Smelly McEarwaxson

Today is my off day. It feels great. It's Friday, I'm in love. Well I'm not in love, but that's what The Cure seems to think. I'm sitting at my desk that is a plastic file box, in my desk that chair that is the floor, thinking what I shall do today. Mara is keeping me company on davefm, and the sun is shining in the window. I can't believe it finally stopped raining. It was kind of nice, since we need the rain, but I was having to work in most of it which sucks.

Yesterday was the only day this week where work was normal. I was supposed to do three daylines this week - each dayline consisting of two round trips. On Tuesday the FAA's computers decided to go haywire and we ended up just going to Gulfport and back and then sitting at the airport for 6 hous before going home. Wednesday we did a Manchester, NH turn and when we got back they told us a different crew was doing our next round trip. Still not sure why, but we don't ask questions when they're telling us to go home. Yesterday we did a Pensacola round trip, then sat for 3 hours and flew to Portland, ME and back.

I flew with a flight attendant who has been here 3 months, but somehow seems to have infinite wisdom when it comes to being a flight attendant. She didn't understand why I would make a whole pot of coffee for one person. She didn't want to serve until we'd been in the air for an hour because then people would ask for more. I'm not sure if she understands that is her job. Except for emergency situations, that is ALL we are being paid to do. It was mildly, I mean wildly annoying.

I had a man sitting within inches of me who had so much hair and earwax in his ear I thought I was going to be physically sick. I thought I should mention it to him so he could clean it out, you know as a woman and not a flight attendant, but never did. Another one of our flights we played spot the smelly person. It becomes almost a game when you walk through the cabin and get a strong wiff of stinkage and then you try to figure out who it is. I thought I knew who it was and when we were deplaning it was confirmed. The seat he was sitting in still smelled when we went back through. How can people like that not smell themselves??

I slept until 11:30 today cause evidently I was le tired. Now I have stuff to do. At least my room is still nice and tidy. I could still improve it, but it'll do for now. I'm off to enjoy my one day off

a "what I had for lunch" blog plus some incomplete thoughts

I've only flown one leg since last Monday and I'm spoiled. I go back to work tomorrow and am making an effort to remember how I really like my job sometimes. I'll probably be glad once I get there. I should like it simply for the fact that I only have to work three days this week.

Today was a really productive day. I made significant improvements in my room. I can see all of the carpet and my clothes are in order. I think I'll put some art work on the wall so when I sit here in bed I'll have something to look at other than a blank wall. I slept a little late so I didn't do everything I wanted today, but I got enough done so I can feel good about coming back home tomorrow. I didn't run, but it was raining almost the whole day.

I had an impromptu lunch with J and Joe this afternoon which was a nice break from my room. We were reminiscing about the olden days of Peachtree Landing. We had some good times there with our apartment family. Now we're all scattered and married and promoted. We still have fun. It just takes more planning.

After lunch I went to Target and bought super glue so my watch would stop falling off my wrist. Contrary to what that sounds like, I did not glue it to my skin or glue it closed. It has two clasps and the one I've been using for three years is loose. The other is fine. I glued the loose one closed and will use the good one. It's basically too much trouble to return it. I also bought a pegrack to hang by my door so I'm not always losing my purse and keys. We'll see if it helps.

Tonight was small group. We talked about the first two chapters in Judges. It's pretty interesting, though I feel like I need to do a little more homework about the customs and culture of that time period. Some of the stuff might make a little more sense then. I'm beginning to believe that one of the basic qualities of being human is going through cycles. The book of Judges is all about cycles. The Israelites would fall away from God. Bad things would happen to them. They would cry out to God. He would save them. They would get comfortable. Then they would fall away from God again. I feel like my life is a lot like this. Not just with my relationship with God, but with everything. Something becomes uncomfortable. It might be my waistline, my finances, or my relationships. I make an effort, work really hard to improve things, and they improve. Then I get comfortable again and before I know it things slide back to the way they were. This isn't always the case. Some things do change permanantly, or at least improve over time, but I feel like this is so basic to human nature. I have a lot more thoughts about this but I'm still working on them.

I have to leave for work in 8 hours so I'm going to sleep now.

