What happened in Vegas, stays in Vegas

Well..usually when people think of that slogan, we think of strippers, a few too many drinks, perhaps a joint even. Well..for me, and the last few days..it took on a completely different meaning.

On Monday, I flew from Portland to Vegas and then caught a flight to Minneapolis for business. I landed Monday afternoon, it was about 90 degrees and thunderstorming and severe winds. I normally wear contacts, but on airplanes, my contacts dry up in about .03 seconds, so I try to wear glasses. When I stepped into my rental car and out of it..they fogged up in .02 seconds. I got to my hotel, which wasnt a bad hotel or in a bad neighborhood..but the lady at the front desk asked me if I was "staying overnight"?...I'll let that sink in for a moment. I looked around..did not see any hookers..didnt see any signs for room rates by the hour..but I replied "Yes..I am". Odd.

Anyways, so my meeting was Tuesday at General Mills. I saw the fabulously infamous "Betty Crocker kitchen" while on a mini tour there after meeting with my client. My flight wasnt until 11pm that night (or so I thought), so I thought I'd go check out the Mall of America for the second time that day (I had cruised around there for an hour or so earlier to kill time as well). I went again, saw a movie, marveled at the hugeness of the place, ate some sushi there, and left about 8:15pm for the airport (which as next door). I realized my flight was actually departing at 9:17pm, so I figured I'd just squeak by...but I still floored my rented Neon, didnt fill up (wtf..work is paying for it) and parked, ran to the gate and there was a massive line. Now understand, I was flying America West. United, Delta, Southwest..etc..all the other gates were deserted. It was 8:35pm. But there was a nice line at America West. it was the last flight out of the day. Well..I start hearing rumblings the flight is delayed until 11pm. Great..if it leaves at 11..and my connecting flight in vegas is at 11:50pm..Ill never make it. Turns out there was some mechanical problem (great thing to hear when you are about to fly) and the plane actually landed in Minny at 11:50 and we left for Vegas at 12:30am...landing at 2:15am. No hotels for us. No cots. No place to shower. So I call customer service and they cannot guarantee America West will reimburse me for a hotel. They also dont officially open until 7am, so I cannot call and ask, or see if theres a voucher for anything I can get, so even try to get some sort of compensation..etc.
Good thing I stole/kept the blanket from the flight, so I attempt to curl up on the chairs and sleep..since the next available flight to Portland is at 11:40am!..and they cannot send me on another airline, nor on a flight earlier to say, LA, San Diego, SF, Oakland..and then up to Portland..thats right..I am stuck in Vegas at the airport for 9 1/2 hours. Not so bad some may think..but with no friends, no shower, no gambling tables...no fun.



Anyways, trying to sleep at an airport is trickier than you may think. First off, theres only about 1000 flourescent lights on. Secondly, at 2:30am or so..the cleanup and maintenance crews come around, vacuum, change trash bags..etc. Third..the time of day surely doesnt stop the public announcements for "Ines Cunejo, please call 01 from the courtesy phone..Ines Cunjeno..." Well, after the 7 times I counted (unless I actually dozed off), I wanted to call the operator and say "Ines is obviously not here". They also run emergency broadcast testing beeps and messages at 3am. that was fun. Oh, and then there are the slot machines that whistle and ding-ding-ding to attract your attention and loosen your wallet.

I sat up. I tried to read an old newspaper. Someone had left behind a cowboy novel. I was saving my ipod battery for morning and flight. I got bored. I tried to sleep again..and must have dozed for about an hour..because I woke up, it was about 5:45 or 6..and the airport was teeming with people. I checked which gate I was supposed to be at for my flight. B17. I was parked at B21, so I moved my crap and then tried to sleep again. I got up..saw I could eat breakfast at Taco Bell or Starbucks. I walked over to Starbucks and got an orange juice and terrible tasting bagel and cream cheese. I decided to call customer service again..the agent was friendly and is giving me $150 voucher to use on a future flight. Not bad. Not great. Enough for now. I check the arriving/deaprting flight signs again..they moved my gate to another terminal. I book on over there..which sucks, because those moving sidewalk things (I call them slidewalks..) dont work..so with my bag, its a little less than pleasant considering the lack of sleep and emotional energy I have at the moment..but the least of my issues honestly. I finally get there, I plop down and read magazines and listened to my ipod until my flight at 11:40am.

Yeah...great trip. Did I mention that because my car was rented for just over 1 day, they charge you $15/hr so a 1 day (plus 3 hours) car rental came to $173? I cannot wait to put that on my expense report.