It's been a week of renewal around here, on a number of levels. It's January, the new semester is about to start, and I just got a bee in my bonnet to cleanse and purge and start again. Here's what happened:
1. I rearranged both bedrooms in our apartment. Last weekend I started asking TMH what he thought about this, what he thought about that ...in terms of our furniture. He was not so enthused, I think because when we moved in together we found a way to make it work for us and changing things around did seem a bit daunting. We had to purge a lot to fit together in one apartment but when we moved in that was just the beginning of the process. I realized from talking to TMH that he didn't really care that much, and I decided he'd be happy if I just did it. And he was! I knew it wouldn't be as complicated as he thought. I dedicated Monday afternoon to changing things around, starting with our second bedroom/office. His desk is now in there, instead of in our bedroom, which means when I wake up in the morning I don't have to look over at his big stack of papers. The office looks awesome. Both desks fit in nicely together and the space just makes me happy now. The moving of the desk let our bedroom become a whole new space. Less cluttered, more relaxing, and more space! I am still excited about it when I walk in there. The office is also less cluttered, and moving all this stuff around allowed me to get rid of a piece of furniture I have been dying to get rid of. Why didn't I before? Because it was storing a lot of crap. I have since purged some of it and rearranged our closets to fit the rest. It's liberating, really. We still have more to sort through/get rid of but it's coming together. TMH came home to quite a surprise! Don't underestimate Mrs. PMP. I really didn't take me that long and I am still admiring my handiwork.
2. I got a haircut... a drastic one! It was really cold and shitty this week and I woke up one morning and looked in the mirror and just was sad at what I saw. Long hair, dried out, way too long, layers long gone, just dragging me down. UGH. It was time. All last year leading up to the wedding I was in hair limbo, not wanting to cut it since I would likely do an up-do. I did, and I am still impressed with how well I did my wedding hair, but it just simply got too long. It's now super fun and short and cute and just...well, liberating! I feel ten times lighter.
3. I talked to my committee, got feedback from my advisor (which involves the writing of a new chapter, which clears up a lot of my writing issues) reorganized my timeline, and feel much clearer and more focused on what I need to do. Let's face it, I had hit a wall. I'm over the wall now (or I have pushed it out a ways, I should say) and reinvigorated! I can do this thing. It will happen in 2010. That's all I'll say at this point. I am feeling quite good about my work.
4. My semester job prospects FINALLY became a reality. By this I mean I have students, classrooms, set times, and the promise of money to teach TWO sections of my class this semester. Woo-hoo, go PMP. It's the little things, like classrooms, that make me happy. I spent much of the week going back and forth trying to arrange the classes, making sure they were going to happen, and wondering if the funding might get pulled out at the last minute. They are going to happen! Starting Monday. Yippee. I am hoping that the schedule will add more structure to my life, and even though I have more work to do this semester it is important work. I'll keep writing and I'll keep teaching. I'll keep pushing on both walls. We'll see. In the end hopefully I'll have a finished dissertation and a full-time job.
So here I go! Stay tuned.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Luna de miel
First stop, San Jose. Well, the guidebooks are right. San Jose is a place to get into the country and then move on to your destination. There really isn't much there; it's a pretty ugly city. TMH and I spent our first afternoon/evening there, optimistic that we might find something enjoyable to see. We went to the Parque la Sabana, near our hotel. It was nice, a regular city park. Then we walked down the main boulevard into the center of the city. It was loud, dirty and pretty unpleasant, overall. Because I can speak Spanish we had talked to several people, including taxi drivers, about places to go in the city. Would you believe they all said the same thing: there's nothing to do in San Jose. Following our guidebook suggestion, we had dinner in one of the miradores (places to look out) over the city. Our hotel was really nice, and we were excited to head to Manuel Antonio the next day (New Year's Eve!). My photos start there:
As you can see, we enjoyed both the beach and the rainforest. The sunset photo in my blog banner was taken on New Year's Eve, 2009. The last sunset of the year!
