Snakes on a plane... (not the movie; the aggravation)

Not really snakes... more like "freaks on a plane," but that sounds mean... so I'm just gonna say, "annoyance on a plane..." ... well... whatever.... I'll get to that part of my story later...

So, yesterday, I'm driving to Starbucks in my rented yellow VW bug... and I'm searching through my purse... and then I felt something, flat and plastic... something that I hadn't felt before in my purse... So, I pulled it out.... and what was it? A CA (cocaine anonymous) 60 days of sobriety keychain!!!!

My head said: WHAT?!? NO WAY?!?

My eyes said: WAY!

Where did it come from? I have NO idea. and NO, it's not mine!

I knew someone put it in my purse (the purse I bought just before NC and the only one I've used since then...). So, I called the "usual suspects"; the people most likely to have pulled a prank like that... They all laughed so hard; I knew it couldn't have been them... I have no clue where it's from... but still, it's really funny.

So now I have a 60-days of sobriety from cocaine keychain... I'm not using it.. but I am keeping it!

After finding that little "present" I said goodbye to Cas, Andrew and Gwen and left for the airport...

I made my flight.... on time. When I was boarding, the airline employee at the gate scanned my ticket and asked, "Just you?"
"Just me," I responded and then thought about it: just me? wow, I've never been asked that while boarding before... It made me feel really lonely all of a sudden...

I felt a little less lonely when I noticed that the airplane didn't have a 13th row... and then started to wonder if all airplanes had row numbers 12 and 14, but no 13.... hmmm?

But then I sat down in my seat... and remembered the "Just you?" question....

Usually, I buy interesting, (or trashy) magazines for the plane... that's the only time that I buy magazines... I never talk to my seatmates..... and I try to make it obvious my looking more engrossed in the magazine than I really am....

But after the "Just you?" ... I decided I'd try, and would actually talk a little bit to whoever sat next to me... Then he sat next to me.... a young, post-teen, asian american, with a mohawk and acne.... I made the normal chit chat you normally do on the plane: "Are you from Dallas?" ... he was... and we had a conversation for a few minutes, and then I took out my Psychology Today magazine, with confidence that he'd take the hint.....

MISTAKE! He wouldn't stop talking to me. On the flight from Orlando to Dallas, he talked the entire time... would ask me what I was reading, making comments about what I was reading over my shoulder... I wanted to say, "Don't you have an iPod or something to listen to???" but I didn't... instead I gave him my other magazine and said, "Why don't you read this?" But it was more of a command than a question.

He said he didn't like to read... just pictures.... UGH! I was starting to really want a cigarette... and for him to be quiet...

Then he got a headache... which he told me about countless times... At this point, I was obviously annoyed when he'd interrupt .. but he didn't get the hint... at all. I pretended to sleep.... but he kept talking... I had the magazine blocking his view from my face.... still talking....

Finally, 20 mins before the flight landed, all of a sudden he got quiet, and asked: "So, like, can I get your number?"

SERIOUSLY!?!??!?!

Without hesitation... AT ALL, I snapped: "NO!"

Finally, he shut-up (yay!) and was quiet for the rest of the time... he didn't try to talk to me again... not even once!

Usually I'd feel bad.... and honestly, if he'd asked me earlier in the flight, I'd probably have been nice and given him my Myspace... or a fake number... but, at that point.... I was about to smack him... so, I don't feel bad. Really... I don't; NOT AT ALL!

Will I ever try to talk to someone on the plane again? Probably not... I really look forward to my magazine indulgence.

Yet, another reason I prefer to drive!

Rycolesky

This is a picture of upside-down-dog Dylan, Sara sent me... she's watching him while I'm here... and it looks like he's having a relaxing time... and has made himself at home! (thank you Sara!)


Sunday I met Cas and Nic, and some of Cas's new friends out for brunch at a place called HUE in downtown Orlando. The neighborhood has got a lot of character... The streets are cobblestone (or brick) and narrow, and there are plenty of nice restaurants and cool little boutiques.

The food at HUE was awesome... the crepes were ridiculously good... and so were their crab cakes. We had mimosas and they caught me up on all of their adventures the night before.

After HUE we went down to another place called Wildside, and hungout.... It really had the feel of Uptown Dallas meets Miami. We stayed there for a while.. honestly, I guess I was a bit overwhelmed with all of the new people, and I've noticed that recently I've been starting to cry again more often and at the most awkward moments... I think it's almost been one year... and will be in just a week... So, when the group said they were going to a bar down the street, I told Cas and Nic that I was gonna go back to the house... and then burst into tears.

They told me to stay and the three of us got a chance to talk and be together while the rest of the group went on. As soon as it was just us, I felt better... like, I could talk and be myself with people who know me, and laugh and have fun. I just wish it didn't take spontaneous crying for that to happen...

After that, we had a great, fun evening and night... a lot of girl-talk and also deeper conversations. We played the trivia and word games on the machine at a little place near Cas's called Miller's... Cas totally shocked us and blew us away with her insanely accurate knowledge of useless and obscure trivia! SERIOUSLY! The hardest, most impossible questions and she would yell out the right answer.... we got lots of top scores, and entered our winner name as "Rycolesky."

The bug made an appearance again... and of course, we took pics.... Andrew was so stoked when he saw it... so I took him for a ride... I told you, kids LOVE VW Beetles and LOVE the yellow....


Today, Cas's friend Gwen came back from Tampa with her adorable baby girl... and Andrew came home from school... That makes 6 of us total.

Cas made her famous eggrolls for dinner tonight... which were so freakin' good! Seriously amazing! They took a while and a lot of preparation, but I'm glad Nicole insisted she make them... Cas complained about the time and how complicated it was, but still liked cooking them...she's so funny, we joked about her having her own "Debby Downer" cooking show.... "This recipe is so much work.... and sucks to make.. so first, you take the garlic..."

Wow, I've talked about food a lot in this blog.... hmmm?

Nicole leaves EARLY tomorrow... :( and then I leave tomorrow evening... I'm gonna miss them! So, we'll have to plan another girls trip soon....


actually, my sister has an artist residency in Maine, and we're going to make the road trip together... So, hopefully we can stop in NYC and see Nicole!