14 March, 2009

Work rest and return….. (Part 3)

Ok so this isn’t quite the end yet but I promise we are very close. So when we left off last time I had arrived at Schipol Airport and was headed back to the Departure hall. When I arrived up top I headed to claim my bags that I had placed in storage. I found everything in tact and gathered the bags up and headed to check-in. The line was fairly short but to my dismay when I finally made it to the front of the line I was told that I was only allowed 20 kilos of baggage to Dubai. When I explained my circumstances to the young lady she got on the phone and called her supervisor. When she arrived I showed her my Passport explained what I had been through but there was nothing she could do. Bottom line I had to pay a lot of Euro’s to get me and my bags to Dubai. I checked everything in paid my fees and headed to Immigration and then to the gate. I had no more than 30 minutes left when I finally made it through and got to the gate in time to go through x-ray and had just enough time to call ahead and get a room reserved. We boarded the plane 5 minutes later and were in the air less than 10 minutes later. The flight was a short 7 hours and 20 minutes. After having a nice lunch of chicken, salad and some kind of custard, I settled in for a good movie. The two hours went by quickly and turned to my book for awhile. Once again they came by with the carts and had a beverage service. I picked up my book and enveloped myself for another 3 hours. I decided to watch another movie and before I knew it we were making our decent into Dubai. We landed a few minutes early and taxied to the gate. If you have never been to Dubai or any other International airport, you have never experienced the long walk to immigration. I think I have mentioned before that they out the gates as far away as possible so you are completely exhausted by the time you get there. This trip was no different and I walked forever and finally reached the hall.

Unbelievably the line was very short and I was through Immigration in less than 5 minutes and at the carousel picking up my bags. I headed through the door, out to the waiting crowds through the exit and towards the taxis. I called Diane to let her know I had made it safely and I would call her when I got to the hotel. The drive was about 10 minutes and was greeted as I got out. As I tried to pay for the ride, the driver explained he couldn’t take credit and all I had was US currency. He obliged by taking my $14 dollars and I headed to check-in. Once I arrived at the desk, they informed me that my reservation was at a hotel across town. I think I forgot to mention that while I was in Amsterdam I had called and made my reservation and realized when I got my confirmation they had made it at the wrong hotel. So I called them back and thought they were booking me in the right one. Well the night manager got on the phone and called the hotel explained my situation and got the cancellation charges dropped, canceled my reservation and gave me a discounted rate for my troubles. I knew it was late but had failed to look at my watch. By the time I reached the room and my bags were delivered I called Diane and we talked for a short while. It was then that I realized that it was 2:30 in the morning and I really needed to get to bed. We said our goodnight and I headed to bed. I tossed and turned for awhile and decided to get up and read a little to see if sleep would finally come. When I finally felt sleep begin to come it was after 4 am. I set my clock for 8 and fell fast asleep. The annoying alarm woke me up so I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. By the time I had finished and was ready for breakfast it was getting close to 10. I grabbed a quick bite and then headed down to the office just a short walking distance away. When I arrived they were all surprised to see me and I had to go through another rendition of my journey. They set me up with a cubicle so I setup my computer and started to tackle the awaiting emails.

As the day progressed I was able to speak with the HR department and they explained what would need to happen. In concert with the Saudi GRO (Government Relations Officer) they were able to get the required documents and begin the process. As afternoon came I began to feel tiredness and wondered if I would be able to last the rest of the day. I got up and walked around for a few minutes and felt refreshed enough to go back to my computer and continue on. The rest of the day went fairly quick and by the time I knew it, it was 6 pm. I shut down my computer, loaded everything up in my backpack and headed back to the hotel. When I arrived I noticed a Friday’s under the hotel and made a mental note to grab some dinner there. I went up to my room and unloaded and headed back down. The meal was pleasant not really very crowded. I meandered for about an hour and decided to head back to the room and call it an early night. I sent Diane a text because I knew she was in class but she had less than an hour left. I told her I would be up for an hour and for her to call me when she got home. So I got changed for bed and waited reading my book for awhile. Well it wasn’t long and my eyelids were heavy and she still hadn’t called. I figured she either didn’t get the message or she was busy with something else so I headed to bed. Sleep came easy and I awoke to the annoying alarm at 5:30. I jumped in the shower got dressed and headed down to breakfast. The breakfast is always good at the hotel, another International style buffet but this one you could order eggs like you wanted. I ordered a green chilies and cheese omelet and gathered the remaining items while I waited. As usual breakfast was good and a short while later I was back on the street headed for the office.

