Miscellany of a Cheshire Cat

So I misread my itinerary for today’s flight. At 3 pm I reread it and realized my flight was at 4 pm not 5:15. (In fact, it was supposed to land at 5:15 in Providence.) We got out the door quickly and headed to the airport. I snagged the iPhone and looked up my flight info and relaxed quite a bit when the Southwest web site told me that my flight was running half an hour late. My stress levels and the Fop’s went up again though because it was clearly Amateur Day on the highway. The star of the scariness was an elderly man in a yellow car with blue bumpers. He was straying from lane to lane, with and without signaling, and clearly sometimes it was not an intentional lane change. He was driving fast and was an accident waiting to happen. We lost him at some point as we got closer to the airport.

However, he was lost but not quite gone! By the time I got to the security checkpoint, elderly bad driver man was talking to the information person outside the checkpoint. One of the reasons he could have been driving poorly? He was wearing 2 pairs of glasses and had a third pair that appeared to be half-lens reading glasses hanging from his shirt. 2 pairs - one over the other. Do you think the DMV lets him take his eye test for his license renewal with both pairs on? I hope he gets one new pair of properly prescribed glasses soon!

So back to my little lateness. The security line was a little long but the only way to get moved up to the front is to have an airline representative accompany you. It turned out my flight was leaving from Terminal D and Southwest is based out of Terminal E (where I was dropped off) so I would have had to run back to Terminal E, probably wait in line, run back with someone in tow, etc… so I waited in line. It was 3:35 pm and the flight was still listed as delayed until 4:30 so I wasn’t too stressed but I hate travel stress. I like to get to the airport well in advance of my flight is to avoid this stress.

Luckily, it appears my travel karma had a positive balance today. I got through security with the usual hassle and juggling. I dinged the metal detector once but rescanned clean and then was free to reassemble my stuff on the far side of the checkpoint. I successfully got to the gate in time for the original departure time! Four minutes to spare! And then I waited an hour to board because the flight was still running late.

Turns out my flight actually DID depart at 5:15 pm. Coincidence? I think not!

tags: airports, crazy drivers, flight delays, late, security, southwest, travel

We are home. Now, I will indulge in the ramblings of a tired traveler.

I think I’m becoming too cranky about air travel. Insert the usual rant about TSA here… I’ll throw in some nice comments about the airport experience today for balance.

Today: I watched an older TSA agent assist an older passenger repack her carry-on bag and put all her toiletries in a zip-top bag, and he did this politely and respectfully. I had my computer backpack (without the computer in it of course) sent through the x-ray twice because apparently all the loose change I throw in one of the pockets was a problem along with the “tons of change and overlapping gadgets”. (Well, I throw the change in there because I have to go through a metal detector and my gadgets were actually quite well distributed throughout the bag, really!) The nice TSA x-ray operator was very gentle with my bag because she saw that I had a sand dollar packed in there carefully!

But does anyone really feel safer taking off their shoes?[1] I watched several less flexible people struggle with that step of security - both taking off their shoes and getting them back on again. TSA used the metal detector wands on another couple of people I suspect because they saw it would be faster and better for all involved to wand the passengers rather than have a nice little old lady take off her very light-weight zip sweater, shoes, medical alert bracelets, thick glasses and who knows what else. The TSA agent was still very thorough with the wands - in fact, much more thorough than I’ve seen them be in larger airports.

Of course, they also did a bag search because a man had a flashlight in the bottom of his bag… They knew it was a flashlight when they saw it on the x-ray yet still needed to search the bag. I guess what was clearly a flashlight on x-ray might have been something more sinister upon closer examination.

The anxiety of it all: I admit that I not only hate the unloading of laptops and stripping off of my coat, sweater and shoes, I also get anxious about it, especially in crowded airports. I am nervous about someone swiping one of my laptops while I’m trying to balance on one foot while slipping on a shoe. I worry that I’m going to drop something along the way. I probably frustrate a lot of people in line behind me because I need 4 bins and still have to put my bags on the belt too. I travel alone most of the time, so it’s just me looking out for my stuff! I have, in fact, left a computer at security by accident before - I was late for a flight and luckily guy behind me in line ran to catch up with me to return it to me. I have been nearly pushed over while trying to put a slip-on shoe back on.

And I am one of those people who has to at least partially repack right there on the belt after the x-ray machine. I simply do not have enough arms to hold everything that they make me pull out of my bags for the x-ray machine. That’s why I carry all that stuff in bags![2]

Okay, the Security dance is something that makes me anxious - and I’m a business traveler who flies regularly, knows the drill, is in good health and has no particularly impeding conditions other than too many electronics which I’d never put in my checked luggage anyway.[3]

What if… Today I tried to imagine doing all that with a frail body and all the other accessories that come with being age 75. Granted, I doubt there are many 75 year olds flying with 2 laptops, but it’s still daunting to think of the increased difficulty and obstacles involved. I’ll probably have serious back problems and possibly knee problems by then. My hands will be weak from arthritis. Would my liquid medication all fit in the silly zip-top bag? Will my feet swell making it difficult to get in and out of my specially-fitted orthopedic shoes? If the metal detector is more sensitive than usual will I even be able to get my rings off my fingers for the first time in ages or did my knuckles swell up too? Hopefully I won’t slip walking around in my stocking feet.

