Lobster Stop

Due to a labour dispute at Aer Lingus, I had to take an alternate route home on Friday.  The route included a layover in Boston for 3 hours.  But the good thing is that I made it home - albeit 7 hours later than I would have been home if the direct flight from Dublin to Chicago wasn't canceled.

Anytime there is a customer service opportunity like this, I like to ask for a little extra.  Originally, I was going to ask for a free upgrade to business class (I think they would have done it considering my frequent flyer status).  However, I spotted a colleague of mine near the back of the line (and the line was not moving quickly ) so I asked if they could book my colleague on the same flights.  Aer Lingus were good enough to help him out.

So it was nice to have a colleague and friend on the same route.   He was appreciative of the time I saved him and the fact that he'd be getting back home to see his pregnant wife.  We had some lobster and beer at the Boston airport before flying back in to Chicago.  It was a good time and it was good getting to know him a little better.  But still, it was a long day.

Dublinitis

We've coined a new phrase on our project team: Dublinitis.  You might think that Dublinitis is a good thing, that it is refers to a longing to be back in Dublin.  You would be wrong.  You might then think that it has something to do with drinking a little too much of the Guinness.  Once again you would be wrong.

Dublinitis refers to any type of illness that one catches in Dublin while working on our SAP project and is often brought home to our families.  Because we have over100 people who fly into Dublin on a weekly basis, there is ample opportunity for somebody catch some kind of bug on the airplanes coming into town - be it a cold or one of various strains of flu.  We don't segregate any more.  Swine flu? Avian flu? La Grippe?  It's all Dublinitis.

It's gotten to a point where our project management office has asked HR to procure flu shots (or "flu jabs" as they are lovingly referred to over here) for the team.  I sat through a meeting on Tuesday where our Project Manager told everybody that getting sick during our Northern Ireland deployment go-live was unacceptable because they were providing the flu jab.  Granted, I know she was kidding, but Dublinitis has taken it's toll on the project team (and our families).

I got to share Dublinitis with my family over Thanksgiving.  My son threw up on my wife just as she sat down to eat at Thanksgiving dinner.  They, in turn, shared it with family and friends as well. It's the gift that keeps on giving; it's always very contagious.

I think the next time I go home I'm going to have live in quarantine for a week .Sláinte

Should Have Asked Santa for Tyvek

I caught a flight back to Dublin today and should have worn a Tyvek suit.  Ay Jaysus!.  The girl who sat next to me was coughing.  The guy behind me was coughing.  Half the frickin' plane was coughing.  I'm hoping that I escaped the plague through liberal use of hand sanitizer and copious amounts of Vitamin C.  The worst was the guy behind me.  I swear I could feel it on the back of my neck when he coughed.

I may need to further sterilize with Guinness this evening.

A Fish Out of Water

I got an unexpected surprise today when I checked in for my Aer Lingus flight: Free Business Class Upgrade. Score!

This was my first visit to the highfalutin' business class and I didn't know exactly what the prevailing ettiquette would be. All I knew was I would be getting a seat that reclined far enough back that you could actually get some serious sleep on the overnight flight. So here's what I learned:

1. Hot Towels - I'm not sure if it's the same on all airlines, but Aer Lingus provided a pre-dinner hot towel and a post-breakfast hot towel. I don't know what it is about hot towels, but they're nice.

2. Free Drinks - When I first boarded, I was offered my choice of champaigne, orange juice, or ice water. I wasn't sure at the time if the drinks were free, so I took the OJ, because I knew that it is free back in coach. Later, however, I put the free wine to the test and had a couple of glasses of a Spanish white wine with my meal.

3. Real Plates/Silverware - None of this plastic junk. The glasses were glass. The silverware was stainless steel. The plates were ceramic.

4. Super Recline-O Chairs - I was not disappointed. The reclining chairs were wonderful for sleeping. Don't get me wrong, this isn't Serta or Simmons comfort, but leagues beyond the chairs that recline one inch back in coach.

5. Better meals - Though these meals won't be served at 5-star restaurants, once again it's a considerable upgrade from coach.

