The joys of winter travel and other stories
I'm home. Sick. But home. It's been the longest three days I can ever remember. Sunday was uneventful. All flights were on time. I did have to change rooms at the hotel. They put me directly across from the TGIFriday's neon sign and a giant parking lot light. But the second room was great. The bed was comfy. All this was good because I didn't sleep Saturday night. At least not well. When I finally got up on Sunday I had clearly slept wrong because my right arm didn't want to function. The pain was intense. I couldn't lift it. I couldn't use it for driving. I couldn't even change radio stations. Sleeping Sunday was difficult because I couldn't find a comfortable position for my arm. But I managed.
Yesterday was the all day interview. I really liked everyone that I met. They were all bright, sharp, interesting people. I got a tour of Bloomington-Normal. State Farm is the biggest employer but there are a few universities. Illinois State, in particular, is responsible for 22,000 of the population. It's flat. I don't think I've been anywhere that flat before. I knew that I knew one of the people that I'd be talking to but it turned out that I knew two. I went to lunch with them. Mexican. It was decent. They have a ton of independent restaurants. I get back to the office and discover that my flight out of Bloomington has been canceled. I'd been rebooked. Today. I told them that wasn't acceptable.
The people at State Farm scrambled to try to get me out of there yesterday. I really appreciated the lengths that they took. I finish the interviews and they rush me to the airport. United told me that they could rebook me on the 2:54 flight that hadn't left yet. (It was 3:30 or something close.) It would be leaving shortly. Not. My original flight was supposed to leave at 6pm. Meanwhile, all flights are grounded. Weather in Chicago. I wasn't interested in spending the night at the airport and felt I would just stay overnight and come back today. Unfortunately, they couldn't get me out until Wednesday. I was even willing to go to Atlanta on Delta to get back to SLC. Meanwhile, the woman who had originally helped me told me that the flight would be leaving and I should get on it because even if my connecting flight was canceled or I missed it, there would be other flights to SLC today that I could get on.
Airline delays are the one thing that make me crazy. I realize it's entirely out of my control but I can't stand it. The flight did leave and I arrived at O'Hare with time to spare. My flight to Utah was about 30 minutes late between de-icing and taxiing down the runway. The flight was endless and I realized that I was getting sick. My glands were all swollen, I couldn't swallow. I've been fighting this for a while. It was the extra adrenaline push of airline delay that lowered my immune system. I really have to learn to be calmer with crap like this.
The flight attendants were hilarious. I really liked them. They agreed, the flight was endless. It was supposed to be a packed flight but it was half full. I think many people who were connecting to O'Hare who didn't make it. We had an interesting discussion on books, politics, child-rearing and the economy. They were also good about supplying water.
I got home around 11:30 and hit my bed almost immediately. Around 5 I called in sick. I have been completely non-functioning today. It's just a cold but the first day of a cold is miserable. I'm physically cold, tired, uncomfortable and agitated about the things I haven't done yet and which will clearly not get done today. I may wrap gifts. I've been drinking tea all day. I need to do some apple juice as well. But I haven't eaten anything substantial. I'm not interested. It's too hard. Yup, one of those days. My arm still hurts but now the pain is localized in my shoulder.
Book #6, The Prize by Brenda Joyce, is a true historical romance. By that I mean that the setting was like an additional character, not merely a backdrop. Virginia Hughes is desperate to save her family plantation. She's sure if she can get to England and speak with her uncle, the Earl of Eastleigh, that he will agree not to sell it. Devlin O'Neill's father was murdered by Eastleigh in front of the then 10 year old Devlin. He has made revenge his life's work. When he has the opportunity to take Virginia hostage he does so. He's attracted to her because she not like any woman of his acquaintance. But he isn't ready to give up revenge for love. It takes a near tragedy for Devlin's head to understand what his heart had been telling him. Virginia was brought up to be headstrong but not stupid. She's also not missish. Though a virgin initially, she doesn't let that stop her from enjoying sex. There were places that I would have cut but overall, I enjoyed the meatiness of the story. Also, for those who have been following the Cassie Edwards plagiarism case, contrary to her publisher's statement that fiction books don't attribute sources, Joyce's Author's Note doesn't name specific sources but she does talk about what historical figures her characters are based on as well as why she choose that moment in history. 3 stars.
