1) Oh the humanity--Group Riding
I ride with Critracer and SMCC on Saturdays when I am in Maine which thankfully will be full time. Saturday was my first group ride of the year and I had about 150 miles on the bike prior to this. I knew this wasn't enough of a base but apparently I like getting my ass handed to me.
This is the ride where I am the fat guy doing a fairly good imitation of a cyclist until the group decides to climb.
This is how these rides generally go: work my way to the front on the flats fall to the back going up hill and then coast by everyone downhill knowing there must be another hill to climb soon.
It was a small group as we headed out Commercial Street towards the bridge to South Portland. I felt ok and caught a break in traffic as we took the left off of Broadway up the hill towards Highland Ave. Yup I was in the front when the hill started and at the back when it ended.
Cruising down Highland I quickly realized that this was a disorganized ride and although I worked hard to move up I kept getting yo yo'ed by stronger riders who didn't seem to care the draft was my friend and frankly my only hope.
I hung in there though and when we turned onto Blackpoint I was doing pretty well. As we headed toward the hill to the fire station I realized that Blackpoint might be my Blackout or my Pukeout. I was at the back so I coasted down Blackpoint and pulled over and puked. Perhaps I was working too hard? Hmmm let me think here...heart beating out of chest, stars in eyes, puke on ground. Yup working just a tad too hard.
The ride back was fairly uneventful as I took off early assuming the pack would drag me back but according to Critracer they were still very disorganized and my 10 minute head start was enough to keep me out front so I decided to stop at Key Bank and wait so I could once again get my ass handed to me on Shore Road. Good times.
Footnote:
Another example of karma or this simply physics? I am currently riding at about 215 and the lightest I have ever been with this group is 195. The average weight of the guys in the group is around 150 pounds. Most of these guy can shop in the junior miss section or as Critracer says they wear extra-medium. Trust me, these guys are built more like figure skaters than football players. Gravity is like karma....it is ultimately fair so I use it to my advantage when I can which is only descending
I also walked 18 holes that afternoon which was great until about the 14th hole.
2) Towing the homeys
I did a hilly 33 miles with Slim and BF on Sunday. This was a fairly relaxed ride for me. I am the stronger road cyclist and actually pulled them basically the entire way. I can even ride these guys off my wheel and I don't fall to the back of the pack when we go up hill. That is a nice change for me. Admittedly I cycle on the road more than Slim and BF plus Slim would kick my ass mountain biking but still. I enjoy these rides and we have a good time without killing our legs.
Plus it is always fun to see BF slip all over the place on his nose-less seat. You would have to see it to believe it. The seat was mandated by LF after a "package" issue last year. I will spare you the details as I don't want you to go numb like he did. We all suspect that his issue arose (or didn't as the case may be) from not riding at all and then being on the saddle for 3.5 hours but whatever the cause his new seat is a great sense of humor for us.
Slim could be a lot stronger on the road (as you might suspect from the name he is built for cycling) but with 2 kids and an entire night dedicated to mountain biking it is tough for him to get out and do more than 1 or 2 rides every couple of weeks or months. (Read Slims view of our ride) He hung tough on this ride as he was fighting a hell of head cold and actually pulled once, which is once more than BF.
BF on the other hand has plenty of time on his hands and he is trying to get stronger on the bike. I will give him credit for actually training for our 62 mile charity ride this year. He has rode about 110 miles in the past couple of weeks which is usually his yearly total. His bike is too small for him and we can not convince him to spend $2k on a new bike other than that he needs to suck it up and ride harder! The other benefit to riding with BF besides humor is at 6' 6" and weighing 230 pounds he is one of the only people I can draft off going downhill.
So those are my 2 types of riding. One is really F'ing hard which makes the other one much easier.
I will say this, without the Critracer rides the rides with Slim and BF probably wouldn't seem so easy.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Karma
Quick history--last June:
When my wife and I moved to Miami I worked for a large tech firm in New England. We will call it company X. They relocated me to Miami and I worked for them for a year from Miami. (My total time with X was about 3 years.) Due to a circuitous reporting structure I reported to the parent company in Canada and they laid me off last June. I didn't blame the local management and understood the issues so I left professionally without burning bridges.