6. Separate Baggage Claim - Your bags come off first and go to a separate baggage claim so it's easy to find your bag. Unfortunately, I did not realize this and sat at the regular baggage claim for half an hour before going to the baggage assistance desk. There they pointed me to the right place to pick up my big. Low and behold it was sitting there all by itself.

Thus were my adventures in Business Class. I hope that I get the privelege of riding there again. If you've flown Business Class, what's your favorite feature? If you haven't flown Business Class, what do you utterly hate about flying coach?

Welcome to Liverpool

I made it to Liverpool last night, but my bag almost didn't make it. Let me rephrase, I almost had to pay for my carry-on bag. If you've never had the experience of flying Ryan Air, you may not understand. Let me explain.

Ryan Air has revolutionized air travel in Europe with low cost flights to most of Europe. There are a few ways that they have been able to accomplish this. First, they have 1 model of airplane. A few days after 9/11, the owner of Ryan Air made the single largest purchase of airplanes from Boeing . . . ever. Every model airplane he bought was the same. What does this mean? One set of maintenance parts, one set of training manuals for the crew, etc. He standardized his fleet.

Second, Ryan Air brokers deals with local municipalities/chambers of commerce to subsidize flights coming into their airports. For instance, Liverpool may pay Ryan Air 100,000 GBP annually to fly into Liverpool. I don't know offhand if Liverpool has a deal like this with Ryan Air, but it is how Ryan Air does business. Why would a city agree to do something like this? It brings in tourism dollars in excess of what they pay Ryan Air.

Finally, Ryan Air charges you a la carte for just about everything under the sun. Want to use a credit card to book? 5 Euro. Want to check a bag? 25 Euro. Forget to check-in online and bring your boarding pass? 25 Euro. Your carry-on bag is oversize? Check it for 25 Euro.

So back to my story . . . as I was boarding the airplane, one of the Ryan Air employees pulled me aside and asked me to check to see if my bag fit into their metal frame. On my first attempt, it didn't fit. I moved some things around. Still didn't fit. I sat there for about 5 minutes rearranging my bag stuffing, kicking, and pushing on my bag to get it into that damn metal frame. It was tight, but by God, I made it fit. Once I got it into the metal frame, it took me another minute or two to get it back out. Meanwhile, people with larger bags than mine walked right past because the frame was occupied by me and my bag.

So a lessons learned for me: 1) Pack light ; 2) Wear layers of clothing on Ryan Air flights so that your bag fits in the frame; 3) Make sure you don't have an odd-shaped bag.

Eyjafjallajökull Strikes Back

You thought it was under control? Awww, hell no! The Icelandic volcano which threatened my family's return from the Emerald Isle is erupting en force once again. Tonight, Eyjafjallajökull got its revenge and grounded my flight. So now I'm not returning to Ireland until Tuesday evening.

Who said wishes don't come true? Although I'm a little disappointed that the flight didn't get out - since I have a ton of things to catch up with back in Ireland - I was secretly hoping to spend a little more time with my family before heading back. Beth tells me that her Mother's Day wish came true.

So perhaps it's an angry volcano, or perhaps it's the divine hand of God. Either way, I've got another two days with my family and I'm going to cherish it.

Home Again for a Few Days

Just got back from the IHRIM Conference in Las Vegas. My Excellence Award made it home with me, though in two pieces. Nothing a little glue can't fix though. Delayed flight. Late arrival home. In limbo somewhere between GMT and PST. Tired.

Full conference overview for everybody next Monday.

Last Row of the Plane

Flew into Las Vegas today and I had the pleasure of being in the very last row of the airplane. Now, with all the trans-Atlantic travel that I've been getting accustomed to, I don't remember what it's like to take a longer flight in a smaller plane.

Let's just say, it was a little turbulent. Near the end of the flight as we were landing in Vegas, I thought I was going to lose my lunch. That feeling was amplified in the last row of the plane. You really get thrown around back there. One lady a few rows ahead of me actually had to make a dash for the bathroom.

