24 Hours in the Life of Khalaf - 3 April 2011
It's been a good few weeks. Two weeks' rest at home was followed by a quick 3-day trip to Tampa, Florida, a 5-day trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana and a 5-day trip last week to Tulsa, Oklahoma. This week I'm in Minneapolis, MN for the first time in 6 weeks. It's good to be back, especially considering what it took to get here:
4/2/2011
10:00pm - Finished cleaning up from Juju's birthday party. Tucked everyone in for the night. Fired up my laptop and printed my boarding passes. The best price for this trip was a Southwest flight to Chicago and a Delta flight onward to Minneapolis. Checked CNN for any late-breaking news. Found out about Southwest 812 losing part of the fuselage in-flight. Hmmm....
4/3/2011
7:00am - Woke up after sleeping in. Had a leisurely breakfast with the family. Got ready to go to visit a church - classmate is being installed as a Senior Pastor.
9:30am - Receive an email from Southwest Airlines informing me that my flight to Chicago has been cancelled. I am invited to rebook my flight online.
9:35am - Check flight availability online - no flights available on Southwest. Check other carriers - it will cost $500-900 or more to get to Minneapolis. Options are limited, so is my patience.
10:20am - Head out the door for church. Call Southwest and stay on hold for the entire 40-minute drive to church.
11:00am - Hang up the phone. Enter the church. Felt blessed and welcomed to be there. Decide during church that there's only one way to get to work on time.
12:30pm - Leave church and head home to drop off the family.
1:30pm - Grabbed the lunch my dear wife packed for me and head out the door. I'm driving to Chicago to catch a flight. Plane leaves at 7:25pm Central. Plenty of time.
2:30pm - Pass through Jackson, MI.
3:30pm - Still driving...
4:40pm - Stop for gas in Indiana (Exit 19). Grabbed a can of Starbucks' Double Shot and a 32-ounce Diet Mountain Dew. The chemicals should keep me perky until I...
4:30pm (CDT) - Arrive in front of my friend's house in Chicago. He lives 4 miles from Midway and has graciously offered to park my car for the week. Knowing he isn't home I decide to leave the keys in his mailbox and catch a bus to the airport. Walking up to the house his brother comes out. We greet each other and he gives me a ride to the airport. Timing couldn't have been better - one minute later and he'd have been long gone.
5:15pm - Cleared security at MDW. Waiting for the airplane. Sit down and get some reading and writing done.
7:25pm - Board the flight to MSP. Another comfortable, uneventful flight.
9:00pm - Deplane at MSP. Walked to the Blue Chip counter and picked up a rental car with only ten (10) miles on it. Nice.
9:30pm - Arrive at the hotel. The clerk remembers me still and has me set up in my favorite part of the hotel - far away from the elevators and noise.
10:00pm - In bed, and ready for another week of work.
4/2/2011
10:00pm - Finished cleaning up from Juju's birthday party. Tucked everyone in for the night. Fired up my laptop and printed my boarding passes. The best price for this trip was a Southwest flight to Chicago and a Delta flight onward to Minneapolis. Checked CNN for any late-breaking news. Found out about Southwest 812 losing part of the fuselage in-flight. Hmmm....
4/3/2011
7:00am - Woke up after sleeping in. Had a leisurely breakfast with the family. Got ready to go to visit a church - classmate is being installed as a Senior Pastor.
9:30am - Receive an email from Southwest Airlines informing me that my flight to Chicago has been cancelled. I am invited to rebook my flight online.
9:35am - Check flight availability online - no flights available on Southwest. Check other carriers - it will cost $500-900 or more to get to Minneapolis. Options are limited, so is my patience.
10:20am - Head out the door for church. Call Southwest and stay on hold for the entire 40-minute drive to church.
11:00am - Hang up the phone. Enter the church. Felt blessed and welcomed to be there. Decide during church that there's only one way to get to work on time.
12:30pm - Leave church and head home to drop off the family.
1:30pm - Grabbed the lunch my dear wife packed for me and head out the door. I'm driving to Chicago to catch a flight. Plane leaves at 7:25pm Central. Plenty of time.
2:30pm - Pass through Jackson, MI.
3:30pm - Still driving...
4:40pm - Stop for gas in Indiana (Exit 19). Grabbed a can of Starbucks' Double Shot and a 32-ounce Diet Mountain Dew. The chemicals should keep me perky until I...
4:30pm (CDT) - Arrive in front of my friend's house in Chicago. He lives 4 miles from Midway and has graciously offered to park my car for the week. Knowing he isn't home I decide to leave the keys in his mailbox and catch a bus to the airport. Walking up to the house his brother comes out. We greet each other and he gives me a ride to the airport. Timing couldn't have been better - one minute later and he'd have been long gone.
5:15pm - Cleared security at MDW. Waiting for the airplane. Sit down and get some reading and writing done.
7:25pm - Board the flight to MSP. Another comfortable, uneventful flight.
9:00pm - Deplane at MSP. Walked to the Blue Chip counter and picked up a rental car with only ten (10) miles on it. Nice.
9:30pm - Arrive at the hotel. The clerk remembers me still and has me set up in my favorite part of the hotel - far away from the elevators and noise.
10:00pm - In bed, and ready for another week of work.