Sunday evening blog addendum

After Peter commented on the fact that he is now the age that I was when Kat and Carson met it made me start remembering. They met back when I had hair almost to my waist. I still weighed 107 on a fat day. I'd never had a boyfriend. I hadn't met W. I didn't wear pants. I'd never been kissed (I'm still waiting til the alter). I'd never owned a car. I still had all my wisdom teeth. I'd never had a crazy roommate - or 15. I don't think I even had a cell phone. My, my, my.... Times have changed.

Another thing I've been thinking about lately is how we spend so much energy worrying about when we want things to happen. I used to debate whether it was better to have children earlier in life or later. Whether it was better to marry early or late. We agonize over potential decisions we'll make, scenarios we imagine we'll come across, all the time forgetting how few things we really have control over in our lives. The other day Kathryn and I were talking about how she was so ready to give birth.. but then she realized how much more hectic things would be once she gave birth. Like we actually have any say in the matter. (I'm not picking on her. Just the example the re-triggered this line of thought.) But I guess we like to pretend we do. Maybe it makes us feel important?

Tonight I ended up hanging out with Matt and Molly, eating ice cream, watching tv, and discussing the statistics in this book about people's marital happiness versus their childrens' ages. It was interesting. I have to go running tomorrow. Oh, and finish cleaning my room.

I'd never been outside of the US either.

hangin round, downstairs by myself

It's Sunday again. After teasing us all weekend, the rain is finally here. It's lovely. There is a small lake in our back yard. I'm trying to figure out what it is about my room that is so depressing. I think it's cause it's kind of dark. It's amazing what a difference picking the clothes up off the floor makes. I should probably do something besides just put them on the bed, but one step at a time.

I made a lot of money at job part 2 this weekend. It was a nice reward for working when I didn't want to. I thought the rain would dampen people's enthusiasm for 38 Special, but I think braving the drizzle made them feel like they were survivors. My legs and butt are sore from walking up and down the amphitheater, but again, that's where the tips make it all worth it.

Yesterday morning I got my hair cut. Then I went to the parents' house. Joy is home for a few days before she goes back to school. She made omlets for us (including an ugly one for the father.) I decided that it was time to have a serious discussion with him about his health. I told him if he acts like he isn't going to live another 30 years then I have no choice but to get pregnant posthaste to ensure that my children know him. It seems perfectly fair - take care of his health or I get pregnant. Nothing unreasonable about that. We saw four deer run through their yard, including two really cute fawns. We also boiled a conch shell Joy brought back from the Vineyard. It was the nastiest smelling thing I've ever smelled. All in all a pretty normal afternoon at the homestead.

Friday morning I did something I've never done before. I went to a dog show. For anyone who knows me they're like you did what? I am, admittedly not the biggest dog fan. But Isabella's mom was showing two of her dogs and Isabella wanted to see her. We had lunch plans already so I just rode along to the show. It was actually pretty interesting. There were so many different kinds of dogs, and most of them were pretty well behaved. I don't think I could've survived more than an hour without benadryl or something, but it was a good time. Something I can check off my life's to do list.

My feet still hurt from work last night. It was crazy. I don't know if I already mentioned this, but one of the ladies that runs the amphitheater gave me tickets to see Chris Isaak the week after next. I'm more excited than is probably reasonable. I don't care. I can't wait to see that show.

Kathryn delivered their second daughter, Charlotte Joy, late this morning. Very happy for them. Crazy that those kids met at my 19th birthday party and are on their second child now... How time does fly.

If I fall along the way, pick me up and dust me off

I'm letting my cereal digest so I don't get a stitch when I run. Running is hard enough without adding stupid little things like stitches.

I'm not supposed to be home right now, but I am. Yesterday morning I left Ft. Walton Beach feeling quite pukey, and the pukiness actually turned into puking, which led to me going home instead of flying all over the place. It's frustrating, but it is what it is. I'm tired of the stress this surgery is putting on me to earn as much and work as much so I can save tons of money. I think I need to give myself a break. I'm doing pretty good.

Ft. Walton was surprisingly nice on Tuesday. We had the entire day down there and spent part of it on the beach. The weather was beautiful with no signs of the hurricane/tropical storm that's hovering around Florida.

The past week has overwhelmed me with sad things happening. It's hard to understand all the terrible things that happen, and it's even harder to know how to be of help to those who are suffering. On Saturday our friend Isabella delivered her son, Ryken, at 22 weeks. He lived for a few minutes. It is heartbreaking and frustrating to not be able to do anything to ease the pain. Thankfully our heavenly Father can comfort in ways we'll never know and it's a reminder to lean more heavily on Him. There have been several other deaths lately and as Jamie reminded me yesterday we need to realize how fragile our lives our and live them to the fullest.

