The Beginning of Nothing

So, this blog sort of went by the wayside because I'd been so busy. I THOUGHT I'd want to blog when I was in Europe, but really? There were way better things to be doing than to be sitting at my computer typing about what I'd already done. And before I left for Europe, Crew and class projects, and work, etc., etc. -- there was no time to sleep, let alone write.

But now, I am the opposite of busy. Like, pathetically unbusy. Here's the story--

The school requires that you actually PAY them to attend. They're pretty strict about it, actually. I guess they're what you call a "business," or whatever. It's due by a specific date and time and if you DON'T pay it, they drop all of your classes. Usually my dad takes care of this, but with my parent's big move to Canada, my sister starting school at UTSA, and the fact that I didn't tell him that it was due at 5:00 pm sharp until 5:03 pm, I guess he forgot.

"No problem," I assure him. "I can just re-register later this week. All of my classes are upper-division so I should be able to get back into them pretty easily." That's seriously what I thought, until I actually went to re-register and realized it was a TOTAL mess. Also, the advisors did not respond to my e-mails or calls.

Then, I saw this amazing opportunity for an internship at the company that I work for, Bazaarvoice. Full-time at the Austin offices, working in Business Development. Everything that I want to do for a company that I really love. I took a giant leap of faith, applied for the position... and did not re-enroll in classes.

Then, I didn't get the job. Actually, Bazaarvoice decided to discontinue the position, so I'm pretty sure nobody got the job (and yes, that does make me feel better about it.)

So, a lot of things are different this semester. It's weird going from really-super-busy, so-tired-I-just-want-to-cry-all-of-the-time to just... nothing.

But, then I realized: I have ALL of this free time, so I'm going to make something of it. I have time to do all of that stuff that I never had time to do before and, after that, I have time to do stuff I never even thought of doing before. So this is my blog of all of it -- The Nothing Chronicles.

First Class

I'm at JFK. Finally. I got to fly FIRST CLASS and it was AMAZING. It was probably the most comfortable place I've slept in the past week (which might not be saying much seeing as I've slept at various Motel 6's, a minivan, Tristan's couch, and on a chair at the airport.) The chair folded out into a bed. While the chumps in Coach paid $5 for a can of Pringles, I got a lovely salad, a brownie, and a fruit bowl with REAL silverware on glass plates. I was served a warm towel and unlimited glasses of Diet Coke in a REAL glass.

I almost whipped out my camera and took pictures, but I didn't think that would be very classy...

I've tasted the sweetness of BusinessClass and I don't want to go back to Coach.

But I will. In about 2 hours. :(

FINALLY going to London! Yippee!

Stuck in Atlanta

I've been in the Atlanta airport for about 12 hours now and I've got about another 6 hours before my flight to JFK. From there, I'll take a flight to Heathrow and make it to London by 7:00am tomorrow. Less than 24 hours behind schedule... not too bad!

My back is REALLY hurting. Probably a combination of lugging my bag around airports for a day as well as sleeping on the not-so-comfortable benches of the Atlanta airport. (As a reference point, sleeping on benches at the airport is slightly less comfortable than sharing a motel bed with 7 people.)

I was SO close to making that flight last night. Just as we touched down in Atlanta, my connecting flight was taking off. Literally. Like, I could see it taxiing on the runway from my airplane window. If my flight in was 10 minutes earlier or my flight out was 10 minutes later, I probably could have made it.

Delta, btw, is probably the most inefficient airline ever. First of all, there were only FOURTEEN people on my flight to Atlanta. I was literally the only person in the first 10 rows of coach. I shudder to think of the fuel costs per capita on that flight. Yikes.

Then, once I got off the plane, I joined about 250 people in the line for the Delta Help Desk. Apparently, I was not the only person who missed my connecting flight. I talked to 5+ people who all had the same story I did: our flights into Atlanta ran 1-2 hours late, but our connecting flights left on time-- without us. One guy I talked to told me that he got to the gate only to have the door shut in his face!

The forever long Delta Help Desk line

Seriously, Delta! Why not just delay your flights out of Atlanta a little bit, too? I thought that they had extra time built into the flight plan for stuff like that, too.

I just feel bad for the customer service representatives at the Help Desk. The girl who helped me, Monique, looked like she was about to cry. She was screaming back and forth with one of the other CS reps about getting people blankets and people were seriously just BITCHING at everyone. Honestly... what can the CS reps do? They can't make the plane turn around, people!

I also feel terrible for the people who are actually traveling on a timeline. I met one girl who's going to miss her sister's wedding rehearsal-- and possibly the wedding-- because of her delays. Three guys behind me in line are missing their first day of Basic Training because they couldn't get to Fort Knox on time. (But, because they are military, they automatically got comped hotel rooms. They graciously yet creepily offered me space in their room. They were SUPER sketch, though, so I vetoed that idea. No reason to be needlessly risky just for a hotel bed...)