Present time:
My wife and I are moving back to New England and Company X got wind of this and reached out to me to offer me a job! They are now a regional company again with very limited reporting back to Canada and the team I was working with is still largely in place.
I have been very happy with my current employer and feel a lot of loyalty to the family that owns the company but sometimes you have to go with your gut...oh and the hefty raise didn't hurt.
Karma...Company X made a point to let me know that the reason I was getting the offer was due to my professionalism when I left and my open communications with Company X since my departure.
Who knew....what goes around does actually come around.
So back to the application development world which I have missed and apparently back to Portland a place I have missed and love.
This changes my wife's search area quite significantly but she has some good leads.
When my wife and I moved to Miami I worked for a large tech firm in New England. We will call it company X. They relocated me to Miami and I worked for them for a year from Miami. (My total time with X was about 3 years.) Due to a circuitous reporting structure I reported to the parent company in Canada and they laid me off last June. I didn't blame the local management and understood the issues so I left professionally without burning bridges.
Present time:
My wife and I are moving back to New England and Company X got wind of this and reached out to me to offer me a job! They are now a regional company again with very limited reporting back to Canada and the team I was working with is still largely in place.
I have been very happy with my current employer and feel a lot of loyalty to the family that owns the company but sometimes you have to go with your gut...oh and the hefty raise didn't hurt.
Karma...Company X made a point to let me know that the reason I was getting the offer was due to my professionalism when I left and my open communications with Company X since my departure.
Who knew....what goes around does actually come around.
So back to the application development world which I have missed and apparently back to Portland a place I have missed and love.
This changes my wife's search area quite significantly but she has some good leads.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Beer Reviews--Chicago trip
I have decided to start a new section to my blog. In my travels I get to try quite a few micro-breweries so I am going to start giving my non-flowery straight forward reviews. I will be using a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.
Ram Brewery in Chicago
I went here twice and overall felt it was good beer at good prices with frosty cold mugs. The food was also excellent and great TV's for watching sports.
Beers tasted:
Big Red IPA--I wouldn't get this beer again. Not that it was terrible but I think it was trying to be too many things. Is it a Red? Is it an IPA? It failed as either and as a combination.
Overall: 4
71 Pale Ale--nice pale ale especially with dinner (steak salad). It wasn't too hoppy so it didn't over power the food but was hoppy enough to drink on its own. Nice little spicy finish as well. This would be good with a mild cigar as well.
Overall 7
Total Disorder Porter--This was a solid porter and a nice sipping beer. Good flavor and weight. Reminded me a little of Gritty's brown but it was heavier.
Overall 6
Buttface Amber Ale--I am pretty sure I ordered this just say I could say Buttface to the waitress and not get slapped. I was also full from dinner so a lighter beer was in order. Not bad for an Amber which usually are not my favorite. I would order it again though if I was full or planned on having 4 or 5 beers after dinner.
Overall 6
Conference Wine and Cheese Hour
Goose Island Honker's Ale--They describe this as a drinkable bitter ale. I can tell you it tasted more like a Coors Light that was transformed to a bitter. Light, not much flavor and not well balanced but there was the unpleasant after taste.
Overall 3
Ram Brewery in Chicago
I went here twice and overall felt it was good beer at good prices with frosty cold mugs. The food was also excellent and great TV's for watching sports.
Beers tasted:
Big Red IPA--I wouldn't get this beer again. Not that it was terrible but I think it was trying to be too many things. Is it a Red? Is it an IPA? It failed as either and as a combination.
Overall: 4
71 Pale Ale--nice pale ale especially with dinner (steak salad). It wasn't too hoppy so it didn't over power the food but was hoppy enough to drink on its own. Nice little spicy finish as well. This would be good with a mild cigar as well.
Overall 7
Total Disorder Porter--This was a solid porter and a nice sipping beer. Good flavor and weight. Reminded me a little of Gritty's brown but it was heavier.