Needless to say, this week has felt sub-par. It's been one of those weeks when I hate my job, though it may just be because it's keeping me away from those I love. Now that I'm home, I'm going to enjoy it here, and let the chips fall where they may.

Saturday morning lounging

It feels good to wake up in my own bed. It also feels good to still be in it at 11:30am. I'm ignoring the voices that tell me to get up and do something. I think I deserve to have one day this week where I lounge.

We left Syracuse yesterday morning around 6:30am and made the long journey back to Atlanta. Except for our trip to Macon it was our 8th completely full flight this week. (When I got a little sass from some guy on my 4th flight Monday, I had to remind him that he was about the 300th person I'd served since 7:30 that this morning so my sense of humor and my tolerance might not been as keen as usual.) It was fairly unremarkable. As with many other flights, I sat within licking distance of 2 people who never once looked at me or acknowledged my presence.

We got back to Atlanta and had to wait about 2.5 hours until our last round trip. I spent half of this time booting up my computer. I think it got a virus. I spent the other half downloading a free virus protector that Adri told me about, and it's doing much better now. We finally made it out to the plane to start boarding for Pittsburgh. The passengers were already starting to come on board when they told us the flight was canceled. I don't know why. The other flight attendant started to get very excited, but I'm a little jaded. I remember what happened the last time they canceled my flight - they sent me somewhere else instead. And after waiting an hour more, that's exactly what happened. It was only Greensboro though, so we still got back on time and it wasn't too painful. Our flights weren't full either which was a nice break from the rest of the week.

There was an older man sitting in the back next to me who had really odd indentions in his skull (he was bald on top). I was dying to know what had happened, but wasn't sure how to ask him if his head was just naturally denty or did something happen. So I asked him about what looked like a scar near one of the dents. Thankfully he was friendly and wasn't offended by my bluntness. He had had a bleeding hematoma between his brain and his skull, so they drilled two holes in his skull to drain it. As I was looking at him and listening to his story I noticed that his eyes were exactly the same shades of brown as mine! They were the opposite of mine, but it was still really neat to see someone else with the same weird eyes. It made me happy :-).

Last night I drove down to Newnan and met with some of my small groupers. We called it craft night, but it was more along the lines of knitting, crocheting, and poster making. Nicole was crocheting a blanket Monday night at small group, which kind of inspired this. I started working on a scarf but ended up helping Kara with a poster she was making for her niece to encourage her to use the potty :-P. We watched the Olympics, ate pizza, and heard about each other's weeks. Two of the girls are school teachers, which I think would feel like doing a flight that was full of children for 7 hours a day. Basically that would be a nightmare.

After that I met Tanya, Joe, and (separately) Jersey at the Mac in Newnan where we also watched the Olympics. It was good to see them since it seems to take a royal effort to get friends together these days.

I think I've lounged enough. I'm going to take on the day.

I’m wasting sleep time trying to think of a title

If I type fast I'll still be able to make my goal of being in bed by 8. What has my life come to... I've had to get up around 4 the last 3 mornings and I'm tired of it. It's sad when you think - if only I could sleep til 5:30.

I'm in Syracuse. I was in Portland this morning. It's nice because it is not hot as Hades here. I went running yesterday and ended up walking most of the way. I don't know what the problem was. Today I managed to run the whole thirty minutes, but had to keep concentrating on how much I liked having muscles in my thighs to counteract the "I hate running" thoughts. I had two cups of instant mashed potatoes for supper tonight. They were good, but I would've rather had a steak, asparagus, brocoli, squash... Real food basically.

The other day a man got on one of my flights. I recognized him and assuming he was one of our pilots I made some comment to him along the lines of what are you up to? Then the more I looked at him, the more I figured he wasn't a pilot (I think he was too old). I had to figure out how I knew him so I asked his name and it turns out he was my boss's boss when I worked for the contractor. I then remembered that I hadn't really liked him when I worked for him so I slapped him... Not really. When I was in Europe I accidently sent an email to him that was meant for a friend of mine. I hope he didn't remember that. He's kind of old so I'm sure he forgot :-P. Small world isn't it?

