Long dAy

I thought about just not posting tonight. I'm looking at the clock at the bottom of my screen and it says 3:22am. That's eastern time. Which I'm definitely feeling. Do the math, where I am, it's 12:22am. So still, technically, it's Saturday. Which means I missed my Friday post. That's why I did two on Thursday, just in case.

But here are a few highlights from my trip out west...

A quick thank you again to Kevin for the Bojangle's breakfast and the ride to the airport. My first flight was somewhat uneventful. When I checked in, I had the option to upgrade my ticket to first class for $135. I thought about it. But then figured I could be in a better position to make that kind of call after the trip. So if I get the option on the way back, I might take the upgrade. Assuming I still have some disposable income at the end of my journey.

I say the first flight was uneventful, but the landing was a little rough. Well, not so much rough, but really quick. Apparently it gets windy in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I got to the terminal with about 90 minutes to kill. Which was good, 'cause I was pretty hungry. A quick stop at the McFood Court and I was ready to wait for my next flight.

This flight was better. The head flight attendant must have fancied himself a comedian. He kept throwing in all kinds of cheesy lines for a cheap laugh. He ended his final speech with, "My name is Bill and I approve this message." Everybody wants to get in on the act.

As I was in the air, I kept thinking about how confusing it was to look down and see nothing. No landmarks to tell me what state I was high above. No major highways or rivers that I could identify. It would be really convenient if we could look down and see blue or yellow and know that we had crossed from one state or country to the next. You know, like on a map. What if we got farmers to carve huge letters into their crops? Spelling out the state they're in... that's very helpful for airline passengers.

I finally arrived at LAX after what seemed like an entire day of traveling. Amazingly though, it was only 2:30 when I got of the plane. Yeah, local time. But what do I do now?

Jen was working, so my ride was a shuttle to the FlyAway station in Van Nuys. This is where I spent a great deal of my afternoon/evening. Eventually she got around to picking me up. Seriously though, I don't begrudge her for having to work. It was a work day after all. And I did choose a flight that would get me here in the early afternoon.

But anyway, she picked me up, we got some pizza at a place called Shakey's. The pizza wasn't bad, but the entertainment was top notch. We didn't know it when we chose the restaurant, but apparently it was Spanish karaoke night. I told her that I should pack it up and fly back home tonight. There's no way we can top that.

Jen informed me of the jam-packed weekend that she's got planned for us. As she described it, as I let the awesomeness of it all wash over me, it felt like we were cramming over a week of vacation into two days. And that was before she even got to what we're doing Monday. And, so you know, we're toying with the idea of doing a video blog. If I can work the technological magic just right, I think it would be pretty cool.

The eventful weekend officially kicked off with Point Break Live. To be totally honest, I was a little unsure of what this would be like. But it was great. Very funny. It's a group that acts out the entire movie (Point Break) on the stage. But there's audience participation. And they pick an audience member to play Johnny Utah, the role immortalized by Keanu Reeves. The guy that was picked did a great job of acting badly. Key for a Keanu role. As we went in, we purchased survival kits, which included a poncho. The poncho was an excellent idea. Remember the scene near the end when there's a huge shoot-out? Well, the actors used real squibs. Which meant fake blood flying all over the place. And it was sticky. And a little gross. But it was a lot of fun.

Day one is finished. Jen said Saturday will be a 24 hour day. So I better get as much sleep as I can. Beginning right now... Good night kids...