Happy to be home
I had a last minute trip to Indy last week. When I was trying to book the trip, I found that all of the downtown preferred hotels were filled. I had to call our travel services and let them do the negotiations. They were able to get me in at the Omni hotel for the full week, which was perfectly fine.
The trip there was furstrating. The toothpaste container which I've traveled with for over 6 months was confiscated because the bottle said "4.2 oz" even though it was 1/2 filled and I've flown with it multiple times. Additionally, I can't find a travel size bottle of the conditioner that I use. I've been utilizing a bought bottle which has no logo on it. I've been flying with it for months. I was told that they probably should confiscate that because there was no logo on it but they'll allow me though this time. I have a post I'll post later about my feelings about this incident, but there is no consistency at all with TSA and they are there only to make people who don't fly feel safe. There is no consistency in the way they screen or what they will allow through the gate. They're basically there just for a paycheck and feel the need to cofiscate things so they can meet a quota every day to show they are doing their jobs.
As for Indy, when I got in late at night, I was told that my room was on the 13th floor. I got into the elevator and saw that there was no 13 button. It went from 12 to Penthouse. I got off at 12 and walked around seeing the low 1200 rooms. I saw the stairwell to 13th floor and took it up. The supposed 13th floor had the higher 1200 rooms. I didn't think my company would put me up in the penthouse suite, but I found the stairwell up to the next floor and saw how the hallways looked different (not as crowded as the other floors). I put in my key and lo and behold I was in a penthouse suite. What this meant was that there was more room in my room and I had a huge balcony which overlooked downtown Indianapolis. I went down stairs to get some toothpaste and talked to the front counter. They confirmed they had to put me in the penthouse because they were booked for the rest of the week with the NFL draft going on.
Work was really difficult this week. I found out that yet again, I was assigned to a compound which was suppose to be a "slow development compound" and within 6 months it was boosted up into the top ten of the portfolio. What this means is that our timelines are going to get crunched with trying to get our clinical trials started as quickly as possible. We had 2 additional trials dropped into the clinical plan which they are hoping to do before the end of the year. To top this off, I was told that I had to develop training for this Six Sigma project which we just finished and roll all the training out worldwide. I have a month to do this in. I'm not sure yet where I'm going to get all the time to do this in.
Seeing my friends was great this time around as well. I saw Powerstar on Sunday. We cleaned out his car, went out shopping at Babies R Us and took in "Spiderwick" at the AMC on the Southside. We tried to go to McNivins downtown for dinner, only to be reminded that they were closed Sundays. It was a comedy of errors trying to get there, and so we ended up going to Baxbeaus Pizza across the street prior to him dropping me off @ the Omni for the night. Monday I met Jackshot and Dragon and her 2 lil ones (although they're not so lil' anymore) at the Spagetti Factory. It's been years since I've been there, but it will always have a special place in my heart because that was where Bear proposed to me. It had been months since I've seen Jackshot and Dragon and it was good talking to them about their future careers and plasn. I so hope that they get what they are setting out for. Tuesday was a blast when I met Katmandu, Powerstar and Per at Stir Crazy in Greenwood. We chatted about old times, about recent events, and about future plans. It felt very comfortable sitting with the three talking. Kat made the comment that she's seen me more since I've left than when we were in Indy. However, she also realized that she wanted to spend as much time as she could with myself (and Bear when he comes up) for we don't know what the future holds or when I may stop coming up to Indy. She's so incredibly correct on this point and it's one of the reason I so cherish the time I can spend with my friends there now and let them know that I love them. As for Wednesday, I met Hotshot, Annonymous, and Lil' Shot at Circle Center Mall. We went to PF Changs (I kept calling it by it's "fast food" restaurant off-spin Pei Wei, when talking w/Hotshot...He thought I was crazy since I don't believe there are any Pei Wei's in Indy yet and he knew I was talking about PF Changs). Anyway, we had a good time talking there. We then went upstairs and Annonymous and I found out what our sleep number was on the sleep number beds (the associate was bored and we were just having fun). I'm a 40. :D We walked over to my hotel afterwards and I showed them the view from the balcony. Had it only been warmer, we would have stayed outside and talked, however we finished our conversation in my room. Thursday came quickly and I was suppose to meet ChuckE and JadeEyes at Bucca's on the North side. This was a day from hell at work, and I didn't get out of the parking garage until 5:00 pm (I was hoping to leave by 4:00 since I was in the building at 6:30 in the morning). The weather was horrible (sleet and snow) and it took me 45 minutes to get to the north side. They had finished eating by the time I was there, however we had a quick conversation, I downed some Manicotti, and we ate Bucca's version of gelloto. I gave them the presents we bought at Babies R Us. I heard that the diperbag's baby changing station was attached and that wasn't always beneficial. I heard that she had a sh*tload of stuffed animals already from Raechal and she didn't need any others. I heard that the hat and shoes we bought were too big and she was going to have to exchange them. She didn't have any comment on the summer outfit we bought. I know that all of these complaints meant thank you though for thinking about them. As for Friday, I came on home.
The trip home was insane. I got to the airport in time, but all the boards indicated that you had to talk to an agent about the flight times. I talked to one and she said that all the boards were wrong, that everything was on time. I got to the gate after working for 9 hours straight, and was tired and hugary. I grabbed a sandwich from the Subway and swallowed it practically whole. The airplane came in on time, however the weather got worse while we were loading. We pushed off from the gate and sat on the runway for an hour waiting for the de-icer. Once de-iced, it took us another 20 minutes to taxi (they sent us to the runway thta was furthest from the airport). We climbed at probably one of the steepest angles I've ever climbed trying to get above the cloud ceiling. We finally leveled out and it was the normal 2 hour flight home. It felt *so* good to be back in Bear's arms again when I finally did get back. I'm really happy to be home, however I do have to admit that I really miss my friends as well...
