driver to find out where he was. Something was cagey about their answer. “Is he on his way?” They once more offered to call the
driver. “It’s a yes or question, is he
on his way?” They finally admitted that
he was not, that they had never sent him.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? I told
them to send him and also ordered an Uber.
I would go with whichever came first.
The taxi came first, and we were soon at the airport. It was 5:20 AM, about an hour before my
flight. I went to check-in. They told me that my flight had been
cancelled. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? They had put me on a flight for February 10th. WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT?!?!?!? That was two days from now, not an
option. Eventually, they said they could
put me on an 11:10 AM flight to Newark with a standby option for the 7:55 AM
flight. That was not the best, but it
was better than being stuck here for two days.
I went outside to find a seat. I
found a nice bench, where I lit up an unlabeled Graycliff and proceeded to
write this entry, which I will now close so that I can start working
remotely. Andrew will get his 8 hours
one way or the other.
New York,
New York
Andrew got
his 8 hours, 9 of them actually. After I
closed, I got straight to work, heading to security as soon as I finished my
cigar. I worked a little more from the
gate. Fortunately, they were able to put
me on the 7:55 AM flight, which landed at Newark at 10:30 AM after an
unadventurous flight. It looked so familiar
again, though it had been so long since I landed at EWR on a domestic
flight. I picked up a roast beef
sandwich and headed outside, where I got a taxi. I ate the sandwich en route and got some more
work done, too. I got to the office at
11:30 AM, not bad considering everything.
I put in about 6 and a half hours at the office, stepping outside around
1:30 PM, even though I didn’t get any food.
At 6:15 PM, I headed to the cigar store, and that was that. I smoked my cigar and walked home with my
suitcase. I then sat in my chair, where
I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close, along with closing out
this trip. When I first saw my parents,
after 6 weeks, the longest we had ever gone without seeing each other, it felt
really weird. Now, it’ll be another 5
weeks before we see each other again. It’s
definitely unfamiliar. Next stop: Peru
to see the ruins of Machu Picchu.
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