Let's Go to the Airport

So I travel for work. A lot. There are weeks when I feel like I'm living in the airport. As such, I have a system for getting through security. My phone and keys have a place in my brief case (and are placed there as soon as I am out of the car), I know when I need my ID, I know what to do with my laptop, shoes, and jacket. I even have the liquids thing figured out. As a result, when there isn't a line I breeze through and am back together quickly.

While I don't agree that the measures at these checkpoints do any good, I live with it because I have to. However, I've noticed a lot of people who seem to show up at the airport and I want to ask them, "Did you know you were getting on a plane today??"

So many fellow travellers show up with more shit in their pockets than I thought humanly possible. They wait until they get in line and then they're pulling out phones and change and belts and moneyclips and lighters and pocket knives and pens and PDAs and Crapberrys and Starbuck's cups and small children. It's like another dimension in their pockets and they always seem to have forgotten that none of it can go through the metal detector. While they're pulling it all out, they look up while mouth breathing and ask, "Do I have to take my shoes off?"

Get a clue, please! We're all in it together at the airport, stay alert and organized. Don't have your pockets filled. Please get out of my way, I'm grumpy in the airport and all I want is to get to the Admiral's Club as quickly as possible.

On another note, the amoount of noise pollution at airports just keeps getting worse. They're putting in tile floors (so the sound bounces), playing CNN at full blast, making gate announcements, making security announcements, and playing Muzak on the planes as you get on. Delta, why the hell do you think Michael Bolton is going to relax me? If anything, you're adding to my tension. Thanks!

Work all the Time

I was speaking with my wife this weekend and I thought she summed up the world very well. There are two types of people, those who gain energy from people and those who are drained by people - gaining energy from being home in their nest. I have determined that while I have to deal with people day-to-day, I am one of the latter types.

My work requires travel and right now I'm in the middle of a large trip. I'm the only person in my office who understands my desire to go without sleep, food, etc. in order to get home. There is something about home that helps me recharge. Travelling with coworkers is tiresome, no matter how much you like them. After a while I need to sink into the couch and just spend time with my wife.

I feel as though work is creeping into the spaces I hold dear. It's not that I mind working late hours or hard (ask my wife, she can tell of many cold dinners), it's that after a while I need to get away from people - clients, coworkers, strangers, vendors, waiters, hotel employees, etc.

I was thinking this weekend how when I was a kid, the best times I had were those playing in my room by myself. Spending time alone or with family seems like the greatest thing to do with my time. As the second year of my marriage is drawing to a close I find that my family (my wife and I for now) is the greatest social bond I have ever made. We can be together without asking anything from the other beyond the other's company. It's nice.

I find myself searching for a better balance between life and work. This doesn't mean ignoring my responsibilities, it means finding time for myself. I'm not a drinker, I don't work out, I don't have many hobbies that take me away from the world. My refueling comes from spending time with the ones I love. Being away from them (specifically Shannon) drains me beyond any task set before me.

Blogger vs. Google (with some Gen Y hatred thrown in)

So I upgraded to this new google thingy and you know what? It's no different! I just have to sign up with a dumb google username which I'll never use because all of my other stuff is done through Yahoo. They said I could customize the look of my blog but when I click on it, it says you might lose changes you've made. Why on Earth would I want to start from scratch.

I just wish these internet wizardoo companies would stop buying each other and changing so damn much. Establish a service and keep it consistent. I don't care if the shitheads who are collectively known as Generation Y like things dynamic or need to keep it real and fresh. They suck! As a generation they don't pay for the things they should (like music) but they'll pay for things that should be free (ringtones, internet services, customer service, etc.). What a bunch of fucking chowderheads. I want to scream at them, stop wasting your money AND screwing things up for me at the same time.

Well beyond my little complaint about Gen Y, to recap, I think that Blogger should just be kept simple and easy. I don't have a lot of time for this shit.