perldiver

I took my computer in to TekServe to get the grinding noise fixed. They said "ok, hang on for a minute while we give it a quick once-over." About four minutes later they were back saying "ok, the fan is busted. No problem, still under warranty so it won't cost you a dime, you can pick it up in three business days." So, I picked it up on Sunday and everything was hunky-dory. Huzzah!

This afternoon, I walked out my front door and had the easiest trip imaginable to North Carolina for the riflery class I'm taking from Barrett Rifles (Dad is with me at my invitation). Here's how it went:

• Cab was right in front of my building, and stopped when I raised my arm;
• Cab was clean, smelled good, and had working seat belts;
• Cabby spoke fluent English and was friendly and smiling--he even got out to open the trunk and to pull my bag out at LGA;
• Eastbound to LGA was completely traffic-free--the only time we slowed down was for the toll;
• Found a seat by the ticket area to wait for Dad--no one was sitting near me, so I had room to spread out;
• Within 10 minutes, Dad walks in the door right next to me (having missed all the nasty westbound traffic), and sees me instantly;
• We get to our gate in plenty of time, board on the first call, and have no need to struggle;
• My seat mate was an interesting fellow (Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corps); we had a good talk the whole way, and exchanged contact info;
• My bag was gate checked and was the second one up;
• Dad's bag was regular checked, and came off the conveyor literally as we walked up; we basically didn't even need to slow down;
• We got the car quickly and easily, drove the 45 mins to the training center without trouble, and had a good dinner on the way; and,
• As we were checking in, the two instructors for our class came in and also checked in, so we got to introduce ourselves and ask questions that started with "When..." and "Where...."

Whew!  With a trip that easy, the Law of Conservation of Travel Misery says that either everyone in NYC is going to miss their first train of the day tomorrow...or else when Dad and I make our return flight, the plane will explode on takeoff.

...

I vote for that first option, myself.  Everyone I know in NYC--do your part and skip your first train!!!


On a more serious note:  the US Training Facility (formerly Blackwater US) is living up to my expectations.  It's way off the beaten track, there is an armed and very serious-sounding gate guard who checks your ID before letting you in, and the "campus" is huge (the gate guard's directions started with "go down this road about 3 and a 1/2 miles...").  I had no idea what to expect from the bunkhouse; would it be Army barracks style (stacked bunks, concrete floors) or would it be more like a low-mid grade hotel?  The answer:  somewhere in between.  The room is grey industrial carpet, two bunks (side-by-side, not stacked) that are reminiscent of Army bunks (somewhat narrow, sheets were provided but the bed was not made), two attractive but inexpensive wooden bureaus, and a large color TV.  There is no cell phone service, but there is free unlocked WiFi. 

I'm really looking forward to this.

(PS:  I couldn't resist the "location" tag on this entry...it's actually somewhat accurate, even though it sounds like something off the back of a schlocky Tom Clancy-knockoff novel. :>)