are we here yet?

i shouldn't have opened my big mouth the other day. while my orthodontist was waxing ecstatic (grammar check!) about how well my teeth were moving around (i'm assuming he wasn't talking about the crown that fell out of my mouth when my wire was removed), i made a comment about how my teeth really hadn't been all that sore after adjustments. i think today, three days later, i might be able to bite down on something and chew normally. maybe.(bring on the tacos!)

i know, i know- i've been a bad girl.....but i have an excuse for not posting until now. thursday night, i was going to sit down and pound out a post (i got my start typing on typewriters, so i'm still a little aggressive with the keyboard), but i didn't finish packing until midnight, and since i was gettting up at 6:30 to be at work early, sleep won that battle. yesterday, i flat out didn't have time before we headed to the airport, and then by the time we were in and settled, it was 3 a.m. south carolina time. (since my body hasn't adjusted yet, i was wide awake at 5:30 local time- 8:30 back home.)

yep, i will be napping after i finish this.

the flights yesterday were pretty uneventful. we made it to the charlotte airport in about an hour. (i flew low, but so were 80% of the other cars on I-77.) the shuttle from satellite parking ($2.75 a day! that beats the crap out of the $6 ($8?) they charge daily in columbia) dropped us at the airport with 45 minutes before our flight. (yep, we were cutting it close, but we've cut it closer.) i am pleased to report that for once i wasn't a "special" traveler- which was great, since there was no time for the strip search, full unpacking of my carry on and suitcase, and anal probe. (of course, i'm kidding about that very last part- the probes won't be implemented until the next round of regulatory revampings.)

i'd packed a wide variety of cds for the trip, but the only one i listened to during our flight from charlotte to houston was "disc o-zone" by o-zone. it's not destined to be one of the classics, like the beatles' white album, or pink floyd's "the wall" or inxs' "kick", but it's not half bad, and since it's in english, i could still concentrate on the book i was reading- "over the edge: death in grand canyon". (might as well find out how other people have died before our little hike later in the week. note to self: no urinating over the edge of the canyon, no jumping from rock to rock for a dramatic "action shot" in the canyon, and taking only one container of water for a day hike would not be my most brilliant idea.))

i am pleased to report that continental airlines actually serves a snack on the plane- and it's more than 10 pretzels. we got little trays with "cream" crackers, parmesan peppercorn cheese spread, salami, trail mix, and a nut roll. the crakers were hard as a rock, and after two i just gave up on them and scraped the cheese spread onto my little plastic knife and went from there. the salami wasn't spectacular, but i could eat it without screaming, which was a definite plus. i haven't gotten into the trail mix yet (peanuts, raisins, and "yogurt chips"- i have no idea how to "chip" yogurt, since it's generally quite.....moist, but more power to 'em if they want to take the time to work out the logistics.), and i had to pass on the nut roll, which was basically a bunch of peanuts held together by hard caramel. i'm fairly certain my orthodontist would not have been thrilled about having to recement several brackets after that little experiment. plus, i'm not a hard caramel kind of girl, so i doubt i would have touched it anyway. still, it was nice to see an airline serving food without demanding $7 first.

our layover was in the houston international airport, which has been named after the legacy in the white house. (i'm not even going to get started on that one, as i have no intention to spark a comment war between myself and the republicans who read this.) however, the airport does have its good points- hanging on the wall of the swatch store! (nifty link to come when i'm on a slightly faster computer) as you can imagine, i jumped off the moving sidewalk and ran into the store. astoundingly, i was able to restrain myself and only bought two swatches- one's a loomi (it lights up) with fireflies, and the other is a swatch skin watch (really thin) with stripes of various shades of blue- and it was 40% off, which certainly didn't hurt. (pictures to come when i'm on a faster computer. i think i hear the hamster wheel turning in this one.) while i was there, i inquired as to how one replaces the buckle piece, as that's the part that has given way on most of my swatches. i was told (are you sitting down?) that if i brought my old swatches and the replacement pieces i bought a couple of years back, they'd fix them for me- for free! so, i suppose i have incentive to fly back through houston. (i suppose now all the flights involving houston will jump by at least $50 a ticket.)

and yes, i plan on picking up a couple more swatches on my return trip.

i swapped out my cds while waiting to board our phoenix-bound plane in houston. the last cd i packed was an oldie but goodie (that you've probably never heard of)- "god fodder" by ned's atomic dustbin, a band i was introduced to on the "so i married an axe murderer" soudtrack. i didn't get a chance to listen to it on the plane, because we got to watch a movie during our 2 1/2 hour flight. for our viewing pleasure, "finding neverland" was shown. i'd wanted to see it when it was in theaters (johnny depp crush that can be traced back to his days on 21 jump street), but never got around to it. so, i was quite pleased to find that my discman headphones fit into the little outlet and i wouldn't have to read lips. it was a pretty good movie. of course, the ending was predictable from the start, but i enjoyed it (and yes, i cried at the end).

we made it into phoenix around 9:30 local time, and had our bags around 10.(henry rollins has a great spoken word bit on airports and luggage. if i can chase down the title of the cd its on, i'll edit this and include it. otherwise, the curious among you may have to google it.)

today will be spent preparing for our kayaking trip. (do they sell stabilizers to reduce kayak flippage? i'm scared to death of winding up upside down, because apparently righting oneself requires the use of both arms, and i need one hand to hold my nose underwater, and unless i sprout an extra appendage like some sort of hindu diety, i'm going to have a problem here.)

on my shopping list:

~waterproof disposable cameras

~more gnomes (i'm not just an average dork- i'm a raging dork, my dear.)

~kayak stablizers (though calling them "kayak training wheels" inspires a more interesting mental picture)

~spare pair of cheap sunglasses (so i won't be caught short if my favorite pair takes a dip in the colorado)

assuming i don't drown in the colorado, i should have something new for your reading pleasure (or agony) tomorrow evening.

hope that was worth the wait. i'm heading back to bed.