Ah! I survived my trip across the country, which took FOREVER. I got dropped off at noon at the Philadelphia airport because I was worried about long security lines (you should have seen them when I landed in Philadephia on 5/30/08), and waited patiently for my flight to....JFK airport in NY. You know how long a flight that is? 26 minutes! So, 2 hours and 45 minutes of sitting (mostly), for a 26 minute flight. I did talk with a nice Irish man sitting next to me, who was headed back to Ireland. (And yes, for those who have seen me, he said I would fit right in when visiting Ireland with my hair (red), skin (pale), and freckles.)

Cue sitting around the JFK airport for 3.5 hours. Wifi access did not work. :( Not a lot of restaurants, and the ones that existed were packed. Starbucks was there in a couple locations though.

They board the airplane, pull away from the gate, and then we sit there FOR AN HOUR while waiting for takeoff. Hmmm, who scheduled a domestic flight to take off at the same time as all the other international flights that have takeoff priority? Sigh.

Here's where the real fun part comes in. Yet once again, I get to sit next to drunk, intoxicated seatmates (this also happened after the 2004 STC conference). But this time it's a young couple, and not just the person next to me....and they are both reeking and have slurred talking. Yikes.

As you can guess it, after we got to cruising altitude at 36,000 feet, the young lady next to me states a preference for puking, and sends all of the people within a 5 foot radius looking for a puke bag (most of us didn't have one in the back pocket seat). Once two are found, I hurriedly head to the back of the plane, book and ipod in hand, so she can do whatever puking she needs to. I certainly don't want to be puked on...and I tell the flight attendants, who promptly go up there with some ginger ale and a huge "Delta" plastic bag for barfing. Those poor flight attendants...they had a lot to deal with.

Somewhere near Nebraska, we take a 30 minute detour around a lightning storm (remember, this is a 5 1/2 hour flight, that is not inconsequential). Around this time, when i'm forced to sit down because the "seat belt sign" is on due to the turbulence, I realize I can sit no longer. I'm squirming in my seat, I am dog tired, I can't fall asleep, and I can't move.

At some point after the storm, one of the passengers has a medical issue. I'm not sure what, but apparently we got priority landing in Portland and a pair of EMTs to escort the patient off the plane. Most of us were happy to wait until the EMTs were off the plane, but there are always those folks who believe the rules don't apply....

I'm safely back, majorly jet lagged, and happy to be home!