It was awesome to hike around and just see monkeys in the trees. Look at the sign: any of these creatures might be crossing the road at a given moment. We spent most of our time at the beach; our room was awesome too. Check out our view! Every day the maids did something new and fun with our towels, and every night little salamanders came to hang out on our porch.
On January 4 we headed to the Arenal Volcano region for the second part of our trip. Here we got to visit a different type of rainforest, which we saw on a hanging bridges tour. I overcame my fear of heights to deal with the bridges; it was awesome! I was particularly taken with the leaf cutter ants. Leaf cutters use leaves for food, but more importantly, they cut leaves from the uppermost canopy of the rain forest. In doing so, they allow more light to penetrate, which gives other plants a chance. It was amazing to see so many different plants and trees competing for life in the rain forest. Our guide told us he didn't believe in a creator until he learned about the leaf cutters. It really is amazing when you think about all the checks and balances that exist in nature.
Then we went to see La Fortuna waterfall, and the volcano, although the weather started to take a bad turn. We never got to see the volcano that well in our nights at Tabacon because of the crowd cover, but that's OK. The true highlight of our trip to the Arenal region was the hot springs. Amazing, amazing, amazing! Like the gorges in upstate NY, only HOT. Volcanoes do amazing things! It was super relaxing and just aaaaaaaaaaah.
So there you have it! Fantastic trip. 10 days of being completely unplugged in some amazing, beautiful places. We were so relaxed and happy. As a friend who saw my photos said: "Your photos show a couple using their honeymoon time for what looked like a keen appreciation of experiencing some new environment pleasurably together, which is what marriage should be, I suppose too." Exactly! Can we go back now? I have more commentary to make on the country, the role of tourism, and my Spanish ability, but I'll save that for another time. Stay tuned.
As you can see, we enjoyed both the beach and the rainforest. The sunset photo in my blog banner was taken on New Year's Eve, 2009. The last sunset of the year!
It was awesome to hike around and just see monkeys in the trees. Look at the sign: any of these creatures might be crossing the road at a given moment. We spent most of our time at the beach; our room was awesome too. Check out our view! Every day the maids did something new and fun with our towels, and every night little salamanders came to hang out on our porch.
On January 4 we headed to the Arenal Volcano region for the second part of our trip. Here we got to visit a different type of rainforest, which we saw on a hanging bridges tour. I overcame my fear of heights to deal with the bridges; it was awesome! I was particularly taken with the leaf cutter ants. Leaf cutters use leaves for food, but more importantly, they cut leaves from the uppermost canopy of the rain forest. In doing so, they allow more light to penetrate, which gives other plants a chance. It was amazing to see so many different plants and trees competing for life in the rain forest. Our guide told us he didn't believe in a creator until he learned about the leaf cutters. It really is amazing when you think about all the checks and balances that exist in nature.
Then we went to see La Fortuna waterfall, and the volcano, although the weather started to take a bad turn. We never got to see the volcano that well in our nights at Tabacon because of the crowd cover, but that's OK. The true highlight of our trip to the Arenal region was the hot springs. Amazing, amazing, amazing! Like the gorges in upstate NY, only HOT. Volcanoes do amazing things! It was super relaxing and just aaaaaaaaaaah.
So there you have it! Fantastic trip. 10 days of being completely unplugged in some amazing, beautiful places. We were so relaxed and happy. As a friend who saw my photos said: "Your photos show a couple using their honeymoon time for what looked like a keen appreciation of experiencing some new environment pleasurably together, which is what marriage should be, I suppose too." Exactly! Can we go back now? I have more commentary to make on the country, the role of tourism, and my Spanish ability, but I'll save that for another time. Stay tuned.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Inventory
Well, here we are the start of the new year, and the decade (I know, a little late, but I'm still catching up) and it's time to take stock of things.
Important events of 2009:
1. I got married. Lots of important things go with this one (both the wedding and the marriage), especially the visit of my Aussie relatives. Amazing, amazing times!
2. I got a Master's degree (I continuously am confused as to why I am on the alumni list; I have to remind myself that I DID get a degree from that school this year!) and moved on to the final (HUGE) step of my PhD program.
