Emmmm...

So much for the blogging while on vacation... heehee. Now back in snowy Chicago after two weeks of blissfully warm and sunny weather in the middle of January (must I ask myself again why I choose to live in the Arctic's home away from home?). I did make it to the beach on Friday (North Shore of Oahu) and, despite the overcast skies and lukewarm water, attempted body surfing (ummm... for the totally uncoordinated person that I am, it was pretty laughable), but then happily resigned myself to floating in the ocean. BLISS.

But back to reality-- 26 degree weather and snowy skies... which meant good old O'Hare was virtually shut down. Despite actually arriving on time (a feat this time of year), we sat on the runway for almost 2 hours because all the gates were occupied due to weather delays (did I mention that it wasn't even snowing at that point and I could see grass... which means that it hadn't really been snowing much in general?). I knew it was a bad sign when after taxi-ing around the runway for about 30 minutes and the pilot finally found a place to park among the other homeless planes, he shut off the engines and announced that if anyone was interested in seeing the cockpit of a 777 to "come on up to the front" in 2's and 3's and he'd show it off. Ummmm.... nearly two hours plus a ten hour flight later, I finally made it out of the little box that flew.

And don't even get me started about United Airlines (which, yes, gosh darnit, I flew AGAIN, despite my swearing to high heaven that I wouldn't set foot on a United plane... but the miles, the miles! I have so many miles!). Needless to say, they met every expectation-- poor service, crabby people, dirty, gross and generally unpleasant.

So, I'm back... and then off again the day after tomorrow to NYC for work... and not taking my computer this time, so yet another hiatus. Wow-- all of this traveling is really getting in the way of blogging.