Airlines & Luggage

I LOVE to travel. Can't get enough of it. I dream of seeing the world. The problem is that I also dream of having my luggage travel with me. The world's airlines don't share that particular dream. My bags have been lost 11 times. I am not a travelling salesperson, so it's not like I'm on a plane every week. Eleven times is excessive when you only fly 5 - 8 times a year!

I remember the first time. I was coming home from Xmas in Ohio. My friend Mike was picking me up at the airport. There's nothing quite so pathetic as standing at the baggage carousel alone--everyone else got their suitcases, left the airport, and the carousel slowly stopped. No more bags. Mike finally had to come into the airport to see what was taking so long. He found me in the bag claim office, near hysteria. After filling out the forms, we went home. He called his wife and said "Honey, Maggie didn't get her suitcase. She's hysterical. I'm gonna sit here and have a beer with her." She understood. Thank God for good friends. My bag arrived hours later, at 1am.

The most memorable time it happened was in Athens, Greece. I flew there directly from Dublin, Ireland. No layovers. Nowhere to misplace a freakin' bag. No reason except the incredible incompetency of the baggage personnel in Athens. There were a lot of us without luggage that day. They don't speak English at the airport in Athens. I don't speak Greek. Neither did the other passengers. So everyone just talked a lot LOUDER. Basically everyone was screaming at each other. But it worked. British Airlines dropped my suitcase off the following day at the hotel as I was drinking wine atop the Acropolis.

The worst time was on Delta. Don't fly Delta. I never will again. As President of my alumni chapter, I flew into Cincinnati for a leadership conference at Miami University. Hadn't been there for a while and was looking forward to being back on campus. My bag had been lost one month earlier, on Delta, via Atlanta on a business trip to Hartford. I figured there was no way they could do it to me twice in a month at the same layover. I was wrong. It was finally the straw that broke the camels back. I was beyond hysterical--especially after my bag arrived at the hotel at 2am and I discovered things had been stolen from it. I called Delta in the morning. I won't go into details here but all the call center clerk in India kept saying was "Ma'am, there's no reason for profanity." Oh yes, there was.

I've flown since, but haven't checked a bag. I certainly couldn't chance it flying with my bridesmaid dress for my brother's wedding, or going back to Ohio with Christmas gifts. Kind of afraid to go on a ski or golf trip now. If my beloved X-Scream skis or King Cobra and Taylormade clubs didn't show up, I'd kill someone.

I have many more stories about standing alone at baggage carousels. I'll post them here every so often. It'll be the basis for the travel book I should write someday.

I'm getting on a plane again in a few weeks--with my carry-on bag.

Cellphones at the gym

I genuinely hate people who talk on their cellphones at the gym. Why are you there anyhow--to gab or to workout? You can't do both at the same time. The problem is that people on cellphones at the gym talk really, really loud. The ambient noise: fans, music, the whir of machines, heavy breathing--all make people think the person on the phone can't hear them, so they talk louder. Everyone can hear their conversation. Makes me crazy. If I turn my iPod up any louder, in order to drown out your conversation, I'll blow my eardrums out. Not an option. I'm too old to listen to music that loud anymore. Then there are those people who sit on the weight bench, gabbing away, when I'd like to use the damn thing. They really infuriate me! Have the courtesy not to lounge on the equipment if you aren't using it. Here's an idea: Leave the phone at home. Concentrate on your routine, your breathing, your form. You'll get a better workout, and I won't go deaf.

Movies

I always used to go to the movies. Love the movies. Never missed a single one that was nominated for an Oscar. OK, I admit I didn't see all of the shorts, animated films or documentaries, but I've seen every single movie in all the major categories for years. Actor, Actress, Picture, Director, Cinematography, Sound, Music, Screenplay--all of them! But, without a paycheck, I stopped going so much. Even matinees are pricey at $9.50 a pop! And I miss movies. Renting them or watching On Demand isn't the same as being in a big theatre. So, guess what I found? There are 4 discount movie theatres within 15 minutes of my house. One shows new movies for $6 before 6pm every day, $5 before noon. And on Tuesdays another shows all films for $1! One measly little dollar. You can't beat that! So, Andrea and I went to see Letters to Juliet today. Yes, it's a chick flick, and we're chicks, so we loved it. It was a really cute movie. Especially for a buck. It takes place in Italy: nice scenery, good looking men, lots if vino. And that was the problem: it takes place in Italy! Now we both want to head to LAX and hop on the next flight out, which is considerably more than a buck. In reality, we're just going to head back to the theatre next week.

The weather

I should have been a meteorologist. I LOVE weather! Well, most of it. I hate wind. It messes up my hair and gets dust in my eyes, but always comes in handy as a good excuse for a bad golf game! I do miss rain sometimes. Went to Ireland last winter just to see rain. They had 8 straight days of flawless sunshine. I can't win! I really miss thunder. We never get that here. Growing up, I used to sit on the porch during storms and just listen to the thunder. It's awesome what Mother Nature can do. I watch the Weather Channel all the time. Tornadoes and hurricanes are fascinating, although I don't want to be in one. The problem right now is that I like summer, but we haven't had it here yet. I haven't even been to the beach this season (a 5-minute drive) because the thick, unrelenting marine layer keeps it cloudy all day. It's depressing. I'm used to June Gloom's marine layer, but by July
4th, we wake up to endless sunshine. Not this year. I can't recall such a bad summer in the 20+ years I've been here. I guess I should look at the positive side: I'll save my skin from not being in the sun too much, my morning runs are a lot cooler, and I have more time to sit at the computer and blog!