3. I quit my job of 5 years and moved in with TMH.
4. I started working at another university. Some people think it's a pretty good university...
Clearly it was a big year, both personally and professionally.
My main professional concerns at the moment, which impact my potential for success in 2010:
1. My advisor won't give me any feedback. I haven't gotten any feedback from him since I've been here, despite occasional assurance that he'll get to it "soon". I am planning a visit right now. I had hoped for a visit that would include productive meetings about the chapters I've written; instead I will likely have to settle for a "please remember me" visit. Out of sight, out of mind, they say.... and it was never more true.
2. Writing. I need to keep writing, despite the lack of feedback or assurance that I am on the right track. It's getting harder and harder to do that. I am still on the timeline I made (and shared with my committee last fall). I have to stay on it. Graduation chances are still holding strong, but I fear that concern #1 really has the potential to do me in.
3. Work. Things ended with my current "pilot" job as well as could be expected last semester. I met with deans, heard great things, talked about future amazing opportunities, etc. But there is no guarantee that any of that will come to fruition. I have to focus on my dissertation concerns right now... what happens, happens with this job. If it turns out, excellent! If not, on to other possibilities. The good news is that I am teaching again this semester, and that I may be doing a bit more than I did last semester... and I continue to hear words like "we don't want to lose you." Now if it weren't for this damn financial crisis I think I would have no worries... they "just need funding." So, we'll see. No other jobs are coming up right now, but I am ready for them when they do. I know that it's all going to work out, one way or another.
4. Isolation. Let's face it, I have to fight this one with all I've got. Yes, it's hard not to have a real office, to be away from my grad school support network, to be dealing with such uncertainty. It's all up to me, though. I either let myself get isolated or I don't. So I choose don't! TMH doesn't want to be married to a hermit, so for all of our sakes, I will get myself to the library, get myself out of the house, talk to people and get stuff done.
So, I have my work cut out for me. Personally, I feel really blessed and lucky right now. I know you have to enjoy the happy times while you have them... so I will do my best to do that! Of course I worry about my mom, and it's hard not to stress about my dissertation and the future, though I really do know that things are going to work out one way or another. "How will it? I don't know, it's a mystery." Life is always in motion, which leads me to my resolutions for myself this year:
1. Take things one at a time
2. Write
3. Manage insecurities and build confidence
4. Worry less and/or manage anxiety
5. Get involved in the community/ make friends/ try to feel more settled in myself
It's a tall order, but I know I can do it. Stay tuned.
Important events of 2009:
1. I got married. Lots of important things go with this one (both the wedding and the marriage), especially the visit of my Aussie relatives. Amazing, amazing times!
2. I got a Master's degree (I continuously am confused as to why I am on the alumni list; I have to remind myself that I DID get a degree from that school this year!) and moved on to the final (HUGE) step of my PhD program.
3. I quit my job of 5 years and moved in with TMH.
4. I started working at another university. Some people think it's a pretty good university...
Clearly it was a big year, both personally and professionally.
My main professional concerns at the moment, which impact my potential for success in 2010:
1. My advisor won't give me any feedback. I haven't gotten any feedback from him since I've been here, despite occasional assurance that he'll get to it "soon". I am planning a visit right now. I had hoped for a visit that would include productive meetings about the chapters I've written; instead I will likely have to settle for a "please remember me" visit. Out of sight, out of mind, they say.... and it was never more true.
2. Writing. I need to keep writing, despite the lack of feedback or assurance that I am on the right track. It's getting harder and harder to do that. I am still on the timeline I made (and shared with my committee last fall). I have to stay on it. Graduation chances are still holding strong, but I fear that concern #1 really has the potential to do me in.
3. Work. Things ended with my current "pilot" job as well as could be expected last semester. I met with deans, heard great things, talked about future amazing opportunities, etc. But there is no guarantee that any of that will come to fruition. I have to focus on my dissertation concerns right now... what happens, happens with this job. If it turns out, excellent! If not, on to other possibilities. The good news is that I am teaching again this semester, and that I may be doing a bit more than I did last semester... and I continue to hear words like "we don't want to lose you." Now if it weren't for this damn financial crisis I think I would have no worries... they "just need funding." So, we'll see. No other jobs are coming up right now, but I am ready for them when they do. I know that it's all going to work out, one way or another.
