PV #10

I felt like crap this morning. It must have been the champagne and the varieties of alcohol that I attempted to try, without having eaten anything. Luckily I didn't have to get up at the butt-crack of dawn this morning. I had breakfast...rather, coffee, with Cat and Janet before leaving for the airport. I managed to get there just fine, and made it through security and ticketing without any issues.

Upon arriving at the gate, someone from Mexicana Airlines had changed the status of my flight to "closed." I wasn't so sure I knew what that meant, since in any foreign country, things don't always translate to English as it should. I was certain, however, that it wasn't "cancelled," which would have been far worse. It certainly threw several passengers into a dither (mostly the non-Mexicans), and it had the possibility to end some short lived marriages (as many couples were there for their honeymoon). In particular, a German couple panicked, so much so that the man blew a gasket, and then literally ran like O.J. to the ticketing counter...on the other side of security. Well, of course he was told that he was at the correct gate, and that they had just put "closed" on the screen to alert passengers that no more people could check-in. I found this strange in that NONE of the other flights had that happen.

Anyhow, upon the German guy's re-arrival at the gate, being all red-faced and sweaty, he started yelling at his wife for making him run all over the airport "like an old mule." I badly wanted to say, "you just looked like a jackass is all."

I made it on the plane just fine, and had my complimentary drink and peanuts. Unlike the airlines in the U.S., I got more than 4. How lucky.

Connecting flights in Mexico City was interesting as well. It certainly was much easier not having to go through immigration. While my connecting flight was very close to where I got off my other flight, the process by which we boarded Mexicana 802 was anything but. Everyone needed to get hand searched, and dispose of any liquids in order to get sent through. The airline attendant did ask for people to board that were elite members, with small children, or needed special assistance, however no one seeemed to pay any attention to her. Apparently everyone but me needed special assistance.

Once on the plane to Chicago, it took forever for us to get going, only to find out (thankfully) that the plane was having mechanical issues, causing everyone to have to get off the plane and go to a different gate where we waited for a new plane to arrive. And the same process with security started ALL over again...with the same result. We ended up leaving an hour and 20 minutes late, partially due to three Mexican fartknockers from first class that decided to tour the entire Mexico City airport before boarding.

Also interesting was the round American woman clad in her best tube top and daisy dukes ranting to the gate agent about the delay, and that she had to be searched again. In that get up, I'm sure it was no thrill for the security people to check her again either.

But we made it off from Mexico City without issues, except that the cabin temperature was about 87, the woefully slow service (such as sitting with finished dinner trays in your lap for 45 minutes), and a Mexican toddler two rows behind me that screamed the whole flight to the point of hoarseness. Thank GOD I saved enough battery power on my iPod. I don't think the experience could have been worse. Then again, where was the Empress to floss her teeth when you needed her to?

I mentioned to the flight attendant that it was really hot in the cabin, to which her response was, "it's much cooler in the back of the plane," which was extremely helpful given that we were on a completely full flight. Perhaps that is the Mexican way of handling conflict, since it reminded me of two times on our trip. One instance was where Janet, Cat, and Monette daily had to call to the front desk to ask for more towels. The third day they asked, they got a resigned "we know" from the staff member.

The second instance was at our last lunch when Monette received a very "smelly" seafood sandwich. Upon going up to the hamburger guy, the waiter came up behind her and asked if her sandwich was ok? Monette, not being shy, said that it smelled funny. The guy looked at her, chuckled a little, and nodded, as if to say, "yeah, I know." What the hell?

Anyhow, I made it to O'Hare just fine, and after having my bag searched in customs, I was able to make it to the bus in time for the 9:30 departure. But, since I was the only one on the bus, I had to go all the way back to the bus terminal, and wait for another 45 minutes for more passengers. I finally made it home by about 12:30, and was grateful to spend the night in my own bed.

The thought of getting up early this morning, however, is certainly NOT attractive. I will say that my vacation with my dear friend Monette, and her awesome friends Cat and Janet, were an incredible way to spend my 40th birthday, with many things to remember.

Now it's back to the grindstone.