Today I had a little girl on the flight back from Portland. She was asleep with the top of her head against the back of the seat so her neck was sticking out at an odd angle. Her eyelids were about half open and her eyes were darting back and forth. I couldn't stop laughing - partially cause she looked funny and partially cause it made me remember when Joy was little and used to sleep with her eyes open.

I have more to write but I have too much to do before bed. I'll be home in about 19 hours. Yay.

Keep on rockin' in the free world

Thanks to a crazy idea Angela put in my head last night I signed up for a 10k in November. Now the pressure is on. It's kind of exciting as well. There's no turning back or chickening out now.

I met with the girls in my small group from church tonight for the first time since the summer pretty much. We discussed what we want to study in the fall. We're looking at a book in the Old Testament since those seem to be the more forgotten, less studied ones. They also seem to have the coolest stories in them. Those OT people were crazy :-P. I had a good time talking to them and have realized that if I'm going to know and be known by these people, it's going to take a more direct effort. In a group situation I typically don't try to have my story heard (usually cause I can't make myself be heard) but if the small group is going to serve its purpose I need to be willing to be transparent and intentionally put myself out there.

Today I went up to Atlanta to look at a house some friends proposed I live in. I really want to move into the city and keep telling myself I'll do it when I get my debt paid off, but I think there's a fine line behind being wise about paying things off and letting it control my life. It turned out that this wasn't going to be the best situation for me, but it was good for me to start thinking about the next step.

Otherwise I did a lot of chores today. Laundry, bank, groceries, cleaning. I have to leave for work in 6.5 hours so I should probably get some sleep.

lazy, lovely Sunday

I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that it's Sunday already. This means my weekend is almost over and I'm still exhausted. I've had a relaxing day off so far, but I seem to have a lot weighing on my mind. There are so many decisions to be made and problems to be solved, and none are the easy kind.

Friday night when I finally got off work I had the pleasure of attending a mac'n'cheese bakeoff at my friend McCaine's. One of the things I enjoy about her is her inventive ways of socializing. Sometimes I feel like my life is incredibly dull and predictable. We also watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics which were a sight to behold. Another thing I like about McCaine is the extreme volume of her voice, and her wild enthusiasm for things (including Michael Phelps). It's nice to be around people who get such pleasure out of life.

Saturday, after sleeping as long as I felt like, I made my way to the pool de J where I was working on my tan. Then I went to the gym de J and was working on my fitness. I haven't run in a long time (this heat is infernal), but still managed to start the week 9 running program (5 min walking, 30 min running, 5 min walking). It wasn't even that painful at all. I think the only way I'm going to be such a slacker about running is to sign up for a 5k or something. I've lost enough weight where my clothes are comfortable again so that pressure to run is off, but I know if I don't keep running the weight will be right back. Plus I feel so much better when I'm active.

After the sun and run, we picked up sushi and sat on the floor of his balcony and ate. The sushi was really good. I think the portions should've been bigger. I love the rolls with the mayo sauce on them. We had another roll with unagi and avocado that had some kind of tempura inside. The combination of flavors and textures was delightful. Then it was ice cream with blueberries and raspberries for dessert.

Some of the books I've been reading lately, combined with what's going on (or not going on) in my life, and conversations I've had have led me to the conclusion that I need to be more purposeful in my living. I need to read books that I will learn from. I need to write with the purpose of becoming a better writer. I need to fill my time with things that will make my life better and more meaningful. It's funny how a book on writing can provoke so much thought. There is so much clutter and wasted words and time in my life. I don't know if I'll ever become a real writer, but I do know that I definitely never will if I'm not writing purposefully.

These are some of the things that have been occupying my mind lately and making me tired. The wonderful lunch my mama made is also making me sleepy. I should follow my daddy's lead and take a nap.

Currently reading : On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction By William K. Zinsser

As long as we get there eventually, right?

I'm in Providence and holding my breath that the flight my mama is on actually leaves. She's been sitting in Boston all day and it makes me fret that she could get stuck.

Today was supposed to be an easy day, and it was, except it was about 2 hours behind schedule. This morning I was in Daytona Beach, but because our overnight was only 15:47 we had to stay at the hotel near the airport instead of by the beach where the 16+ hour overnights stay. It was fine though. I had a nice, free breakfast at the hotel, then spent a while out by the pool. It was really hot outside but the water was perfect. One of my passengers yesterday gave me an interesting book that I started reading. I've also been reading "On Writing Well", which is highly recommended for anyone who wants to be able to write well. It makes me much more aware of the things I read and write. I'll write more about that later.