Once back in my cube, I worked on project issues that had cropped up since the day before. I called my boss and talked to him for awhile and assured him I was working diligently and not on the streets of Dubai shopping and sight seeing. He affirmed and as usual told me to stay out of trouble. Needless to stay I never get in trouble except when I am traveling through airports as this re-enactment confirms. I sent an email enquiring about my renewal and received an email from the local GRO asking me to call him. I placed the call and he explained where they were at and that he would be by shortly to pickup my Passport. I continued on with my work and realized that it was getting close to time for some lunch. I walked in to my SLM’s (Service Level Manager) office and asked if he was interested. Earlier the Manager, he and I had made arrangements to meet for dinner that night at my hotel. So David declined and said he would be fine until that evening. So I rode the elevator down and walked next door to my favorite little grocery and picked up a sandwich some chips and a Pepsi Max. I paid for it and headed back up to the office. I sat and ate my lunch and checked the news on the Internet and just chilled for awhile. A little while later I heard someone come through the door and ask where I was at. I heard them say that way and he showed up at my cube and asked for my Passport. We talked for a few minutes at how all of this had transpired and he said he thought it would be a few days and I would probably have it by Monday. So I confirmed that I should go ahead and book my flight but he said Inshalla Monday, which if you remember means Allah’s will. Basically he had no clue so I thanked him and he was on his way. When I travel on rotation I don’t take a lot of clothes with me because I have plenty at home. So I was in a bind because I had two shirts with me and a couple of new jeans I had picked up while I was home. I went in and told David that I was going to have to go somewhere and get a few shirts to tie me over since it would probably be a few days. He offered to take me because he knew of a place not far that had what I was looking for. So we planned to head out around 4 for a few minutes and then come back because he had a conference call.

At 4 he arrived at my cube and said lets go. So we rode down to the ground level and went to his car parked behind in a parking garage. As we drove he told me about the place we were going and for me to be sure to barter with the guy because it was expected. I had been there before and knew quite well what was expected. We arrived a short time later and pointed out the stores I needed to try. I walked into the first one and immediately found what I was looking for. They were knockoffs of a designer label at the stamped price of 215 Dirhams. This calculated was around $59 US dollars. I explained to him I didn’t even pay that for the originals and he said he would give them to me for 165. This was still pretty expensive but the quality was good and I agreed. I walked out of there with what I needed and went in search of David. I called his cell and he was around in a few minutes. We headed back to the office and finished out the day. Later around 8 that evening Martin, David and I we met at the restaurant in the hotel and had a nice dinner of cheese burgers and fries. We enjoyed ourselves in conversation and food and before we knew it, it was nearly 11:30. I told them I needed to get to bed, they agreed and we paid the bill and headed in our separate directions. I headed back to my room once again dressed for bed and crashed only to be awoken again at 5:30 by the annoying alarm. Again I jumped out of bed got ready and headed off to the office. I stopped in Costa for a quick caffeine fix and arrived as normal around 7’ish. I immediately started in on project issues and the day progressed quickly. Around 12 I stopped in to see Martin and asked if he was up for some KFC for lunch so we headed out. It was a short walk and we conversed over chicken and Pepsi. When we returned to the office we planned on meeting that afternoon to discuss some issues at site and I was back at my cube pounding out emails and history to be discussed. We met later that afternoon and before I knew it, it was time to leave the day had flown by very quickly.

Again sleep came very easily and I knew that my body clock was back in sync with the local time and drifted off. Tomorrow was Friday and my day off and I planned to sleep in as long as possible. When the alarm went off around 8, I crawled out of bed and enjoyed a hot long shower and pondered what to do with myself for the day. Lazily I got dressed went down to breakfast and enjoyed a breakfast of fruit, yogurt and cereal. I went back to my room grabbed my book, turned on FOX News and read for an hour or so. I decided that I didn’t want to be cooped up in my room all day so I decided to walk to the office, catch up on emails and work on the Blog. So you are all caught up now with my adventure. It is now Friday close to 2 pm and I am ready to grab some lunch maybe take a nap and just VEG out with some TIVO. Hope you have enjoyed this with me so far and the end is close. I will hopefully complete my journey in a few days and will be sure to bring you up to date and how it all ends.

