Dropping off the rental was uneventful, as was check-in and clearing security.
I even used my Nexus card for ID and the Testicle Squeezer took it without protest.
Damn.
The flight to LA was short, and the only hitch was that I had to change terminals at LAX over to the mini-International terminal.
I cleared security there with a minimum of fuss and was tucking into a Bloody Mary at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant and watching the Masters on the TV in the bar until it was time to head to my gate.
That's when thewheels wings fell off...
The flight was at 2:xx- we boarded the flight and all was well until the door closed.
There was a long delay before the safety briefing-
and finally the overhead crackled to life:
"This is the captain, yadda yadda, yadda - equipment difficulties- working on it, we'll be underway as soon as possible."
10 more minutes.
"This is the captain, still having problems, thanks for your patience. Go ahead and use your cell phones and small electronic devices."
That's never a good sign.
I got to wondering about "small electronic devices"...
If they are so dangerous to have on during takeoff, why are we even allowed to have them? I mean, in the interest of public safety and homeland security, what's to keep 5Radical Islamic Terrorists Islamic Freedom Fighters from each bringing 7 or 8 cell phones on a flight and powering them up during roll-out?
Would that endanger the flight?
Just wondering.
20 minutes later.
"Well folks, we're still working on our problem, but we know you're kind of uncomfortable back there and there are a bunch of you that are worried about your connections in Vancouver, so we're going to deplane and left you guys see about rebookings and such. Please don't leave the gate area in case we get things fixed."
Fuck.
Oh well.
There was a long line of folks trying to rebook connections. Me, not so much.
I just needed to get to Vancouver sometime today.
After another 30 minutes there was an announcement.
Basically, our plane was DOA. They were unloading baggage and towing it off.
There was another flight due in at 8:00pm tonight, and they were going to send us back to Vancouver in that plane.
Lovely.
So...
Here's a 10 dollar lunch voucher. Don't spend it all in one place, and be back to the gate by 7:30.
So my 2 hour layover became a 12 hour layover...
I sat through a bartender shift change at Puck's, and got to watch Bubba Watson win the playoff for his Master's victory.
One good thing- with the different folks bailing on our flight, I did get a seat change- I got my coveted bulkhead aisle seat... Ah, sweet legroom...
Not so sweet: I got to my hotel after 1am and found that I didn't check my itinerary as well as I should have... The agent made my flight arrangement - but not my hotel reservation. Oops.
Fortunately I have enough status that they were able to accommodate me without issue.
So... very little sleep, $150 and one lockblade poorer due to Office Motherfucker and his bullshit, 2 flights and 11 hours of airport boredom.
One of these days I'll get or qualify for executive lounge status...but I won't hold my breath.
Happy Easter to me.
(Of course, this Easter weekend was a vast improvement on last year...
Last year I was recovering from the The T-Bone and the Demise of Physalia.)
TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
I even used my Nexus card for ID and the Testicle Squeezer took it without protest.
Damn.
The flight to LA was short, and the only hitch was that I had to change terminals at LAX over to the mini-International terminal.
I cleared security there with a minimum of fuss and was tucking into a Bloody Mary at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant and watching the Masters on the TV in the bar until it was time to head to my gate.
That's when the
The flight was at 2:xx- we boarded the flight and all was well until the door closed.
There was a long delay before the safety briefing-
and finally the overhead crackled to life:
"This is the captain, yadda yadda, yadda - equipment difficulties- working on it, we'll be underway as soon as possible."
10 more minutes.
"This is the captain, still having problems, thanks for your patience. Go ahead and use your cell phones and small electronic devices."
That's never a good sign.
I got to wondering about "small electronic devices"...
If they are so dangerous to have on during takeoff, why are we even allowed to have them? I mean, in the interest of public safety and homeland security, what's to keep 5
Would that endanger the flight?
Just wondering.
20 minutes later.
"Well folks, we're still working on our problem, but we know you're kind of uncomfortable back there and there are a bunch of you that are worried about your connections in Vancouver, so we're going to deplane and left you guys see about rebookings and such. Please don't leave the gate area in case we get things fixed."
Fuck.
Oh well.
There was a long line of folks trying to rebook connections. Me, not so much.
I just needed to get to Vancouver sometime today.
After another 30 minutes there was an announcement.
Basically, our plane was DOA. They were unloading baggage and towing it off.
There was another flight due in at 8:00pm tonight, and they were going to send us back to Vancouver in that plane.
Lovely.
So...
Here's a 10 dollar lunch voucher. Don't spend it all in one place, and be back to the gate by 7:30.
So my 2 hour layover became a 12 hour layover...
I sat through a bartender shift change at Puck's, and got to watch Bubba Watson win the playoff for his Master's victory.
One good thing- with the different folks bailing on our flight, I did get a seat change- I got my coveted bulkhead aisle seat... Ah, sweet legroom...
Not so sweet: I got to my hotel after 1am and found that I didn't check my itinerary as well as I should have... The agent made my flight arrangement - but not my hotel reservation. Oops.
Fortunately I have enough status that they were able to accommodate me without issue.
So... very little sleep, $150 and one lockblade poorer due to Office Motherfucker and his bullshit, 2 flights and 11 hours of airport boredom.
One of these days I'll get or qualify for executive lounge status...but I won't hold my breath.
Happy Easter to me.
(Of course, this Easter weekend was a vast improvement on last year...
Last year I was recovering from the The T-Bone and the Demise of Physalia.)
TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
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