Up in the Air

Well, kids, I'm here in San Francisco and while the short journey was a little stressful, I'm so glad to be here. After a quick dinner, I'm cozy in my hotel room in Union Square (SO glad I brought my laptop) all ready to relax.

Point to note: I love hotel rooms. I love the cozy beds and the fluffy pillows and the little soaps. I especially love hotel rooms in San Francisco because they always have so much personality. My very fave hotel where I always stay when I come here The Hotel Union Square, a funky modern art-style hotel, was booked (NOOO!) so I'm staying somewhere new. And so far so good.

But most of all, I love the TV. Now, because I talk about my favorite TV shows quite a bit, you probably didn't know that I don't watch television. I don't, at least not on an actual TV. I watch it online, which means the range of shows I watch is very narrow. I don't pay for satellite or cable and the only time my rabbit ears get any use is every weekday at 7-7:30 pm when I watch Jeopardy with my dad. I think the last time I had cable was in like 2002 when I lived with my cousin who was in advertising at the time and wrote it off in her taxes. So watching TV and this whole range of channels (even if there is nothing on) is such a luxury of staying in a hotel.

Yes, I am a dork. I realize. Moving on.

Back to the stressful part of my trip. My plane was taking off late afternoon, so I left a smidge early so I could eat at the airport so I wouldn't land in Frisco a starving monster. Except nothing (NOTHING) was open at the airport. Not even fast food. One little shop was open that had sodas and candy. No trailmix or sandwiches or any other food I could cobble into some kind of meal. And maybe you're wondering why I didn't take my own food. Well, I didn't think I had to. Also, I'm traveling for work and my dinner would have been paid for. If one had been available. By the time I landed in the Bay, my head was screaming for FOOD! Confirms my life story: I love to travel, but I hate airports.

Someone invent teleportation already.

However, I was fortunate to see one of the most spectacular beginnings of a sunset on the Bay from the plane. It was gorgeous, light glittering on the water, setting the world on fire.

Then, as the plane taxied into the terminal, everyone pulling out their phones and letting their loved ones they'd landed safely, I felt a new wave of sadness. I felt a little like George Clooney in Up in the Air (not that I travel even nearly that much), but I do travel enough for it to be old hat and it's a very solitary life. I have no one to call when I land. No one that would really notice if I did or didn't arrive safely. Sure, my coworkers would notice eventually (especially since I'm here for work) and maybe my online peeps would wonder why I'd been offline. And my close friends would wonder after a week or so why I'd been out of contact. But do I have anyone wondering how I am? If I'd arrived and am safe? Not really, no.

How do I feel about that? Not sure. It's partly my fault, I guess. This is the life I lead. But then I also feel a little sad. Today it's a life of travel and work. But someday maybe I die in my apartment and my cats nibble on my corpse and no one notices until the neighbors smell me. Gross right?

It's also a lot warmer here than I'd anticipated and I admit, I'm disappointed. After 90 degrees in So Cal today, I was hoping for some chilly Frisco air. Maybe it will be cooler tomorrow. Let's hope.