Killing Time

Since I am at the Cleveland Airport with a couple of hours before my flight, I thought I would kill some time.

A list:  Things I miss when I travel overseas

• I miss American food.  This is not to say that European food is not good (it's great) but sometimes I just want a Mexican pizza from Taco Bell.
• I miss my kids and my dog; usually in that order.
• I miss the routine of taking my dog to work and then going for a long walk with him sometime during the day.  He likes this routine as well.
• I like playing pool during the day. We have a table in our office and I routinely beat Dan and Bruce.  Now, Dan reads this blog sometimes so he may have a comment - just disregard anything he has to say on this issue.
• I miss hearing people speak English.
• I miss television.  Only CNN is in English there.
• I miss playing golf.
• I miss all of my friends in Novato.
• I miss driving my Jeep around (when its working)
• I miss driving my own car and freeway signs that don't read like tongue twisters.

I am actually lucky to have gotten to the airport early.  I couldn't find a place to drop off my rental car.  I entered the airport and made and entire loop before I saw a sign for the rental car.  I followed that sign and it sent me on another loop (same loop as before).  Three loops later, I finally asked a cop who told me to get back on the freeway and drive another 2 to 3 miles down the road.  I had the following conversation with a Hertz rental employee:

Me: This sure is a hard place to find.  How was I suppose to know it was way out here?
Hertz:  They should have told you when you rented your car.
Me:  I didn't rent from here.  I rented from Akron.  I am just dropping it off here.
Hertz:  Well there are signs along such and such a road.
Me: I didn't come in that way.  I came in on this other main road. There are no signs on that one.
Hertz: Yeah.  We hear that a lot

That was it.  I thought is was kind of funny.

Right now I am connected to the internet through the free airport service.  It is probably slower than dial-up but its free.  I am trying to connect through my brick, I mean through my Blackberry but the phone and software seem to be confused.  Right now the software is "configuring" my telephone as if they have just met for the first time.  They have been going at it for 20 minutes now so I am giving up hope.  I looked up troubleshoot online.  They had the typical solutions (check cables and reboot)  None of their problems amounted to "It worked yesterday, why isn't it working today?"  I think it must be me.  I am one of those guys that has an electro-rejection aura.  My electrical devices seem to all have extraordinarily high failure rates.  I don't even need to touch them.  If they know they belong to me, they fail.

Funny, I have the same problem with house plants.  Every couple of months I go to the nursery and load up on a few new plants.  I place them on the passenger seat and talk to them as I drive home.  It's part pep talk and part apology.  I know what's in store for them.

Alas...

Time to board.

up up and away...