Pittsburgh, part II

3:35pm EST

You can apparently check out of Pittsburgh, but you can not leave. I arrived early to the airport hoping to change seats on my flight. I hate to be jammed in the middle seat (as most people do I'm sure.) The flight was so full there was no changing seats and the counter hostess (attendant) explained that they cancelled a flight earlier today and thus this flight was full.

I whined a little (internally) about being at the airport too early, but moved leisurely toward the security checkpoint. Pittsburgh is more Spokane than San Francisco in size - and not a terribly busy hub. I walked straight to the front of the security lines and breezed through. I have learned not to wear the sassy blue bra because it sets off the security alarms and results in unwanted touching from the TSA people.

In the terminal I had time to sit down for lunch without a care in the world as to time. Eventually I wandered over to the gate in time to hear my name being butchered by the gate keeper. My work travel profile jams my middle initial next to my first name and thus when read by anyone other than me it looks like it's pronounced Terryl as in Cheryl with a T - what mother would do that to her kid? Anyway - the gate keeper talked me into taking a later flight so some guy could get home to his sick kid. (WHATEVER) He tried to route me through New York and give me a $200 voucher but I asked for first class instead. I've had bad luck with redeeming vouchers, the last two vouchers I was given went unused because I don't fly enough (on my own dime) to make it worthwhile. However, the joy of first class from Pittland to Seattle sounds great! I'll be routed through Atlanta again - but it doesn't matter.

The bummer is that I'm STILL at the airport. They have free wi-fi (thank goodness for the firewall software on my laptop) but they haven't figured out that people need power. The only power I could find is in the gate areas, and while this is a laptop, I don't enjoy the crouching that comes with trying to work on my lap. So, here I sit eating up precious battery in order to sit at a table.

In the grand scheme of things -- none of this makes any difference. I am fully aware of the triteness of my problems. In fact, I'm pretty sure my life is an exercise in trite uselessness.

I know I'm not the only one, so there's no reason to despair. Life is all about finding the things that make you happy and last night the rain woke me up. I love the sound of rain especially when I am in my bed warm and cozy. This was an amazing rainstorm, heavy thick raindrops that sheeted against the windows. Lightening flashes filled the room periodically and it was really comforting.

I am somewhat blue about missing Alias tonight, but I'm sure that Television without Pity will have a complete review to keep me up to date.

Well -- I'm running low on battery and while I'm sure this is riveting I should sign off.

Hopefully I'll make it back to Seattle tonight. Until then - later.