Friday, Nov. 18th
5:00am: WHAT THAT HELL IS THAT NOISE??!!
Oh, it's just the alarm clock. 5:00am. Shit. Only got 5 hours of sleep. Why do I *always* have to wait for the last minute to pack? Isn't it funny how it's so hard to get out of bed early on a work day, but when you're taking a trip, or have a tee time, you can bounce out of bed with a smile on your face? Funny? Not really. Hello SNOOZE button!
5:07am: Hello SNOOZE button!
5:14am: Hello SNOOZE button!
5:21am: Hello SNOOZE button!
5:28am: Alright, I'd better get my lazy ass out of bed before I oversleep and miss my flight.
6:00am: After showering, dressing, filling my travel coffee mug, and checking for the 100th time that I have the tickets (not airline, but game tickets!) I'm ready to go. One last run upstairs to make sure I have everything, and kiss the wife and kids goodbye. Suitcase - CHECK. Seahawks hat and sweatshirt - CHECK. Pay $haun Now! poster - CHECK. Travel mug - CHECK. Airline Tickets - CHECK. Game Tickets - CHECK. (that makes 101!)
6:15am: While the purpose of my trip is for a board meeting (flight and hotel paid for, thank you very much) as I'm driving to the airport, I can't keep my mind off of seeing my brother and the game on Sunday. Traffic is pretty light this early in the morning and I'm making good time. Should be no problem getting to the airport for my 7:40am flight. Hmmm, next exit Everett Road.
6:16am: HOLY SHIT I'M GOING THE WRONG WAY!!! Seriously. Coming off the NYS Thruway I instinctively took I-90 East heading INTO Albany, instead of I-87 North heading to the airport. No bigging, I'll just loop around at the Everett Road exit.
6:21: I-87 North, next exit, Still making good time, just gotta jump on "the Northway" and it's 10 more minutes to airport. What are those? Flairs? There sure are a lot of them. EXIT CLOSED??!!! WHAT THE FiretrUCK??!! Damn, don't want to get off at the next exit and deal with local commuter traffic, but it's the last exit before the NYS Thrusay toll booth. ARRRGGHHH!
6:22am: FRIG IT! If Shaun and reverse his field than so can I. I'll just head toward the toll booths and pull a U-ey in front of them, and get on I-87 North like I should have in the first place. Man, this trip isn't starting out too smoothly. Must be Alan's fault for posting the Seahawks record as 7-3!
6:23am: PHEW. Was able to hang the U-ey without causing any major accidents or getting pulled over. The streak of no infractions on special teams continues!
7:04am: God bless Delta Airlines, and on-time departure from Albany and I'm on my way!
10:00am: Have to change planes in Atlanta. Shit. Wish you could get direct flights out of Albany "International" Airport, but you can't. First a quick trip to the men's room. MENTAL NOTE: Don't touch anything, it's pretty likely that Ron Mexico has been here!
10:50am: DAMN, that was close. Thank God for the Hartsfield subway system, which whisked me from Concourse E to Concourse B in time to catch my connector. Would you believe that upon arriving in Concourse B, and knowing the flight was already boarding, I started down the wrong hallway. True Story. Again, somehow Alan is to blame.
11:00am: Total flight time, 4 hours 27 minutes. MAN, that's a long time. That's even more time than it should take for the Seahawks to totally dismantal the struggling 49ers. Guess I'd better buck up for the $2.00 headphones and settle in for the in flight movie.
11:05am: I've got my $2 head phones, dixie cup of soda, snack pack consisting of 4 crackers, some undistinguishable cheese spread, a Halloween sized box of raisins an two Oreos. The woman in front of me is fully reclined and the guy next to me out weighs me by a good 20 pounds (and I'm no bantam weight myself) Man this is living!
11:10am: SHHHHH! March of the Penguins is about to begin. Hey, this is a pretty enjoyable movie, even if there isn't one human being in it. Hell, you could make a movie of Morgan Freeman narrating the want ads and it would be interesting. MENTAL NOTE: When the Seahawks win the Superbowl, insist that NFL Films get Morgan Freeman to narrate it. Sorry John Fuscenda!
11:45am: The Emperor Penguins travel over 70 miles on foot to return to the place they were born to choose a mate and breed. During the 6 month gestation, hatching and chickling process, the parents take turns making the 70 mile trek back to the ocean's edge, to feed, and then return to the breeding grounds to nurture the eggs and feed the young. Kind of reminds me of how the seattle Seahawks offense takes several trips of 70 yards or more during a football game between their own territory and the opponents end zone.
12:45pm: OK, this is a long time to watch Penguins shuffle around in 80 degree BELOW zero temperatures, trying to keep a single egg warm in 100 mile per hour winds. Would I really be listening to all these details if Morgan Freeman wasn't caressing my ears with his sweet baritone voice? MENTAL NOTE: Taking a flight to San Francisco is a wake up call for your feminine side to emerge!
1:15pm: Alright. That was a cool movie. I won't tell you how it ends, but let's just say I've got a weird urge for a snowcone. Just thinking that if Emperor Penguins were Blue/Green, our offense could be nicknamed the Persistant Penguins of the Pacific (Nortwest), or the Eager Emperors of the Emerald City. MENTAL NOTE: Time for a nap.
2:00pm: OK I'm bored. I know, I'll pull out my laptop and start documenting my trip so I can post it on the blog when I get back. Oh man, all my fellow bloggers will think this is SO COOL! MENTAL NOTE: Funny how on a flight to San Francisco everyone smiles when you look at them. The chicks are happy to have a guy notice them, and the guys, well, let's just same I'm flattered, but not interested!
2:30pm The Emperor Penguin can go up to 3 months without food as they huddle together waiting for their eggs to hatch in the brutal winter of the Antartic. Now I know how they feel. My total food in take to this point as been a few crackers, a couple cookies and some raisins.
