Wednesday started with me rising to face a complex, endless day. I was flying to NYC all night. I managed to sleep well, but I got up late when I remembered to put a tie in my bag. Done. I found my slippers and robe and slid into the home office, meaning to only be there for a moment, but somehow, twenty minutes disappeared. I returned to the kitchen, found a banana, and got the hot water in the electric kettle. I dream of a hot water dispenser, but the power to the kitchen sink area is not ready. It needs attention from an electrician before something cool like that can be installed. Someday!
Coffee, liberal Equal Exchange, was made but not really in time to drink. I gave myself only thirty minutes in the morning, and it was 7AM and time to clean up and dress with only a few sips of coffee. Ugh! I shaved slowly with the cheap disposable razor. My good ones have broken again, and I do not plan to replace the Dollar Shave Club razor again; it broke before. I replaced it as I had more than two month’s supply of blades. This time, I only have a few left. I completed the clean-up and dressing process, grabbed my Nike laptop, and headed for the office. We work in the office four days a week (not Fridays). Air Volvo had no problem with the traffic, which was less on Wednesday morning.
I did my usual meetings, enjoying the status, process, and change control meetings. It is always strange to come to the office to do Zoom calls for folks in the building, but that is what we do. I sit in the atrium and do the calls there. Because of hearing issues, I would rather avoid headphones, so I headed to a seat near the window, where the noise should not bother anyone.
After all that and a few chats with folks about work topics, I head to the cafe and have lunch. I cannot get beyond the pop-up option. This time, it is beef in gravy over mashed potatoes. It has macaroni salad, which raised my eyebrow. You should not double the starches. It was still good, and the grilled Brussels sprouts were excellent (and not under-salted). A tasty lunch, and I talked to some friends at the cafe for a bit. A wonderful lunch experience.
I headed home and finished my work day from the home office. Air Volvo had no issues getting me to Volvo Cave. I finished early, showered, shaved (with care), and then finished the few odds and ends for packing. I loaded my large old-school garment bag and my usual gym bag to travel into the cargo hold. The garment bag is heavy. I boarded an Air Volvo and enjoyed an hour of driving in sunny weather for what should have been a twenty-minute trip, but there was lots of traffic.
I found a long-term parking slot on the 4th floor for Air Volvo. I hauled the bags to the check-in and was relieved to send the wheel-less bag to fly independently. I made it through security without any call-outs, and my pants did not fall when I was in the scanning machine. I have been losing weight, and my pants keep trying to fall. I brought extra suspenders and may go old guy and use them.
I found the gate and then returned to the wine place for dinner. Missing Screen Door next to my gate. Next time! I had the pasta and a class of good Oregon wine. I had hours before my flight, and I wanted to have dinner there. Our PDX has good food and wine.
The first flight to Seattle was uneventful. I had nearly two hours to connect. All the food joints were closed, but I had bought water at PDX and brought coookies. I had some while I waited. To get to the gate, I had to ride three trains. I think I took one back in error, but I am unsure. I thought it would only take two. I blame the wine.
After we fixed the seats, a passenger was in the wrong seat, and she had to move to a different row; I was in my window seat, ready to sleep. I mixed up my seats from one plane to the next; everyone was understanding when we had to reshuffle.
I read my Kindle for a while and listened to music, too, but the plane was loud, and I just gave up. I took off my shoes and slept most of the flight. I don’t remember sleeping, but I blinked, and it was four hours later.
I tied the laces together on my Air Force Ones and walked off the plane in my socks (also Nike). I was the last passenger off, as I wanted to put on my coat, and sat in row 31. After putting on my shoes again, I walked to the baggage claim, using a chair to prevent testing my balance (damaged by the brain tumor). I found the family bathroom after finding my bag had already been pulled off the belt. The door did not close, but I was quick and now had my shirt tucked in again.
I decided on a taxi as it was cheaper than an Uber, and I had no idea where to find the Uber. I found dragging my bags was not working for me. My driver charged me about $75, which was in line with Uber, plus a tip. The trip took about an hour, and I was concerned as the driver headed north. We got to see La Guardia airport (that is not the usual way to get to Roosevelt Island, NYC), but then the traffic lightened, and we drove through Queens fast. After an hour, I was dropped off and happy to give him the 20% tip.
To finish the story of my travel, The Graduate, a cool-themed hotel, is also the only hotel on the island. For $94, I could have my room now, or I could put my stuff in the storage area and wait until 2PM. I opted for the cheaper solution, especially after they said the restaurant was open.
Sandy, my waiter, recommended the lox and everything bagel. It was excellent. The coffee was homemade and plentiful. There, I refreshed myself, enjoyed an excellent breakfast, and caught up on my finances and other not-important-but-good-to-do tasks.
I moved to the lobby and started the blog. And I am now synced up to now.
Thanks for reading! I will fly back on Sunday night.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 