Yesterday was the all day interview. I really liked everyone that I met. They were all bright, sharp, interesting people. I got a tour of Bloomington-Normal. State Farm is the biggest employer but there are a few universities. Illinois State, in particular, is responsible for 22,000 of the population. It's flat. I don't think I've been anywhere that flat before. I knew that I knew one of the people that I'd be talking to but it turned out that I knew two. I went to lunch with them. Mexican. It was decent. They have a ton of independent restaurants. I get back to the office and discover that my flight out of Bloomington has been canceled. I'd been rebooked. Today. I told them that wasn't acceptable.
The people at State Farm scrambled to try to get me out of there yesterday. I really appreciated the lengths that they took. I finish the interviews and they rush me to the airport. United told me that they could rebook me on the 2:54 flight that hadn't left yet. (It was 3:30 or something close.) It would be leaving shortly. Not. My original flight was supposed to leave at 6pm. Meanwhile, all flights are grounded. Weather in Chicago. I wasn't interested in spending the night at the airport and felt I would just stay overnight and come back today. Unfortunately, they couldn't get me out until Wednesday. I was even willing to go to Atlanta on Delta to get back to SLC. Meanwhile, the woman who had originally helped me told me that the flight would be leaving and I should get on it because even if my connecting flight was canceled or I missed it, there would be other flights to SLC today that I could get on.
Airline delays are the one thing that make me crazy. I realize it's entirely out of my control but I can't stand it. The flight did leave and I arrived at O'Hare with time to spare. My flight to Utah was about 30 minutes late between de-icing and taxiing down the runway. The flight was endless and I realized that I was getting sick. My glands were all swollen, I couldn't swallow. I've been fighting this for a while. It was the extra adrenaline push of airline delay that lowered my immune system. I really have to learn to be calmer with crap like this.
The flight attendants were hilarious. I really liked them. They agreed, the flight was endless. It was supposed to be a packed flight but it was half full. I think many people who were connecting to O'Hare who didn't make it. We had an interesting discussion on books, politics, child-rearing and the economy. They were also good about supplying water.
I got home around 11:30 and hit my bed almost immediately. Around 5 I called in sick. I have been completely non-functioning today. It's just a cold but the first day of a cold is miserable. I'm physically cold, tired, uncomfortable and agitated about the things I haven't done yet and which will clearly not get done today. I may wrap gifts. I've been drinking tea all day. I need to do some apple juice as well. But I haven't eaten anything substantial. I'm not interested. It's too hard. Yup, one of those days. My arm still hurts but now the pain is localized in my shoulder.
Book #6, The Prize by Brenda Joyce, is a true historical romance. By that I mean that the setting was like an additional character, not merely a backdrop. Virginia Hughes is desperate to save her family plantation. She's sure if she can get to England and speak with her uncle, the Earl of Eastleigh, that he will agree not to sell it. Devlin O'Neill's father was murdered by Eastleigh in front of the then 10 year old Devlin. He has made revenge his life's work. When he has the opportunity to take Virginia hostage he does so. He's attracted to her because she not like any woman of his acquaintance. But he isn't ready to give up revenge for love. It takes a near tragedy for Devlin's head to understand what his heart had been telling him. Virginia was brought up to be headstrong but not stupid. She's also not missish. Though a virgin initially, she doesn't let that stop her from enjoying sex. There were places that I would have cut but overall, I enjoyed the meatiness of the story. Also, for those who have been following the Cassie Edwards plagiarism case, contrary to her publisher's statement that fiction books don't attribute sources, Joyce's Author's Note doesn't name specific sources but she does talk about what historical figures her characters are based on as well as why she choose that moment in history. 3 stars.