4. Isolation. Let's face it, I have to fight this one with all I've got. Yes, it's hard not to have a real office, to be away from my grad school support network, to be dealing with such uncertainty. It's all up to me, though. I either let myself get isolated or I don't. So I choose don't! TMH doesn't want to be married to a hermit, so for all of our sakes, I will get myself to the library, get myself out of the house, talk to people and get stuff done.
So, I have my work cut out for me. Personally, I feel really blessed and lucky right now. I know you have to enjoy the happy times while you have them... so I will do my best to do that! Of course I worry about my mom, and it's hard not to stress about my dissertation and the future, though I really do know that things are going to work out one way or another. "How will it? I don't know, it's a mystery." Life is always in motion, which leads me to my resolutions for myself this year:
1. Take things one at a time
2. Write
3. Manage insecurities and build confidence
4. Worry less and/or manage anxiety
5. Get involved in the community/ make friends/ try to feel more settled in myself
It's a tall order, but I know I can do it. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Cracked
When I was home over Christmas my mom just seemed slower (well, she has been seeming slow for a while now, let's face it, but this time she seemed really slow), the house seemed bigger and more cluttered, and I had a lightbulb over the head moment: my mom can't manage the house anymore. I have seen it coming for a long time, but like most things it didn't hit me until it hit me.
Her boyfriend told me that he has seen her rapidly deteriorating over the past year or so (at our wedding apparently several people asked him whether she had had a stroke, and one person asked me. Yikes! No, no she hasn't), and he is really worried about her. Nice reassurance, right? TMH said "well, you want him to be honest, don't you?" Yes, yes I do. No one is going to make me feel better about this, clearly. Talk about a moment of clarity.
Well, it turns out that she fell down the stairs the week before Christmas, but since she was able to get up and walk right away she thought she was fine and didn't make a big deal out of it. After being convinced to go to the doctor just to check things out, it turns out that she actually cracked her hip. While this is clearly not good news, it was good in the sense that we now know that there was really something wrong with her; she is not just running into the ground for no reason. I had to leave for Costa Rica knowing that she had cracked her hip, not sure whether she would have to have surgery, and feeling extra guilty because I had brought my cat Gemini down to stay with her temporarily since we were going away, the cat hadn't been super happy in our apartment, etc. So, needless to say I was a little nervous as we left the country!
The news this week has been positive, though, all things considered. She does not have to have hip replacement surgery because the crack is relatively small, and as long as she stays off her feet, takes calcium, and sees the physical therapist she should be able to heal on her own. On New Year's Eve she had a hospital bed, walker and wheelchair delivered to the house. Yep, she's officially an old lady. The bed has been set up downstairs so she doesn't have to go up and down right now, which is great, because that was really worrying me. Her boyfriend is awesome, and has really saved the day through all of this, but they still don't live together (another reason for them both to get out of their huge, cluttered houses) so if she fell again it might be at least a full day before anyone would start to get worried. When I talk to her she sounds like she's in good spirits and she is happy that nothing worse has happened. Apparently my cat has been well-behaved and I like to hope that she is helping my mom instead of just being a burden. I think my mom likes to complain about Gemi but at least she gives her some company and something else to take up her time.
My mom has assured me that she will let me know if she needs my help and I am prepared to hop on the plane at any moment. TMH is afraid she won't tell me if she needs anything, since she's always been independent, and she wants me to focus and finish my dissertation. I plan to do my best to do so, but at the same time I will go home again sometime soon. I hope to be able to talk openly with her boyfriend about these issues as well, but he also doesn't like to be a bother. I guess I'll have to convince them that bothering me is the right thing to do.
