It Was the Best of Times; It Was the Worst of Times

so i popped over to detroit this weekend. my first visit to detroit, which will be my excuse for why i went now and not in, say any other time. my flight out of new new york was delayed by two hours due to windy conditions at laguardia. and they kept us going. first the flight was delayed by just a couple of minutes, then an hour and then as that hour neared its end, the departure time changed by the minute, and never in a good way.

i woke up this morning to freezing rain in detroit - and tried to walk out of the building. but nothing was salted and there were icy stairs to navigate. my two friends and i walked to the top of the first stare but there was no way we were taking the stairs. that would be like bungee jumping without a rope. luckily there was a ramp to the side that we slid down. we held on to each other for dear life as we slipped across the car park to a totally iced out car. we sat inside the warming vehicle as our heroic hosts scraped the car. i felt bad for them but stayed in the non-slippery, dry and warm car. i took the time to work on the right words of admiration for their great window-scraping skills.

we get to the airport and flight after flight has been cancelled and there are super-long lines waiting to check in because, well, because there are dozens of computer self-check-in booths all over the place but only for those with no luggage to check in. now, tell me, with all the new rules on all the things that are not allowed on a plane, who really has no luggage to check in? apparently no one because every one of those booths was free. there was no way i was going to make my flight if i stood in line. i found an agent who said, well we do not bump anyone up in line so you will just have to stand in line and take the next available flight. this to someone who has just seen that already two flights to new york have been cancelled? i tried to go to skycap to check in but i just missed the deadline for that check in. i find another agent and am told to get in line for those who have to rebook because they have missed their flight. yeah... guess how long that line was. and the woman behind me was trying to get to new york too.

screw it! i went over to the computer booth and checked in, with no carry on luggage. i left my bag behind in detroit, with plans to pick it up from boston next month (a friend will take it there, thanks!) and dashed through security. did i say dashed? i meant, i tried to dash but was pulled aside to be searched. turns out i had forgotten the south african chutney, indian chutney and jamaican jerk sauce that i picked up at world market and thrown into my bag. apparently they qualify as liquids and are too large to be allowed onto a plane. yeah, the thought of that loss brings tears to my eyes still - it is too soon.

then i ran like the wind from security to gate 28. i caught the last few folk boarding the flight and sat down, relieved and ready to go home. and sat. and sat. for an hour and a half. icy conditions. and then the bumpiest take-off and touch down i have experienced in a while. i was feeling really nauseated and felt worse when i got to the bathroom and was the first to discover that the plumbing was frozen. well, technically maybe second but the first person did not think to tell anyone. did i mention the sinus/tension headache? can those things be caused by flight delays?

oh right... and then there was the phone call from my across-the-hall neighbour telling me that my downstairs neighbour had a leak coming from, she believed, my bedroom. yeah, so my flight was filled with thoughts of getting home to a waterlogged home. i was trying to remember what electrical appliances and wires were plugged in and on the floor. i promised myself that i would get renter's insurance.

silver linings:
i got to new york. which is more than some might be able to say today.
my two neighbours - right next door and across the hall popped into my apartment to make sure nothing was amiss (with the intention of fixing anything that was). thankfully nothing was leaking but they are still my heroes.
i had an fabulous time in detroit.

now that i have slept/drugged off the headache, it really was a great weekend.

UPDATE: there IS something going on with my radiator, i just found out this morning as i came into my room to find water pooled around said radiator. sigh...