Planes, Trains of Thought and Automatons

Hi. Remember me?

I'm writing this while sitting in an empty Gate H1A at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. My flight departs in 39 minutes.

I think I've discovered a new cure for gloom.

Tonight, it was raining in Minneapolis. Our flight was delayed due to storms in Chicago, the Center of the Airborne World. Lucky me -- that was also my destination. I was a in sour mood because I sat in the Minneapolis airport for five hours. My class (the reason for the trip) concluded earlier than planned and all earlier flights were oversold. To compound my desperation, I couldn't get access to the WiFi network they proclaim throughout the airport. Luckily, I had some DVDs, a book and an iPod to see me through after every email I've ever received was filed, deleted or acted upon.

[As I'm typing this, I just figured out why I couldn't get WiFi. One reason is because I forgot to alter a connection setting. The other reason is that I'm an idiot.]

Back to the cure for gloom. There is just something about taking off in the rain, climbing up in to the clouds and then breaking through in to brilliant sunshine. The clouds are a blanket of white (yeah, yeah...and all the other clichés) The must-have addition is to also be listening to Anonymous 4's The Lily and the Lamb. It was a moment of peace, quiet and calm. And of course, I fell asleep.

...and then I woke up when the plane quickly dropped altitude causing me to spill my icy Diet Coke on my lap.

I think airports are really depressing places, especially so in the late evening times. But then I think about the great post that Fluid Pudding shared with us. I'll try to find it when I'm online again.

My flight departs in 13 minutes. See you tomorrow.