I'm dealing with these kinds of issues earlier than most friends; my mom had me when she was relatively old and is now 72, while most of my friends' moms are in their early 60s (like my dad, who is running all around the world right now, in a completely different stage of life). I know we will go through this with everyone's parents... I just get to take my turn a little sooner. At the same time I have seen close friends go through their moms' deteriorating health and the loss of their moms (my thoughts are with E right now, particularly, as it's been about a year since she lost her mom-- a really hard time for her) and I don't think there is anything you can do to get ready for it, especially when your mom is the most important person in your life (apart from your husband/partner, which is just different). Being an only child my mom has always been my rock; what will I do without her? When I was younger I thought I would be living closer to home by now, but that doesn't look like it is in the cards for us right now. What can I do? Call my mom every day, go visit when it makes sense (at least now I can hop on a direct flight and be home in an hour), and try to help her move out of her house when she recovers from her cracked hip. I know if she recovers from this and manages to move out of our massive house she could live on happily for many years. I know she can. We just have to be optimistic, with a dose of realistic, I suppose.
Her boyfriend told me that he has seen her rapidly deteriorating over the past year or so (at our wedding apparently several people asked him whether she had had a stroke, and one person asked me. Yikes! No, no she hasn't), and he is really worried about her. Nice reassurance, right? TMH said "well, you want him to be honest, don't you?" Yes, yes I do. No one is going to make me feel better about this, clearly. Talk about a moment of clarity.
Well, it turns out that she fell down the stairs the week before Christmas, but since she was able to get up and walk right away she thought she was fine and didn't make a big deal out of it. After being convinced to go to the doctor just to check things out, it turns out that she actually cracked her hip. While this is clearly not good news, it was good in the sense that we now know that there was really something wrong with her; she is not just running into the ground for no reason. I had to leave for Costa Rica knowing that she had cracked her hip, not sure whether she would have to have surgery, and feeling extra guilty because I had brought my cat Gemini down to stay with her temporarily since we were going away, the cat hadn't been super happy in our apartment, etc. So, needless to say I was a little nervous as we left the country!
The news this week has been positive, though, all things considered. She does not have to have hip replacement surgery because the crack is relatively small, and as long as she stays off her feet, takes calcium, and sees the physical therapist she should be able to heal on her own. On New Year's Eve she had a hospital bed, walker and wheelchair delivered to the house. Yep, she's officially an old lady. The bed has been set up downstairs so she doesn't have to go up and down right now, which is great, because that was really worrying me. Her boyfriend is awesome, and has really saved the day through all of this, but they still don't live together (another reason for them both to get out of their huge, cluttered houses) so if she fell again it might be at least a full day before anyone would start to get worried. When I talk to her she sounds like she's in good spirits and she is happy that nothing worse has happened. Apparently my cat has been well-behaved and I like to hope that she is helping my mom instead of just being a burden. I think my mom likes to complain about Gemi but at least she gives her some company and something else to take up her time.
My mom has assured me that she will let me know if she needs my help and I am prepared to hop on the plane at any moment. TMH is afraid she won't tell me if she needs anything, since she's always been independent, and she wants me to focus and finish my dissertation. I plan to do my best to do so, but at the same time I will go home again sometime soon. I hope to be able to talk openly with her boyfriend about these issues as well, but he also doesn't like to be a bother. I guess I'll have to convince them that bothering me is the right thing to do.
I'm dealing with these kinds of issues earlier than most friends; my mom had me when she was relatively old and is now 72, while most of my friends' moms are in their early 60s (like my dad, who is running all around the world right now, in a completely different stage of life). I know we will go through this with everyone's parents... I just get to take my turn a little sooner. At the same time I have seen close friends go through their moms' deteriorating health and the loss of their moms (my thoughts are with E right now, particularly, as it's been about a year since she lost her mom-- a really hard time for her) and I don't think there is anything you can do to get ready for it, especially when your mom is the most important person in your life (apart from your husband/partner, which is just different). Being an only child my mom has always been my rock; what will I do without her? When I was younger I thought I would be living closer to home by now, but that doesn't look like it is in the cards for us right now. What can I do? Call my mom every day, go visit when it makes sense (at least now I can hop on a direct flight and be home in an hour), and try to help her move out of her house when she recovers from her cracked hip. I know if she recovers from this and manages to move out of our massive house she could live on happily for many years. I know she can. We just have to be optimistic, with a dose of realistic, I suppose.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Reentry
I'm back! And I have a lot to talk about, somehow.
