Declaring It's the Worst Day Ever...at 7 AM.

I am currently in Atlanta for some business - probably my last business trip of the year. I was looking forward to coming down here for it's warmer climates...but unfortunately, I was looking forward to it more when I thought I was coming down with a co-worker. Instead, I'm by my lonesome....and this is probably when my brain decided to rebel.

When I book business travel, it's usually never more than seven days prior to day of travel. My manager is very swamped with all kinds of work and she's actually at another locale doing the same thing I'm doing - just with different people. So I just always wait for her to give me the word that it's time to book travel. So I got the word last Thursday and proceeded to book my air, hotel and rental car. When I travel by myself, I usually leave from Reagan-National Airport - it's just easier for me since I leave directly from home. However, when I travel with my co-worker, I usually travel out of Dulles International because it's closer for them and I don't really mind. The truth is, I think my home is smack dab between the two airports. I just prefer Reagan.

So after booking my travel arrangements last Thursday, I printed out the itinerary and kind of set it aside until the following Tuesday when I packed it in my laptop bag so I would have it with me during my travels. I had my grand plan in mind already - wake up at 6:00 am, out of the house by 6:30 am and at the airport by 7. I had an 8:40 am flight.

Due to Daylight Savings Time and the fact that sleep seems to escape me in the early morning, I ended up waking up at 5:30am and futzing around in the kitchen until 6:15am before I made it out the garage. I still ended up at the airport before 7am and was on the parking lot bus by 7am, on my way to the terminal. It was at this time that I decided to pull out my itinerary to double check the airline (United) - and this is when I saw those three dreaded codes...IAD, IAD, IAD. That code = Dulles International.

I looked up at the clock on the bus - 7:00 am. I called the company travel agency - she wanted me to re-book a whole new flight and cost my group MORE money (yeah, no thanks)....before I hung up I said, 'I will find my way to Dulles.'

I got off at the first stop and proceeded down to ground transportation. Thankfully there was someone down there to help me - it was a Super Shuttle lady and she said that one of their shuttles just left for Dulles. I told her my flight time and she said that I would be cutting it close....NO DUH! But she called back the shuttle and the driver was sympathetic to my cause - trying to calm me down throughout the ride. It wasn't like I was in hysterics but he must've seen the worry in my face. He kept telling me that we would get there before 8 am. I kept wanting to yell at him to 'step on it.' It was 7:15 am.

True to his word, the driver got me to my terminal by 7:50am. Amazing for DC rush-hour traffic. I was a little peeved when we were on the Dulles Access Road (which is a direct road to the airport with only airport traffic) and he was looking at text messages on his cell phone - again I wanted to yell, 'Don't even THINK about replying!' I've seen Super Shuttles overturned on the Dulles Access Road. Okay - only one, but still, one time is all it takes.

I paid him in cash (not company policy but paying by corporate card would've really delayed me and the company is just going to have to take that as my reason) and ran into the United terminal. Luckily it wasn't busy and there was a greeter right in front of me. I asked her point blank, "My flight is at 8:40am. Am I too late? Can I still check in?" She assured me I still could at one of those kiosks...but when I went to check in and check my bag, forget it - it went downhill from there. I had to use one of those phones that you'd thought you'd never have to use to talk to a United representative. Basically, she told me I was too late - but she asked if I could bring my bag with me. I said I could (although I loathed the idea because I didn't pack my 'liquids' separately) and she said I could just check in with no bags and proceed to the gate.

THANKFULLY, the security lines at Dulles, which are NOTORIOUS for being long and unruly were not. God was working FOR me! I was able to fly through security, take out all my liquids and just throw them in the bin (there were no clear baggies available) and go on through. Meanwhile, I'm doing this all in heels. NEVERMIND the fact that my baggage was now a carry on -I just never thought to stop and throw on my flats to make the whole 'running to my gate' any easier. I think I was just trying to make my gate.

I did get to my gate - at approximately 8:25am. Not too shabby. It was an express jet so I had to walk down the tunnel, down a flight of 'slippery' stairs, all with my laptop bag, purse and suitcase. NEVERMIND that there were like five males all standing there watching to see if I'd fall down the stairs and break my neck- not a one offered to help me with my bags - can you believe that? That kind of ticked me off. Anyways, I finally get on the plane and I realize that I am sweating...like I just ran half a marathon...which I basically did...in heels. Once the pilot turned on the engine, my air vent was on full blast to try and dry the sweat coming down my face. Thank goodness the guy sitting next to me was sleeping. I'm sure I would've grossed him out.

So I made it to Atlanta on my regularly scheduled flight. I worked the rest of the day (okay, I left at 4:30pm cause I was pooped) without an issue. I'm staying til Friday - when I will take my regularly scheduled flight back to Dulles and THEN figure out how I'm going to go retrieve my car from Reagan.

My brain is mush.

It's a Speed Bump, Not a Monster

I love driving and being out on the road...but sometimes, before you can get out on that open road, you have to get out of the parking lot. And these days, in order to protect other drivers and pedestrians, you come across lots of speed bumps.

Speed bumps come in all sizes, but pretty much the same shape - a smallish hill of concrete or plastic that makes a driver slow down to cross the bump. No matter what kind of speed bump you encounter, everyone crosses it differently.

I personally like to go over it rather quickly - especially in my SUV. I mean it's not going to damage anything underneath my car since we're already high off the ground, and the quicker I can get over it, the quicker it will be over. Boom, Boom - and done. If I'm in the sedan, I would take the speed bump a little slower but I certainly wouldn't snail my way over it - because I know I'm still high enough off the ground that the speed bump wouldn't scrape the underside of my car.

Routinely, when coming in and out of work, I have to go over at least two speed bumps each way. Yesterday, while leaving work, I was following two cars that were just your normal, everyday sedans. the car in the front came to a COMPLETE halt in front of the speed bump before snailing it's way over. And then they would speed along the 1/8th of a mile it took to get to the next speed bump - where they would proceed to come to a complete halt. The car in front of me didn't come to a complete halt but she sure did like to brake through the whole ordeal. It was so frustrating - I wanted to roll down my window and yell, 'It's a bump, not a monster!'

But these are just some of the worst case speed bump drivers. I've seen many cars try to avoid a full bump drive over by swerving to the far right of the road (where the bump does not extend) so that their passenger-side wheels don't have to go over the bump - but only their driver side wheels have to endure. In the long run, doesn't that make your car quite unbalanced? And besides, you're not saving your passengers any grief by not letting that side of the car go over the speed bump.

I think the worst is when you have to go over a bump and instead of having front and back wheels go over it two at a time, you have to pretty much go over the bump one wheel at a time. That happens to me when I go to a particular little mall in my neighborhood. The way I go into the parking lot has me at a angle where I can't get over the bump two-by-two....it's one, after the other, after the other...you get my picture. And the whole car just ends up rocking side to side.

But just take note, the next time you approach a speed bump - how do you approach it? If you're not a corvette or a camaro or some other low lying car, I don't expect a full stop to be made before you proceed...think about it....that bump isn't going to come up and get you!