Here's to 2011!

[I hate pictures on Blogger. Please understand this is not how it should be laid out.]

I flew out on Thursday morning to Colorado. New year's in Colorado? Who wouldn't want that?! I was nervous about my flight because of the weather in Ireland and the east coast and a check on the airline website didn't help matters when I saw that Wednesday's flight was cancelled because of mechanical problems. As if the snow hadn't been bad enough lately.

So I was keen to get the gate and only stopped for the briefest moment in one shop before heading to the toilets at my gate. My gate was pointed left, the toilets right. So I walked left following the signs only to discover that I was just walking in a circle around to my gate and could have walked directly. Ah well. As I passed the mens', I saw out of my peripheral vision the guy that had been walking towards me stopped. Like just stopped. I looked at him to see why he stopped. Only to discover it was Jools! 

Me and actual Jools.
We had a little hug, mini conversation and even high fived  because our new ski coats have thumb hole cuffs. I know, we are so cool. Then he went on his merry way and I went on mine.

But here are the remarkable things about the encounter:

1. Way back when I was booking my trip Jools considered coming along. In the end he didn't. Obviously. I saw him at the airport anyway because he was going on his own ski trip on the same day and time of day.

2. He was only at my area of the airport because he'd read on Facebook that another friend of his was at my gate for another flight.

3. I stopped for the right amount of time in shops and walked anti clockwise round to the toilets, while Jools walked clockwise. If we'd walked the same way we wouldn't have seen each other.


Coincidence? Yeah, probably.


The flights were ok. Not my favourite. I didn't make friends on the flights at all. But I will write these messages to the people sitting beside me, should they stumble across this site they'll know who they are and that their behaviour was not appreciated. 


So to the woman in 15D to Philadelphia, thanks for not moving your foot out of my way the entire 7 hour flight. That was helpful. It was also a really nice way to be greeted, the way you were bitching and moaning about the seats and demanding to know if I had switched with someone to get an aisle seat. That really set up the travel experience we were about to share. That said, sorry I farted. That was perhaps a little vindictive of me.

And to the couple sitting beside me to Denver, it was just adorable that you were all over each other on the flight. Charming. And don't think I that didn't realise what was going on when you both disappeared to the toilets part way through the flight.

So if you need me in the next while, just follow the trail of green fluff. I knew there was a reason why I hadn't worn that jumper in ages. It sheds its fluff all over. 

There are floors like this all the way between Ireland and Denver. I hate you green fluff.


If I combined all the parts I could make a new jumper. Or we could burn it as some sort of alternative to fossil fuel. Ridiculous. I must make a mental note not to wear it when committing any crimes. It'll sell me out. Actually, if I was to burn the jumper, I still think I'll be haunted by it. I may even have nightmares of a big giant green ball of fluff chasing me down the slopes.















































I'm all for sitting beside men in uniform usually but this guy would probably have been given a demerit for the green fluff on his impeccable uniform that would result for sitting beside me.


I arrived in Denver two minutes early. Efficient. Megann, coming from Detroit, was two and half hours late. Less efficient. I was wrecked by the time we made it out 'home'. Wrecked. 

Denver can handle snow. When we were coming in to land we flew over, no kidding, about forty snow ploughs all in formation on the runway. Maybe that's our problem? Denver has hogged all the snow ploughs.


Last night we watched fireworks and skated on the lake. 

It was freezing cold. But I can still look like a pro. Kind of.


Today we should be skiing. But the high, the HIGH is -25°C so we thought maybe we should acclimatise to the altitude just one more day. So far we have yet to make it out of our jammies. Well if you can't ski on the first day of the year, second best is to be in jammies.