The trip there was furstrating. The toothpaste container which I've traveled with for over 6 months was confiscated because the bottle said "4.2 oz" even though it was 1/2 filled and I've flown with it multiple times. Additionally, I can't find a travel size bottle of the conditioner that I use. I've been utilizing a bought bottle which has no logo on it. I've been flying with it for months. I was told that they probably should confiscate that because there was no logo on it but they'll allow me though this time. I have a post I'll post later about my feelings about this incident, but there is no consistency at all with TSA and they are there only to make people who don't fly feel safe. There is no consistency in the way they screen or what they will allow through the gate. They're basically there just for a paycheck and feel the need to cofiscate things so they can meet a quota every day to show they are doing their jobs.
As for Indy, when I got in late at night, I was told that my room was on the 13th floor. I got into the elevator and saw that there was no 13 button. It went from 12 to Penthouse. I got off at 12 and walked around seeing the low 1200 rooms. I saw the stairwell to 13th floor and took it up. The supposed 13th floor had the higher 1200 rooms. I didn't think my company would put me up in the penthouse suite, but I found the stairwell up to the next floor and saw how the hallways looked different (not as crowded as the other floors). I put in my key and lo and behold I was in a penthouse suite. What this meant was that there was more room in my room and I had a huge balcony which overlooked downtown Indianapolis. I went down stairs to get some toothpaste and talked to the front counter. They confirmed they had to put me in the penthouse because they were booked for the rest of the week with the NFL draft going on.
Work was really difficult this week. I found out that yet again, I was assigned to a compound which was suppose to be a "slow development compound" and within 6 months it was boosted up into the top ten of the portfolio. What this means is that our timelines are going to get crunched with trying to get our clinical trials started as quickly as possible. We had 2 additional trials dropped into the clinical plan which they are hoping to do before the end of the year. To top this off, I was told that I had to develop training for this Six Sigma project which we just finished and roll all the training out worldwide. I have a month to do this in. I'm not sure yet where I'm going to get all the time to do this in.
Seeing my friends was great this time around as well. I saw Powerstar on Sunday. We cleaned out his car, went out shopping at Babies R Us and took in "Spiderwick" at the AMC on the Southside. We tried to go to McNivins downtown for dinner, only to be reminded that they were closed Sundays. It was a comedy of errors trying to get there, and so we ended up going to Baxbeaus Pizza across the street prior to him dropping me off @ the Omni for the night. Monday I met Jackshot and Dragon and her 2 lil ones (although they're not so lil' anymore) at the Spagetti Factory. It's been years since I've been there, but it will always have a special place in my heart because that was where Bear proposed to me. It had been months since I've seen Jackshot and Dragon and it was good talking to them about their future careers and plasn. I so hope that they get what they are setting out for. Tuesday was a blast when I met Katmandu, Powerstar and Per at Stir Crazy in Greenwood. We chatted about old times, about recent events, and about future plans. It felt very comfortable sitting with the three talking. Kat made the comment that she's seen me more since I've left than when we were in Indy. However, she also realized that she wanted to spend as much time as she could with myself (and Bear when he comes up) for we don't know what the future holds or when I may stop coming up to Indy. She's so incredibly correct on this point and it's one of the reason I so cherish the time I can spend with my friends there now and let them know that I love them. As for Wednesday, I met Hotshot, Annonymous, and Lil' Shot at Circle Center Mall. We went to PF Changs (I kept calling it by it's "fast food" restaurant off-spin Pei Wei, when talking w/Hotshot...He thought I was crazy since I don't believe there are any Pei Wei's in Indy yet and he knew I was talking about PF Changs). Anyway, we had a good time talking there. We then went upstairs and Annonymous and I found out what our sleep number was on the sleep number beds (the associate was bored and we were just having fun). I'm a 40. :D We walked over to my hotel afterwards and I showed them the view from the balcony. Had it only been warmer, we would have stayed outside and talked, however we finished our conversation in my room. Thursday came quickly and I was suppose to meet ChuckE and JadeEyes at Bucca's on the North side. This was a day from hell at work, and I didn't get out of the parking garage until 5:00 pm (I was hoping to leave by 4:00 since I was in the building at 6:30 in the morning). The weather was horrible (sleet and snow) and it took me 45 minutes to get to the north side. They had finished eating by the time I was there, however we had a quick conversation, I downed some Manicotti, and we ate Bucca's version of gelloto. I gave them the presents we bought at Babies R Us. I heard that the diperbag's baby changing station was attached and that wasn't always beneficial. I heard that she had a sh*tload of stuffed animals already from Raechal and she didn't need any others. I heard that the hat and shoes we bought were too big and she was going to have to exchange them. She didn't have any comment on the summer outfit we bought. I know that all of these complaints meant thank you though for thinking about them. As for Friday, I came on home.
The trip home was insane. I got to the airport in time, but all the boards indicated that you had to talk to an agent about the flight times. I talked to one and she said that all the boards were wrong, that everything was on time. I got to the gate after working for 9 hours straight, and was tired and hugary. I grabbed a sandwich from the Subway and swallowed it practically whole. The airplane came in on time, however the weather got worse while we were loading. We pushed off from the gate and sat on the runway for an hour waiting for the de-icer. Once de-iced, it took us another 20 minutes to taxi (they sent us to the runway thta was furthest from the airport). We climbed at probably one of the steepest angles I've ever climbed trying to get above the cloud ceiling. We finally leveled out and it was the normal 2 hour flight home. It felt *so* good to be back in Bear's arms again when I finally did get back. I'm really happy to be home, however I do have to admit that I really miss my friends as well...