Tuesday, July 03, 2007







I needed all this time to recover!
I actually typed something while trapped in the plane, waiting for the fate to clear the skies over NYC and DC, but in compliance with the safety regulations I turned off the laptop and must have thus lost all my text.
So, now you know we were trapped for an hour on the take-off line, or next to it. I got to see how the planes file up to access the take-off stretch - very exciting! and they just kept popping out of nowhere, bigger and bigger planes, turning around, slowly, then - vroom, gone!
I am totally off the subject, but that was the biggest highlight of the week beyond the conference - travel back, which was quite an adventure.
When we finally safely landed in NYC, it turned out the weather was too bad to fly back to Portland, and to many other places too, in fact. A lot of people got stranded - no one is picking the bill for accommodations - act of God.
For a moment, I thought it was fun, but then the fun quickly dwindled, and as I was waiting in line, it was gone completely - where would I go? It's raining and lightning, what would I do?
I decided to cash out and get a car, or take a bus. Another person in line was going to Portland, and he was determined to leave immediately, and drive home. Ok, I thought to myself, and spoke outloud.
We ended up renting a car, and driving through the night. It was brutal - those of you who know how much I drive can imagine the challenge. I only drove for a couple of hours, though, from Boston to Portland, and it's not that, it's just missing the sleep that was hard. My mind was fully awake but my eyes had a mind of their own it seemed, and couldn't care less. It was hard keeping them open, but the sun was nearly up, it was easier to see, and the road was familiar. We made it home!
The rest of the day was unpacking and sleeping, with a moment of vigilance.
Greyhound is not such a bad option after all!
Here come some of the pictures.