Headed to Oklahoma City --for 3 weeks

I was going through airport security on Monday and was somewhat annoyed (very slightly) by this couple in front of me that was moving slowly and taking up the whole walkway so I couldn’t go around them. I had arrived plenty early so I just thought, ‘oh I have plenty of time I’m just going to stay here and not try to get around them.’

I noticed they had some walking sticks with them and so I struck up a conversation with the wife. They were going to go hiking in the Rocky Mountains. Well at security their stuff didn’t go through at all. The security personnel had to keep coming back and putting it back on the belt. These security people were really intense. I think every person had their bag opened. They took away my yogurt. They said it was considered a paste—which is so incredibly dumb! After working for the federal government I am starting to understand why there are so many incredible dumb things we have to do.

When I got up to the gate this gentleman struck up a conversation with me which was very interesting. We noticed this guy walking around with this thing sticking out of his bag that looked like a bull horn. We talked about it and commented that it looked like a weapon. When he boarded the plane I went up to this other guy and asked him about it. He was so delighted that I had asked him. He had been at the World Cup in South Africa and was just returning. It was fun to hear about his experience there.

Then I finally got to board—I was in the last group—I got to my seat and the couple at security was sitting next to me. I laughed and comments on how funny that we. We had a wonderful conversation throughout the flight. They were from Belgium where I have lived so it was fun to talk about that. They had seen some things in DC that I didn’t know about so it was nice to learn about that.

I was so grateful that I had spoken with the couple and the other people I spoke with. It really made my trip delightful. When I got on my flight to go to Oklahoma, (for work), the person sitting one seat in front of me was a friend I had made at the FAA who works in San Francisco. I said, “Jen!” She turned around and saw me—took off her seatbelt and stood up to give me a hug. She is really such a nice person! We talked for awhile until the guy next to us rudely in a way told us to stop talking. She offered to take me to my hotel. So we met up with a friend of hers and went to my hotel, their hotel, and then to dinner. It was such a fun day!

Now, I had a great day, but my co-worker, Mike, did not. He was able to get a flight through Chicago, but his flight was full so I decided to take the flight through Denver. When I got through security and stopped at the monitors I noticed that his flight had been canceled. I called and asked what he was going to do. To make a super long story short, he didn’t get in until around 8:00 and his bag didn’t make it with him. He waited at the airport for two more hours. Originally he was supposed to be in two hours before me. I was so incredibly grateful I was not able to get on his flight!!!

I’m in Oklahoma for work for the next three weeks. I do get to go to see my sister and her family this weekend instead of going to DC. I haven’t seen them since December so that will be a lot of fun. I also haven’t been to Colorado in the summer so I’m looking forward to seeing how beautiful it is. My social calendar is filling up. I was teasing one of my coworkers that he needs to decide when we are going to go golfing because my time is filling up. He promised to take me to the driving range. So many fun things to do, but so much work to do too. Not sure if I have enough time for the fun, but I’m working on it.