This makes me wonder if anybody actually uses the barf bags that the airlines so generously supply you with along with a copy of SkyMall and whatever passes for their own "in-flight" magazine. I've never actually used one or seen one used.

As I remember from previous flights into Vegas, McCarran airport has always had a bumpy landing. I guess there isn't much to block the winds from racing across the desert and throwing the airplane around. But this was a lesson learned for me. I'm going to try to stay out of the last row on a flight - particularly on flights into windy airports.

The Flaming Ash Hole

Eyjafjallajokull? Go Eyjafjallajokull yourself. Yes, that is the name of the Icelandic volcano that has thrown European airspace asunder. Tomorrow, we get to take on the great Eyjafjallajokull by flying out of Ireland.

The flight that we're on goes back and forth between Chicago and Dublin every day. Ever since Eyjafjallajokull vomited its ash into the air, the flight had been grounded. Wednesday afternoon, serviced started up again and there have been two successful journeys to Chicago and one successful return trip.

God willing, we'll be able to fly home tomorrow. But just to be safe, we're looking to sacrifice a couple of virgins to the Volcano to appease it's hunger. Anybody know where we can find some?

Touchdown In Dublin

We touched down in Dublin today - Beth, RJ and I - with little incident. RJ was himself, squeaking like a canary throughout the airport and kept it up until the flight crew finally dimmed the lights 3 hours into the flight. At that point he fell right asleep.

The hard part will be getting him onto the new time schedule. We are currently 5 hours ahead of home (Ireland doesn't go onto daylight savings time until the end of March - usually it's 6 hours ahead). RJ took a couple short naps today and only got three hours of sleep on the plane (which is better than Beth or I did). He's sleeping now, but I'm hoping he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night.

Beth is adjusting similarly - she is sleeping now, trying to catch up herself. After all tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. We haven't made any real plans tomorrow. We're thinking that we'll be heading downtown for the parade - but we'll see what time everybody wakes up.

The First Family Airplane Trip

I took a few days off of blogging because, well, I was home with my family whom I hadn't seen in three weeks. It's quite amazing to see how much RJ has changed in those three weeks. He loves walking now! If he's awake, he's walking.

The weekend was just a little stressful, though. That's because today all three of us get on the airplane back to Ireland. The stress was due to the fact that we had to pack for Beth and RJ for a 6-week stay in Ireland.

I'm not sure how we're going to get through security yet. We have a full compliment of checked bags, carry-on luggage, carry-on hand bags, a car seat and a stroller. We'll see how we do. I have the limo picking us up forty five minute early just to make sure we have enough time to get through security.

We'll see how RJ does on the plane (and how we all do at the airport). Wish us luck!

Nothing Like A Cold Shower To Get You Over Jet Lag

I learned an important lesson today about my new apartment: There are two switches on the heating controls - one for the heating and one for the water heater. I turned both of them off prior to my trip home for the weekend thinking that I was turning only the heat off.

My plane landed at 8am local time and I got back to my apartment at about 9am (yeah, I'm pretty close to the airport). Wanting to wash the travel off before going to work, I prepped a shower. Low and behold, nothing came out of the nozzle but cold water. Damn.

I was faced with a choice - go to work stinking like I'd been sitting in a plane for eight hours or brave the cold water and wash up. Ok, maybe "brave" isn't the right word. Perhaps I should say "I endured the lack of hot water" as there wasn't anything brave about it.

Needless to say, I hopped in the cold shower and took one of the quickest showers I've taken in my life. How's that for being green? I reduced the water output and I didn't waste any natural gas in the effort. Perhaps I should have a cold shower every day.

Screw that. I like my nice long, hot showers.

Safe at Home

My day started at 6:30am Irish time today. That would be 12:30am local time. I got home around 3pm today - got to spend some quality time with RJ, while giving Beth some time to herself. Sorry for the short post, but I'm going to get some sleep.

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

I'm a little tired after RJ's first birthday party and don't know exactly where to start. So I'll push that story 'til tomorrow, which happens to be RJ's actual birthday. So in its place, I'll give you an idea of how my commute to Dublin works. I just got back from Dublin Friday night and will be flying back on Monday.

