security measures... i could have ended up anywhere!!!

so on thursday, i flew up to philadelphia for a day trip. i returned to the airport three hours before my scheduled flight. i asked the ticket agent if i could get on an earlier flight, she said she thought i should be able to, there were open seats, but unfortunately it was closed on her end ( i would need to speak to the gate agent.) it was 3:12! the flight left at 3:35. the times in this store become very important. she says, you have 19 minutes to get through security and to the gate, if you can make it, they'll let you on the plane. so, i take off. i get up to the security line, there are 9 people in front of me, i'm thinking i have 9 minutes to get through this line, and to get to my gate. luckily, i was already in my terminal or there would have been no way. this is where my patience runs thin.... i wish people would listen to the TSA officials. i mean, if they say, no liquids, gels, or aerosols... do you think they are kidding? probably not. you are not exempt? no one is special. when you know you have to take your shoes off, take them off before you get right up to the metal detector. i mean, prepare. i feel like a crazed lunatic sometimes. i want to grab people and help them prepare for this process, i think it is my OCD kicking in. anyway, on to my story, i could go on for hours about the security screening process and how dumb people are. so i make it through the security checkpoint at 3:19 --- whew, i now have like 5 minutes to run to my gate, as they close the cabin door 10 minutes prior to departure. so i get there at 3:23, with two minutes to space. a chinese/japense lady is the gate agent. i am thinking, if she talks like the ladies who do my pedicures, i am screwed. i am not trying to be racist/stereotyping here, but let's face it, you can't understand them. so, i hand the lady my ticket and explain that i want on this earlier flight, she says that they only have middle seats. i tell her i don't care, that is fine. she hands me a boarding pass, and tells me to run down the jet bridge. the boarding pass says, 5F. well me being the avid traveler, i know 5F is a window seat, i'm like, woohoo. i love window seats. i get on the plane, of course someone is in 5F. we (the flight attendant) and i then realize that she had reprinted someone else's boarding pass for me. urghhhh. i get off the plane to get a new boarding pass and the "stupid" gate agent, says, "just go get on the plane, pick any open seat. unless you want to wait and get on your original flight. you going to get left." i'm thinking, they have no record that i am going to be on this flight. what the heck? all the security measures they take... and now she is telling me to go get on this flight, and pick a seat, any seat??? i wish i could do the accent on this thing, it would make it so much more hilarious. regardless you get the picture.

i made it home safely, which is all that matters. i'm going to call us airways to let them know i am not happy with my service. maybe i'll get a free voucher to go somewhere fun out of it, haha - that is funny right.

i cannot take credit for this post, but this is hilarious... going off the gym thing

i got this forward from my aunt paula the other day, this is seriously one of the most hilarious emails i have ever gotten, please enjoy:

WOMAN'S WEEK AT THE GYM If you read this without laughing out loud, there issomething wrong with you. This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine.
Dear Diary, For my birthday this year, my daughter (the dear)purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.
I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Belinda, who identified herself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.
My daughter seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.
MONDAY: Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Belinda waiting for me. She is something of a Greek goddess- with blonde hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!! Belinda gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which she conducted her aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring! Belinda was encouraging as I did my sit-ups,although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time she was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!
TUESDAY:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Belinda made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then> she put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. Belinda's rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It's a whole new life for me
WEDNESDAY: The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the 0club parking lot. Belinda was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. Her voice is a little too perky for early in the morning and when she scolds, she gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Belinda put me on the stair monster. Why the Hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Belinda told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. She said some other shit too. THURSDAY:
Belinda was waiting for me with her vampire-like teeth exposed as her thin,cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late, it took me that long to tie my shoes. Belinda took me to work out with dumbbells. When she was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. She sent another skinny bitch to find me. Then,as punishment, she put me on the rowing machine --which I sank. FRIDAY: I hate that bitch Belinda more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world Stupid,skinny, anemic, anorexic little cheerleader. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat her with it. Belinda wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damned barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?
SATURDAY: Belinda left a message on my answering machine in her grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing her made me want to smash the machine with my planner. However, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel. SUNDAY: I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my daughter (the little shit) will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

naked people in gyms... what are women thinking?

