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Originally uploaded by silverlantern

It’s been a while since I’ve woken up to freshly fallen snow.

Back in SC, we’d get 2 - 3 days of snow a year. I loved it whenever it snowed even though the 1-2 inches was never enough to really play in. Because when it snows, it means snow day! which means no school!

In the morning, I’d wake up and run over to my parents room and we’d huddle around the clock radio, listening for my school to be called. Once it’s called, it’s back to bed!

Anyhow, this is Ohio, outside my hotel room last week. What you can’t see is the snow that was still falling outside. After a weekend in the mountains snowboarding, this snow didn’t impress me much, especially since I was there for work. It was cold and windy, I had lost a glove the previous night, and suffering from a cold. I do not need this. What I want more than anything else was my own bed, some hot soup and the balmy weather back home.

What seemed like weeks, I was finally back at the airport getting ready to fly home. When I checked in to fly to Chicago, the guy at the counter told me that my flight was cancelled, and the flight they had moved me to was leaving right at that moment! What?!

Thank goodness the security line was short; I shuffled my stuff as fast as I could through the machine, put on my shoes and started running for the terminal. And, of course, it just had to be the very last terminal… As I ran, I heard my name over the intercom. Oh great, so that’s how you become one of ‘those’ people. The ones where everyone else has boarded but the plane couldn’t leave because (I’ve always figured) some guy decided to take his sweet time boarding. Well, I sure wasn’t taking my time, in fact, I had arrived 2 hours early for my original flight.

I made it, and found quite a number of empty seats. I even got an whole aisle to myself. I suppose the rest of the passengers on my flight will be spending another day in Ohio.

In Chicago, almost all the flights were delayed. Mine was delayed for 2 hours, which means I wouldn’t get back till past midnight. Fortunately I was able to standby on another flight and got out of there at around the same time my regular flight was scheduled for.

Next time, I’m gonna insist on the data conference….