Y9 D159

Nov 1. Wow. How did it get to be November already? I know I sound like an old person but it feels like the month went by extremely quick. Maybe because I spent so much of October on the road it flew by. Speaking of old people, I swear every one of them was on my flight to PHX yesterday. The nursing homes opened their doors and they all left Portland to go to Phoenix for the winter. It was a non-stop litany of "Harold it's too warm in here.", "Harold it's too cold in here.", "Harold, this food isn't good.", "Harold my seat is uncomfortable.". The whole flight all I heard around me was old people bitching. Thank god for my new headphones. On my first flight I had no one next to me which was nice. I had about an hour between flights so I wasn't rushed at all. A good amount of time for an airport the size of PHX. Got on my second flight and for once had my upgrade. I must finally be making some status as there were 7 names on the upgrade list who didn't clear. Cool.

Landed in NJ, found my rental car - a Chevy Impala. It's okay I guess. - and then had the fun of driving 30 miles in NJ evening traffic. While that was a pain, it wasn't as big a pain as what my boss did. Once again he forgot to order the manuals. I was stuck going out at 7pm in an area I didn't know trying to find a FedEx to pick up manuals. I fucking hate when he does this to me.

On the way to the hotel I found a Walmart and stopped for Rockstars. I had a feeling I wouldn't find anything nearby for dinner and I also grabbed a couple of frozen things. Turned out to be a smart move. With the time changes and having to go to FedEx, I didn't eat until 8pm and there was no way I was going to try and find food.

My room is okay as well. Corner, top floor. My neighbor is a little noisy but whatever. Four days here and I go home. Today I have to try and find the location on campus where I will be speaking. Leaving early to give myself a buffer. I have 16 people in this group. Too many but I will make it work. Let's see how many are indian and give me a hard time.