Overall 6
Buttface Amber Ale--I am pretty sure I ordered this just say I could say Buttface to the waitress and not get slapped. I was also full from dinner so a lighter beer was in order. Not bad for an Amber which usually are not my favorite. I would order it again though if I was full or planned on having 4 or 5 beers after dinner.
Overall 6
Conference Wine and Cheese Hour
Goose Island Honker's Ale--They describe this as a drinkable bitter ale. I can tell you it tasted more like a Coors Light that was transformed to a bitter. Light, not much flavor and not well balanced but there was the unpleasant after taste.
Overall 3
Miami to Maine Solo
So my wife and I are moving back to New England as soon as her commitment to FIU is complete or sooner if the the lack of air conditioning and overall oppressiveness of Miami gets to her before then. Only 18 more days sweety! Hang in there.
Luckily I had a conference in Orlando last week so I took the occasion to transport the Jordanoff Family Jet (aka the 2005 G35x) to New Hampshire. The company will reimburse the first 460 miles of the 1,500 mile trip so why not just keep going once I hit Orlando.
With my Klein on the roof, clubs in the trunk and clothes everywhere, I did the solo drive for the last time. It was fairly uneventful except for the a 1.5 hour detour/delay on 78 in Pennsylvania. Total time in the car from Miami was 25 hours (60 mph average) and 20 mpg. Not bad with a full car and a bike on the roof. Lots of traffic in DC but when isn't there.
I have now been in New Hampshire at BF and LF's house and already feel 1000 times better. I have even rode 46 miles in the past 2 days. It feels good to be active.
Pretty soon we will take the Jordanoff Family Helicopter (2006 Mini Cooper S) on the ride and then we will be done with Miami forever! That will also be the last M2M Mini game.
Luckily I had a conference in Orlando last week so I took the occasion to transport the Jordanoff Family Jet (aka the 2005 G35x) to New Hampshire. The company will reimburse the first 460 miles of the 1,500 mile trip so why not just keep going once I hit Orlando.
With my Klein on the roof, clubs in the trunk and clothes everywhere, I did the solo drive for the last time. It was fairly uneventful except for the a 1.5 hour detour/delay on 78 in Pennsylvania. Total time in the car from Miami was 25 hours (60 mph average) and 20 mpg. Not bad with a full car and a bike on the roof. Lots of traffic in DC but when isn't there.
I have now been in New Hampshire at BF and LF's house and already feel 1000 times better. I have even rode 46 miles in the past 2 days. It feels good to be active.
Pretty soon we will take the Jordanoff Family Helicopter (2006 Mini Cooper S) on the ride and then we will be done with Miami forever! That will also be the last M2M Mini game.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Top 10 Excuses for not Cycling in Miami
I live in a climate where I could ride year round, yet today was my first ride in Miami since July. I do have numerous excuses, don't I always.
Here are the top 10
And of course
10. BEER BEER BEER--I am drinking a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale as I write this.
Today I fought through those excuses and drove the 12 miles south to Key Biscayne and paid the toll to park on the causeway. I would feel very guilty complaining it was hot as Critracer had just finished a Time Trial in 45 degree rainy weather and was fighting hypothermia when I spoke with him just before my ride. Of course he is almost as slim as Slim so some of that is lack of insulation.
I got in a solid 22 miles and even got in some bridge work (in Miami those are the only hills). Went out way too fast but still averaged about 18 for the ride.
84 degrees, sunny, a nice breeze and plenty of sights to behold.
BF and Slim I hope you are ready for my reintroduction to New England, we are riding 30 miles on Sunday and need to average 18. See you both in a week.
Trying to fight off the body built by sales!
Here are the top 10
- Too hot
- Too humid (it cools down at night but the humidity goes way up)
- Worried about getting run over--this is legit as numerous people get run over cycling in Miami including my doctor who got rear ended and knocked off his bike on his first ride in Miami
- Riding alone is no fun
- Don't want to drive 12 miles to start my ride
- I own a 61" HD TV and a DVR and a Playstation 3
- My wife is 10 years younger than me and hot
- I am in shape, assuming round is still a shape
- My bike has no motor
And of course
10. BEER BEER BEER--I am drinking a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale as I write this.
Today I fought through those excuses and drove the 12 miles south to Key Biscayne and paid the toll to park on the causeway. I would feel very guilty complaining it was hot as Critracer had just finished a Time Trial in 45 degree rainy weather and was fighting hypothermia when I spoke with him just before my ride. Of course he is almost as slim as Slim so some of that is lack of insulation.
