John's Blog

Most people get to kick back on a long holiday weekend and have fun. Not all of us,apparently. This weekend marks yet another work related "road trip" to help facilitate another "borg like" systems conversion. The novelty of travel is rapidly wearing off.

I recently saw this travel sized Bill of Rights which would allow you to toss this small metallic version into the plastic bin, forcing the hand of the government inspectors to decide if you can keep this while you travel. Great, just what I need to do: piss off the TSA employees. I'll pass on this one.

So far the travel component of the trip has been frustrating, at best. Minor stuff, but the cumulative effect of all these little things starts to get me crazy. Let the bitch-fest begin:

Thanks to the travel service department for leaving the little detail of which terminal my flight was leaving from off my agenda. I went to what I assumed was my departure point, only to find out that I made a bad assumption. No biggie, since I just jumped on the monorail and got to where I was going, but probably a bad omen for the rest of the trip.

While I was on the air-train the recorded announcements really got under my skin. "The train is stopping...the doors are opening...the doors are closing." OK, ENOUGH...I GET IT! And to make matters worse, the voice sounds like Bret Spiner doing a Mr. Data voice. I see that it's not but I'm about one more elevator/peoplemover/doorway voice away from losing it.

I should know better than to rely upon Mapquest to be my prime navigational tool. They get much right, but you're always left guessing which is the right information, and which is totally bogus. I had a false sense of security, since I knew the area from living not too far away, and from dating a girl who lived near here. I couldn't have been more wrong...or lost. I DID get to see much of the picturesque Virginia countryside that I've never seen. Next time, I'll upgrade to a car with GPS.

Ironically as I was standing in the rental car line, I started to chat with the guy in front of me in line, and he works for the same company but was traveling to a different destination. As I was fumbling with seat adjustments and controls in the parking lot, he pulled up and jumped out of the car with HIS Mapquest printout in his hand, and a look of terror on his face and ask ME for directions. I hope the poor bastard made out better than me.

Thanks again to the travel department for making sure that the room was pre-paid...NOT! A quick call to the after-hours hot line resolved nothing. Not that it's gonna kill me to expense it out, but just one more frustration. I'm sure there will be more fun to follow in the next two days, so I'll just have to get over it.

And why, oh why after calling the hotel and telling them that I was totally lost, and having them give me directions that kept me lost even longer did I turn around and ask the same person for directions when I left the hotel? Needless to say, they were of the same fine quality, and got me lost once more.

Can't wait to see what fun is ahead...