The Long and Short of It

It's been a long day.

• 5:43 AM PST - Woke up.
• 5:45 AM PST - Alarm sounded... I got out of bed.
• 6:02 AM PST - Drank a glass of V-8.
• 6:10 AM PST - Hopped into the Airport Shuttle that was 20 minutes early...
• 6:55 AM PST - Arrived at SFO after picking up another passenger in Twin Peaks. Great neighborhood. I could see myself living there at some point.
• 6:59 AM PST - Ticketed.
• 7:10 AM PST - Secured.
• 7:15 AM PST - Arrived at Gate. But realized I still had a half hour to kill.
• 7:20 AM PST - Ate breakfast. Veggie scramble and coffee. Decaf.
• 7:55 AM PST - Boarded plane. With Seating Group 4. (ARGH) But the plane was rather empty, which was nice.
• 7:58 AM PST - Settled in aisle seat and noted empty seat between me and Window Seat Guy. Excellent.
• 8:20 AM PST - Take-off. On-time. Sweet.
• 8:45 AM PST - Drink-cart. My craving for tomato juice awoke.
• 8:49 AM PST - Shrieking screams for help from the back of the plane. I immediately assume the worst. (We're going down.)
• 8:51 AM PST - OK, nothing that bad. Medical emergency, though. I smell vomit.
• 8:56 AM PST - We ARE in fact going down. But first we're turning around. We prepare for landing.
• 9:20 AM PST - We land in Reno, NV. I think it was 9:20. I see mountains outside the window. I start talking to Window Guy, who lived in SF before, but now lives in Boston. We discuss Product Management, and he tells me I should go to Business School. Even though I don't have to. But I should. We discuss San Francisco and how much he misses it.
• 9:50 AM PST - We prepare for take-off.
• 10:05 AM PST - Drink-cart. I keep my fingers crossed that it makes it to me, this time. I can TASTE tomato juice.
• 10:12 AM PST - Tomato juice. Yum. Except that it oozes out of my cup, which had a hole in it, all over my tray and jeans.
• 10:13 AM PST - I relocate seats, accepting that the day is just not going to be that great.
• 10:15 AM PST - The Family Stone starts.
• 12:10 PM PST - I blink back some tears, as The Family Stone ends. I stare out the window for a while. (I waved at MN.)
• 12:20 PM PST - I have not eaten in five hours. The combination of empty stomach plus turbulence replaces my craving for tomato juice with a craving for Dramamine.
• 12:25 PM PST - Drink-cart. I request a Diet Dr. Pepper. The attendant gives me a dirty look when I request the ENTIRE can. (Seriously! Her pour into a mini cup filled to the brim with ice only contains about 2 sips! And there are NO peanuts or pretzels distributed on this flight. So yes, I'd like an entire can. How is that the airlines are losing money, again? They're all cheap bastards if you ask me.)
• 1:20 PM PST - Six hours. We have been on the plane for six hours. I pledge to quit my job and start working as an aerospace engineer. Someone has GOT to make the transcontinental flight take less time to complete. My goal - 1000 miles per hour!
• 2:21 PM PST - Captain speaks to us. Woo hoo! That means we're going to start our desent, right? Wrong. We are in a holding pattern and can't land yet.
• 2:50 PM PST - Prepare for landing.
• 5:55 PM EST - Touch-down. I love landing in Boston. I love coming in over the water. I love the little houses and docks and the rocky coast. I love how cold the water looks.
• 6:00 PM EST - We sit on the runway. We are waiting for a gate. GET ME OFF OF THIS PLANE! I've been on it for 7 hours. It was only supposed to be 5!
• 6:01 PM EST - I notice that snow flurries down out the window. I put on my scarf and beanie, preparing for the *wicked* cold.
• 6:20 PM EST - Cab.
• 6:55 PM EST - Hotel check-in. I am told that they are out of rooms with king beds, so I've been upgraded to a suite. SWEET. She tells me the room is $800/night. I laugh at this shared information. 1) I don't care, because I'm not paying. 2) I pay less monthly rent than that.
• 6:59 PM EST - I open the door to my room. It's huge. But it kind of smells like cigars...
• 7:05 PM EST - Shower. Blow-dry. Iron. Dress.
• 8:00 PM EST - Reception and meeting check-in. Have I mentioned that I haven't eaten in almost 10 hours, save a tomato juice and Diet Dr Pepper? Imagine my dismay when the reception dinner is really just reception finger-food.
• 8:01 PM EST - I pick up 8 sticks of chicken satay. And 5 asparagus sticks. (What are they called, anyway?) I go back for seconds.
• 9:01 PM EST - I am done with shmoozing.
• 9:10 PM EST - I log on. I respond to all of the emails I missed while in the plane.
• 10:01 PM EST - I wrap-up work by submitting my picks for the March Madness office pool. (Villanova!)
• 10:30 PM EST - I retire to my Marriot Sweet Dreams bed. It isn't too bad.

There it is. The longest day ever. And yet three hours of it were taken from me!