I got in a solid 22 miles and even got in some bridge work (in Miami those are the only hills). Went out way too fast but still averaged about 18 for the ride.
84 degrees, sunny, a nice breeze and plenty of sights to behold.
BF and Slim I hope you are ready for my reintroduction to New England, we are riding 30 miles on Sunday and need to average 18. See you both in a week.
Trying to fight off the body built by sales!
United we stand, US Airways we fall--ABRIDGED
From the very few readers I have I was told my last post was way too long. Here is the abridged version.
Going to Chicago for a conference: Lost my luggage, got it back the next day but only after I had to wear the same clothes as I had no time to buy new ones before the conference started. If you can you should buy new clothes as United will reimburse you. $50 in vouchers to United...would have loved a new suit to go along with that.
Going back to Miami: 315,000 steps walking around the airport, 8 blisters, shin splints, serious signs of dehydration, 1 hour on the phone with various airlines, 5 different gate agents dealt with, 5 beers, lunch, 8 hours in the airport and a thorough knowledge of the layout of Ohare. I believe at one point I had seats held on 5 different flights.
Amazingly my luggage arrived in Miami well before I did. Of course it was on the other end of the airport from where I came in but at least it was there.
Travel, sometimes it is some much fun!
Going to Chicago for a conference: Lost my luggage, got it back the next day but only after I had to wear the same clothes as I had no time to buy new ones before the conference started. If you can you should buy new clothes as United will reimburse you. $50 in vouchers to United...would have loved a new suit to go along with that.
Going back to Miami: 315,000 steps walking around the airport, 8 blisters, shin splints, serious signs of dehydration, 1 hour on the phone with various airlines, 5 different gate agents dealt with, 5 beers, lunch, 8 hours in the airport and a thorough knowledge of the layout of Ohare. I believe at one point I had seats held on 5 different flights.
Amazingly my luggage arrived in Miami well before I did. Of course it was on the other end of the airport from where I came in but at least it was there.
Travel, sometimes it is some much fun!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
United we stand, US Airways we fall
I want to place one caveat in front of this post to ensure I do not anger the travel gods. I travel a lot and fortunately with how much I fly I actually don't have that many issues regarding delays and baggage. There that should appease the travel gods.
I do have numerous stories of the random travelers I encounter; the 2 anxiety pills popping sleeping on my shoulder flatulent guy on the way to Vegas whose North Shore (pretty sure she was from Revere) sister insists on telling me her life story including the fact she is going to Vegas for a funeral, the 10 year old kid who thinks kicking my seat is funny, the old lady who while in the longest security line keeps saying move your bones whenever there was a 3 foot gap in front of me. We all run into the "rookie" travelers though so I try look at this as part of the deal.
This is rather long post as it is pretty hard to describe all that happened succinctly.
I was heading from Miami to Chicago for a conference. The best price I could find sent me through Charlotte on US Airways from MIA to CLT and on United to Ohare. I do try to be frugal with my companies money. That might stop after this trip.
Tuesday MIA to CLT (that is short for Charlotte not a female body part): We leave 25 minutes late due to a wind shift shortly before take off. What would happen if we had already started our takeoff and the wind shifted?
We land in CLT and I sprint from the US Airways terminal to the United terminal.
CLT to ORD: Board the flight and realize that they are waiting for another US Airways flight with a bunch of people connecting. Sweet my luggage will be safe. They have 30 minutes. What could possibly go wrong.
ORD: The people who boarded after me all got their luggage but mine didn't arrive. Something about US Airways to United was mentioned and that no one was sure where my luggage was but most likely it was still in CLT. The United luggage agent was very friendly and told me to go buy new clothes for tomorrow and United would reimburse me. Only one SMALL problem with that. It was almost 10PM and the conference started at 7:00 AM the following morning.
