Air travel woes

I actually made it to E. WA the day I was suppose to. I was suppose to get in at 9:10 that night, but I actually made it in around 1 a.m. OK, so maybe it was the next day. 

Because it was $200 cheaper and I wouldn't be spending close to that much on gas driving there, I bought a ticket out of Phoenix. It's about a 2 hour drive to Sky Harbor Airport from my house so I picked an afternoon flight out so that I would have enough time to drop Sammy off at the kennel (poor baby!), get to Phoenix, find parking, and get to my gate. It was no problem getting out, as I was only flying into Las Vegas. When I got there I realized that my other tickets didn't print out because they were from a different airline. Let me tell you, McCarran International Airport was confusing! In the terminal I came in my connecting flight wasn't shown on the displays so I didn't know what gate it was departing from. Frustrated, I decided just to go down to ticketing and go through security again. I was cutting it close, but the guy at the counter told me the flight to Seattle was delayed a little. I made my flight because it was delayed 2 hours! That's more than "a little" delayed, don't you think? Because of that, I wouldn't make my flight to Walla Walla. Only one airline flies there and I was on the last flight of the night. I almost cried. If I missed it, there weren't any available flights until Christmas morning (2 days later). Flying standby might have been possible, but I'm sure all the flights were full, due to the catch up of all the canceled flights due to the weather. 

Seattle wasn't even that bad. I think all their runways were open by the time I came in, but it was something seeing all the snow piled up alongside the runways! I've never seen so much snow there! By the time I walked into the airport I had come to terms with the fact that my flight was long gone, having taken off 40 minutes prior. Just a quick look on the monitor on my way to the bathroom, you know, just in case. To my surprise, my flight had been delayed until 11:25! I had been ready to call one of my friends and visit one of my favorite watering holes. 

I was nervous waiting there for those 2 hours. My terminal was a nightmare, full of frustrated people, garbage littering the seats and floor, flights being canceled left and right after having been delayed for hours, and the would-be travelers filing into a never-ending line to rebook. The more time I sat there the more I felt it a possibility that I would be in those people's shoes. But I made it on and landed in cold, snowy Walla Walla 4 hours later than planned. Did I mention only the runway was clean and there was ice everywhere else? We even got stuck in the airport parking lot. My mom had taken to keeping a tiny little shovel in her trunk for those situations, so that along with some muscle power provided by my younger sister and I and we were on our way.

I'll save the rest of my visit home for another post because I have some pictures to upload and share! I got back to Tucson this morning at 2. The TSA in Walla Walla is to blame for that one. One terminal, one gate, arrival time one hour prior to flight departure and I still managed to miss that flight. There were four TSA guys working that one security checkpoint. Four! Yet, I, along with 5 other passengers, were left behind because those guys were excessively thorough and unbelievably slow. I did make it through once. After having my purse scanned....and rescanned (watch out for that fragile Christmas ornament in there!), I was pulling on my boots when one of "them" came up to me to tell me they couldn't get my suitcase open. I didn't know a lock was set for it! Frustrated because I had to take all my belongings with me and go through all that again, I walked out of the "safe" zone to deal with the suitcase. Remind me to thank my husband for that....I really had no idea! I got it open by lucky guess (I know my husband too well) and went back into the security line. I was two people back when they closed that one gate. I was fuming for maybe 5 minutes, but my mom had some words for the security people. Why can't TSA work together with the airlines? It just doesn't make sense to me.

So I got into Phoenix at 10:15, had to take a bus to the right terminal to claim my bags that got there before me, and find that my suitcase wasn't there after all! The slow-cooker from my brother was there, but suitcase was not. I didn't leave the airport until 11:30 and proceeded to get lost trying to navigate the highways of Phoenix. I was ready to wring the neck of the guys who designed their freeway system. Doesn't it make sense that if you get off at a certain street exit, there should be an entrance back onto the highway there as well? Not in Phoenix! It was awesome.

Wow, that was boring! I apologize. Oh well, at least I only had to do without my makeup and favorite clothes for one day because my suitcase just got here! 

You've got to be kidding me!

I just read a commentary article on Slate about Pixar's new movie, Wall-E. The whole article is about how the movie is hurtful towards obese Americans, equating obesity with the destruction of Earth. I have not seen this movie and have no idea what it's about, but now I really want to see it.

Daniel Engber, the author, disagrees with the notion that obesity causes ecological destruction. I'm not sure I agree with this either, and isn't what has me shaking my head in disbelief. In an excerpt taken from the article, Engber pretty much states that obesity isn't a person's fault

How fat you are has a lot more to do with your genes than with your behavior. As much as 80 percent of the variation in human body weight can be explained by differences in our DNA.

I honestly don't know if that genetic bit is true or not. I haven't read the necessary scientific research articles about the issue. He goes on to say

there's little evidence that overeating causes obesity on an individual level and no real reason to think that anyone can lose a lot of weight by dieting. (Most of us fluctuate around a natural "set point.") We also know that children who watch a lot of television are no less active than other kids and that pediatric obesity rates are not the direct result of high-fat diets.

