Found this bad boy while strolling through the Target wonderland yesterday. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the tag and it was on clearance for $13.74. It was the only one on the rack and just happened to be my size. I had no choice but to buy it. Of course, with the warm weather upon us it may be awhile before I can wear it, but it was a steal not to be passed up.
2. Our little birdie friends have hatched their young 'uns! We don't have any pictures because we're not quick enough on the draw, but we love to watch the little birdies coming and going with food for their little babies. They feed them several times a day and we've counted five little heads that pop up and chirp incessantly as long as there is food around. In fact, that's how we know that mom or pop have arrived with the vittles - all of a sudden we hear the baby chirping begin. And when the food is gone, the little babies nestle back down into the nest. They're so cute!
3. I hate American Airlines. This is not really anything new, just recently reconfirmed. In my last post, I mentioned that my return trip from San Antonio was hell. Here's how it went down: I had scheduled a return flight that would arrive back in the bay area by 2:30pm so I would have plenty of time to make it to work. I usually get to work around 4:20 to set up equipment for the strength and conditioning session which starts at 4:45. So, I'm sitting at the gate in San Antonio when the gate agent comes on the loudspeaker to say that our plane left Dallas late and would, therefore, arrive in San Antonio late. This meant we would not actually leave San Antonio until about 40 minutes after we were supposed to and if we had connections in Dallas we should talk to the gate agent. Naturally, a huge line forms to talk to the agent, but I was quick and was close to the front. So, I get to the front of the line and walk up to the agent as the person before me finishes up. Well, right as I get up to the counter, some fool strolls right up to the side of the counter and starts asking the agent about his connection. I looked at him (I was already mad about the flight and my best side is not usually manifest when I'm angry) and I said - in not a very nice tone, "hey, you know what? We're all in line (pointing to the very long line behind me) for the same questions." He looked at me and walked away. So, the agent looks up my reservation and kindly tells me that I will probably not make my connection, but they will keep my seat on the connecting flight just in case, as well as hold one for me on the following flight which would get me into the bay area at 4:15. Grrrrr! So, we finally board our flight and take off from San Antonio an hour after we were supposed to. I tell the flight attendant that I have a tight connection and she looks at me and says, "well, most people on this flight do." And that is all the help American gave me. So, while in flight, I look up the terminals in Dallas and figure out which gate I'm arriving at and which gate my next flight is at. Naturally, they're not in the same terminal. We did make up some time in the air and arrived in Dallas about 15 minutes before my next flight was supposed to leave. Of course, it took us 15 minutes to taxi to our gate. As soon as I was off the plane I made a beeline for the interterminal train and zipped over to the other terminal, ran to my gate only to see my plane just pulling away. Out of luck. So, I look up the gate for the next flight and it happens to be back in the same terminal that I arrived at. So, I head back over there, get myself a new boarding pass and wait for boarding. In the meantime and I had told Mr. Frisby that he would need to pick me up right when the plane landed (I had checked no bags) and take me directly to work so I could make it in time. Imagine my frustration when we board the plane and then sit there for an extra half hour while they fix some mechanical problem. All the while I'm trying to calculate the odds of landing with enough time for me to make it to work. If you remember from the beginning, the flight was scheduled to land at 4:15. If we took off half an hour late and the flight time is the same, then I land at 4:45 - exactly when I should be starting my session at work. So, as we get into the air the pilot comes on and says that we'll be able to make up some time because we weren't having the normal headwinds that we usually do out of Dallas (which was hilarious because just that morning, my sister Sharon had made the comment that when planes are late, the weather miraculously seems to improve, allowing them to make up time in the air). We did indeed make up some time and arrived in San Jose at 4:20. In Dallas I had requested an aisle seat as close to the front as possible. I was two rows back from First Class. The people around me probably thought I was rude, but as soon as the seatbelt sign was off, I jumped up, grabbed my carry-on from the overhead, zipped past the row in front of me and waited as the First Class passengers leisurely got up from their ginormous seats and gathered their belongings. I got off the plane fast and called Mr. Frisby as I ran through the terminal. He was waiting at the curb when I walked out of baggage claim and he drove me to work. I arrived at 4:40. I only had five minutes to get everything set up, but I was there on time at least, no thanks to American Airlines. As I have yet to enjoy a problem-free flight on American, I have decided that I'm done with them and they shall get no more business from me. If only all airlines could be like Virgin America. Mr. Frisby and I will be flying with them to Seattle in August and we look forward to being on the cool plane once again.