I was told my boss to use a suburban taxi or car service as they are flat rates. I knew the hotel was a little ways from the airport but at one point I text messaged Critracer that I was either being brought into the woods to be killed by my Serbian cabbie (could not understand a word he was saying) or my conference was in Milwaukee. He did offer to call 911 which was nice.
For day one of the conference I wore the same exact clothes I wore the day before. Yup all of them. A gentle reminder Miami is hot this time of year and I had been all over the place in the same exact outfit I was wearing. ARRRFFF I think I am just going to throw the underwear away.
My luggage did arrive at 2PM the next day at the hotel and I eventually got to shower and change and best of all put on clean underwear. I only got $50 in vouchers to United but the Indian customer service rep was nice enough to admit that if I had been able to get new clothes with time stamped receipts I would have been reimbursed for those purchases plus the $50 credit. Note to all: If you lose your luggage claim that your most important meeting of the year is the next day and you can to attend without a new suit. A $1000 suit of course. I should have skipped the opening of the conference but I am sure my boss would have been a tad peeved when standing at the booth alone with 150 people asking to have their Passports stamped. (This is a phenomenon you must see.)
Friday ORD to CLT or BIA or FLL or MIA: My flight to CLT is at 1:50 and I get to the airport at 11:30. The Serbian cabbie mumbles something about weather but I forgot to bring my handy Serbian to English dictionary so that didn't help. Checking in I see my flight is delayed 25 minutes. No worries. Go through security and check the board and I now see that my flight is delayed until 3:10. This could be troublesome. I call US Airways and they find me a later flight from CLT to MIA on American Eagle. Still relaxed so I walk from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 to have lunch with my boss who is delayed as well. This is where the fun starts:
I started on the right hand side of Terminal 1 (blue), AA is in the 3rd prong of 3 (green), the first United gate I went to is at the end of the left hand prong of 2 and US Airways is at the end of the right hand prong. You can not go directly across without going through security again.
THERE ARE NO PEOPLE MOVERS
Terminal 1 to 2 to 3: Pedometer reading 60,000 steps
I notice a flight leaving for Charlotte in 25 minutes so I go looking for a United rep in case I can go standby. Bypassing the line of 100 people waiting to talk with the Customer Service desk I make my way to the gate where the flight is leaving and chat with the gate agent. This of course is 1/2 a mile into terminal 2. There is nothing they can do for me and I am better off waiting for my initial flight. Walk all the way out into Terminal 3 in search of my boss for lunch.
Terminal 3 to 1: Pedometer reading 100,000 steps plus burned off the beer from lunch.
Head towards the gate and find out my flight is delayed until 4:22. No way to make my connection now. I call US Airways on my cell and they inform me the plane that is supposed to take me to CLT has not left Houston. As a side note she did inform me that all the other United flights going to CLT were fine, but of course booked. Helpul, very helpful. 15 minutes later she decides my best bet would be an American Airlines flight direct to MIA. Sweet and the flight is going to leave around 5:30 Central so I should be in MIA by 9:30 Eastern. The lady on the phone said all that was left to do was walk to a US Airways gate and chat with an agent and they will be able to print my ticket to AA for me.
Terminal 1 to 2: Pedometer reading: 125,000 steps. 3 blisters and definitely worked off the beer and the burger.
I ask an airport employee where US Airways is and they say terminal 2. Alright head back there and once again all the way into terminal 2 to find the ONE US Airways gate in all of Ohare. They tell me they can not do anything until United removes me as being checked in to their flight.Can 2 people from the same company get their stories straight? 25 minutes of phone time with United and I get this accomplished. He did try to tell me that because I booked the flight through US Airways, that US Airways needed to remove me. I fought through this and he got me removed. Back to the US Airways gate, the guy punches in some numbers and says I am all set but I will have to go to an AA gate to get my pass printed out.
Terminal 2 to 3: 175,000 steps, 2 more blisters for a total of 5 and dehydration is setting in. Rather upset I wore dress shoes instead of sneakers.
