Rental Cars are Evil

Well, not the cars themselves but the emotions they can evoke. Don't get me wrong, I love my Mazda3 at home; even with 60,000 miles, a dent here, and a ding there. However, I just spent a week driving a new Maxima withonly 3,700 miles on it and still with that new car smell.

All I can think of is how great it was to have the push-button door locks and "Start" button...never had to take the remote out of my pocket! I also loved the feeling of being in a big car and I think to myslef, "Wouldn't it be nice to get a new car?"

But I had to return it. And now I will go home to happily drive my Mazda again. But for a moment, a shiny new rental car caused me to covet something and that's why they're evil.

People Watching in the Classroom

This is the first day of six that I'm spending on the campus of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. The study includes a class in bioethics and the annual Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity conference. There are 17 students and we're in a large classroom that's set up for 80.

What's interesting is how you can tell those who are new grad students who just got their bachelor's degrees and are young and eager from those who are older and maybe not as eager. My key to knowing the difference? The young ones are sitting in the first row right next to each other while the "more experienced" ones are further back in the classroom with at least one empty seat between each other.

Well, after listening to student introductions, it appears that four students are actually undergrad students doing a dual degree. Ambitious, they are. :)

Updated: July 15, 2013

Simple Pleasures in Life

Early morning takeoff at DFW.

I recently stayed at the Hyatt Regency DFW International Airport with my wife for a three day convention. We had a great view of the runways on the eastern side DFW, 17R/35L and 17C/35C. On the day we left, we had a little extra time on our hands before our flight departed, so my wonderful wife let me indulge in a simple pleasure: riding the airside Skylink terminal connector all the way around the airport.

Skylink photo from DFW website.

Growing up in NYC, one of my favorite things to do as a kid was to get in the first car of the subway, stand at the front door looking forward, and watching the world through the motorman's eyes. It was always great fun and provided a simple rush in a little boy's life. The opportunities are rare these days, but I still love riding in the first car of a train and although the Skylink isn't a 10-car subway, it's still great fun to ride if you have about 20 minutes of free time at DFW.

Part of the fun riding the Skylink is that
it is on the airside of DFW and you get
great views of planes and things.
From DFW website.

And so, for a little while, I was able to enjoy three simple pleasures in life all at once: 1) alone time with my wife with no cares in the world; 2) watching the comings and goings of planes going to all corners of the US and international destinations; and, 3) riding in the front of the train. What could be better than that?

Updated: 07/08/2013; corrected minor typos.

Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain

I used to love listening to the rain fall on my windshield as I drive. Go faster...splat...splat...splat. Go slower...splat......splat.........splat. Stop at a red light and there might be hardly any raindrops hitting the windshield at all.

But since I lost hearing on one side and there's a near-constant ringing in my head, the falling rain no longer is an enjoyable experience. It's not just more background noise, it's causing the ringing to spike. Oh, for the days of yore. <big sigh>

Flying as an Adventure

Long, congested drive to the airport. Long, frustrating search for a parking space. Long, tiring hike to the terminal. Long, slow wait winding through the security checkpoint. Long, delayed arrival of inbound flight. Long, delayed boarding and pushback of my flight. Long, sleepy time on the tarmac waiting to taxi. Long, slow creep up to the runway.

Then it happens. The plane turns onto the active runway. The engines spool up. The brakes release. We roll, slowly at first, but quickly we gain speed. Soon we reach V(R) and the nose pitches up. The bumpy ride down the runway ends as the main gear lifts off the pavement. A huge bank to the left while still climbing makes the plane feel like a roller coaster. At this point, I remember why I always loved to fly and why I love airplanes.

Granted, this isn't the most fun way to fly (commercially), but since I don't have a pilot's license, don't have access to a corporate jet, and don't own a classic warbird, this is the best I've got. And I love it anyway.

