Terminal II: Terminally Ill...

Ever notice that the word "ill" looks funny when you use a capital "I" next to the lower case "l"? It makes it look like a Roman numeral three. Anyway, that is not what I'm talking about.

I recently returned home and have just begun to get my bearings. It was especially hectic due to my fight. My flight was originally set to be at 2:30 pm. I thought that was odd, since they usually are earlier, but I didn't mind. About two days before I flew, I checked to see if my flight was all good. The time I was quoted at my purchase was not the time I was actually going to leave. My flight was now supposed to be at 11:45 am. I liked that better.

I got to the airport at just after 10 am. I checked in, my luggage passed the list of criteria for content safety and weight. I made it through the security metal detector on the first try. I made it right to my gate quickly and found a good seat with only 10 min to spare until boarding time. Things were looking good.

Then 11:45 came and went. By noon it was revealed to us that a part was missing for the flight and we would be delayed some. Then fifteen minutes later, we found out that the part needed had to be flown in. That would be at 3 pm, if we were lucky. Then they informed us that the part would take about 2 hours to be installed and tested. The new departure time was slated for 5 pm. I was starting to feel like Tom Hanks in Terminal all over again. Well, this time it was more like the inevitable sequel Terminal II: Terminally Ill.

In a world...where we hurry up to wait;
In a world...where freedom has been outlawed;
In a world...where we must remove our shoes for no apparent reason;
One man stands alone...one man, to fight against the law.

[Voice of Tom Hanks] "Get Down!" [Explosion]

Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones and introducing Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminal II: Terminally Ill.

[Voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger] "Looks like your flight is about to be delayed...permanently!" [Explosion]

This time, he's not going to take it; he's going to take control.

[Voice of Catherine Zeta-Jones] "You're either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. But either way, you're incredibly hot." [Gratuitous kissing noises...followed by an Explosion]

Don't miss...Terminal II: Terminally Ill. Boarding all rows this summer.

To avoid the madness, I called my sister and had her pick me up. I went to her place, had lunch, played with my nieces and nephew for a spell and then went back. By the time I had returned at 3 pm, I discovered that the plane bringing the part was also delayed, pushing our new departure time back to 5:45 pm. My guess is that they needed a part to be flown in from Phoenix, but who knows?

By 5:45 the flight crew boarded the plane. Finally, at 6:46 pm, we began to push away from the gate. Just as the safety video was to start, it all went black. The power appeared to be out. Hilarity ensued.

Somehow, they were able to "reboot" the plane and they assured us that it was safe to fly. Seeing as how I am typing this, I suppose that was true.

My friend was kind enough to come by and pick me up from the airport in Honolulu despite the late hour of my arrival. I think he somewhat owed it to me since he took my ride that I had initially set up for myself earlier that day.

I got to bed just after midnight the day before classes were to begin. I woke up about 7 am, rubbed the makapiapia* away and stumbled to my first class of the semester.

This bad travel omen makes me speculative on the strange optimism I had for this semester...

[Voice of Tom Hanks] "Pray for me if you like, but I'd pray for the other guy." [Explosion]

* - Your Hawaiian word for the day: Makapiapia = Eye Boogers.