One last Diet Coke
Jet Blue is serving me what will probably be my last Diet Coke for a week. Not a huge deal, but I’m highly addicted so it should be interesting to see how my body reacts to detoxing. Sweating, living off rice, dry foods, and warm water for a week will probably be really good for me. Still, I’m hoping Sean Penn and I can enjoy a beer on St. Patrick’s Day 
The line to get our bags checked and boarding passes was ridiculous. Nearly 2 hours of waiting, inching forward with out bags. I don’t deal well with being talked to in an idle situation like that – I’d prefer to zone out and get my mind settled. But it never fails, no matter who I travel with someone always has to be that person. Maybe it’s how they deal with nervousness, but the asshole in me always wants to snap. I kept my cool by calling se friends. None of the conversations had much to do with my trip. Chris talked about women (typical), Ben went to voicemail, as did Jake. Theresa… Well her and I have some things to address. It just made me feel good to hear her voice again.
When I finally got to the counter, I was informed that my bag was too heavy to be checked – by 4 lbs. Apparently flights to the DR have a hard weight limit. Why does it matter if the 4 lbs. ends up in my carry-on or someone else’s bag? Weight on the plane is still weight on the plane, right? Luckily 2 pairs of boots weigh 5 lbs. so I took out the first two pairs I grabbed and tossed them on the floor. Then came the fun part of trying to wedge a pair into my already too full bags. Managed, somehow. Luckily Zac had room for a pair too.
We had 20 minutes to get through security and to out gate. Joy.
Rushed through security, (always a blast) and arrived at our gate with 9 minutes until takeoff. Of course that 9 minute wait turned into a half hour plus mess as the staff desperately tried to get some semblance of organization with the mostly Spanish-speaking crowd.
Lucked out and got moved to the exit row – get this: because I speak English. Crazy to see that work in my favor for once. Had to cram my bags in thr overhead and under my seat. Hoping nothing broke, but i just needed to sit after standing mostly still carrying all that weight for 2+ hours.
Seat next to me is empty, but sitting next to the window is James. He’s flying into the DR and traveling to Haiti just like us, working for an organization that provides medical relief. I guess he works for the world’s largest non-profit organ donor agency, and he works primarily in the OR. I was too embarassed to ask if that makes him a surgeon or not, but I gather that he’s more an assistant of some sort. He’s living in Boston and will also be there for a week. It was cool meeting someone as crazy as Zac, Jeff, and I – flying into God knows what, where we’ll probably see some of the most horrifying things we’ve ever seen. Some Spring Break!
It was calming to watch Futurama most of the way down here, but it looks like we lost the Comedy Central DirecTV feed now. Lame. That show always makes me think of Maria now, so that brought a big smile to my face. Now I’m stuck listening to my iPod. Not a bad thing really, I was just hoping to conserve that battery life for the 7-hour ride coming up.
We’ve got another 2 hours or so of travel time before we land, so I guess I’ll be posting this from the ground.
P.S. Thank you, Theresa. If you read this, I love you.