so, today i joined a gym in charlotte. i know i posted a blog a couple weeks ago saying i found gym in belmont, the closest gym to me, but come to find out the gyms in charlotte turned out to be cheaper, because they consider young adult membership younger than 30, woohoo!!! so, i decided, set up the draft and all to join the one in charlotte - the dowd. it is the one uptown. so this means, lots of young guys, professionals from the uptown area, woohoo. not that i would intend to meet someone at the gym, i mean who looks their finest at the gym, but at least it gives me motivation to work out and potentials to look at.

so, i go to tour the dowd location today, and another female member takes me to see the women's locker room, because a nice guy by the name of craig helped me with my joining/membership, so he obviously couldn't take me into the women's locker room. we walk in, and i've seen a locker room before, but this gym is huge. women were all over the place. the women, were totally stripping down - completely butt-naked, and i am thinking, what in the world. why would i, or any of the other women who are trying to hide themselves and change, want to see their world? i mean, i don't even strip to absolutely nothing in front of most of my friends - maybe my friends i've been friends with since kindergarden, but out of consideration for each other, we all try to change facing the other direction or go into another room. boobs and "flucies" are out in the open - and these are mostly older women... i am thinking, what in the world - why am i being tortured with this. i know it isn't a big deal, we all have it, but still - can't they go in a corner at least. i guess i will have to get used to it.

no matter what, i will still think they are all crazy. i think that women should be considerate. i don't think women should flaunt things. i think they should be respectful of others.

my goal for 2009 is to lose 25 pounds. i've already lost 10 pounds since october of 2008, to lose 25 pounds more is the goal... wish me luck. if i could stop eating french fries i would be a lot better off. the diet is the hardest part for me.

in other good news, i have found a small group at my church in charlotte. i am so excited to get started in this group - kasey the group leader is 29, and i think we are going to get along great.

i made two new year's resolutions - 1. floss everyday and 2. make my bed every day i am home - i've actually been doing both of these pretty regularly - so i'm pretty proud of myself. i need to set resolutions every month.

i'm making myself a new person this year. i'm excited.

alright, going to watch private practice on this saturday afternoon. have a great rest of the weekend everyone.

am i twelve or in college all over again

so this morning i go to the airport to catch my 9:18 am flight out of charlotte to biloxi for the day, and i park in the east deck. you have to catch a bus to the terminal, which is normally not a big deal, but this morning, it brought me back to a time i'd like to forget. so, i get my purse and work bag with laptop and head to the bus to get to the terminal. the bus is there, so i start booking it - walking super fast to get there so i don't have to stand out in the 19 degree weather, as i decided to wear a cute dress, tights, and my knee high boots ( oh the things we do for fashion) this morning. to my complete disbelief, that @$$hole (sorry for the language) starts pulling off, i couldn't have been more than 15 feet away from the bus, it wasn't full - and he drives off. i couldn't believe it. as cold as it was. i literally wanted to throw my purse at the bus. immediately my mind goes back to my college days and chapel hill transit - i had their number on speed dial. i called the bus company in college so many times it wasn't funny. they ran on a schedule, and if they came a minute early and pulled off, i complained. you can have one foot in the bus and they would pull off, seriously. one time, my college roommate and best friend, lindsey and i were on there and someone was trying to get on the bus and this person was trying to get on and the bus driver wasn't having it, so he took off, well the person fell and was hit by the bus, rolled on the sidewalk and everything - talk about ridiculous. i was terrified the person was dead, and the bus driver never stopped, even after we enlightened him of what had happened. talk about ruthless. luckily the next bus driver came about 10 minutes later, after i was shaking and shivering. too bad i don't have a number to report the bus driver from this morning, and too bad they don't run on a schedule, or else there would be a formal complaint filed against that driver this morning.

alright, about to get on my plane to come back home, i'm so tired. exhausted actually.

someone else like me, loving some zzzzs

so i read an article in my real simple magazine about a lady who likes to sleep. she talked about the fact that she can sleep until noon, 1, 2, and three in the afternoon. (and she is an adult) the one thing it didn't say was if she had children. she is married, but the article didn't mention kiddies. it talked about how she can stay up til 2 and 3 at night and then sleep during the day - that is so me. it said she had a normal job - and there are times when she has to get up early in the morning, and she hates it, but i believe that this woman and i are one in the same.

i may not be to her extreme, i mean, really i do not sleep until 2 or 3 in the afternoon, but if i didn't have to get up for work on any given day, i could definitely sleep until 11 or 12, but it is because i hit my prime (and get so much work done) between the hours of 10 pm - 2 am. i love it. i have no idea why. i have never been one to go to bed early. never been a morning person. most of my friends think it is strange. my friend crystal is somewhat similar. i mean, when she isn't teaching, like during breaks, weekends, and the summers, she does the same thing... i just thought it was interesting that they wrote an article about it in real simple. this woman simply loved sleep, as do i. it isn't that she or i are lazy, we just love it.

