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After a two hour wait on the runway, due to a horrendous downpour and the streams of lightning that electrify the clouds, the plane that is responsible for ferrying me back to Austin, finally was able to take off. Thank goodness! I seriously don't mind the wait - in fact, I was able to sleep quite well for part of it, and also happenned to finish 'About a Boy' by Nick Hornby; What I do mind is the noise and the problems that my fellow travellers create while locked in our mutual cylindrical prison. Between the constant calls on the cell phones where everyone tells the same story to the same types of people 'yeah, stuck in a plane at detroit metro' to the incessant questions of the stewards and stewardesses 'are we there yet' and 'when are we going to take off' and 'will they hold my connecting flight', etc, it can really begin to eat at a person. Patient as I am, it can still be difficult to deal with two hours of waiting and no good conversations to be found.
I'm in the air now though, speedily heading to Houston, before I pick up my connecting flight back to Austin. I will likely miss the connecting flight I was expecting to make, and will likely have to wait about two hours before I hopefully can get on a new one. This isn't so bad, as I was able to recently pick up a membership to Continental's President's Club. Despite the cost, it can be totally worth it, especially for someone like myself who will be travelling every week and who will undoubtibly get caught in many a situation like the one I find myself in now. The best perk? It's a hard call between the really comfy chairs, the free drinks and snacks, the large screen televisions, and the interesting conversations with other upscale, forlorn travellers.
Though I can't be completely certain, I believe that I happen to know one of my fellow travellers on this flight. In fact, if I'm right, I really should be doing everything I can to accidentally bump into her and spark up a new conversation on my way to the bathroom or picking up a complimentary magazine. Her name is Diane, or Diana, and in my humble opinion, is an extraordinary example of the female species. I met her a few flights ago, also when I was returning from Detroit to Austin, and we hit it off extraordinarily well. She sat in the middle seat, and I in the window, and our conversation flowed beautifully well for the entire 2.5 hour trip. Turned out she was brilliant, having studied chemical engineering and some of the biological related sciences, and is currently pursuing a PhD in pharmacology. As if this wasn't enough, she spends her Januaries as a ski instructor in Colorado, enjoys all sorts of sports, and life activities, a rather extroverted individual, and exactly the sort of person with a wonderous aptitude for spontaneous creativity. Whether she is on the plane or not, I am delighted to revisit my thoughts of such an amazing woman.
This week was difficult. I spent a great deal of time preparing documents and attending meetings that we had hoped would lead to our ability to ensure our project, and specifically my part on it, remained on time and on schedule. Despite all of my valiant efforts, and 20 hour days, it seems that we will inevitably fall behind a week. It is a week that we can make up, but not a week that I had hoped to lose so early.
What I've realized through my work is that I, at the age of 23, and having acquired a rather valuable education, am more qualified to do certain things than many of my peers. I have often wondered if this is just my ego, but I've really begun to realize that I am more skilled in certain ways than the people who manage me (or try to, anyways). This bothers me a bit, but I suffice myself by returning to the cliche`s including 'the cream rises to the top' and 'every dog has his day'. But I long for the day where I am put in a position to use my skills to the utmost, and where people become unable to deceive others through promises or facades. I probably sound bitter, and it's unfortunate that I have become this way; nonetheless it provides a constant reminder of my ambitions and desires to be super-successful. And this is definitely worth something.
One of the things I dislike about travelling is the great variability of my schedule. It becomes difficult to plan things, and even harder to keep a constant schedule back in Austin. I have no doubt that by the end of October I will need a mini-vacation, and some time to gather my thoughts.
I think I'll end this here, and go and spend some time on performing brain surgery, starting with some of my earlier entries. I look forward to receiving your comments on this, or any of the other entries in my journal.
[ surgery commentary (0) ] ... [ perform
brain surgery ]
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