Cancelled and rescheduled flights

On my last full day in the States, I received a notification on my phone driving back to the hotel that my flight heading home the following day was cancelled. My heart sank.

I pulled over to check my inbox. I'm glad that I did. The airline managed to book me on an alternative set of flights home. It involved going into the opposite direction. I essentially flew from Minneapolis to Denver, and then to Toronto.

It was roughly an extra three hours. It made for a long day, but I was grateful to get home on the same day and wasn't left stranded somewhere.

I was originally upgraded to business class. With these two flight segments, only my second one was in business class. It was fine, as it was the longer segment.

In business class, I sat next to a nice, older man. He figured that I was heading home to Toronto, probably because I was my usual polite self. He was heading to Dubai after landing in Toronto. He had a two-hour layover.

By the way, the flight out of Denver was delayed by two hours. It isn't unusual these days with staff being sick.

When the plane touched down in Toronto, he said, "Welcome home!" He made a comment that it's always a good feeling returning home. He was right.

I have been fortunate to have struck up conversations with folks during my travels. I enjoy them. He was so nice by getting my backpack and jacket from the overhead bin.

Vacation changes and old phone

Monday went well. A meeting got cancelled. I got two documentation libraries out the door for a release. I felt accomplished.

It's crazy to think that in less than two weeks, I will be on vacation for a couple of weeks. I had thought about doing three weeks of vacation. However, staying at home for such a long run is too long for my liking. Instead, I'll take a week off in January.

My old Google Pixel 2 XL no longer gets Android updates. It's sad, but I still love and use that phone at home daily. It's a nice phablet.

A different Halloween

Halloween was different this year. Our government (local and provincial) recommended not having kids trick or treat this year. It was eerie not seeing any kids out and about.

I bought Halloween candy, as I do every year. Since I didn't give any out, I have the arduous task of eating it.

It's now November 1st. It's also Daylight Saving Time. Oh, joy!

Layoffs and canned presentation

I normally work from home on Wednesdays. I changed things up due to my two medical appointments and went into work yesterday.

It was an interesting day to be in the office. The good news is that I had a massive full rack of ribs for lunch. There was a deal going on at a local restaurant. I took advantage of it.

The downside was that a snap meeting was held while my student, manager, and I were out having lunch. It's ridiculous to call a meeting fifteen minutes before it starts and during the lunch hour.

It turns out that six people were laid off in my department. It's difficult to tell whether it was due to performance or that they had been with the company for eons. They were gone. Just like that.

One person was on my team. I didn't expect him to be turfed. This person's manager was also let go.

My manager was candid with me during our regular biweekly meeting. He though that he would be the one to go. It was an odd statement. He said that I would be fine.

It's difficult to say whether I am truly safe. That being said, I do my job well. Folks know that if I leave for whatever reason, my department will suffer.

I am hoping that things get better.

In the meantime, there is great news. I was supposed to do a five-minute presentation on Monday with two other colleagues in front of our entire department. That presentation has been scrapped. Yay!

Cancelled lunch becomes a dinner date

On Friday at 11:30 am, my cell phone rang. It was my guy. I knew that it wouldn't be good.

"Hey," he said.
"Hey," I replied. "What's up?"

I heard a pause and a nervousness in his voice.

"We can't do lunch today. How about we have a late lunch or early dinner at 4 pm?" he said.
"Um, can we make it 4:30 pm?" I asked him.
"Sure," he replied.

It was an odd, last-minute cancellation.

My team of a student and a writer had asked me the day before whether I'd be interested in going out for lunch on Friday. I politely turned them down. After hearing my guy's breaking news, I asked whether I could join them. Luckily, they were great at welcoming me back.

Lunch with my team was great. We went to a restaurant that all of us haven't frequented before. It was good. I'm glad that everything worked out.

Odd events lead to good karma

Sometimes, I wonder about various events. Yesterday, my guy had landed in Seattle for work. I was happy as can be, as I was going to join him for the Thanksgiving long weekend.

My guy left home without his driver's licence. It may have foreshadowed the events that took place after that.

On Monday, I had the worst time trying to troubleshoot various things with three new folks on my team. The worst was with the new writer who says that she knows everything. However, she ends up clicking various sites on her own that it causes even more problems. Her laptop had the most difficult time connecting to our company's wifi.

It was humourous how the rest of us simply assumed that her laptop was troublesome every time she tried a task on it. It's not me!

My guy texted me after I was done work, which was around 17:20. He indicated that his course was cancelled and that no one had told him about it. Bummer. Such horrible communication!

I had booked a one-way ticket to Seattle. I had also booked a hotel room to stay closer to the airport, for my flight was at 08:00. I had also booked a rental car.

All our our plans were dashed. My guy said that he looked forward to my joining him this trip, which was the highlight for him. He's sweet.

Looking on the bright side, I had already booked a staycation this weekend in his hometown. I had cancelled that reservation, but managed to rebook the same duration at a cheaper rate.

There is no penalty when I cancel my flight within 24 hours. I also managed to cancel my car and hotel reservations with ease. No harm on these fronts.

My guy flies back on Tuesday. We are meeting for some quality time. He told me that he wants to spank me for being a bad girl. Naturally, that turns me on.

We chatted twice on Tuesday. I got him off on the phone. He was so lethargic that he ended up singing.

Although our original plans didn't work out, our alternative ones are equally as good.

Cancelled flight and my shellac manicure

My guy sent me a quick e-mail on Saturday, telling me that his flight got cancelled. Instead, he is flying home on Sunday.

Flights do get cancelled from time to time. I have only experienced a flight cancellation once. My guy and I were to fly out of St. Louis on the same day. We were on different flights. His flight was fine. Mine got cancelled and I had to stay an extra night. It all worked out, although it would have been nice to have flown out with him on the same day.

My guy is sweet. He hoped that my weekend was going well. He also asked me about my shellac nail polish.

Last Sunday, I went to get a shellac manicure. It is the fourth one that I have ever had. It was an event with other folks, so we all got a discount.

I really liked the job that the woman did on my nails. The place guarantees that your manicure will not chip within seven days. I have just hit the seven-day mark and it is true!

My guy asked me whether my nail polish had chipped. He loves my nails and hands. He is probably the only guy that I know who does not get bored when I talk about painting my nails or getting a manicure.

I sent him a photo of my manicure last week. Yesterday, I sent him another photo. The only difference between the two photos is that my nails have grown a bit, as expected.

I hope that my guy arrives home safely today. He will likely get to see my intact shellac manicure this week.