my mother doesn't get it. she doesn't understand how i can sleep so late. when i go home for holidays or when i lived at home for the brief two months when my townhouse was being built, she would wake me because after a certain hour - but she is a morning person. note here: she also goes to bed at 10pm sharp every night, so yeah, she is ready to get up by 6am every morning. i just wonder when i have kids if i will change, i mean, i know i will have to ... to a certain extent, but will my kids be similar to me, or will they bouncing off the walls at 5am - i hope not, i'll die. i'll be so miserable, haha.

sometimes when i go on trips with friends, it is very hard for me to go to sleep with all my friends, i am so not used to going to bed so early. case and point, this weekend.... my friend kaleena came down. she is used to going to bed earlier than me, because of this, i went to bed earlier. i was actually able to go to bed at least an hour or two earlier than normal, so it all worked out, but it was interesting. i need to try and make myself go to bed by midnight, but it is hard.

maybe as i get older, it will all catch up with me, and i will start to go to bed earlier. we will see... about to board my plane to charlotte from tampa, i will sleep, as i had to get up at 6:30 am and didn't go to bed until 1:45 am, haha. have a great tuesday everyone. enjoy the snow!

homeowner associations, what?

so, the other day i turn into my community to see a cleaning service, cleaning none other than the fire hydrant - well the water in it. yes, you read that correctly. what in the world? i am thinking to myself, in this economy, are we really paying someone to clean the water in the hydrant. i'm also thinking, if my house is on fire, the stuff in the my house is probably already ruined, so it wouldn't matter if the water is clean or dity. i mean, smoke will ruin everything regarless of if the water is clear or a little dirty. just saying. meanwhile, i'm thinking, no one sees the water in that hydrant. i'm thinking, i've got a laundry lsit of things that my $235/month in HOA fees could go towards - let me list them out here:

1. fix the potholes/manholes - repave the roads

2. fix the broken street signs

3. get all the dirt, nails, and crap out of the parking spaces

4. put a light up behind my building, as it is scary dark at night

5. put a light up at the dumpster

i'm posting a picture to show you some of our broken street signs, but the HOA (homeowner's association) is more worried about the water being dirty coming out of the hydrant, haha.

finding a gym is so not easy

ok, so after the broken fibula and physical therapy, my plan to join a gym was put on hold. i am being released from physical therapy this week, so i am have been on the search. i have called so many gyms, it is ridiculous. ok, so i started with the ONLY gym within a 5 mile radius of my house - mt. island fitness - they were $60/month with no pool next i called peak fitness they were $30/month, but 20 miles away from my house and no pool, then i called the YMCA in charlotte $60/month - crazy. so today, i remembered that a personal trainer that i had used at my gym in raleigh recommended a gym in charlotte - embassy sports club. i called them today, they are located uptown. the location should have been a sign that they would be expensive, but i had no idea how expensive. i called them and they said $95.99/month plus a locker fee, something about a small one was $30, medium $45, and large $60 all per month as well - that is like average $150/month for a gym membership - excuse my language here, but are they going to wipe my a$$ too. i mean, my gosh. what the heck. so clearly, i will not be using this gym. so, i've decided to go with the belmont ymca, as they are $50/month and only about 4.5 miles from my house, only three exits away, going towards gastonia. i am so excited to have found a gym. let the quest to lose weight continue. woohoo. i'll keep you posted on how it is going.