The Library

So, I was at the pool the other day, with all of my other unemployed neighbors, and we were talking about books and what we were reading. Lindsay mentioned that she got her book at the library. I'd forgotten about the library. Growing up, my Mom, my brother John, and I would walk to our local library branch at least every other week. I can still picture the complete layout of that place. Coming home with stacks of books was so cool. I loved it! One summer, they sponsored a Naturalist Series. Mom enrolled John and me. A Naturalist came in every week for a month with wild animals and taught all us kids about them. It was the first time I got to hold a snake. She also brought in raccoons and owls but we weren't allowed to pet them. I figure they didn't like kids! I remember thinking "I'm going to be a Naturalist when I grow up." Whatever happened to that dream--I should have stuck with it.

Anyhow, after Lindsay's suggestion, I went to the library the following morning. Oh My God--what joy! FREE Books! Tons of free books. I was so happy. I wanted everything! I've wasted a lot of damn money over the years at Barnes & Noble, Borders and even the cheap books at Costco. No more! You can even get on a wait list for brand new books. I'll be signing up for that when I return my books and grab another stack!!

Grocery Store Ads

I never, ever, ever used to read grocery store weekly ads--until I got laid off. What a great idea! Who knew? I peruse them every week now. What bargains! Think of all the damn money I wasted over the years! King Crab Legs, Tri-Tip, fresh fruit and veggies--all on my shopping list now. And all on sale! I've become a price comparison shopper. Bagels are cheaper at Target, my favorite herb tea is a whopping $1.50 less at Trader Joe's, and Bud Lite was on sale this week for $6.99 a 12-pack!! I'd almost given up beer due to not having a paycheck anymore. Thank God for those ads! A while back I was buying blackberries. Got them at Growers Direct (for those who don't live here, it's like a permanent farmers market) for $1.19. They were $3.99 at TJ's and $5.99 at the grocery store--all on the same day. Gees, what a huge price difference. Cereal sustains me--I eat it every day for breakfast, and it can be dang expensive. Wheat Chex usually sells for $5.99 a box, but last week's ad had it on sale for $2.50. If it weren't for that ad, I wouldn't have had Wheat Chex for breakfast today. And any day with Wheat Chex is a good day!

Sports Fan

I have to admit 2010 has been a good year to be unemployed if you're a sports fanatic.

February brought us the Winter Olympics. I am a Curling freak! Love it! Of course, living in Southern California, Curling is hard to find. I always had to go to Canada. It's on in all the bars there. But, I didn't miss a single Curling match the entire Olympics! How awesome is that? Wish the USA would have done a little better but, as they say, there's always next time! This year, since I had plenty of time to watch the Olympics, I became enamored with Biathlon. What an amazing test of endurance and skill. To ski your ass off, then stand, kneel or lay down, and hit a target the size of a pea that is a football field away sounds impossible to me! I'm hooked! It was also fun trying to pick out the condo I used to rent at Whistler as the downhill skiers raced by it. It was hard to see since they ski a little faster down that run than I used to.

April brought the Masters. I spent most of my viewing time trying to spot my friends, Judy and Karen, in the crowds. Never did see them--although they had an awesome time there. Phil's shot from behind the tree was inspiring. Unfortunately, when I try that same shot, I hit the tree and have to duck as the ball ricochets back at me.

Next was French Open Tennis. The 8-hour time difference meant I could only watch on weekends when I had a job. Way better watching on my TV than that little 5-inch square of the live feed on the computer screen at work. Studying Venus, Serena, Rafa and Roger, then heading to the tennis courts really helped my game! Having a black lace tennis dress would probably make my game even better.

Finally, the grand-daddy of them all: World Cup! I only missed a few of the 4am games. Saw all the other games! Lounging in my pajamas with a cup of tea watching Deigo Forlan was absolutely heavenly. Watching France crash and burn was perfect karma for all of us Irish folk. Hanging out with my friends, or sending texts back and forth during games made it feel like we were watching the games together. Listening to my neighbors cheer at every goal was funny. Crying when Landon Donovan scored in the 91st minute to send us to the 2nd round was fantastic!! Of course, I could go into a rant about the refs, but I think FIFA will fix it by Brazil 2014. And I can't wait for 2014!

First Post

Well, this is my first attempt at blogging. Now that I have time--hence the blog title--I thought I'd give it a go. I was laid off after 15 1/2 years from a huge global corporation. It was a good thing. The job was uninteresting, my career was stagnant, and I think my brain was atrophying! Not that it was a bad place. On the contrary. I made some great friends there who enhance my life by being part of it now. And the company provided me with a lifestyle that I enjoyed: trips to Europe, shopping, wine-tasting, golf, skiing. In fact, everything I wanted! But now, without an income, I have to alter my ways. And you know what? I've learned a lot. How to live well on less. I have to think, and discover, and search out different ways to do things and still have fun. And my brain is working again! That's what this blog will be about. A diary of my new life. I hope you'll stick around to see how it goes!