Sunday, May 4, 2008

Travels with Charley

So my left ear is fucked. It hasn't popped since we were flying into St. Louis on Friday. It is not fun.

You want to know what else isn't fun? Travelling. Especially flying American.

Friday, the old lady and I got to the airport at 8:15 for our 9:50 flight. By 9:30, we had boarded and were awaiting the go ahead from O'Hare clearing us for a landing around noon. Well, that didn't happen, and we were told that we could get off the plane for about fifteen minutes but that we had to be back to take off shortly. So we grabbed a quick snack, got back into out spacious seats, and soon the plane was taxi-ing (?) to the runway. The plane picked up speed, preparing to finally take off, and then we were jarringly torn from the grips of a flight to be brought back to the gate as a result of a 'stall warning light' coming on as the plane accelerated. The pilot explained that a maintenance man would board, fix the problem, and then we'd be off. The problem was fixed, we left the gate, and prepared for take-off. And then we flew to Chicago.

Oh, wait. No we didn't. That's right; the same fucking things happened a second time, and we got to go back to the gate and have maintenance board again to not fix the problem and they put in a call to Tulsa (always a bad sign when Oklahoma's getting a phone call) and they cancelled our flight, letting us de-board at about 2:30. Yes, 2:30. 9:30 to 2:30 on the same fucking plane, and we moved two gates down. And when we got off the plane there was one whole person to take care of the entire plane of pissed off customers. So we called some phone number, and they rebooked us to fly in to Milwaukee through St. Louis, but not without a wait at the Austin Airport. So just a few miles from our home, we got to spend nine hours in an airport, waiting for flights that would have us conveniently arriving at our final destination at 11:15 pm instead of about 2:00 pm.

American Airlines cancelled four flights to Chicago from Austin Friday. Two due to weather, the other two the result of mechanical errors. The big question for me is how can this joke of an airline still be in business? Riddle me that.

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And how the fuck can any respectable airport stop serving food at, like, 8:00 pm? There was like one prepared food option when we got in at 7:45 on our concourse in St. Louis, and the bar had already had last call. What the fuck is up with that?

It really make me question their spirit.

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The wedding was nice, and seeing friends was cool, too. Congratulations Andy and Jenny.

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Congratulations are also in order for my fantasy baseball teams, as both of my head-to-head teams maintained the first-place status in the standings. I lost in my keeper league but closed to a respectable 7-5 loss from a 9-3 deficit on midday Saturday.

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The Royals completed a two-game sweep of the Indians to follow their disappointing visit to Arlington. Gil Meche finally pitched well. Hochevar did as well. Soria has still yet to give up an earned run this season. He's been absolutely dominant, allowing four baserunners all season. Phenomenal.

So far, of particular worry are the performances of Guillen and the Royals' one-dimensional shortstops. Now, I know as well as anyone that Guillen is very hot/cold. I have had him as a fantasy owner when he was cold, and I've been scorched by him when he was hot, and the streaks can last a long time. Let's hope the hot streak starts soon. As for the shortstops, I really wish there were a way to get Callaspo's bat in the lineup more regularly because TPJ has been putrid at the plate. Rany just noted that TPJ's OPS+ just got into the positive at +1. Abysmal.

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Scrumptious Chef sent me an email with this link and advice to avoid drinking in the northwoods.

Now, this smiley face killer story seems to have legs to me. Obviously, the gang theory takes this to a whole new level of conspiracy theory that I'm hesitant to jump on board with, but these detectives are closer to the facts than any of us are. I don't think you come up with a theory that complex without an abundance of clues leading you there.

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In the past week, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova were on Fresh Air.

Nick Cave was on, too. Also, Nick Cave tickets across the country went on sale on Friday. Tour dates here. I already have a ticket for the Portland date. Guess it means I get to hang out with Seany.

And Tom Waits is announcing tour dates for his upcoming Glitter and Doom Tour at 6:00 am.

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