Things I saw that thrilled me on this flight:

• A summer squall moving into the city just as we take off
• Clouds above and below us as the same time
• The top of a business jet at a lower altitude as we crossed paths
• The bottom of an airliner at a higher altitude, loaded with people going in the opposite direction; and I wondered what their stories were and where they were going
• Cloud lightning as we skirted a line of thunderstorms
• A rift in the space-time continuum (okay, maybe not, but can't I imagine that for a few seconds?)

  

  Possible rift in the space-time continuum?

• The tops of clouds that looked like waves in the ocean
• A beautiful sunset that we chased for miles, which never really ended until we began our final descent
• Dark patches of our nation where there were few man-made lights until we flew over a town lit up and visible for miles around
• Long rivers of headlights as we made our final approach

I think too many people view flying commercial aviation as a nuisance. Maybe it is, but every time I take off, I think about that poem that begins "Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth." Regardless how commonplace commercial aviation may seem, I still think of flying as a privilege, not a right. I think about the "glamour days" of flying and what a thrill it was to greet an airplane's arrival, knowing this was a special treat.

I see flying as an adventure and I wish more people would, too. Then maybe, just maybe, we'd all have a better experience as we wait to grab our carry-on bags from the overhead bins; use the terminal's rest room that hasn't been cleaned since the morning; wait 20 minutes at the baggage carousel hoping all our bags arrived; get lost looking for the on-airport hotel because of the lack of signage; walk forever to the hotel because the one employee we could find said it was a short walk; and arrive safely in the lobby covered in sweat because the temperature is 92 degrees (with a heat index of 95) even though it's 10:12 p.m.

P.S. - It's now 5:49 a.m. and I can hear the beautiful sounds of engines whining as the day's movements begin. I wonder where they're going.

Here's a link to one of my favorite magazines, Airways, which has great articles on commercial aviation past and present. Another fun link is the Weather Channel's collection of photos called "Glamour in the Skies: Vintage Air Travel Photos."

I Love the 80s

Peter Gabriel...Huey Lewis and the News...Dire Straits...The Bangles...

My car was involved in her first accident last week. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but my car did have to spend most of this week in the repair shop. So what does that have to do with the 80s? Well, the rental car I got has Sirius satellite radio in it and now I remember why I loved having Sirius: Channel 8, "80s on 8." So I've been listening to (arguably) the best decade of music ever on my commute to/from work. And now I'm trying to get my wife to let me get Sirius again.

Erasure...Pet Shop Boys...Bananarama...Dead or Alive...Duran Duran...

Wandering Around Cluelessly

Yesterday evening (Sunday), my wife and I went to a fundraising event to support the school my step-granddaughter attends. It was at a club where they have dinner theater and it was a very enjoyable evening.

The real "fun" started after the event was over and I had to make my way back to the underground parking garage. I dropped off my wife at the club and then parked underneath the building where the club was located. I hopped into an elevator, noted the level I was parked on, went up the 1st floor exit (which was a lobby of the building), exited the building, turned left and there was the entrance to the club.

Afterwards, my wife asked if it was far to get to the car and I responded, "No, it's right next door." So we left the club, turned right to the entrance of the building lobby, I pulled on the door handle...and nothing happened. The door was locked.

I thought, okay, these are double doors, so it must be the other door that opens. Nope. My wife started getting worried, she asked if the garage was closed. I responded that there were no signs saying the garage would close. Maybe it's just this entrance that's closed, let's walk around the block to the side of the building where I drove into the garage. So we walked, all the while I had no idea where I was going and what I would do when I got there.

Around the corner we went and I saw another lobby to the building. I immediately went over and tried to open the door. Same result. Fortunately, there was a sign on the door that said to use the revolving doors. Ah, that must be the answer, so I pushed on the revolving door. Same result.