It's 2010, for one. Holy! How did that happen? Happy New Year!
Well, and I obviously have to talk about our fantastic honeymoon. Woo-hoo, it was amazing, amazing, amazing. Just fantastic. Getting back was totally disorienting, which to me is really the sign of a great vacation. We completely unplugged for 10 days. Pure bliss. Even when we both got colds and it rained for two days we were happy. I'll write more about it and post some pictures soon.
And I have to talk about other things going on in my life right now (including some resolutions), as I reflect on the state of things at the start of a new decade.
I'll talk about all of the above topics in my coming posts. For now let me talk seriously about our actual reentry.
We got in late, late, late Friday night, or early Saturday morning (3 am) I should say. We were supposed to get home at 11:00 pm. Leaving Costa Rica was uneventful, but our time in Miami was a complete shit show, as TMH would say. Clearly entering the U.S. on a plane right now is not the easiest thing to do, and Miami is so chaotic you almost feel like you are still in Central America. We navigated the insanity and they hurried us on to our connecting flight home. We get on the plane and there are people in our seats. Turns out they were in our seats because there were people in their seats. Well, you know how TMH likes things to be in order... he starts calmly explaining that everyone needs to sit in their assigned seats, at least until all the passengers are on the plane. I watched him lose his patience bit by bit; the whole problem started because one guy wanted to sit with his sick aunt who didn't speak English, and he would not be dissuaded... he would not move, and was not reacting well to TMH telling him what to do. Finally I got the flight attendant; at this point we had created a scene and blocked the aisle for enough time. She sorted it out; the sick aunt was actually in the wrong seat herself, and we all finally settled down, and then guess what happened? We sat on the plane for 2.5 hours while they dealt with maintenance issues. The pilot came on as soon as we were all seated and said he knew there was a problem with the deicing valve, and we would be needing the deicing valve, considering that it was snowing at our destination. Yes, Mr. Pilot, we would like a plane with a working deicing valve. So why did they board us if they knew we had a problem? We watched a whole movie in their attempt to keep the peace (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs... worst movie ever...) waiting at the gate, always with the announcement that they would have more information in 10 minutes. Also, for added intrigue, most of the people on our plane seemed kind of shady (which shouldn't surprise you given our experience trying to sit down), which was compounded by the fact that many did not speak English. OK. I know, stereotype (and my speciality- hello, my dissertation research is about how non-native English speakers are perceived), but after our crazy time in the Miami airport, honestly, we were a bit done with chaos. Finally, after 2.5 hours they fixed the plane, and the proper deicing valve was properly installed, and we start to move away from the gate when a guy gets up to go to the bathroom! A very black, black, black skinned man wearing a hood that was covering his face. Hello! I thought we were done. I was convinced. A flight attendant made an announcement about how we should all be seated with our seat belts fastened. The guy kept walking. The plane stopped and a flight attendant approached him. He then went back to his seat. The poor guy probably just wasn't paying attention after such a long wait (and may not have understood English) but really. We were lucky. After that the flight was uneventful... they even showed us another movie. We land safely, get to baggage claim and wait an hour and a half. Despite the posted claim area, our bags come off different carousels. Seriously? TMH and I travel together all day and his bag shows up at the opposite end of baggage claim from mine. But, we got our bags, we were safe, we get in a cab, and guess what? The cabbie doesn't know where we live. But instead of telling us he doesn't know he takes us for a ride. At this point, as you might imagine, TMH is really ready to blow. We end up getting dropped off three blocks from our house because he had had enough... and we dragged our stuff the rest of the way in the freezing cold (we'd left balmy CR for this, really?) Welcome back to the U.S.
Despite this rather colorful tale, it is good to be home. We have spent the past two days sleeping and getting our feet under us. Realizing that we're back to real life now, and there are things to do. It was really smart to come back on a Friday! TMH and I are happy and close and things are excellent. I feel ready to face the year. I just know it's going to be a great one. It will not be a year without its challenges, but it's going to be a great year. Stay tuned.