I go to gate 15 where my flight leaves from and they say I have to wait until they process the current flight. I wander to another AA gate and he says yup I see that you are confirmed for a seat but US Airways hasn't pushed the ticket over. He tells me to call them and they should be able to take care of that. OK easy enough right.
I call US Airways and after pushing 10 buttons and saying agent 5 times I speak to a human again. She proceeds to claim I am not in their system. She can not find me with my confirmation #, name or destination. I calmly let her know that the previous agent found me with my last name and my route. She refuses and says I need my flight # from CLT to MIA. So I dig around and finally find that. As soon as she finds me she proceeds to contradict everything that I have been told before. Of course, what was I thinking trusting the other US Airways employees.
I tried to remain patient and explain that she was contradicting everything the gate agent and the other US Airways rep told me. I calmly remind her I purchased these flights through US Airways. She didn't budge, and kept spouting off about procedures and how this was United's issue and they screwed up. I tried to be nice and explain my predicament at least 4 times. No movement on her part. I try all my moves, she is not impressed. Glad I never tried to pick her up in a bar.
I pull the "may I speak with your supervisor" card and of course her immediate retort is he will tell you exactly what I just told you. Listen lady, AA says I am already confirmed, United has removed me from their flight, US Airways (well everyone except you) says I am all set why can you not just push the ticket over. She insists I will have to go to the ONE Us Airways gate.
Terminal 3 to 2: Pedometer reading 205,000 steps and 1 more new blister and oh, what are those, yup shin splints. Feeling the initial symptoms of heat exhaustion.
She puts me on hold and after being on hold for 10 minutes I figure I should start the 15 minute walk back to the US Airways gate in Terminal 2. She comes on at one point during my walk and says the Supervisor is trying to help me. I get to the US Airways gate at the very moment she comes back on the phone. Apparently I was supposed to be impressed with her as proudly claimed "we get you on the AA flight that was supposed to leave at 6:05 and is now scheduled for 8:20". Wait a sec0nd, I was just at an AA gate and they said I was confirmed for the earlier flight. She claimed they had never heard of me. Dear god! So what you are telling me is you guys managed to screw this up and had to backtrack to help me.
Terminal 2 to 3: 228,000 steps, 3 more blisters and blood pressure way to high! Feet killing me, shins screaming. Must have beer and an ice massage.
2 quick Sam Adams calmed me down but after a lengthy internal argument I decided against taking off my shoes and rubbing ice on my feet. I finally board at 7:45 Central. Pilot lets us know we are 2nd in line. Sweet....oh wait there is another line of storms rolling through but he thinks we can get out. But of course with the storms the wind direction changed so we had to go to the other end of the runway so suddenly we are somewhere between 10th and 20th in line.
Saturday morning MIA AA to United to Car: Pedometer reading 315,000 steps a new personal best in dress shoes!
I arrive at 12:15 eastern time at the AA terminal. I need to go search for my luggage. AA is concourse C, United who still had control of my luggage is Concourse J and due to construction there are no people movers. So a 15 minute walk later my trip came to an end as I was rewarded by United having switched my bag to a different flight and it was just sitting there in the United office waiting for me. See good things do come to those who wait. Of course I was parked the furthest away I could be in the Dolphin garage from United but oh well I was almost home.
So let see, 315,000 steps (this morning it feels like about 8 miles) 8 blisters and I am back in the sweat box we call a house. Good times.
I do have numerous stories of the random travelers I encounter; the 2 anxiety pills popping sleeping on my shoulder flatulent guy on the way to Vegas whose North Shore (pretty sure she was from Revere) sister insists on telling me her life story including the fact she is going to Vegas for a funeral, the 10 year old kid who thinks kicking my seat is funny, the old lady who while in the longest security line keeps saying move your bones whenever there was a 3 foot gap in front of me. We all run into the "rookie" travelers though so I try look at this as part of the deal.
This is rather long post as it is pretty hard to describe all that happened succinctly.
I was heading from Miami to Chicago for a conference. The best price I could find sent me through Charlotte on US Airways from MIA to CLT and on United to Ohare. I do try to be frugal with my companies money. That might stop after this trip.