Now, all sorts of things start running through my head. Oh no, it's Sunday and maybe the garage has different rules on Sunday. Oh no, we're 25 miles from home. Oh no, there's no one at home who could come get us. Oh no, none of the other attendees at the event lived near us. Oh no, a cab ride home would cost and arm and a leg. Oh no, should we just get a hotel room and wait until morning? Mind you, I'm thinking all this while I tell my wife, "Oh, there must be another entrance."

I find the ramp I drove down earlier that evening and we walked down the ramp. Nope, no signs that say it was was closed. We walk and hear some voices coming from the garage, familiar voices, voices mentioning names that we recognize. Then we see the people and think, yes we know them, where did they come from? Then an elevator door opened and more people we recognize came off the elevator.

Apparently, when I entered the garage, I was smart enough to notice the posted signs and know that the garage didn't close that night, but I wasn't smart enough to notice the posted signs that pointed to an elevator that led directly to the club. I had taken a different elevator that led to the lobby next to the club. Same building...different entrances/exits.

Got to the car, told my wife that I had it all under control, and "See? There was nothing to worry about." Even though we were wandering around cluelessly.

So the musing for today is: don't be afraid to turn back. Because if I had at the very beginning, we would have gone back into the club and noticed the elevator to the parking garage. No muss, no fuss, no worries.

People Watching at the Airport

So today's musing doesn't come while driving, but while I'm sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to depart.

Most people I know like to arrive at the airport at late as possible. On the other hand, I love to get to the airport as early as I can. For example, I arrived at my departure gate 90 minutes prior to pushback time, and I love it! This has given me time to eat a snack, check and see if I need additional snacks, check the latest magazine covers to see if there's anything interesting, and write this post.

Another reason I really like getting to my gate early is that I get to do some people-watching. This is one of my favorite activities, it always has been. I don't want to meet anyone, I just want to watch them and imagine stories about where they are going, what their relationships to their apparent companions are, and just observe human nature when people don't really think they're being watched.

For example: here are three businessmen ending their trip and heading home, trying to avoid talking shop but eventually falling into that familiar topic; there is a group of teenagers, mostly girls, who look like they're just starting their journey when they suddenly get up and depart en masse because they're apparently at the wrong gate; there's a single businesswoman checking her emails on her smartphone and now finishing her dinner here in the gate area; here comes a tired airline employee straightening her uniform while looking out the window before getting ready to take care of my flight--can't really be that bad today because there aren't any flight delays.

All of this is made even more enjoyable because I have a beautiful view of the active runway and can see planes landing and taking off in the background. regardless of what most people think, air travel is still romantic for those of us who love airplanes and airports (which are really cities within cities).

So today's musing is: be careful what you do and say in public, you never who is watching you.

Strange Marks on Your Body

Do you ever get worried when marks just appear on your body for no apparent reason in strange places? Well, I do.

I noticed this morning while getting ready for work that there was a small, dime-sized bruise on the bottom of my right foot. I poked and prodded it, but it didn't hurt, so I wasn't too worried, but still, it was a little disconcerting that it would show up out of the blue.

Finally, while driving to work, it dawned on me where the mark might have come from. At work, my office chair has a 5-wheel base and I place my right foot on the end one of the legs. Apparently, I place my foot at the same spot every day, for who knows how many hours per day, and I have done so long enough and hard enough to cause that bruise to form.

In fact, my foot hurts now from putting it on the chair base. Mystery solved.

Creature of Habit

I am a creature of habit. I have a removable GPS attached to my windshield in the lower left corner. That's where it always is, even if I'm just doing my same old route to and from work every day. I took it into my house the other day to download the newest updates and have forgotten to bring it back to the car for the last three days.

There's nothing in the lower left corner of my windshield now except the bracket to hold the GPS and a power cord. Yet I am constantly looking at the corner to see if there are any traffic problems on the route ahead; or I'm looking to see what my speed is; or I'm looking to see the next intersection.

Even though I know there's nothing there to look at, I constantly glance at that spot to find that it hasn't magically reappeared.