Today marked the beginning of my first business trip. For such a momentous event, I thought that I might try to chronicle some of the interesting things that happen to me (those that I can share without having to kill whomever reads it).
The day began dark and early with the first of my 6 alarms (7 if you count my mom calling me) that I set going off at 4:00am. This was especially tough since I had a very busy Sunday hosting a Super Bowl party for my friends from church. This involved spending the afternoon cleaning, playing Rock Band before the game started, cooking hot dogs, watching a rather boring first half, playing more Rock Band during the halftime show, watching a boring third quarter, screaming at the TV for the last 5 minutes of the game, playing some more Rock Band after the game, and finally completing my packing. Just when I thought that I was ready to go to bed, I remembered that I still needed to clean up my kitchen (it's impossible for dinner guests to be completely clean). I finally hit the sheets at 12:30am. Three and a half hours later, I was up again.
The culprit behind my early bird schedule was my 6:23am flight that began my day of flying. We (me and two other guys from work) flew from Waco to D/FW, D/FW to Detroit, and finally Detroit to Portland, Maine. The last flight touched down at about 4:00pm EST. All three flights ran on time (if not early), and we had a leisurely hour-and-a-half layover at each stop. The only downside was the load that I was carrying. Wanting to have a good source of entertainment for my month stay in Maine, I had packed my Xbox 360, and I packed it in my carry-on baggage because I didn't have great faith that I would still have one when I got to Maine. I never realized how heavy all of the components were. In addition to my gaming console, I also had the laptop that I'm borrowing for the trip, which is pretty heavy and bulky, too. So much so that I couldn't get either of my carry-ons to fit on the little bitty Saab that we used to fly from Waco to D/FW. Fortunately, they have what they call a valet checking service (or something along those lines). I gave my bags to a guy as I boarded the plane, and then I got them back as I left the plane. It worked quite well. So much so that I went ahead and did the valet check on the last leg, carrying only the DVD player that I borrowed from my dad, and once again my bags were waiting for me outside the plane when we arrived in Portland.
Upon arriving at the Portland airport (which was a good bit bigger than Waco's eventhough Portland is smaller than Waco), we needed to take care of our rental car. Unfortunately, we has a breakdown in the lines of communication. I was under the impression that we were getting a car from Hertz in my name. I didn't find this out until we had made the hike to the Hertz counter with all of our luggage in tow, only to find out that our reservation had been cancelled. Feeling a bit confused, I called the lady at work who had made all of the travel arrangements. She said that we were getting an SUV from Enterprise in one of the other guy's name. When we asked where the Enterprise counter was, the Hertz lady said that we needed to go back to the terminal and use the airport phone to call them. So we hiked on back to the terminal. From here, everything went smoothly again. We found our hotel with no problem, and check-in was a breeze. As we loaded up in our GMC Envoy to drive to the back and unload, I got to experience one of the joys of Maine in the winter: Ice. I stepped off the curb, set my left foot down on the ground next to the door, and suddenly my butt and wrist decided to join it. I got tag-teamed by Ice and my arch-nemesis Gravity. The other two guys asked if I was alright, and then one joked about whether we needed to file an incident report. After a few hour, I think I'm going to be okay, that is until Ice and Gravity come knocking again.
It's interesting how the weather changes from one place to another in this great country of ours. When I left Waco at 6:23 this morning, the temperature was in the low 70's, as it was in Dallas, too. As we landed in Detroit, we couldn't help but notice the snow on the ground. Fortunately, we never had to taste the bitter cold except for the gap between the jet-way and the skin of the airplane. This was nice because I had all of my warm clothes packed in my luggage which was in the belly of the plane. The current temperature in Brunswick, ME is 27 degrees, and it feels every bit as cold.
Another interesting observation: I made a run to the local Walmart to pick up some groceries and munchies, and I was amazed at how deserted it was. It will be interesting to see if there is a pattern of public places being vacant before primetime TV starts.
That's probably enough for Day 1. I don't want to start off with too much and not be able to keep it up. I hope that all of you have a great February, and will you do me a favor? If you've read this far, please post up something in the comments section. I have a feeling that I'm going to have times where I feel very isolated in the far northeast corner of the US, and I would cherish greetings and salutations from my friends and family.
Doctory Moments
13 years ago
6 comments:
I've done the butt slide a few times myself on icy days in Maryland. If your co-workers laughed at you, know that their time is sure to come. Today's Waco weather was in the high 70's and quite humid. I think that I'd rather have the Maine weather. There's something wrong with having to turn the A/C on in February.
I looked up the food options there in Brunswick (the foodie in me was curious). It looks like there is a pretty good Italian restaurant there called "The Great Impasta", an assortment of your typical East Coast pubs and bistros and yes, a Mexican place called "Pedro O'Hara's". The Pedro menu made me laugh at the memories of what passed as Mexican food when I lived on the east coast. I'm sure that you'll get your lobster sometime while you're there but don't forget to enjoy the hundreds of ways that New Englanders can prepare Haddock.
You'll note just how early it gets dark up there. And just how everything shuts down in the evening, quite the opposite from down here.
@ Kevin Buck: There are also two Indian Cuisine places on the main drag, only about 2 blocks away from each other. I found that kinda odd.
I guess that there must be an Indian population there or that the college draws Indian students. I wonder if you can order tandori haddock:) There's usually a much greater diversity of ethnic foods on the east coast and you can get most any style food in the bigger cities. Portland may have even more to offer.
It's funny that you mentioned that Wally World was empty. I would assume that night life is kind of down when it is icy and the nights are long. Oh yeah, have you noticed that all of your favorite shows are an hour later?
Yeah, that's the down side of prime time TV there on the east coast is an hour later than here like what Kevin B. said.
With being used to as how popular Wally World is here in Texas, it's kinda weird hearing that it was deserted when you went. I guess that really shows how much the weather effects one's social activities. With that, also sounds like that you'll probably be playing your Xbox360 quite a bit if your coworkers don't want to hang out. Speaking of Xbox360, I think I'm getting closer to getting the last little bit to get my Xbox360. If I get it before you come back, I'll be sure to let you know so that we can play some games online.
sorry about the fall! since i live in north arkansas now, we are used to the ice and snow (even though it doesn't happen too much). The walmart here is always empty when it's raining and very cold...so I usually go then! :) I look forward to reading about your adventure. BTW i think your entertainment center looks great!
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