Tuesday MIA to CLT (that is short for Charlotte not a female body part): We leave 25 minutes late due to a wind shift shortly before take off. What would happen if we had already started our takeoff and the wind shifted?
We land in CLT and I sprint from the US Airways terminal to the United terminal.
CLT to ORD: Board the flight and realize that they are waiting for another US Airways flight with a bunch of people connecting. Sweet my luggage will be safe. They have 30 minutes. What could possibly go wrong.
ORD: The people who boarded after me all got their luggage but mine didn't arrive. Something about US Airways to United was mentioned and that no one was sure where my luggage was but most likely it was still in CLT. The United luggage agent was very friendly and told me to go buy new clothes for tomorrow and United would reimburse me. Only one SMALL problem with that. It was almost 10PM and the conference started at 7:00 AM the following morning.
I was told my boss to use a suburban taxi or car service as they are flat rates. I knew the hotel was a little ways from the airport but at one point I text messaged Critracer that I was either being brought into the woods to be killed by my Serbian cabbie (could not understand a word he was saying) or my conference was in Milwaukee. He did offer to call 911 which was nice.
For day one of the conference I wore the same exact clothes I wore the day before. Yup all of them. A gentle reminder Miami is hot this time of year and I had been all over the place in the same exact outfit I was wearing. ARRRFFF I think I am just going to throw the underwear away.
My luggage did arrive at 2PM the next day at the hotel and I eventually got to shower and change and best of all put on clean underwear. I only got $50 in vouchers to United but the Indian customer service rep was nice enough to admit that if I had been able to get new clothes with time stamped receipts I would have been reimbursed for those purchases plus the $50 credit. Note to all: If you lose your luggage claim that your most important meeting of the year is the next day and you can to attend without a new suit. A $1000 suit of course. I should have skipped the opening of the conference but I am sure my boss would have been a tad peeved when standing at the booth alone with 150 people asking to have their Passports stamped. (This is a phenomenon you must see.)
Friday ORD to CLT or BIA or FLL or MIA: My flight to CLT is at 1:50 and I get to the airport at 11:30. The Serbian cabbie mumbles something about weather but I forgot to bring my handy Serbian to English dictionary so that didn't help. Checking in I see my flight is delayed 25 minutes. No worries. Go through security and check the board and I now see that my flight is delayed until 3:10. This could be troublesome. I call US Airways and they find me a later flight from CLT to MIA on American Eagle. Still relaxed so I walk from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 to have lunch with my boss who is delayed as well. This is where the fun starts:
I started on the right hand side of Terminal 1 (blue), AA is in the 3rd prong of 3 (green), the first United gate I went to is at the end of the left hand prong of 2 and US Airways is at the end of the right hand prong. You can not go directly across without going through security again.
THERE ARE NO PEOPLE MOVERS
Terminal 1 to 2 to 3: Pedometer reading 60,000 steps
I notice a flight leaving for Charlotte in 25 minutes so I go looking for a United rep in case I can go standby. Bypassing the line of 100 people waiting to talk with the Customer Service desk I make my way to the gate where the flight is leaving and chat with the gate agent. This of course is 1/2 a mile into terminal 2. There is nothing they can do for me and I am better off waiting for my initial flight. Walk all the way out into Terminal 3 in search of my boss for lunch.
Terminal 3 to 1: Pedometer reading 100,000 steps plus burned off the beer from lunch.
Head towards the gate and find out my flight is delayed until 4:22. No way to make my connection now. I call US Airways on my cell and they inform me the plane that is supposed to take me to CLT has not left Houston. As a side note she did inform me that all the other United flights going to CLT were fine, but of course booked. Helpul, very helpful. 15 minutes later she decides my best bet would be an American Airlines flight direct to MIA. Sweet and the flight is going to leave around 5:30 Central so I should be in MIA by 9:30 Eastern. The lady on the phone said all that was left to do was walk to a US Airways gate and chat with an agent and they will be able to print my ticket to AA for me.
Terminal 1 to 2: Pedometer reading: 125,000 steps. 3 blisters and definitely worked off the beer and the burger.