So let me get this straight. You mean to say, should I choose to eat a super sized Big Mac meal for dinner everyday, along with calorie-rich super sized portions for breakfast and lunch, and some savory high fat snacks throughout the day, I won't get obese if my genes are just right? Well, there's no obesity in my family so I guess I'm safe here. Why have I been watching what I eat all this time when I could have been safely stuffing my face with this crap?! Are you kidding me here?! As I was reading these words, I was in such disbelief that I convinced myself that this whole article was a joke of Engbert's, that he was going to write at the end of it, "Gotcha! Just kidding!" True, some people cannot control the fact that they are obese, no matter the effort they put into their diets, but that's not everyone's case! It's simple math for the rest of us here. If you want to stay slim, calories in must equal calories out, and daily calorie requirements are different for everyone due to genetic makeup. 

In college I managed to gain 25 pounds in the first year (eek, I went above the Freshman 15!). But how did I do this? I consumed more calories than I was used to consuming and my body compensated by growing larger. As long as you keep your calorie intake consistent, your body will reach an equilibrium state and you will stop gaining weight....but you won't lose it because now you are consuming enough calories to maintain your new, larger self. If I chose to eat even more calories I would have grown larger. So how did I lose that weight? Duh...I ate less. I just ate enough to maintain a lower weight. And of course I had to exercise too because being overweight and inactive can wreak havoc on your metabolism and hormones (why can't losing weight be as easy as gaining it?)

What do you all think? Am I crazy in telling myself that I will limit my children's TV time and try to be active with them, all the while feeding them wholesome, nutritious food?

Six

That's the number of times the word "ass" or other variations of the word appear in this post, so be warned.

I'm so sick of dealing with idiot drivers here in Tucson. I haven't had run-ins with them very frequently, fortunately, because I no longer have to commute from Sierra Vista every day. But today just solidified a belief that I've held for a while now: people who drive big ass trucks are ASSHOLES. Just because you're sitting up all high does not make you high and mighty and able to do whatever the hell you want! You still should be courteous to other drivers on the road!

So in Tucson most of the major streets are 4-6 lanes across...more like little mini highways with speed limits ranging anywhere from 35-45 mph. You can find most of us cruising down these streets at 50 mph unless it is a well-known heavily patrolled area (note: Tucson is greatly lacking in traffic cops). A lot of these streets gain and lose lanes at certain intersections, and I know where these intersections are. If I'm approaching one I know will be short one lane on the other side of the light, I try to avoid staying in that disappearing lane, unless I want to make the light, which is an entirely different beef I have with Tucson drivers. Even when I know I will have to merge with the other lane, I don't gun it and try to cut the other drivers off....I proceed slowly so as to let other drivers know that I'm not there to cut you off like some jerk.

Well that happened to me twice today, by the same truck! I just let him cut me off both times, although I was fuming at this display of assholeness. To add to my anger, the second time he was cutting me off, right behind him was another driver trying to do the same! And what, you may ask, was this asshole driving? You guessed it: a big ass truck! I could see him looking in his side mirror and turning his head as he gunned it, but I was beyond pissed at that moment. I gunned it too (oh hell no, this other asshole is not getting away with this too!) He finally had to concede and slowed down to get behind me, but that didn't stop him from riding me until I had to turn off. It's occurrences like these that bring out the bitch in me. Watch out...I can be a very aggressive driver!

Angry post ahead!!!

Dear Idiot Mexican Driver,

I would really appreciate it if you would stay off the road until you learn how to drive. Go over to the DMV and please retake that driver's test--but don't drive there. Oh no....you take the bus, have a friend drive you there, hell, walk for all I care. And don't believe that expiration date on the nice shiny new license good until 2048. You are a special case my friend, and will need to revisit the DMV every 5 years.

Now, when you see a sign that says "Right Lane Ends, Merge Left," that does not mean that you must do this at all costs. No buddy, you actually have to yield to the traffic that is in the lane that you want to get in. I saw you in the rearview mirror, gunning your way through that light (it was blatantly red--are you blind?) and the car behind me didn't leave any room for another car to get in, much less a big ass piece of shit truck hauling a trailer. Any decent driver with common sense would see this and get over behind this car, especially since you were behind her to begin with. But no, you, being the jackass that you are, decide that you don't want to slow down and proceed to speed along toward our nice little procession and practically shove her off the road, as there was already just one lane going south. But did you stop there? Oh.......no. For some bizarre reason you felt entitled to get in front of me too! Could you not see that your lane was gone, done, terminado?! You were practically driving on the shoulder almost comepletely behind me, yet you kept right on coming, determined to get in front of me. So here I am laying on the horn at somebody behind me!!!! I'm sure the car in front of me was wondering why I was honking at him--I hope he saw he was not the reason for the loud outburst, but that some idiot hauling a trailer behind me was trying to pull a dumbshit move. I thought I had seen it all. I threw my hands up in the air ("What the fuck are you trying to do here?!") when I felt like yelling out the window "Learn how to fuckin' drive you fuckin' Mexican!!!! Did I say that? No, just a common gesture, not really offensive but showing you what a dumbass move that was. And what did you do? You flipped me off!!! Excuse me?! I was following the rules of the road. You almost ran me off the road. What did you want me to do. Pull into the turn lane just so you can get your ass in front of me? I....think....not. So, forgetting my ladylike composure, I returned the gesture two-fold. That is how angry I was. Thanks a lot. I was in a good mood until now. I just got done with a pretty decent run and it's 70 degrees out. Work was not too bad. All in all, a pretty good day......until you showed up in my life. I hope I never have to see you or experience your idiot driving ever again. It's jackasses like you that drive me to road rage sometimes.

Very sincerely,
mystified driver with some common sense