Hangin' in Indy
I am writing from my hotel room in Indianapolis. Why am I in Indy? I was asking the same question last night... and this morning...
Let me explain. Early in the summer, I was invited to attend this conference. We knew at the time that we'd be about 8.5 months pregnant, but that didn't seem like a big deal at the time. This week, however, when my wife is huge and trying to chase around our daughter (13 months), suddenly this trip seemed like a bad idea.
Anyway, a promise is a promise and so I went to the airport in Minneapolis yesterday (Monday) to take a flight to Chicago and then onto Indianapolis. And that's when the fun began!
My flight leaving Minneapolis was delayed because there was fog in Chicago. My airline assured me that all would be OK because my connecting flight was delayed also.
Unfortunately, the airline was essentially lying all along. When my flight pulled away from the gate in Minneapolis, it moved only a few hundred feet, where we sat for over an hour before we were allowed to take off. We also spent about an hour circling Chicago before we landed, so we arrived really late. The pilot assured us all, however, that all was well. An airline representative would meet us at the gate to help us make sure that we safely reached our final destination. The pilot also listed all of the various connecting flight times and gates so that we could quickly get to our next flight.
Once again, that was all a lie. There was no airline representative at the gate. And in my case, there were no connecting flights. My "correct" flight was cancelled, not delayed. The two remaining flights to Indy had 30+ people on standby. The next flight to Indianapolis was Tuesday afternoon (my presentation was scheduled for 10 am -- no good). The next flight back to Minneapolis was even later than that.
Returning to my friendly airline, I asked for directions to the nearest rental car agency. They then proceeded to give me incorrect directions. Great!
Anyway, I ended up renting a car for $250 for a one-day, one-way rental. I then drove to Indianapolis, arriving at my hotel at 2am. I then woke up at 6am to go to the conference, where I gave a horrible presentation. I bet the people who invited me are soooooo happy. But what can a guy do on 4 hours of sleep? Oh well.
Where am I going with this? Absolutely nowhere. Except that I am playing poker while writing and I have found a very soft game that I can beat. Sadly, though, my bankroll is way short so a few bad beats and I am done with online poker forever. Luckily, it's limit poker so I should be ok.
PostScript: After writing this blog, I proceeded to lose half of my bankroll playing that so-called "beatable" game. Also, I came very close to missing my return flight to Minneapolis when my taxi to the airport died. Next, the same damn airline cancelled my reservation on my return flight (pre-paid) because I didn't wait in Chicago for an extra day to take whatever flight they felt like giving me.
Let me explain. Early in the summer, I was invited to attend this conference. We knew at the time that we'd be about 8.5 months pregnant, but that didn't seem like a big deal at the time. This week, however, when my wife is huge and trying to chase around our daughter (13 months), suddenly this trip seemed like a bad idea.
Anyway, a promise is a promise and so I went to the airport in Minneapolis yesterday (Monday) to take a flight to Chicago and then onto Indianapolis. And that's when the fun began!
My flight leaving Minneapolis was delayed because there was fog in Chicago. My airline assured me that all would be OK because my connecting flight was delayed also.
Unfortunately, the airline was essentially lying all along. When my flight pulled away from the gate in Minneapolis, it moved only a few hundred feet, where we sat for over an hour before we were allowed to take off. We also spent about an hour circling Chicago before we landed, so we arrived really late. The pilot assured us all, however, that all was well. An airline representative would meet us at the gate to help us make sure that we safely reached our final destination. The pilot also listed all of the various connecting flight times and gates so that we could quickly get to our next flight.
Once again, that was all a lie. There was no airline representative at the gate. And in my case, there were no connecting flights. My "correct" flight was cancelled, not delayed. The two remaining flights to Indy had 30+ people on standby. The next flight to Indianapolis was Tuesday afternoon (my presentation was scheduled for 10 am -- no good). The next flight back to Minneapolis was even later than that.
Returning to my friendly airline, I asked for directions to the nearest rental car agency. They then proceeded to give me incorrect directions. Great!
Anyway, I ended up renting a car for $250 for a one-day, one-way rental. I then drove to Indianapolis, arriving at my hotel at 2am. I then woke up at 6am to go to the conference, where I gave a horrible presentation. I bet the people who invited me are soooooo happy. But what can a guy do on 4 hours of sleep? Oh well.
Where am I going with this? Absolutely nowhere. Except that I am playing poker while writing and I have found a very soft game that I can beat. Sadly, though, my bankroll is way short so a few bad beats and I am done with online poker forever. Luckily, it's limit poker so I should be ok.
PostScript: After writing this blog, I proceeded to lose half of my bankroll playing that so-called "beatable" game. Also, I came very close to missing my return flight to Minneapolis when my taxi to the airport died. Next, the same damn airline cancelled my reservation on my return flight (pre-paid) because I didn't wait in Chicago for an extra day to take whatever flight they felt like giving me.
posted by frazwood at 6:02 PM
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