Thursday, July 22, 2010

Rode Hard And Put Up Wet.

At least that is how I feel on this 2nd day of being in Houston. 

I can say that I am not good with jet-lag.  Whew!  Like right now.  It's 3:21 in the morning.  What am I doing up?  I am sitting here drinking cold refreshing tea and eating Cheetoh Puffs.  AND I don't think my sister-in-law would appreciate seeing orangy cheeto stains on her keyboard. 

I had a long flight Tuesday.  My first stop was in Frankfurt.  I think I threw the check-in lady at the airport for a curve.  She could not believe that I was traveling with only a back-pack... and then said that normally people would travel with several suitcases.  I told her that I was okay with wearing only one pair of underwear, shirt and shorts for two weeks.  That did not go down to well with her.  :)

My first stop in Frankfurt was hectic.  I did not know that it was a super, ginormous, scary large airport.  With only an hour and 40 minutes to get to my gate, I think I had suffered several heart-attacks.  Trying to get through security was a bitch and then I was reduced to a wee size when the German Customs' Officer gave me an icy stare.  I thought to myself and said in child-like voice, "Mommy".  Rammstein scares me. 

By the time I made it to the plane, I was sweating from every possible area on my body.  My shirt and make-up showed my true feelings.  I was wedged between two American dudes who helped me dry up.  They could not stop laughing at me.  I think I was cracking too many jokes that you would say only to your close relatives.  (Keld, you can only imagine how up-close and personal I can get with my jokes.)  BUT, I managed to calm down.  I think I downed four Bloody Mary's too.  I slept almost through that 8 hr. trip.  GOING THROUGH AMERICAN CUSTOMS IS A BITCH!  I had to explain why I was living in Denmark, what kind of work I was doing there, why was I coming back to the U.S., and why was I traveling with only a back-pack.  Then I was stopped by three airport police, who asked to see my passport.  The same questions came up in conversation... and one made me open my back-pack to see what was inside. 

When we landed in Boston, again with only 2 hrs. to get to my gate, after looking around for Continental, I finally focused on the sign and saw that I had to go to another terminal.  On route and walking really fast, I got a really painful cramp.  I am sure I looked like a freak, sweating bad, smeared make-up, and hopping/limping.  I finally checked  in.  Security was slow and as usual, they were demeaning to the people. 

It was almost a 4-hour trip to Houston.  I was very happy when we landed.  As I walked out of the gate, I stopped at Starbucks and got myself a small green tea frap... hopping to the exit and sipping my drink I smiled when the doors to the outside open and I felt the rush of Houston's humid air on my face. 

Happy to be back home.

2 comments:

  1. sounds awful but glad you made it. have fun!

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  2. Well I just spent way too much time reading through your blog instead of cleaning the huge mess known otherwise referred to as my house. I'm sure there are thousands of us poor expats returning from our "homes" to our "other home" at the end of a long summer vacation. ...and for the record Cheese Puffs were one of the first things I consumed in mass quantities. I think my kids fingers were orange for a good three days straight. :)

    Feeling quite special to be on the list of blogs on the side too. :)

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