Monday, April 23, 2007

Wednesday started early!

After my wonderful escapades in the bathroom during the late hours of the night and into the early morning, I awoke at an early 4:15am in order to ensure my readiness for my trip. It was really quite an honor being selected and I didn't want to blow it by looking unprofessional or anything.

My dad arrived promptly at 5:10, though unfortunately we did run into a bit of traffic on our way. We ended up about 5 minutes late to the Park and Ride where I met my former boss for our trip to the airport.

I realized quickly that I might have packed too much, certainly in comparison to what she'd packed. But this was my first trip for work.

On our way through security, my biggest fear was realized. The man who was checking ID indicated clearly that my ID was expired. "No, No, NO!" I said with fear laced in every letter of each syllable that I spoke. Terror raced through my blood and left me rather weak in the knees. R thought it was hilarious! But I was terrified. For REAL.

He said that if I had another form of ID it'd be okay. I showed him my Visa card and he let me through. That was it. All that fear for nothing! Whew~~

The woman in the line at security made a little fun of me when I asked if I needed to pull out my curling iron since it was metal and all. Apparently, that type of metal isn't important. Thank goodness I hadn't rigged up some illegal device in my curling iron!

We made onto the plane and I took my pain killers and found myself reading a book. Thank you, TGM for the suggestion. It was very engaging, in spite of my heavy eyes. Eventually the sleepy from the medicine took over and I succumbed to the need for sleep. As long as I wasn't trying to adjust myself in my seat, my pain wasn't too intolerable.

We arrived in Atlanta about 5 hours after take off. That's a really long time. I ended up sleeping a couple of times and reading about 3/4's of the book. Our layover wasn't too bad. It was about 2 hours and I hadn't eaten all day. It was a beautiful day in Atlanta. I'd never been there before. What a busy place!

We boarded this tiny (well, tiny to me) little turbo prop plane bound for...

Gainsville, Florida!!

It was raining when we got there and I didn't know an airport could be so small. The temperature wasn't much warmer than in the sun at home in Western Washington. It was a little more humid, but welcoming.

I know. It might not seem as exciting to others as it was to me. That's not only where national champion football and basketball teams from the University of Florida is located, it also houses the headquarters for the Research and Development departments for the primary software that I support at work. And! It's where my dear friend, Angela, lives. It was so much fun to be hijacked by her on Wednesday evening. She invited me to dinner with some of her other friends. People whom I've heard about, and even participated in conference calls with. It was SOOO much fun to meet them in real life.

Angela gets to come up and visit me fairly regularly, but this was the first time ever that I'd traveled for work. I was super excited to be able to spend time with her on my first work trip. She's hilarious and has an incredible way with words. Her perceptions are unique and engaging. I'm honored to consider her a friend.

R decided to go to bed early that night, so I was left to hang out with Angela and her friends. It was so wonderful! Sleep was short that night and for the next few nights as well, but the opportunity was a remarkable experience.

1 comment:

  1. I am glad you had a good trip! Finally I know about all your fun!!! Are feeling better? I hope so!!

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