Calling in Sick = Strike?

SEPTEMBER 20

Anyone else hear about American Airlines pilots calling in sick BY THE DROVES??? I'm flying American today...and the remainder of the project I'm on. I can't be delayed because the pilots and their company can't come to some agreement. I love hockey, but if the NHL is going to lock out the players, it isn't going to affect whether or not I come home on time. That being said, I think the NHL owners are a bunch of hypocrites, and need to be punished severely. I hope lots of fans don't come back after the lockout is over.

Where was I? American. Come on guys!!! I swear that if my flight is delayed or cancelled because a pilot calls in sick, I will be a heated brother.

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I cooked a risotto on Tuesday night, and had the leftovers on Wednesday. Originally I thought my hotel had great cooking utensils. I'm a bit of a food snob, and I like my own stuff, so I have been thinking about going out and grabbing a new chef's knife, and perhaps a decent set of tongs. Most people would be happy getting a lean cuisine, but that just ain't me. I like to eat, and eat well.

I cooked chicken on Monday night, and it created a decent amount of smoke due to the poor pan I was using. I decided to go outside on Tuesday night to grill the chicken I was making to put into my risotto. This guy comes outside that I have seen a couple times. He is staying at the hotel until next week and then is leaving for good. He starts giving me tips on how to cook the chicken. As I said, i'm a snob and relatively good cook, so I know how to cook a piece of chicken. It was a huge piece of chicken breast that was going to get cut up anyway, so I suggested for faster, even cooking, I should cut it. He says "No, you don't want to do that." Not 3 minutes later, he says "You should probably cut it". Thanks Captain Obvious. I swear I had multiple instances of him contradicting himself this past week. He was trying to tell me that he covers a pork tenderloin in brown sugar, puts it on the grill on high heat and cooks it for 25 minutes. I would do that, if I wanted to serve a piece of blackened crud to my worst enemy, sure.

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Me, being the smart person that I am, decided to wear French cuffs today. I'll be cursing my own name at security.

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I spoke about 500 mile upgrades on my last post. The funny thing is, you need to be UBER elite to use them on my flights. I could have X amount of upgrades and try to use them and I still would never see first class because everyone else has higher status than me. I saw a list for upgrades that was 15 people deep. Executive Platinum people were from top to bottom. If you were Platinum, tough luck. Hell, unless you had a  bazillion miles to your name and have been flying for years, you weren't getting an upgrade.

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I was speaking with a woman from Tuscon at the airport last Thursday. She was flying to Europe and back FIRST CLASS the entire way. She is flying through Heathrow on the way home on BA, so I told her to visit the lovely lounges they have there. They are supposed to be some of the best airline lounges around. I think she will be in Munich for Octoberfest. I am pretty jealous. What I was not jealous of was her 8 hour layover at the airport we were at.

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I was watching a movie, and I heard that quote that was pretty interesting. "Kids sharpen their teeth on their parent's bones". My father has been having issues with my grandparent's computer down in Florida. They had to go buy a new one. Then, after installing it, the speakers wouldn't work. So I get the call. The problem is that my grandparents call my dad, and he can be very VERY short, even with them these days. He doesn't want to help them with their computer issues, even though the issue may be relatively simple. However, when he can't figure it out, he gets ahold of me, and I try to assist him, and the cycle continues. He doesn't want to help his parents, and I don't want to help mine.

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ON TO THE TRAVEL!!!!

The TSA-Precheck IS worthwhile. I was standing in my Priority Access line on Monday, and all of a sudden, I see a lone woman in some random line to my left. There are a bunch of TSA agents just standing around in the security area. Next thing I know, she has the whole security area to herself. The TSA agent says: "Have you done TSA precheck before?" at which point I got security envy REAL fast. I have an interview in a couple weeks to get the GOES thing. I was going to write it off since I already have Priority Access, but I think if I can get the GOES thing and have it translated over to TSA-Precheck, I'll be the happiest flyer. I wonder if it works for my family if they travel with me?