I don't really have anywhere I NEED to be right now. For me, all this means is that my 2 month trip to Europe will start a day later than planned. Boo-hoo, right?

Oh, hey... btw: This is going to be my travel blog for the summer.

So, I’m sitting at Hobby Airport waiting for my flight to Atlanta. Alone. Yep— Nessie, Sarah, and Matthew are already in the air on the way there. The ONE good thing about this is that I didn’t MISS the flight. Apparently there is just stuff going on with delays and problems with air traffic control at the Atlanta airport, so all flights into Atlanta are running late. They moved Nessie, Sarah, and Matt to the 3:30 flight that actually left at 4:20, but I'm stuck on the 5:45 flight that may or may not leave on time.

I really have no idea WHAT time I’m leaving for Atlanta. The monitor at gate 32 said that the flight is “On Time” to leave at 5:45, but it is 5:08 and there is no plane at the gate… Wait... as I typed that, the Gate monitor went blank. Hmm… I wonder what’s going on?

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Ok. Now the flight is officially delayed until 7:30 ☹. Oh well. What can you do?

Khalib, the guy at the Delta help desk, told me this was probably going to happen. If the flight from Atlanta to London is running late, there's a chance that I can make it. BUT, if that flight is running on time, I’ll be spending a night in the Atlanta airport and catch a plane to Heathrow tomorrow night.

I’m staying optimistic, but whatever happens, happens. Hopefully the next time I’m writing to you will be from London. Or it might be from the airport in Atlanta. Who knows?

I’ve realized that worrying about stuff like this isn’t going to make anything change. It will only stress me out. (A lesson it’s only taken me 20 years, 240 days to learn).

To be honest, I'm actually kind of relieved to have some alone time to give me a break between the 40-some hours in the car to and from Tennessee and the 2 months traveling with Matt and Sarah. :)

Lessons Learned this week

10. Don't take baths when you are really tired. Bathtubs do NOT make good beds.

9. Store brand "Diet Classic Cola" or "Diet Dr. B" is 3.55 times less expensive than CocaCola. When you drink Diet Coke and DDP though an IV like I do, this adds up to a savings of about $15-25 a week.

8. Sometimes, infomercial products work just as well as they say. You really CAN bedazzle anything. But bedazzling one's finger really hurts.

7. Rachael Ray never gets less annoying.

6. Fiber One bars are a good "sometimes" snack, but eating a whole box in one day is not good for your system.

5. Especially when you have a 2k test the next day...

4. I can find a way to make a 3-mile car ride take 1.5 hours.

3. No matter how tired you are, sometimes it is worth staying up for 24+ hours just to see Sarah Owen attack a plate of taquitos at Taco C. Especially when the taquitos fight back.

2. Do NOT get "lackadaisical" with your birth control to secretly get pregnant to force your boyfriends hand in marriage. On a related note, don't think you can keep ANYTHING a secret from your roommates. The walls at the Block are too thin for that. (We all know you're preggers.)

1. When you are mad/sad/angry on the inside, smile on the outside. You really DO feel better. (I'm still working on implementing this one... :-) )

This... is EXACTLY something I would do.

So, today I had an appointment to look at apartments with my future roommate, Max. Our realtor (Ari at West Campus Living--use her! She is awesome) was nice enough to pick Macks up at Jester and me at my apartment. I went down to wait outside my apartement at 12:05, buck Macks and Ari were nowhere to be seen.

12:07: Nothing

12:10: Nothing

12:13: Finally, the car pulls up and stops. I tug on the handle, the lock pops and I get in. Weird, though, that the front passenger door is opening, too. Why is Macks getting out? Weird, too, that Ari's hair got so much lighter and longer in the two weeks since I've seen her last. Even weirder: Macks has a ponytail.... WHAT'S GOING ON!?

Finally, the driver of the car turns around and gives me a quizzical look. I GOT INTO A STRANGERS CAR!

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I thought you were my realtor!," I say.

"I'm not."

"Well... yes. That's become apparent. I'll just... go then."

The driver really has nothing to say. I don't know what I would do, either, if some stranger came and sat in the backseat of my car. How awkward. And probably kind of scary, too.

What else is there to say? "I'm really sorry about this," I tell her. "REALLY sorry." I awkwardly climb out of the car and return to my place on the sidewalk, waiting for my real ride to arrive.

So that's MY awkward moment of the day. What's yours?

Reason I consider the trip to Tennessee a success

I did not lock myself in the bathroom on the charter bus and need help getting out.

In all, I would say it was an "....OK!!!" trip.





(Oh yeah... It was also pretty cool that we made it to the Grand Finals!! Woo!)