TSA agents: The TSA agents I interacted with today were respectful, kind and considerate - they were also located at a small airport dealing a low volume of travelers in an affluent region. They are an exceptionally positive example of the TSA agents I’ve interacted with. More often than not the agents I see in larger airports (and most airports are larger than the one we flew out of today) are abrasive, disrespectful and, in some cases, inattentive to their actual duties. Apparently it’s fine to berate someone for not being able to move very quickly or very far because her cane is in the x-ray machine. It’s also an option to belittle and lecture people regularly for any little infraction.

All this to give foolish Americans a false sense of security. I sigh in the general direction of Washington, DC which apparently banks on the lowest-common-denominator when it comes to public security policy. I realize there is some necessity for inconvenience when it comes to air travel - I concede that taking my computers out of the backpack probably speeds up the x-ray examination - however so much of the effort is being expended in vain. We all might agree that making a determined domestic or international terrorist take off his shoes is not going to stop him.

TSA is becoming more responsive to the “market” I think - the solid state drives on the MacBook Air laptop threw them for a loop but now photos of what the SSDs look like have been distributed. The TSA agents have little blue lights and magnifying glasses now that help them authenticate IDs better and faster. 18 explosive-detecting canine units have been trained and more puppies are at bomb-school according to the latest TSA blog post. The super-scanner which uses millimeter waves to achieve whole-body imaging is popping up in more airports.

Balance: I’ve heard it called a balancing act between speed and security. Well we haven’t found a balance point yet - we’re not even at the point where policies are implemented consistently from airport to airport. I wouldn’t mind if it were effective security instead of silly hoops to jump through, even if those hoops were put up in response to a past terrorist threat. I could even deal with security taking a little longer. Even at Ben Gurion airport in Israel where security is considered to be among the best in the world[4] and check-in can take multiple hours, travelers leave their shoes on.

Notes:
[1]I know. I harp on this quite a bit. But remember Shoe-bomber Richer Reid couldn’t actually get his shoe-bomb lit in the air. That detail always makes me giggle.
[2]I love bags.
[3]Checking a bag just means I don’t need to pull out my zip-top Freedom Bag of tiny toiletries for all the world to see. I’m sure the man behind me in line was curious what brand of deodorant I use.
[4]By the way, some techniques employed by airport security in Israel are explicitly illegal in the U.S. (racial profiling for example). Security routinely takes multiple hours and passengers go through security, including x-ray for all luggage, before checking their bags.

tags: airport secuirty, airports, rants, travel, tsa

Saturday, which I guess was only yesterday, a friend picked me up in the morning at my hotel and we tromped around Chicago for the day. We parked at Millenium Park and fanned out from there. I didn’t have much in the way of expectations for Chicago, so it was fun to get the tour of someone’s favorite places. We walked a lot! After attaining coffee, chocolate milk and chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, we went the Art Institute of Chicago to look at the art. Photos will come later but the museum is amazing. It’s not a huge museum so it’s not intimidating at all. The collection varies enormously as well. Yes, I admit that some modern art still makes me giggle.

After the Art Institute, we had Giordano’s Pizza for lunch. It was the best deep-dish pizza I’ve ever had. So much cheese and yummy sauce on a wonderful crust… I have embraced the obsession and now it is mine. The also make the best deep-fried zucchini sticks I’ve ever had. I understand the obsession with Giordano’s now. There are not enough words to describe the wonderfulness…

After lunch we tried to go up the Sears Tower. As you can see in the pictures, it wasn’t exactly a clear day in Chicago. The attendant told us there was nothing to see but a wall of white. So, now I have an excellent reason to go back to Chicago. We took a cab over to Navy Pier instead and wandered about. Navy Pier is part indoor/outdoor mall, part tourist attraction, part recreation area. There’s a rather random Stained Glass Museum in the middle of it. Well, perhaps the stained glass is not random but the placement of the museum certainly is. The exhibits were beautiful.

In general, I was safe from all the retail temptations because my bags were already completely full of stuff already.

We wandered about the park, played around and under the Bean, admired the amphitheater… The Bean is pretty awesome too. It’s a large, shiny sculpture that’s concave underneath. I was a bit dubious of its coolness until I got up close to it. When you go under the Bean you get all kinds of crazy reflections (top photo).

I may have a bit of wind-burn on my face. The day was mostly wet too. We ended up having a very light dinner at a German restaurant - specially brewed root beer and chicken and spaetzle soup. We did a driving tour down along the shore, zipped by Wrigley Field and other notable locations, and got me to the airport in plenty of time for my flight back to Philadelphia. I had a great time. There’s something far more memorable about seeing a friend’s city through his eyes. I didn’t expect to like Chicago as much as I did. I find myself wanting to go back (preferably during clearer weather) to see more of the city. (The root beer, chicken soup and amazing pizza don’t factor in at all. I swear!)

