Vacation Part IV: Collage

As much as I hate flying, my flights this trip were excellent: not just on-time departures, but across the board early arrivals. I was actually seated in the aisle seats I reserved, although on the last leg, I should have given my seat up to the mom and her son separated from her 2 daughters, who were seated next to me behind her. However, I took a quick look, decided she had her hands full with the youngest son, and got the girls seated, buckled in, and ready for take-off. I did reprimand them a couple of times, gently and quietly, when they infringed on my space and kicked the backs of the seats in front of them, as well as the mini-fight they had halfway through the flight (sisters, ya know?). I helped them with their free drink and snack Mom provided, and they finally wound down and slept for the last hour plus. That time, I didn't mind them infringing on my space as it was quiet and they were so cute.

I am going to pitch a bitch: I had to pay $15 both ways for my very small suitcase to be transported with me, which I would not have minded had EVERYONE been treated equally. I was told that my suitcase was "oversized," which is NOT a fact as it fit into the wire rack, but the gate attendant thought that it was a snug fit that could cause problems once I was on-board as bags cannot be placed parallel to the aisle, but have to fit perpendicular, wheels toward the aisle (which my suitcase does). No, I didn't read that on the list of rules, but my bag was gone and I was paying the penalty in cold, hard cash.

Once I was seated, I watched an endless stream of travelers come on-board with very large suitcases that took up an entire overhead bin lengthwise, not wheels toward the aisle as I was told, as well as "under seat" pieces that had to be stored overhead as they, too, were too large to fit under the seat in front of them. Is an exception made if the person appears to be on a business trip, as that appeared at first glance the reason so much carry-on was allowed for certain travelers. If the rule states what is allowed and any traveler exceeds that standard, the bag should be checked and paid for by the traveler, not winked at because the person is a frequent business flyer. The flights were so incredibly full that overhead bins were filled by the first 2/3 of the passengers, which totally angered those in the aisles with bags they intended to carry on, but now had to check. However, once they got the bags on-board, they did NOT have to pay the $15 fee to check them, which appears to be yet another loophole in the who has to pay standard!!!!!

Again, I don't argue with fair, but I was tagged for $30 extra for service that I did not need, while others didn't have to pay for service for which they should have been charged. If there's going to be a rule, enforce it or forget it: it should not be first on-board get a free pass to stuff the overhead bins with their luggage, while the rest of the travelers get the hassel.

Whatever. I found my suitcase at the baggage claim, located my car in the parking lot, and picked up Mia, who was glad to see me, but had to first find the big chunk of chewy bone she intended to steal from Thor, who didn't seem particularly upset at her theft. I'm going to take care of Thor next weekend so his parents can go to Vegas for a birthday celebration. Mia patroled the property last night, then flopped onto her ratty green shag rug and blue pillow on the floor by my bed, exhausted. Several times during the night she touched my hand with her tongue, but that was just to see if I was still here. She does much better with her separation anxiety since I've been away a few times, but returned home, so that's a relief. I had crashed about 9:30 as I was tired after 2 weeks of having intense fun and being on the road for a full 12 hours to return home. Once my internal clock resets, I'll be fine, but that's going to take a couple of days.

About the garage: oh, wow (I'll take photos when my camera is delivered: ironically, I mailed some things that wouldn't fit into my suitcase). There are still boxes (I didn't want to just toss out everything), but there are shelves to hold them. Above the washer/dryer, B put the wire shelves, which are wide enough to hold the products that I usually store above that area. I have a new mini-workbench, with both my pegboard above it and shelves next to it, rather than the old tossed out cabinet I rescued off the street and used for doing projects. The big plastic shelving my son gave me is in a unique corner just right for it (I actually assembled the shelves and put it there several months ago, when I was going to do the project myself), but now it's organized and useful. I still have my school files, but a few boxes, not 30+ years of files. There are boxes with pots/pans, as well as photos, etc., but now I know what's in them and will go through them one at a time. And, I can park the car with room to spare on all sides of it! And I have a working light over the washer. And a hose hanger. And ... deep gratitude for a project done that was well past the time of doing.

Today, it's off to the post office to pick up the held mail, write bills, buy groceries, and decompress. I'm going to work on updating my syllabi for the fall classes, but that's a fun job, as well as necessary, because I look forward to returning to the classroom when it's a couple of classes, rather than a full schedule. I have a few handwork projects I'm working on and will catch up on missed TV shows while I do so.

Vacation has ended, but there are still a couple of trips pending, so I can ease back into the old and familiar and savor what's left of the summer.