Well, our adventure has begun in earnest! Last night we slept on a comfortable mattress, but the pillows were unbelievably flat. If pillows were mine and Phyllis' breasts, our home pillows would be Phyl's and last night's pillows would be flatter than mine. That sucked!!!! Although it didn't matter much because I woke up at about 4:25 AM when the assholes in the room next to ours slammed the door; of course, my monkey brain was off to the races. I tried to stop thinking and focus on my breathing, but I couldn't even hear myself breathe over Phyl's snoring. Then I tried to focus on Phyl's snoring, it did permeate the room, but her snoring was out of sync with my sleeping. I think I fell back asleep after 2 hours.


The shuttle back to the airport was uneventful and 10AM was a very doable time, but we practically had to unpack our backpacks going through security because the screener did not like what he was seeing. Turns out that the charcoal filters in our water purifiers were the culprits. In the future, water purifiers are placed in an easily accessible location. We must say that every United agent and every TSA agent was very nice and even apologized for requiring us to unpack our bags and the trouble we were having. Of course, we were very polite to them as well.

G- Go check us in. Be very sweet.

P- I'm sweet.

G- Yeah, ok. Go to the guy and maybe show him some cleavage! Get us on this flight. Jeremy says it should be no problem because there are a lot of empty seats.

P- I'll do whatever I have to do.

I sat on the floor making last minute phone calls.............

G- American Express, I'd like to add my mom as an authorized emergency contact on my account. (I give her all of the information: phone #, DOB, address, blood type, name of first born, etc.)

AmExp customer service – I need her social security number.

G- I don't have her social security number. (WTF? How many people know their mother's SS#?)

AmExp- I can't send in the information on without it.

G- (Phyl returns.) Quick, call my mom and get her social security #. (Phyl gets her on the phone and I then had a phone on each ear. Problem solved.) Now, also mark my account to reflect that I'll be in Asia for the next 6 months to a year or longer.

AmExp customer service – I've made the changes you requested. I must now read you the following information...............blah, blah, blah, blah.......

G- Yes, yes, I agree. Whatever. I don't have time to talk anymore. Just update my account!

P- They said that there are seats available but there is a weight restriction and they do not know if it will be lifted.

G- What weight? I could go into the bathroom and purge a few pounds off.

P- No ass. Probably freight weight. She told me to check back in 45 minutes.

We waited as every person got onto the plane and they started calling standby people. Our names rose to 9 and 10 on the waiting list. About 5 more ticketed people strolled up to get on the flight.

P- Damn! I wish these people would stop coming!

G- Jeremy is right. This is stressful. I feel like I'm playing craps with my last nickle at stake.

P- I agree, but quit pacing.

The announcement is made that no one else can board. There are still empty seats, but due to the weight restriction no one else can get on.

G- Damn! So close. I'll text Jeremy so he can book us for tomorrow's flight.

P- What do you want to do now?

G- Would you think I was crazy if I said I'd just prefer to stay in the airport until tomorrow so that we don't have to pay for another hotel room, sleep on flat pillows, and have to go through security again?

P- No! That is exactly what I was thinking. We'll stay in the airport.

We strolled down the concourse looking for a good, fairly quiet spot to kill a few hours. On the way we encountered a man who keeled over onto the floor and had a seizure.

G- OMG! (I ran to a store clerk and told him to call for a paramedic. People were yelling for a doctor and a cardiologist appeared!)

Cardiologist- I'm a doctor! Someone get something cold! Ice would be good!!

Phyl ran off to get ice and I put my sweatshirt under his head. The cardiologist rolled him on his side. People gathered around. Phyl returned with ice. I rummaged through his suitcase to see if he had any meds (per the cardiologist's instructions). He had a strong pulse. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the seizing stopped and he started to come around. The paramedics arrived. I retrieved my sweatshirt and we walked away quite shaken.

G- Ick! I hope my sweatshirt dries before I get cold.

P- What's all over it.

G- I believe it's drool and sweat. He was sweating profusely. Poor man! I hope he is ok.

We found a spot at the end of Concourse C where we sat for several hours. I reorganized my bag because I can never reorganize too many times. Phyl sewed patches onto her backpack because she is Suzie Homemaker!