Stress and Contentment

Stress: Waking up 3 minutes before your airport taxi is scheduled to arrive for your important business trip. Getting ready in 10 minutes, only to wait 45 for the 2nd driver, after the first went to the wrong city. Then waiting in traffic — late for your flight — with a driver who doesn’t know where he is going.

Contentment: Arriving at the airport in time.

Stress: Being told the flight is overbooked and you don’t have a seat.

Contentment: Getting a seat.

Stress: Figuring out that that seat is in the middle of a big guy and a legally-blind lady who wants to talk politics … and with no luggage compartments left, that your overly large backpack is going to take up what little free space that existed.

Stress: Realizing that the plane left 50 minutes late, and you only had a 1 hour layover.

Contentment: Writing your blog at 37,000 feet up on a MacBook Pro.

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So I’m headed to Florida as part of my nearly year-long consulting project, and we’re currently flying past Roswell — a favorite topic for those late night radio conspiracy theorists. It’s daytime, however, so I doubt I’ll have any UFO reports (not yet, at least).

I’m flying Delta. I used to think of them as a good airline… perhaps a bit more expensive, but coming with a bit better service in exchange. Now, I think of them as the “nickel & dime” airline … $2 for headsets, $2 for an Entourage episode, and $5 for a cocktail (which they really seem to be pushing … they even have “designer” cocktails). I’m surprised that I don’t need some quarters to open the lavatory door. But hey … I’m not complaining, it’s just that perceptions change.