Here's what my Monday/Tuesday will look like:

2:30 PM CST - Beth drives me to the Crystal Lake train station.
3:00 PM CST - UP Northwest Line to Dee Rd station (Park Ridge)
4:00 PM CST - Taxi to O'Hare
4:15 PM CST - Check-in/Wait at Airport
7:00 PM CST - Board Plane
7:30 PM CST - Take off for Dublin
2:30 AM CST - Land in Dublin, Collect Baggage, Wait for Hotel Shuttle
3:45 AM CST - Shuttle to Hotel
4:00 AM CST - Check-in at hotel, Shower
4:30 AM CST - Go to Work (10:30 AM GMT)

That's about 14 hours of travel. During this time, if I don't get any sleep, I'm useless the next day. I really don't sleep well on planes. Thus, Advil PM is my friend.

The flight to Dublin is much harder than the flight home. On the way to Dublin, you lose sleep, on the way home you can gain sleep. So this past Friday when I came home, I fell asleep at 7pm and woke up the next morning at 6am . . . like that I'm back on schedule.

So to recap: Make sure to pack sleep aids (especially if you expect to function the next day). Flying West is easier than flying East. And . . .

Those aren't pillows! [download/rent the movie if you have to ask]

The Adventure Begins . . .

. . . with a man wearing a cowboy hat and chaps at the Crystal Lake train station. WTF? As I struggled with the door and two suitcases, however, I was glad that the cowboy was there. He was kind enough to hold the door for me. Inside I was quickly met by the "Can I sell you a used weekend ticket" man who was down on his luck. From his waistline, however, I can't imagine he was too far down on his luck. Still I have a weakness for helping people, so I gave him five bucks for the used ticket (If nothing else, I appreciated that he was being resourceful). I still bought a legit ticket on the train as train tickets are non-transferable.

I get to the airport by 4:15pm (for a 7:30pm flight) thinking that the TSA might give me a private screening. No luck there. This was the fastest I think I've ever gotten through security at O'Hare. So it was 4:30 and I had two and a half hours to kill before the flight began boarding. Luckily the Jets/Chargers game was on. On Friday, I gave out my Super Bowl picks as San Diego over Dallas. I think I need to revise.

You know it's a good travel day when you're lucky enough to have a whole empty row of seats on an international flight. I got some good sleep on the flight (well . . . as good as you can get). As a bonus the dreadlocked retro hippie sitting in front of me didn't smell like he hadn't showered in weeks.

One drawback to the flight. For those gluten-freers out there. My gluten free breakfast came with a gluten-full muffin. It said "Contains Wheat" right on the label. I did log the complaint with the Flight Attendant who apologized profusely and swapped me a banana for the muffin.

Otherwise, I landed safely in Dublin, got checked into the hotel, and I'm looking forward to a shower. I smell like a dreadlocked retro hippie who hasn't showered in weeks. Gotta wash the travel off!

TSA Provides Private Screenings

Today, I travel to Ireland to commence my international assignment. I decided to go check the TSA website to see if I need to take any precautions due to heightened security measures. I found the following quote.

In instances where passengers choose not to remove bulky clothing, including headwear, our officers are trained to offer a private screening area . . .

Oooh! A private screening area! I haven't seen Avatar yet, so I'm thinking that I might choose not to remove my stylish fez so I can get a private screening.

I was treated to a private screening before one of my flights back from Ireland. It wasn't a pleasant experience, just inconvenient.

Admittedly the quote sounds much funnier out of context. Click here if you would like to be let down by reading the full quote. Here's the pertinent info for travelers:

Q. Should passengers plan to arrive at airports earlier than normal?
A. Passengers may want to allow additional time to get through security on international flights bound to U.S. These times may vary by airport - check in with your airport or carrier.

So it looks like the extended security checks are for flights coming back into the United States. I'm still planning on giving myself an extra hour leeway on this trip out, but will need to allow even more time for the trip back. Wish me a safe trip!