a lucky crunch

so, thursday, i landed in charlotte, finally home after 4 visits this week - and i call my grandmother and my mother - my two phone calls that i make everytime i land somewhere. my grandmother is always worried about me, and she knew i was exhausted from how much traveling i had been doing this week. she said, "i'm glad you are home, please be careful, be safe driving home." I was like, "i'll be fine. it is like a five minute drive from the airport to home." well, aren't those famous last words. i get on billy graham parkway, and i am at a stop light.... there is a white ford windstar in front of me. the light turns green.... i see the car start to go, and i am putting something in the side door of my car, and happened to look down... and when i look back up, i realize that i need to hit the brakes and super fast. tooo late... crunch. i rear-ended someone... yikes. i get out of my car and the lady is hispanic... she is making sure i am ok??? what the heck, i am the one who hit her. she looks at the damage of her car, the bumper seems to be a little dislocated and the paint is removed in some areas (two main areas) and says, it is ok... i am late for work, we don't need to call the cops, and gets back in her car and drives off. i am in total disbelief. this does not happen. i mean, really. i figured, i was screwed the moment she got out of the car. i mean, if it had been my car, i would have called the police. luckily for me, my car escaped with no damage and i didn't get a ticket. i figured that she didn't have a license or insurance and thought that by calling the police she would get in trouble. her loss. my blessing.. God is so good. it is like my friend holly said, it is my time to catch a break. after the blown out tire, and only being pulled over twice and having two pink memories to show for it... i deserved a break.

and let the insanity continue

so, the travel started back up this week, it might be a different year, but same old craziness at the airports. tuesday, i gave blood at a blood drive at my parent's church, and then had all of 53 minutes to get to the airport get checked in, i got there with only 13 minutes to spare, talk about living on the edge, i even got nervous that i was going to miss my flight.

i boarded my plane to atlanta with no problems, well apparently there was some sort of delay, but i slept right through that, and then boarded my next flight to monroe, louisiana. i arrived in monroe, louisiana around 7:30pm all excited about the new 90210, all to remember that i am in the central time zone, and that by the time i would get to my hotel, it would be long over, as the prime time shows start at 7pm there, so stupid. so, i decided to go to cracker barrel - i love that place, i do not eat there very often, but decided since it is right beside of the hotel i stay at for this site, i would enjoy some good ole chicken -n-dumplings, yum. i get to my hotel, all to remember that this is the city, in which, the water feels like baby oil. may sound strange, yes, but it is true. apparently, a gentleman told me they have, "soft water." he described it, saying, "you'll feel like you haven't gotten the soap off of you, like you are greasy." well, he is pretty much right, that has got to be one of the worst feelings. i mean, when you are washing your hair, you feel like no matter how long you stand under the water, you still have soap in it - that to me, feels like you've defeated the purpose of washing your hair, you know?

this morning i head to my site to conduct a short SIV, mainly to train the site on a system we use - and the coordinator is enrolling a patient in our study. i am not supposed to see patients we enroll - and of course one of the machines, our study requires, is not working. i had to pull the machine out of the room where the patient was and try to fix it, it was a disaster - all to find out it was truly broken... the poor patient was stuck 4 times, her fingers are going to be so sore tomorrow.... finger sticks are no fun! then the coordinator went on with her day, and basically forgot about me, remember i needed to train her on a system - the whole purpose of my visit. she finally came back to the monitoring room, to eat lunch... what the heck?!? i had all of 30 minutes to train her, as i now had to leave for a flight to houston. what a crazy day.

so, i board my plane from monroe to houston to finally get to florence (stupid, yes) and this woman gets so mad at me. so, i'm sitting in the bulk head seat - which means no bags under the seat because you don't have a seat in front of you. so, i had to put my computer bag and purse in the overhead bins. well, this older lady (60+) had put her long trench coat in the bin above, but it was taking up the whole bin. i politely ask her if i could put my stuff up there as well, she said yes. well after i put my stuff, she said, "did you just cram your stuff on my coat," i said, "no, actually it has plenty of room. it won't be wrinkled." she then says, "i saw you pushing your purse back in there, and i won't have my coat smashed in there and wrinkled when we land, so just give it here, i'll keep it on my lap." talk about pissed, that indeed she was, and i could care less, because i can't have my stuff with me, it is a federal regulation. she was overreacting, to say the least. then i get told that i am not supposed to have my turkey club out when we take off, what the heck?!? i mean, you are totally allowed to have food on the plane, and i have never been told to put food up during takeoff, whatever, i got to eat after we got 10,000 feet in the air. i wanted to look at the flight attendant and say, "my turkey club doesn't have an on/off switch!"

now, i am sitting here in the charlotte airport, about to board my florence flight, tired as all get out, just wanting to get to a bed. i won't arrive in florence until 11:35pm, and then i have to get my rental car and drive to the hotel, fun times. such a long day. this will be my 4th visit of the week, and whew i already need another vacation., haha.

alright, have a great thursday everyone.

happy new year everyone

i hope everyone had a great new year. i plan to update my blog tomorrow night with new stories, and i promise to do better for the few of you who actually read it, haha.