It's getting easier and easier to see why major airlines are getting their butts kicked by companies like JetBlue and Southwest.
I'm sitting in the Rochester airport, where Gerald and the boys dropped me at 12:30--with plenty of time to catch my 1:55 flight to Atlanta. The Delta line was extremely, worrisomely long--long enough that I wondered if they'd had to cancel a flight since I left the house (I'd checked online). But the prominently placed display screens showed my flight with an on-time departure, so I patiently waited my turn. And waited. And waited. Because they kept calling Cincinnati passengers up to the front of the line--guess being there on time doesn't pay.
When I finally did get to the desk agent, he informed me that my flight had, indeed, been cancelled due to weather. But they were "having problems with their computers," which is why there was no public indication of that fact (which would have saved me the 45 minute wait in line, since I could have called Delta on my cell phone and made alternate arrangements).
The next flight out isn't until 5:45pm, and it's not fair to Gerald and the boys for me to ask them to come get me again and go through the goodbyes once more. So I've settled myself into the Frontier Business Center at the airport, in a passably comfortable chair, with free wifi and power. I've got a giant latté from Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters, and enough work (and neglected blogs) to keep me busy for a while.
This trip kicks off a busy month; I'll be in Atlanta for the NVHA Innovations conference on Social Network Media (with some other great folks). I get back on the 2nd, then leave on the 5th for Dubai, where I'll be speaking at the 7th Woibex Women in Business Conference. I return from Dubai on the 10th, and then leave again on the 12th for SXSW/Interactive, where I'll be moderating a panel entitled "Spam, Trolls, Stalkers: The Pandora's Box of Community" with panel members Jay Allen, Cam Barrett, Jason Kottke, and Steve Champeon.
The plus side of all of this for, you my online friends, is that I'll be online and available to write and chat a whole lot more than usual. Expect to see me on AIM a good bit, and for blog posting to increase a bit.
Hi Liz, I'm the lady from Hawaii at this NVHA Innovations Conference in Atlanta. Just read through some of your musings--great stuff. You really do share!I'm working up the courage/energy to "dip my toes" in the blogstream. I figure it'll be a way to get back into writing (I'm working on my memoirs). Thanks for your very enjoyable and informative presentation today. Aloha mai, Jackie
Hi, Jackie! Feel free to email me (liz at lawley dot net) if you need any help getting started. I recommend TypePad for new users--even though it's not free, it's fully-featured and the support is excellent.
Once you've got your blog up and running, leave a comment here to let me know. Or, link to one of my posts (a specific "permalink" rather than the main blog), and it will create a "trackback"--a link back to your site (see the ones in my sidebar?) that will alert me that you're out there.