I ask an airport employee where US Airways is and they say terminal 2. Alright head back there and once again all the way into terminal 2 to find the ONE US Airways gate in all of Ohare. They tell me they can not do anything until United removes me as being checked in to their flight.Can 2 people from the same company get their stories straight? 25 minutes of phone time with United and I get this accomplished. He did try to tell me that because I booked the flight through US Airways, that US Airways needed to remove me. I fought through this and he got me removed. Back to the US Airways gate, the guy punches in some numbers and says I am all set but I will have to go to an AA gate to get my pass printed out.
Terminal 2 to 3: 175,000 steps, 2 more blisters for a total of 5 and dehydration is setting in. Rather upset I wore dress shoes instead of sneakers.
I go to gate 15 where my flight leaves from and they say I have to wait until they process the current flight. I wander to another AA gate and he says yup I see that you are confirmed for a seat but US Airways hasn't pushed the ticket over. He tells me to call them and they should be able to take care of that. OK easy enough right.
I call US Airways and after pushing 10 buttons and saying agent 5 times I speak to a human again. She proceeds to claim I am not in their system. She can not find me with my confirmation #, name or destination. I calmly let her know that the previous agent found me with my last name and my route. She refuses and says I need my flight # from CLT to MIA. So I dig around and finally find that. As soon as she finds me she proceeds to contradict everything that I have been told before. Of course, what was I thinking trusting the other US Airways employees.
I tried to remain patient and explain that she was contradicting everything the gate agent and the other US Airways rep told me. I calmly remind her I purchased these flights through US Airways. She didn't budge, and kept spouting off about procedures and how this was United's issue and they screwed up. I tried to be nice and explain my predicament at least 4 times. No movement on her part. I try all my moves, she is not impressed. Glad I never tried to pick her up in a bar.
I pull the "may I speak with your supervisor" card and of course her immediate retort is he will tell you exactly what I just told you. Listen lady, AA says I am already confirmed, United has removed me from their flight, US Airways (well everyone except you) says I am all set why can you not just push the ticket over. She insists I will have to go to the ONE Us Airways gate.
Terminal 3 to 2: Pedometer reading 205,000 steps and 1 more new blister and oh, what are those, yup shin splints. Feeling the initial symptoms of heat exhaustion.
She puts me on hold and after being on hold for 10 minutes I figure I should start the 15 minute walk back to the US Airways gate in Terminal 2. She comes on at one point during my walk and says the Supervisor is trying to help me. I get to the US Airways gate at the very moment she comes back on the phone. Apparently I was supposed to be impressed with her as proudly claimed "we get you on the AA flight that was supposed to leave at 6:05 and is now scheduled for 8:20". Wait a sec0nd, I was just at an AA gate and they said I was confirmed for the earlier flight. She claimed they had never heard of me. Dear god! So what you are telling me is you guys managed to screw this up and had to backtrack to help me.
Terminal 2 to 3: 228,000 steps, 3 more blisters and blood pressure way to high! Feet killing me, shins screaming. Must have beer and an ice massage.
2 quick Sam Adams calmed me down but after a lengthy internal argument I decided against taking off my shoes and rubbing ice on my feet. I finally board at 7:45 Central. Pilot lets us know we are 2nd in line. Sweet....oh wait there is another line of storms rolling through but he thinks we can get out. But of course with the storms the wind direction changed so we had to go to the other end of the runway so suddenly we are somewhere between 10th and 20th in line.
Saturday morning MIA AA to United to Car: Pedometer reading 315,000 steps a new personal best in dress shoes!
I arrive at 12:15 eastern time at the AA terminal. I need to go search for my luggage. AA is concourse C, United who still had control of my luggage is Concourse J and due to construction there are no people movers. So a 15 minute walk later my trip came to an end as I was rewarded by United having switched my bag to a different flight and it was just sitting there in the United office waiting for me. See good things do come to those who wait. Of course I was parked the furthest away I could be in the Dolphin garage from United but oh well I was almost home.
So let see, 315,000 steps (this morning it feels like about 8 miles) 8 blisters and I am back in the sweat box we call a house. Good times.
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