Southwest has upgraded their gate areas in Chicago-Midway to include leather chairs (with electrical outlets) and high-top counters with stools for laptop users. I have to admit, the new chairs are pretty darned comfy. I contemplated leaving the gate to get a bottle of water but resisted because I really didn’t want to lose my super-comfy seat! The flight was on-time and puking-toddler free! Hurray! We actually landed in Philly a little early. I remembered where I parked the little green Subaru and I got home just as the Fop and company were finishing up their unloading from the Coronation trip.

Today we headed into the park for the Cherry Blossom Festival. It was gorgeous as usual. I was completely grumpy because apparently my camera battery went dead overnight. I must have left it on at some point. *grumble* I continue to be annoyed that I missed some great photos. Luckily it was just the battery, not something more difficult to fix. We saw a couple of demonstrations as well as the taiko drumming and dance troop from Japan. This year they were particularly good, I think. There was enough breeze for kites too!

And more walking. My legs are either going to be really happy with me for all the walking I’ve done in the past 5 days or complain. I’m hoping for happy…

Photos: The top photo was taken from under the Bean. The bottom was taken from in front of it - what skyline was available is reflected on the bean.

tags: airports, cherry blossom festival, chicago, giordano’s pizza, illinois, navy pier, photographs, photography, sears tower, southwest, the bean, tourist, travel

This older photo of Tenny really sums up what I feel like at the end of the week lately.

My week was long and rather bothersome at times as you might have guessed from my lack of posts or commentary on Monster Cat. The trip to New London was productive but kind of intense. One of the teams I work with clued in to some important stuff and wanted to absorb it all at once… always fun. Wednesday, I got to clean snow off my rental car! Okay, it was kind of icy and more like accumulated freezing rain, but I think of it fondly as snow. That same day, I attempted to fly home on a mid-afternoon flight and ended up hanging out in the airport until that night. Why? Because Philadelphia still can’t handle landing planes in the rain. We had our plane at the gate in Providence but Philly kept us on a ground hold until 8 pm. I did eventually get home, and only 5 hours later than expected, so I guess that’s not horrible just bothersome. I think I was in bed less than 45 minutes after I got home. Happy, warm, snuggly blankets improved my day immensely.

Thursday was, of course, V-day. I am so lucky I planned ahead this year on the whole gift thing because I’ve had so little sane time the past couple weeks. I had a call run past 5 pm which made us late for our dinner reservation but luckily it didn’t matter. Dinner was fabulous. The rub on my steak included coffee beans - a subtle addition yet delicious. I foolishly ordered hazelnut chocolate cake for dessert. I say foolishly because the slice that came out was bigger than my head. We took home 3 meals worth of left-overs and I am stretching the cake 4 meals or so.

Friday was another day of crazy work. I feel like I’m going to need Monday to catch up on stuff I was too frantic to address yesterday.

Today is much more relaxed. I woke up earlier than I wanted to and gave up on going back to sleep. I cleaned my desk before lunchtime though I’m still contemplating how I can rearrange things better. I’ve got some throws in the washer - I bought them to turn into curtains… if I can get them to smell like something other than diesel that is. The dishwasher is running, a round of trash has gone out, and I’m getting a handle on the paper recycling in my office. I like visible progress. And I like being able to slow down and take the time to breathe.

tags: airports, busy, home, rain, snow, travel, weather, work

It’s been a long, busy week already and I’ve still got one more day left. I worked in the office this morning, flew home this afternoon, got flowered and ballooned at the airport (Super-HURRAY!) and then settled in to work again for a little bit. Too many long days this week. Luckily the flight was uneventful and arrived 20 minutes early.

Rant Warning Level: Red (Probability of Rant = 100%)

By the by… the threat level is still Orange or high, specifically for air travel. The threat level was raised to Orange on August 10, 2006. When was the last time it was Yellow? Oh right, over a year ago in early August when I stopped being able to bring my own water bottle through the Security check point and the requirement began to show all my toiletries and other sundry liquids and gels to the world in a quart-sized zip top bag. Oh joy. So now that this crack down on toothpaste, eye drops and hydration has been in effect for approximately 18 months, the threat level is still Orange. Why? Gosh could it be because all these silly security measures aren’t doing anything to actually provide additional security?

Seriously, making everyone put their 3.4 oz containers of shampoo and ointments in zip-top bag is not making me feel any safer. Not only that, it’s not making the flights any safer. I don’t mind a little extra process if it actually works.

“Raising the threat condition has economic, physical, and psychological effects on the nation.”

Yes, raising and maintaining a high threat condition annoys me. But that’s not all. Unnecessarily high threat levels and absurdly increased security have already had unwelcome effects on this country. We’ve seen a decrease in international tourists, our currency has fallen pretty significantly… our economy is indeed feeling the effects. I’d love to see some evidence that showing the world my moisturizer and nasal spray is actually preventing terrorism. I won’t hold my breath.

On the other hand, I had the hiccups pretty badly between dropping off my rental car and getting to my gate today and the TSA guy said it was cute. Yep, those are our tax dollars at work.

tags: airports, rant, security, silly, travel, tsa, work