13 March, 2009

Work rest and return….. (Part 2)

Well I got to the gate to check-in for my flight, as on most International flights they have to check your Passport and Visa to make sure you are valid for flying. So I hand her my Passport and she asked where my Visa was, I turned to the page and showed her. She said “I can’t read Arabic so where is the English version?” I explained to her that we don’t get that version so she had to figure out who else could look at it and confirm. She made a call and said someone would be there in a few minutes. So I grabbed a seat and pulled out my cell and called Diane. While we are talking, they make an announcement that the Pilot has come down ill and they are getting a replacement and the flight may be delayed for a short time. We talked for a few minutes and they called me back to the desk. When I got there I handed the guy my Passport and he starts reading it. He says he reads Arabic but he doesn’t understand the dates so he pulls up the calendar to try and calculate what remains on the Visa. After going back and forth, checking the dates and verifying what date I started, how many times I have been out since I got it and where, he determined that it looked ok but if I got to Amsterdam and they denied me it wouldn’t be his fault. I told him I understood and sat back down. About 30 minutes later they called the flight and we started boarding. So I had already made up my mind that once I got on the plane and we were in the air, that I would take my Advil PM, eat dinner and then head off to Never-Never land. That’s pretty much how it went and I was pleased that I dozed off fairly quickly as they removed the last plate from my little table.

About an hour out of Amsterdam they woke us up for breakfast. Usually it is pretty good and this time was no exception. We arrived a little late due to the fact they had to get a new Pilot and they had to wait on the Tarmac for something to be loaded. We made pretty good time as he was able to make up some of it with a good tail wind. So I exit the plane head off to relax and get a shower for the next part of the journey. Just to be on the safe side I called the HR Manager at the site and told him about the issues the night before. He said he would go online and check my Visa and call me back. Well time passed really quickly and I hadn’t heard back from him and it was time to head for the gate. The walk was about 8 minutes and while I was heading there he called and confirmed my fears that it was in fact expired. When I got to the gate they also identified that it was expired and they started taking my luggage off the plane. They apologized and told me I needed to go to the transfer desk and re schedule my flight and see what they suggested to get it renewed. So I grabbed my gear off the X-ray machine and found a seat and called my boss to let him know what had happened. He of course was not pleased but he understood and told me to let him know what KLM said. So once again I headed back into the Terminal and found the transfer desk. With all the new technology most of the airlines have gone to self serve Kiosks. As I approached I saw a young lady from KLM and explained my circumstance. She sent me through a gate to talk to her colleagues and see what they suggested.

So once again I explained my problem and they started looking to see what could be done. After about 10 minutes they decided the best thing for me to do was take the train to The Hague and go to the Saudi Embassy the next day. I loaded up my hand carry bags and went through immigration to get my luggage. It was waiting for me when I arrived so I took out what I thought I would need for one night and put the rest in storage. After securing my locker I headed off to find the train station. Unfortunately in Amsterdam most of the signage and Kiosks are in Dutch, which you might now I don’t know how to speak. So after stumbling around for a few minutes, I found the train office and went to purchase a ticket. When I got to the window I explained to the train attendant where I needed to go and what I required and he told me to go see if I could even get a Hotel before he sent me all the way there. So I headed back into the Arrival terminal and found the Hotel desk. She looked for what was available close to where I needed to be and finally identified one. The rate was decent and I had her book it for me. She printed out my confirmation and I took it back to the train office and got my tickets. The train was due to leave around 4:58 which was about thirty minutes. So I walked around for a few minutes and then headed for the ramp. Just as I arrived so did the train. The ride was supposed to be around 30 minutes so I settled in. Now the way I understood, the train was supposed to be non stop but we made two stops and I started getting a little concerned. Everyone around me was speaking Dutch so I was a little doubtful that I could find someone that spoke English to ask. On the Third stop I spoke to a man standing next to me and asked him if the train was non stop and he shrugged. Another guy waiting to get off spoke a little English and said I needed to change trains and just follow him.

