On My Way

I'm all packed and ready to go. Checked in online, so I only need to hand over my luggage and get through security. Which has an average wait time of three minutes at this time of day, so I should slide right through.

I love flying. I don't get to do it nearly often enough. Takeoff and landing are my favorite parts, so I always try to get a window seat.

Wanna hear how brilliant I am? I bought a new large suitcase for this trip, and fit everything into it with room to spare. But when I weighed it (admittedly only an estimate because it doesn't fit on the scale) it looked like it might be a bit over the 50-lb. limit. So I took some stuff out and put it in a second suitcase.

That's not the brilliant part. I have to travel between hotels very early tomorrow morning, so lugging two suitcases isn't appealing. I decided just now to take an additional carry-on instead. I don't need to move much to make the big suitcase acceptable.

That's not the brilliant part, either. I was lugging my case around, thinking about weight limits, and of course thought about all the people who complain that when their luggage is over the limit, the clerk makes them take something out and carry it with them. They always whine about how stupid that is, because it still adds to the weight of the plane.

My brilliance? I realized it's not about crashing the plane. It's about workers' compensation. Though there's a lot of automation with baggage handling, workers still have to sling them around to get them on and off the plane and conveyors. Bags over 50 lbs. contribute to repetitive strain problems, back strains, neck strains, and so on. Trust me, I've worked in a workers' compensation field, and ANYTHING an employer can do to prevent claims, they're going to do. Even if it pisses us off.

This morning I also did some work on my new book. It feels SOOOOO good to be writing a book I'm excited about. My goal is 4 pages a day between now and my next writers meeting, and usually I'm checking my page count every few minutes, struggling to get to the minimum. But today, I flew right through 6.3 pages.

Here's my current total:

20,155 / 85,000 (23.7%)

I won't have much to blog about tonight, but I'll try to hit the food court tomorrow afternoon or early Thursday. Tomorrow I have the Chapter Presidents Retreat (my newsletter editor is a finalist in the annual contest, which will be announced at the luncheon), meeting up with a friend I haven't seen in three years, attending the Literacy Autographing, and hooking up with some other friends with whom I'm embarking on a business venture. Should be a good day!