Enjablog

Tuesday morning.

Get up, showered, ready to go. No hairbrush, no toothbrush, no lotion, no deodorant. Oh, I’m going to make a good impression today!

At least I had new clothes though. Grabbed some breakfast with the coworkers and headed over to the shipyard. We watched a little presentation thingy, did introductions with the important people, and then we were off to the ship!

Let me paint you a picture… It had been raining in Wisconsin for about a week. This place was mostly dirt. Let me emphasize was. When we arrived, the path from the main building to the ship was entirely mud, with occasional puddles and small ponds. I am so glad Ian brought me sneakers. Not only would I have been completely embarrassed wearing dress shoes to a ship yard, then more embarrassed meeting important people dressed like that, but I would be completely incompetent at walking. If I managed not to sink into the mud, I would have my heels catching on things on the ship and falling through grates. *Graceful.*

Anyway, the tour was awesome. This is something I’ve been involved with for the last 6 months and it was amazing to see all the plans in real life. This is the first time I’ve been on a ship that I was actually familiar with. Our tour was somewhat guided, but we just went wherever people wanted to look. I got to see the mission areas, machinery rooms, bridge, flight deck, and passed through a lot of what will be crew quarters and such.

Partway through this requested tour, I guess some people wanted to go see other things. So we got split up on our way to the next destination. I knew where my half of the group was headed, so I tracked back to find the missing people. And on my journey, I was, of course, given the little girl treatment. I passed a few people working in a passageway and headed up a deck to see if the people hadn’t come down yet. Nope. Back down to where I started. One of the guys stops me to ask if I’m lost.

“No, I’m looking for the other half of our tour group. They wandered off and I’m trying to round them up.”

“Ok… If you need help, I can take you back to the main deck.”

“Um… I don’t think they went there. I’m going to keep looking. Thanks.”

Head down a deck to see if they had gone one deck too far. Don’t see or hear any of them nearby, so back up. Double-check forward and then head back past the guys in the passageway. The same guy, again, offers to help me find my way back to the main deck. This is my third time past them. Despite my previous explanation, surely, I must be lost.

“Thanks, but I helped design this ship. I’m pretty familiar with it… But if you see the rest of our tour group come through, will you send them back to the machinery room please?”

*pause*

“Oh… Ok.”

“Thanks!”

I’m ok with not bringing a camera onboard and all those rules, but damn, I wish I had a camera for the look on that guy’s face. Priceless.

Did some shmoozing after the tour, found a phone for our afternoon telecon, then headed back toward the airport. Our scheduled departure time was 6:20, so we made an attempt at getting an earlier flight back. They were booked, so we spent the afternoon in beautiful Green Bay. Stopped off for some cheese, drove around looking for a place to eat, and then decided on lunch at Curly’s Pub in Lambeau field… where The Admiral and his posse were hanging out drinking and playing pool. Their flight was delayed, so they needed to kill some time as well. They departed shortly after we arrived and we were on our way after a quick bite.

Arrive at the airport: 5:00pm Eastern Time.

First task: retrieve bags. We got them back just in time… to check them back in for our return trip. *Fantastic.* Worst part? Turns out, they had been there at least at 4am, according to the woman at the ticket counter. Apparently, our original connecting flight had also been delayed because of the storm in Chicago and our bags were able to be transferred in time. Too bad no one told us. :(

The more bad news: Thunderstorms in Chicago, again.

Delays posted in half hour increments. Around 7:45, The Boss goes up to ask when the earliest flight the next day would be if we just stayed the night there. All the morning flights were booked, so 12:50pm. We would arrive at National at 7:50pm. Oh, I don’t think so. This time, we’re sticking with our bags. We’re waiting for the storm to pass. And, oh, did we wait.

I received a phone call from my grandmother while we were waiting. I was sitting on the end of a row of chairs with my coworker and boss nearby. Pretty normal conversation. In chinese, but just conversational… until my grandmother asked me if I was home from work. At which point, I explained that I was actually at the airport on my way home. So, she asked where I was. “Wis-kahn-soon.” Where? “Wis-kahn-soon.” And… repeat. I think I said that 4 times before I stopped trying. And realized that people were staring at me.

Actual departure time: 8:30pm
Arrival at National: 1:15am
Cab ride home: 30 minutes, $26. (Slowest driver ever. Or maybe I was a little impatient and cranky at that point…)

Total time at the airport/on the plane: 8 hours.
Total round trip: 16 hours.