Wednesday, August 10, 2005

A New Beginning

Well, I've finally got my computer and am able to start my journal. I arrived back in the US at Dulles Airport at 2:30 pm on Monday August 1. After flying halfway around the world from Dubai, with a 5 1/2 hour layover in Amsterdam airport, all I wanted was to get to my apartment and have a shower. Well, after getting my luggage it took a little while to figure out how to get a taxi. Unlike most other airports in the world, you can't just go to the taxi rank, you have to first find the official "taxi approver person" in the official "taxi doorway" which is nowwhere near the freaking arrivals part of the airport.

Anyhow, I found it after about 15 minutes of pushing my luggage trolley around the place and got my little pamphlet with a scribbled "7" on it. I guess that stands for Arlington. I got in the cab and the driver didn't know the apartment until I told him "Arlington" even though he saw the "7" on the my pamphlet...good system, that. Anyway, whilst driving he was (of course) talking on the cell phone. I noticed he was speaking arabic so when he was finished I asked him where he was from - Syria. We then had a little chat about the Middle East and Dubai and that made the trip go a bit faster.

When I arrived at the Oakwood Worldwide apartments I paid the cabbie and took my luggage inside. Then it turns out there wasn't a room for me for the night, they were overbooked. So I called the boss and asked what to do. He said that a room had been booked for me at the Hyatt and I had been notified by email...EMAIL? How do I get email at umpteen (that's metric) thousand feet up in the air??

Anyway, I then walked down the hill (it's only 90F/32C here) to the Hyatt, checked in, got a cab back to the Oakwood, got my luggage, back to the Hyatt then attempted to fit my luggage into the room. I really hope the company got a discount on the room since I couldn't turn around inside! Reminds me of when I stayed at the Duck Inn in Kenai Alaska one time. That room was so small the mice couldn't take deep breaths (badaboom!)

Well, I managed to settle in for the night. Had to eat my dinner on the bed 'cause there wasn't room anywhere else. I took photos of the room to show just how rough the mice had it.

Oh, and just to top it off, the ice machine was just across the hall - I got to hear it dump ice every 15 minutes ALL NIGHT LONG!