Monthly Archives: November 2011

Hither and yon

I find travel so relaxing.* The minute I walk through the doors of the airport I’m like Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, drawling “It’s beyond my control.”

Long security line? Oh dear, nothing to be done about it. Plus I have mah-jongg on my phone.

Flight delay? Good thing I have my Kindle.

Layover? Well, that’s why god made knitting.

No actions can be taken on my part to change any of that, and I LOVE it. I just sit back and let it happen, with my knitting, my Kindle, my notebook, and my giant paper cup of off-brand tea. Why get annoyed? It’s beyond my control.

If I’m late – well, there’s nothing I could’ve done to change it. If I need to take a cab from the airport, okay. If I’m late returning and I can’t get back to work at the scheduled hour, what are you gonna do? Yell at me? I couldn’t fix it. I’ll make up the time. (This is no longer applicable in my new position. My new boss is not a yeller.)

So relaxing to be Not In Charge.

*Some exceptions: (1) when I am traveling For Sad Reasons; (2) when I really to need to be somewhere at a specific time (as when I snuck into town for Mother’s Day a couple of years ago and my sister’s window of opportunity to pick me up was limited); (3) transoceanic flights (too long: they wear me down to a grumpy nub).