Homeward bound (I wish I wasn’t…) Redux

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. on Monday. I read for a while in bed until I heard others stirring. Then I got up, shaved and showered. I finished packing my suitcase and hauled it downstairs.

Sidebar: I didn’t even think about breakfast. Which, upon reflection, was bad. Carla had specifically bought me some English muffins to eat with my morning pills. I had one, if you remember, but then Jake started making breakfasts. So, thanks for the thought, Carla. Make something FANTASTIC with the rest of them!

I wrote out the last Blog from South Carolina and then went downstairs. Carla was dressed and ready for an 8:00 a.m. appointment. Jake was ready for work. So, he loaded my suitcase in his car, I said goodbye to Carla and Whiskey and then left for the airport.

At the airport, I made my goodbyes to Jake and then went to get my ticket. Since I was pretty early, the ticket kiosk suggested that there was a 9:15 a.m. flight I could transfer to for just $75.00. I was sorely tempted (getting home two hours earlier sounded fantastic!), but I sucked it up and stayed with my original ticket.

Sidebar: I have the same temptations when they say I could upgrade to first class or get preferred boarding for such-and-such. But, so far, I fight it!!! So far…

Instead, I went to the Sunrise Café (don’t be fooled by the name – it’s a counter) and got a sausage biscuit, “upgraded” with an egg and cheese. I ate that with some of the bottled water I bought after successfully negotiating the TSA line.

Sidebar: I can understand the TSA’s insistence you cannot carry bottled water in. But sometimes it feels like just a scam so I have to buy a one dollar bottle of water for $2.50 from the airport. I’m just sayin’…

I found my favorite waiting spot: Two leather arm chair with leather ottomans. I have sat there before when available. Both were empty, so I plunked my butt down and read my book, interrupted only by a few text messages.

I still had time, so after a while, I went back to the Sunrise café and bought a cup of black coffee and a cheese Danish. I wasn’t hungry, I just like cheese Danish and they had them.

Sidebar: As I think I’ve mentioned before, when I first got into management back in the late 80’s, morning client meetings always included cheese Danish. From there it went to donuts, then muffins and finally bagels. Don’t get me wrong, I like all of them. But I have a soft spot in my heart for cheese Danish.

Finally it was time to board. We walked outside in the warm rain and up the little ramp into the plane. This time it was a small jet, rather than the prop plane. I have a soft spot in my heart for old prop planes as well.

We got to Charlotte on time and, as usual, I hiked across the whole damn airport to get to my next flight. I never understood (and probably never will) why they land at one end of the airport (and the end varies) but the next flight on the same damn airline takes off at the other!

The plane I was leaving on was delayed due to weather, so we were about 30 minutes late taking off.

I sweet-talked the stewardess into giving me two cups of coffee (always a plus). The flight itself was uneventful other than a little turbulence at one point.

We finally touched down in the “D” and I put my coat on. It took quite a while for the luggage to spit out, but it finally did and I went out to find my truck.

It was where I left it, but not how I left it. Somebody had cleaned out their trash (including a half-eaten salad) in their vehicle and dumped it all into my truck bed. I was p*ssed, but what could I do? I gathered up the crap and dumped it into a nearby trash receptacle.

Sidebar: Why didn’t they do that?

I bailed out the truck and headed home.

It was later than I had planned, I was hungry and knew I didn’t have anything to make at home except canned or frozen food. So, I stopped in at the Chinese place next to CVS and got a quart of chicken fried rice.

The house was still standing when I got home and unlocked the front door. Caley was hiding under the loveseat, but finally came out when she realized who I was. Then I couldn’t get her to shut up!

I emptied the dishwasher, started a little load of clothes in the washer (the bulk of my dirty laundry was done yesterday at Jake and Carla’s) and then dished out a big bowl of chicken fried rice. I ate that watching the 5:00 p.m. news.

Then I unloaded my suitcase. It was still sorta light outside, so I dumped the used kitty litter on my horseshoe pits. Since I was out there anyway, I refilled all the feeders and the suet cage (they haven’t gotten anything for a week, you see).

Back inside, I put the laundry in the dryer and went back to work on the computer desk. There was a slight problem with the drawer face fitting. So, I took it off and then removed the drawer handles.

But, it was getting late, so I decided I would deal with it tomorrow in the daylight.

I took the time to refill my pill box and then began to update the next Blog post.

I stopped at 8:30 p.m. and reheated the rest of the chicken fried rice for dinner. Then I turned on a taped NCIS Los Angles episode, but I fell asleep before it finished. When I woke up to go to the bathroom, I turned the TV and the light off and went to bed for real.