I need a gig

I've been home for 2 1/2 weeks without being on an assignment. So far I've helped with three proposals (I hate proposals b/c I am NOT a salesperson), cleaned up my previous client's deliverables (so we can use them again, charge a premium for them and the client will think its all new), started boot camp (I f'ing hurt everywhere!) and spent WAY too much money. My bank account says I need to go back on the road soon. I'm a victim of too much month and too little money. But the closet is cleaner than it was and the storage unit is somewhat more organized than it was when I got home. God bless The Container Store. :)

Before we ever left...

I'm slack. I haven't posted to my blog since I got back from London (which was FABULOUS) and I've since been back to NY, SAT, NY and home. Soooooo....here we go. Whirlwind weekend in London. Overnight flight was great, I slept about three hours, my SO not at all. Seats were awesome, plenty of room good food, on demand games, movies and musics. But before we ever boarded the plane we started having fun. I picked the line to go through security at JFK b/c I NEVER get in the same line as people with kids especially those in a stroller because it takes forever to get through. Yes, I fly every week, I HATE strollers and newbie flyers.

Anywhoo...this is a transcript of the people in front of us in line. Read with a Cockney accent

TSA: Please remove all metal objects and put them in the bin, remove laptops, dvd players, video cameras from their case, keep your boarding pass out and only one carry on plus one personal item per person.
Female passenger: Its against the rules to bring more than x amount of alcohol back into the UK we aren't buying anything else in the duty free shop
Male passenger: But we promised
Female passenger: NO
Male passenger: grumble, grumble, grumble

TSA: Please remove all metal objects from your pockets before passing through security
Male passenger dumps fake fur coat and shoes and carry on in bin and walks through metal detector

BING BING BING (aka as the moron alert)

Male passenger shows off belly to show belt buckle (totally grody by the way)
TSA: Please go back and remove all metal objects from your pockets including keys, change, cell phone, watch, etc.
Male passenger dumps three pounds of change from left pocket and cell phone but doesn't remove belt, watch or wallet.
TSA: Please remove everything from your pockets and take off the belt
Male passenger is like the clown car removing shit from his pockets: more change, wallet, belt, watch, FIVE rings, gold Mr. T chain, etc. Goes back through security and BING BING BING
At this point SO and I are falling on each other laughing b/c the TSA chick is PISSED!!!!! And not being nice about it.
TSA: COME BACK HERE AND REMOVE EVERYTHING FROM YOUR POCKETS. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?
Male Passenger remove THREE condoms from back pocket
TSA: Condoms?!? Really are you serious?!?! CONDOMS?!?!?! I said take EVERYTHING out of your pockets. These are FOIL. They set off the metal detector. Is there anything else in your pockets, any of your pockets?!?!?
Male passenger: No I don't think so
TSA: Go through the metal detector now and I don't want you to come back here again

Male passenger finally gets through security and his wife who is already through security is about to blow a gasket.

SO and I proceed through with no problems. Of course I need to change my pants after peeing on myself from laughing so hard at the idiots. I love traveling! International is the best!

BTW...this couple was across the aisle from us on the flight over. They continued behaving as if they owned the damn plane and needed rock star treatment the whole flight and continued fighting about the duty free alcohol. LOL

Traveling is such an adventure

I try and get home sometime between my Dad and Mom's birthday every year. Their birthdays are only a couple weeks apart, so we usually try and celebrate them together b/c I can only get a couple trips home a year. Since I've been traveling so much I decided to take advantage of the fact that my company will pick up my flight if I don't go back to DC first and make the most efficient use of my time. I book a flight leaving Thursday afternoon because that's when I always fly back from NY.

Now that the stage is set, let me tell you the rest of the story. I have a two hour working session with my clients late Wed afternoon. We are doing process design for a new IT process and I won't bore you with the details. Anywhoo...I screwed up so bad that I thought I was going to be asked to leave the client. My boss explains to me that I need to fix this tomorrow (Thursday) and I need to get it done now! My flight leaves at 2:40 PM and I'm in meetings all Thursday AM. Soooo...like the good corporate slave that I am, I change my flights to Friday stay an extra day and fix the problem. Which BTW, wasn't totally my fault as I was using work from another team in my company, but I didn't validate it and I'm the one on the hook. Back to the story...flight changes, fix the problem. All taken care of right?

10:30 PM on Wed, I'm done working and check the weather for Friday. HOLY SHIT!!!!! We're getting 6 - 8 inches of snow on Friday. I'm thinking I'm never going to get home for Dad's bday and I've already disappointed them by not being able to get home on Thursday.

I wake up to a winter wonderland on Friday AM. It's pretty, but have you seen the airports in NY during snow and bad weather? They get screwed up very badly very quickly. So I head to the office for my early morning meeting to rectify the Wed screw up. And........




the people coming to my mea culpa meeting AREN'T there b/c of the SNOW!!!!!! ARGH!! Ok..c.onf call, make everyone happy and call the car company to come get me and take me to LaGuardia praying my flight takes off. There is already a three hour inbound delay at LGA, a 5 hour delay at JFK and a 7 hour delay at EWR. Let's see, three hour delay at LGA, three hour layover in Charlotte for the last flight to Florence = missed flight home. Now I'm royally pissed b/c I'm never going to get home to see my parents.

At least I'll be able to get to DC if I can get to the train station.

But we have a happy ending, my flight takes off 1 hour late and I make my flight home. Now I just have to make sure I make the 5:45 AM flight out Monday AM.

5:45 AM flight. WTH was I thinking?!?!? Oh yeah, Daddy's girl has to go home for Daddy's birthday. I'd hate to disappoint. Plus I got a GREAT card. I knew he was going to cry! :)

Downside of traveling (hack hack hack)

So my blog is called travelin girl adventures for a reason. I travel. ALOT! Mostly for work, but sometimes for fun. Hoping to do more of the fun stuff soon. Swiss Miss I so want to go to Austria with you!!!

Anyway, I finally succumbed to the bane of all travelers. I'm SICK! As in fever, hacking cough, chills, night sweats and all around feeling like poop! And this totally sucks b/c I'm supposed to spend next weekend in NY with my other half on our first mini vacation since I moved in last June. Life's been crazy over the holidays with work and other obligations and we haven't gotten to see much of each other. So we are really looking forward to playing tourist in Manhattan all weekend. Now I don't know if its going to happen.

Of course I have no choice about work. I have six weeks to finish up a project that we kicked off this week and there is a ton of work that needs to happen before the end of six weeks. So I have to be on site next week. Sick or no sick. Thank god for Motrin (vitamin M for those in the know).


It's the only thing allowing me to feel human right now. (time for more drugs...brb)





Ok...next dose of Motrin down the gullet. Back to traveling and being sick. I'm trying to decide how sick I need to be before I work from home and how much trouble I'd get into for doing so. I'll decide tomorrow night because my flight back to NY doesn't leave until Monday AM. I can always cancel at the last minute if I have to. I'm done complaining now...at least I'm not having surgery like some people.

Now I'm going back to sleep. I'll be happier later. :)