Luckily the train we needed to get on was waiting when we got there so the switch was quick and painless. We rode for another 10 or 15 minutes and we were there. Now I am usually pretty good about finding my way around, but with everything in Dutch I was having a few issues. The girl at the Hotel desk had written down what I needed to do once I got there so I looked for the Tram I was supposed to get on. I found a sign and headed up to the tracks only to realize that I thought I was on the wrong side. So I went back down and up the other side only to realize that I thought it was going in the wrong direction so I walked back down and back up to the same place I had been. Well still not convinced I was in the correct place, I headed back down to look for the Tram office. After stumbling around the Train/Tram station I finally located the office and stood in line for my turn. After about 5 minutes I finally made it to the window and told the gent where I was going and how did I get there. He explained it to me and it was in fact the same place I started out and I could just pay the Tram driver. So I headed back up to the platform and waited with everyone else. The Tram arrived a short while later I got on paid the driver and we were off. The short ride took about 10 minutes and I was back on the street looking for some sign of the direction I was supposed to go to get to the hotel. After a few minutes of looking around I spotted the sign for the hotel and walked that way. A couple of blocks away I found it and checked in. I dropped off my things in the room and went in search of some food. The front desk suggested an Italian place a short walk so I ventured out to find it. He was right it was a short walk, maybe a block away and I went in. He sat me at a table close to the square so I could look out the window while I was eating. It was so quaint and very pleasing to see how the Europeans spend there time. As I looked out I saw small Bistro’s, pubs and restaurants where they were partaking of spirits and food and enjoying conversation. The Italian restaurant was true to nature and very authentic. I ordered probably one of the best pizza’s I have had in my life. I ate and watched for about an hour, paid my bill was very reasonable and walked back to the hotel.

My plan had worked by sleeping the flight to Amsterdam and staying awake the rest of the day as sleep came very quickly after reading a couple of chapters in my book. The next morning I got up around 5:30, showered and headed to breakfast. It was a small buffet of International cuisine, sliced meats, cheeses, eggs, lots of different breads to choose from, yogurt juices coffee and teas. I had a small feast and was pleasantly filled when I had finished. I headed back to my room to call the Embassy and find out exactly where it was located. When I got no answer I headed down stairs to ask the front desk. She looked everything up on the Internet and showed me where to catch the Tram. I thanked her and took the map she had provided and headed out to find my destination. Again I was stricken by non Dutch and I walked in the wrong direction once again and turned around and went the other way. Still unable to find the landmarks that were on the map, I ventured off in the direction I was sure was the way. Well after walking for about 3 blocks, I noticed the Golden Arches and slumbered in to see if I could get some directions. Thankfully a gentlemen standing waiting on his Danish and coffee pointed me in the right direction. I was just across the street from where I needed to be. I thanked him and exited to the street and made across the street in time to catch the number 2 headed toward my destination. I clambered aboard the TRAM paid the driver and we were off. Two stops later I exited the TRAM and walked the block to the Embassy area. I walked along looking for the Saudi flag but could not find it. Luckily I stumbled on it after about 5 minutes. I rang the bell and waited. A tall man in a business suit opened the door and asked if he could help me. I explained my circumstances and he told me to have a seat in the waiting area as the Embassy personnel would not be available until 9:00.

I took a seat and waited for no more than 5 minutes when another man walks in and asks me why I am there. Again I explained and told him and he said I would have to come back in a couple of hours because the Consulate would not be available until then. I thanked him looked at my watch and headed out the door. I pondered whether to head back to the TRAM station or walk the 5 or 6 blocks, I chose the later. It was cool and breezy and the brisk walk soon led to a very warm and getting sweaty feeling. I unzipped my jacket and continued my trek towards the direction of the hotel. The time went quickly and I found myself back in my room in no more than 10 minutes. As I opened my Laptop to see if I had any news, there was an email from one of the guys at the site that new of the Passport agency that could help. I rang their phone once again explained and she said I need to bring my Passport to their office so they could look at it. Amazingly their office was one block from the Embassy where I had just walked from so I threw my jacket back on and headed back. Again the walk was quick and I found the building with no problem. I got off the elevator on the 4th floor and again went through the entire process of why I was there starting with my experience in Houston. They listened intently and then responded with, it will probably impossible to do because my company was not located in Holland and I had to have this and that and there was really no way to get it. My option was to return to Houston or maybe I could go to the U.A.E. and see if they could process it there. I again thanked them and headed back to the hotel to call the site and give them my news.