It's 2010, for one. Holy! How did that happen? Happy New Year!
Well, and I obviously have to talk about our fantastic honeymoon. Woo-hoo, it was amazing, amazing, amazing. Just fantastic. Getting back was totally disorienting, which to me is really the sign of a great vacation. We completely unplugged for 10 days. Pure bliss. Even when we both got colds and it rained for two days we were happy. I'll write more about it and post some pictures soon.
And I have to talk about other things going on in my life right now (including some resolutions), as I reflect on the state of things at the start of a new decade.
I'll talk about all of the above topics in my coming posts. For now let me talk seriously about our actual reentry.
We got in late, late, late Friday night, or early Saturday morning (3 am) I should say. We were supposed to get home at 11:00 pm. Leaving Costa Rica was uneventful, but our time in Miami was a complete shit show, as TMH would say. Clearly entering the U.S. on a plane right now is not the easiest thing to do, and Miami is so chaotic you almost feel like you are still in Central America. We navigated the insanity and they hurried us on to our connecting flight home. We get on the plane and there are people in our seats. Turns out they were in our seats because there were people in their seats. Well, you know how TMH likes things to be in order... he starts calmly explaining that everyone needs to sit in their assigned seats, at least until all the passengers are on the plane. I watched him lose his patience bit by bit; the whole problem started because one guy wanted to sit with his sick aunt who didn't speak English, and he would not be dissuaded... he would not move, and was not reacting well to TMH telling him what to do. Finally I got the flight attendant; at this point we had created a scene and blocked the aisle for enough time. She sorted it out; the sick aunt was actually in the wrong seat herself, and we all finally settled down, and then guess what happened? We sat on the plane for 2.5 hours while they dealt with maintenance issues. The pilot came on as soon as we were all seated and said he knew there was a problem with the deicing valve, and we would be needing the deicing valve, considering that it was snowing at our destination. Yes, Mr. Pilot, we would like a plane with a working deicing valve. So why did they board us if they knew we had a problem? We watched a whole movie in their attempt to keep the peace (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs... worst movie ever...) waiting at the gate, always with the announcement that they would have more information in 10 minutes. Also, for added intrigue, most of the people on our plane seemed kind of shady (which shouldn't surprise you given our experience trying to sit down), which was compounded by the fact that many did not speak English. OK. I know, stereotype (and my speciality- hello, my dissertation research is about how non-native English speakers are perceived), but after our crazy time in the Miami airport, honestly, we were a bit done with chaos. Finally, after 2.5 hours they fixed the plane, and the proper deicing valve was properly installed, and we start to move away from the gate when a guy gets up to go to the bathroom! A very black, black, black skinned man wearing a hood that was covering his face. Hello! I thought we were done. I was convinced. A flight attendant made an announcement about how we should all be seated with our seat belts fastened. The guy kept walking. The plane stopped and a flight attendant approached him. He then went back to his seat. The poor guy probably just wasn't paying attention after such a long wait (and may not have understood English) but really. We were lucky. After that the flight was uneventful... they even showed us another movie. We land safely, get to baggage claim and wait an hour and a half. Despite the posted claim area, our bags come off different carousels. Seriously? TMH and I travel together all day and his bag shows up at the opposite end of baggage claim from mine. But, we got our bags, we were safe, we get in a cab, and guess what? The cabbie doesn't know where we live. But instead of telling us he doesn't know he takes us for a ride. At this point, as you might imagine, TMH is really ready to blow. We end up getting dropped off three blocks from our house because he had had enough... and we dragged our stuff the rest of the way in the freezing cold (we'd left balmy CR for this, really?) Welcome back to the U.S.
Despite this rather colorful tale, it is good to be home. We have spent the past two days sleeping and getting our feet under us. Realizing that we're back to real life now, and there are things to do. It was really smart to come back on a Friday! TMH and I are happy and close and things are excellent. I feel ready to face the year. I just know it's going to be a great one. It will not be a year without its challenges, but it's going to be a great year. Stay tuned.
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