I had funny passengers tonight who kept talking about the air lounge that is upstairs on the plane. One guy told the one next to him that the stairs were in the back lav, and asked why I didn't just check the flight cause they have wireless in the lounge. I also had an old couple who gave me a little hope for long, happy marriages. The man would always hand her things to her. He opened her peanuts before his. I asked her if he always took care of her and she said for 62 years. I said that was a good reason to keep him around. He said that I hadn't asked why he kept her around - so I did. His answer was because she was the perfect wife. They were really cute.

I have to go to sleep cause we're on short rest tonight and have to leave the hotel in less than hours. Looks like she'll make it to Atlanta. Very nice.

Currently reading : Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion By Sara Miles

hey - you - get off of my cloud

I can't believe it's my Sunday already. I have to go back to work tomorrow and am not a fan. It's been really good to have some time off. I wish I could say my room reflected that I've had free time to do things, but it still looks the same. Maybe in a little while I'll do something about that.

I had a very musical weekend. Friday and Saturday I worked at the amphitheater. Rick Springfield was the performer. I'm still amused by the energy that people put into adoring him. He's old. He's a soap opera star. He isn't that good of a musician. On Sat I worked with a lady who works at the sponsoring hotel. She said that all weekend there have been women just waiting in the lobby to get a glimpse of him. Seriously people - he's not that great. He does have big biceps, but from where I was that was the only outstanding thing about him. He's very dramatic. People would give him bouquets of flowers and he would strum his guitar with them sending clouds of petals flying everywhere. Then he'd throw the used up stems back to the crowd. He came out onto the floor where they had tables set up and stood on a table and performed. At one point he took someone's phone from them and started calling people. I don't know if he's assuming that they're going to be like "OMG Rick Springfield used my phone!" and then have it dipped in gold or framed or something. It was altogether very amusing.

Sunday morning we sent mother dearest off to Joy and she made it without too much pain. She was waiting in a long line in Boston to check in for the Cape Air flight when some really rude man came barging to the front of the line. He was stepping over old ladies' things and generally thinking he was the bees knees. A few minutes later they called his name for the flight. It was John Kerry. Hmmm... Father dearest and I enjoyed food she left for us - stuffed squash, green beans, rice, chicken and oatmeal cookies. Such good food. My mama doesn't just make green beans. They're amazing. She puts garlic in them and who knows what else. But they're awesome. Michal made the varsity volleyball team (Good job Michal! :-D) at her new school and is on a beach trip with them so we missed her at lunch.

Sunday evening I picked Jamie up at the airport and we made a little last minute journey to see Journey with Amie and Ryan. I then realized that I should've brushed up on my 80s music because I'd barely heard of Heart, much less knew any of their songs. We watched in amusement as hundreds of 30 and 40 something year old women got their groove on to Heart. I will admit, it was pretty good. Journey came on and I heard all the songs I knew, plus a bunch from their new album which I didn't care about at all. Their current lead singer is a small, young Asian guy with long straight hair and tight red pants. He didn't seem to fit in with the band at all, but he sounded just like the original singer so I guess that's what matters. There were good times had by all.

Later, we met up with J at Waffle House, who had just returned from his two week jaunt on the west coast. It's been a while since I visited the WH but it was just as wonderful as I remembered.

Monday I took Jamie to the airport to go back home and took my car by the shop to find out why my new brakes are making such strange noises. They can't seem to figure it out, which doesn't really make me happy, but he said they won't fail or anything. I spent the rest of the day down in Ptc helping a friend of ours caulk and paint their house.

I'm going to eat some cottage cheese and fresh peaches and think about getting stuff done today.

The world was moving and she was right there with it

I just woke up from the second night of sleep I've had in my bed in 11 days. It was nice. I really needed it. I don't think I realized how much my erratic sleep schedule was messing with my head. I feel better now. I'm very, very hungry though. Who wants to bring me lunch?

Yesteray after I got home from my nap I slept for about 5.5 hours. I had a lot of dreams but the one that stood out the most was when I had to have surgery on my ankle. The first day they cut my foot off and I had to go around on crutches. Then the next day they reattached my foot and I had this perfect line around my ankle where they reattached it. This reminds me of my childhood when my dear older brother used to tell me that they cut my head off and sewed it back on. I never could quite figure out how they got my head under the sewing machine, but when you're 4 you can't expect to understand everything. I also dreamed I had surgery on my hand and in my dream I couldn't grab anything cause it hurt too much. So when my phone started ringing to wake me up I was scared to grab it and answer it cause I thought it would hurt.