I reached my boss on the phone as the HR manager was unavailable. We briefly spoke and I explained the options and he was ready for me to just head back to Houston but he wanted to go check with HR before he made the decision. I could already see myself back on the plane headed back, 10 more hours in the plane and arriving to a puzzled Diane. He handed the cell phone to the HR manager and I explained the options. He said give him 30 minutes and he would check with Dubai to see if they could actually do this. By this time I am crossing my fingers because I really wanted to get back at least close to the Saudi time zone so I could work. After 30 minutes he sent me an email and said book your flight Dubai says they can do it. Well that was good enough for me I immediately got KLM on the phone to get my last leg routed to Dubai instead of Saudi. After going through the automated garb I finally spoke to a real person. She informed me that the flight was booked by Continental and they could not change the ticket I would have to call Continental. I hung up and called Continental and began all over again. After 10 or 15 minutes we worked it out and it cost a lot but I had a ticket. I packed my remaining items and headed back to the TRAM station to get back to the Train station to head back to the airport. The walk was short the TRAM arrived about 5 minutes later and we were at the Train station in 5 more. I hopped off, grabbed my stuff and headed to the boards to see what time the Train left. Luckily I was 5 minutes away from pulling out so I jumped on board and we took off. The ride was 25 minutes with one stop and I was back where I started the day before. As I got off the Train and headed back upstairs to the Departure hall, I thought about the last 12 hours and my experience. Not a lot accomplished but a nice side trip to a quaint little city with lots of history and charm. So this is where I am going to stop and you can catch the conclusion in the next edition………

11 March, 2009

Work, rest and the return…..? (Part One)

Well it was a very busy three weeks, the trip to Cincy was exciting and very busy. We left on Wednesday with all of our luggage, tools, and Kimber in tow. We arrived at the Airport with no excitement, parked the car at the lot and hopped the shuttle. We arrived in plenty of time after going through Security we stopped off at the bookstore to grab a novel so I would have something to read on the plane. When we got to the gate we sat down and waited maybe 15 minutes before they were calling our flight. As we boarded the plane, which was about 1/3 full, we all strapped in watched the safety briefing and we were on our way. The flight was very smooth and uneventful and we arrived in Cincy on time. We got off the plane and headed to get our bags, well at least we thought so. Since we had never been in Cincy before we followed the signs, right, well not really. After we had walked the full length of the runway to Terminal B we realized that Baggage claim was in the opposite direction. So we stopped for a potty break and then headed back the way we came. Since it was such a long walk, we opted to take the Train back. Sure enough we had walked right past the Baggage area. You feel kinda like you were a little foolish but I always follow the Baggage claim signs and must have missed it.

We collected our luggage which was coming off as we arrived and headed for the Avis bus. It was a short 5 minute ride but check-in took a little longer. We finally got our paperwork and waited outside for them to bring the vehicle around. It turned out there were two of the same Grand Prix and the guy in front of us got ours so they figured it all out and we were on our way to see Christopher. I had gotten Diane a GPS for Christmas and she just loves it, so she plugged “Mandy” in and she was instructing us how to get to our destination. Let me tell you if you don’t have a GPS it is well worth the investment. About 15 minutes later we were in downtown Cincy parking across the street from Christopher’s office. As we exited the car he was waiting across the street for us. He took us on the nickel tour of his fine establishment and then we headed to a rendezvous with Karen for lunch. The place was about two blocks from his office so we walked and arrived at a small Sports Bar which was serving Homemade Meatloaf for lunch. Karen arrived about 10 minutes later and the food had just gotten there.

Lunch was delicious and it was time to head out so we walked Karen back back to the car, she had to go back to work but Christopher had taken the rest of the day off and rode with us to his house. Once we arrived he gave us the grand tour of the house and showed us all the opportunities for the week. The house is one hundred and thirteen years old so you can imagine what lay ahead of us. We started planning on what needed to happen first or should I say what we wanted to tackle. We carried our things upstairs to the Penthouse where we would all be staying and unpacked our things and got our living accommodations in order. After we all loaded up in the Grand Prix and headed to the Depot and Meier a Wal-Mart like store. We picked up some necessary supplies and headed back to the house. Once we got there I started looking at the electrical situation and Diane and Kimber started taping the base boards and preparing things to paint. We determined what was what and where some things were going, and it was time for dinner. Tomorrow we would start getting things in order.

