planes and pains

(This entry will probably jump all over the place, but that's kind of where my mind is at the moment - all over the place. )

I just woke up an hour into this flight, which is actually very unusual for me. Especially when I have the good fortune to be upgraded to first class, I like to take advantage of the movie and just chill out with a glass of wine. This time, however, fatigue finally got the better of me.

Well, first of all, when we boarded the plane it had to have been 85 degrees in here. Something was wrong with the electrical system (yay!) and caused the a/c to go out. Combine that with the boiling Houston weather, and it made for some pretty grumpy people. We sat at the gate for almost an hour as they kept starting and stopping the engines, trying to fix the problem. As the lights would flicker on and off, a flight attendant would occasionally come over the loud speaker and tell us that there was "absolutely nothing to worry about" and the plane was "completely safe to fly". Uh huh.

While we were sitting there sweating our asses off, this flight attendant (about 60 years old with punky, spikey hair) walked up to my aisle, gave me a little grin, and whispered, "Come here." I leaned over the guy sitting in the aisle seat, and all of a sudden she put her dripping wet, icy cold hands all over my face. Now granted, it did feel good, but I'm sorry - that's just weird. Then she put the same wet hands on the guy's face next to me, and started babbling about ice bergs and sno cones.

As I watched her go back for 'fresh' water to douse more passengers, I tried not to think about all of the sweat and germs that she was transferring from one person to the next. I think I was her first victim, but I can't be quite sure. (Not to mention the fact that I don't even WANT to know what my makeup looks like right now.)

I started making some phone calls, trying to wrap up some things back at the office before I was airborne, and the strangest thing happened. I hung up the phone with a sales rep in Atlanta (he was doing one of the surgical evaluations this morning), and I just felt an overwhelming feeling of sadness. I can't even explain it. He didn't say anthing to make me upset, but as soon as I hung up, tears sprang to my eyes.

I'm not sure if it was just the stress of the week finally catching up to me, or what. I think that has to play a large part in it, because this really was a week from hell for me, and I didn't get any breathing room at all until, well... until I sat down on this plane.

Actually, I take that back - the one hour of breathing room I did have was spent buying scissors and tweezers in the hotel gift shop, and expending nervous energy by going to town on my hair and eyebrows. Ladies, never - and I repeat NEVER - decide to give yourself a makeover when you have an important event the next morning that you are extremely nervous about. Bad idea. BAD.

So yeah, anyway.... the week was exhausting, but it was a success. Well, the lab went terrifically, but truthfully the training could have been a lot better. I wasn't as prepared as I should have been, but these guys were all really cool and it turned into an open discussion. It certainly wasn't a disaster (except for my hair).

Most importantly, the week is OVER. Kristine called me last night, and has talked me into cancelling my limo home, and going with her into Greenwich Village. As soon as I land, I'm supposed to take a cab over to Hoboken, dump my suitcase in her truck, and take the PATH with her into the city.

I'm completely exhausted, I smell, my hair looks like shit, my makeup has been wiped off my face, and (oh yeah!) I have a huge new zit on my chin - but fuck it. I'm goin. Look out City, here I come!

heh

Actually I think we're descending now, so I have to turn this off. Have a great weekend!