Yesterday I did the same thing I've done every afternoon I've been home all week - nothing. I've spent far too much time in my room. I need to get out of here today. Problem is, everywhere I go costs money in gas and there aren't that many places to go that aren't miserable in this heat.

Last night I worked at the Rick Springfield concert. I didn't have any tables to serve such I just helped everyone else out with the concession stand and in the bars. I was really tired and the heat was sucking my life out, so I can't say it was the best night of my life. It was funny cause everyone was waiting for him to play "Jessie's Girl" all night and it seemed like every song started out sounding like it was going to be that one. Some of my coworkers were thinking he was doing that to tease people, but my real guess is that he only knows about 4 licks and uses them over and over. I'm back there tonight but I think we have a couple tables to serve so hopefully the night will be a little better. I have to go buy some new shorts to wear because I seem to have lost weight and my shorts are making me look like a plumber now.

Matt and Molly left yesterday to go to Rome to start a 7 day cruise on Sunday. It's going to be an empty, quiet house for the next long while.

I'm still copying my old blog over and got to this day two years ago this morning. It's kind of fun to look back and see what was going on. I do kind of wish I wasn't so vague about certain things so I could have a more accurate record. Maybe I can figure something out.

You don’t have to wear that dress tonight

Or any other night for the next 4 days.

I just made it home from a crazy night of flying. There will be no avoiding sleep today. I've closed my dark curtains in my room and in a minute I'm going to sleep as long as I feel like it.

I knew last night was going to be rough when, at about 4pm, we were in the middle of our third torrential downpour for the day. My flight at 8:30pm was already delayed. When I got to work it was delayed further because we were waiting for the plane to come in from Syracuse. It finally arrived around 10:30 and I went out to get the plane ready. A ramper comes up and tells me he thinks our flight is canceled. This seems too good to be true - not that I want to strand anyone in Atlanta - but I'd like to sleep in my bed. Turns out, there was a bad storm in Jacksonville, NC where we were headed and their weather system and runway lights were down. Flight canceled.

The captain and I get on the bus to go to our cars around 11 and about halfway there he gets the call that we have to go to Augusta. Their crew timed out. Fair enough. I knew it was too good to be true. Augusta is only about a 30 minute flight and I had just had a cup of coffee before we got canceled, so I was going to be awake for a few hours. Turns out, that flight was supposed to leave at 6:35pm. Whenever it finally left it was waiting in line to take off and the crew timed out. Sucks for them. We eventually landed in Augusta a little after 1am. Everyone was nice because they had been told we had returned to the airport to take them to Augusta, and they were just happy to get there.

We got in the taxi to go home and our driver started complaining immediately because there isn't another flight coming in all night and he hasn't made any money (it's 1:30am dude. Sorry). As we drive to the hotel my ever so polite captain asks him if the van is stuck in overdrive or does he just want waste gas... My captain is one of those guys that talks constantly about anything. They talk about that for a while and within a few minutes my captain has figured out that based on an 8% fuel savings by not using overdrive, the cab driver could save at least $1000 a year. Greeeaaaat. It's 1:30am. Who cares?

Then as the first officer and I are sitting in the back looking at each other in amazement at the ridiculousness of the conversation, the driver starts telling us how dangerous Augusta is. He said he had a passenger once who asked him to pull into an alley. The driver said "I reached down like I was scratching my leg and pulled out my .38. I turned to him and told him, get out of my van or I'll blow your head off." He proceeds to explain how he told him he had just gotten back from killing people in Iraq and this guy wasn't any different to him. If he didn't get out of the van he'd kill him. He said "I know you have a gun in your belt. If you want to live get out of my van." The guy evidently didn't believe him so he said he'd give him 5 seconds to find out if he was bluffing or not. It's now 1:45am, and I can't believe I'm hearing this story. It's time for bed. It's time to get out of this crazy man's taxi. Thankfully we didn't ask him to pull into an alley, and none of us had pistols in our belts so we made it out alive. The world is full of all kinds of strange people.

Three hours later we were loading up to go back to the airport, and now I'm home. Sleepy time.