So the next day, I started pulling plugs out of the wall to try and figure out why the power to the Penthouse was not working. The first plug I pulled I found the culprit, there were burned wires in the outlet box. As I reviewed Christopher’s electrical map that he and Karen had made for me, I found a lot of plugs and lights on one circuit. Meanwhile Diane and Kimber began painting the Office upstairs. There were a lot of bad places in the plaster that had to be scrapped so that new could be installed before they painted. Three of the walls were doable so they started on those. By lunch time they had two of the three walls painted and I had made some more headway in finding wires. When Christopher and Karen got home we worked till around 9:30 or so and then retired for bed. Christopher took Friday off so we could try and get as much electrical identified and get what was required to replace and repair. We took another drive to the Depot and picked up a new panel, breakers, Romex, and other items we would need.

We worked diligently through the weekend, and after dropping Josh and Cassie off at the Airport on Sunday we accomplished a lot. The Parlor was finished with paint and new curtains, the Office was painted with exception to the outside wall which needed some plaster work, and the Hall was completed with paint. Christopher and I replaced the panel and the rest of the cables and were almost finished by the time we needed to leave for the Airport. Unfortunately not completely finished so I made an executive decision to delay our flight a day and Diane and Karen dropped Kimber off at the Airport for her flight home. Josh and Cassie graciously offered to pick her up so we could have the car when we returned the next day. On the way back from the Airport, the girls stopped by and picked up some great barbecue. When dinner was over we headed back to get as much as we could get completed because we had only about 5 hours on Wednesday before we had to be at the Airport.

So Wednesday was a flurry, we got up early, saw Christopher and Karen off and said our goodbyes once again. Diane set herself to strip the beds, straighten up the house, wash clothes, kept me in coffee, and even baked the kids some cookies, while I struggled to get everything else completed with the electrical. By about 1:00 I was finished had everything packed up and we headed to the Airport. Unfortunately we didn’t make it before the flight was loading so they booked us for the next flight. We decided to check our bags in early and find some food. As we rode the train to Terminal B we discussed the week’s events and were pleased with what we had accomplished. We feasted on Outback burgers and a salad and just relaxed since we had about two hours to kill. Did a little shopping and of course stopped by Starbucks and grabbed a quick coffee and headed to the gate. We waited about 30 minutes and the flight was on time. We boarded the plane and two and a half hours later we were back in Houston.

The rest of the time home was a flurry of activity. Candy and Griff threw a heck of a couples shower for Josh and Cassie at their house, Diane had to go back to work and on Tuesday we headed to the Moody Gardens Aquarium with the FBC Preschool. I had to get items to take back to Saudi, get fitted for a Tux for Josh and Cassie’s wedding, pay for labor and pad to replace bad carpet, and of course spend time with my lovely wife. As the end of rotation was here, Josh and
Cassie met us at The Deluxe Cafe for dinner with Bob and Dee Dee for her birthday and their anniversary. Afterward they took them back to their hotel and we stopped by Josh’s to pick them up and take them home with us as they were going to the Airport to drop me off. We made it home around 10’ish and all headed off to bed. The next day I got up and took the Passat to Discount to get a slow leak fixed. It took more time than I wanted and ended up with a new tire which was fine because Diane would be driving the VW while her car was being repaired. I made it home around 11 and tried to finish up all that I wanted to get finished and of course finish packing and grab a shower before the trip. By 1:30 we were in the car headed to meet Kimber for lunch at Lupe Tortillas. We all enjoyed the quick lunch and conversation before I had to say goodbye to Kimber. We had decided that on our way to the Airport, we would stop by and see the house that Josh and Cassie had made an offer for. They had found it in a subdivision close to Intercontinental called Falls Creek. It is a lovely house with lots of room and only a couple of years old.

As we hopped in the car to head to the Airport, I called mom and talked with her a little and caught up on the Cincy trip and the happenings in Abilene with the fam. Traffic was light so we made great time getting to the Airport. We unloaded and headed to check-in and the lines were short and we had about an hour and some change to spare. After a few minutes I told them they might as well go there was no point in them waiting I would just go chill and read my book. So we said our tearful goodbyes and they watched as went through security. One last wave and a blown kiss and I headed towards the gate and eventually my final destination? Yeah I don’t think so but that is for the next installment……