Where in the World Is John Scalzi, 10/13
Posted on October 13, 2011 Posted by John Scalzi 32 Comments
Answer: Currently loitering in the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. Which is not actually a bad airport, when you have a long wait between connections, as I have today. As you can see the gate is positively packed. But then they’re not boarding the plane for another 90 minutes; I suspect it will fill up before then. Or maybe I’ll get lucky and have a semi-deserted flight to Germany, in which case I will get to stretch out. I’m hoping for the latter.
How’s your day going?
Does it ever surprise you that your work-at-home job seems to involve relatively less working-at-home than one might have envisioned?
(Not that there’s anything wrong with your job or your traveling, but it just struck me as incongruous. I wonder if work-at-home types outside the very narrow slice of “professional fiction writers” have similar experiences.)
“Or maybe I’ll get lucky and have a semi-deserted flight to Germany, in which case I will get to stretch out. I’m hoping for the latter.”
Optimist!
Have a good trip. I’ve been baking cookies for Capclave – Gingersnaps and chocolate chip cookies (no oatmeal raisin).
Auf Wiedersehen!
Ich bin gut. Und Sie?
Remember, beer is much stronger in Germany.
Alkali:
My writing career has had always had a substantial amount of travel in it, actually. When I was a movie critic I traveled roughly every other week to LA or SF to do interviews, etc. These days I’m traveling at least once a month, and usually for several days at a time. It’s fun but can get wearying.
At least today’s technology allows for easy contact with home, which I’m sure makes traveling easier than it once was. Have a safe trip!
I was just at that airport three days ago, on my way home from New Bern, NC, site of an awesome four-day national handbell event. It definitely is a nice place. Have you taken any of the rocking chairs for a whirl?
Well how ’bout that! Charlotte, eh? I missed you by about four hours, making a connection! Would that I had chanced to run across you in person; oh well.
I don’t think you’ve got the game quite right here. After asking the question, you’re supposed to provide some clues, maybe a pic – not the whole answer.
Unless the so-called answer is a lie. Or a clever cryptogram. Does the Charlotte airport even have blue chairs?
I can identify most international airports on the east coast. Now I know what Charlotte looks like.
I hope the flight is indeed deserted for you! Have a great trip!
My day is going about like normal. Get up, shower, pack ham sandwich for lunch, drive to work, read email, send email, fix computer issues, read more email, send more email, fix more computers, lunch (the aforementioned ham sandwich) while checking Whatever and Twitter and updating iPad to iOS 5, read more email, send more email, fix more computers. Next: go to another building and see if they’re doing OK with the computers I worked on yesterday. Best part of the day is at 4:00 when I go home and see my wife and baby.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll have a turkey sandwich.
If you happen to be returning from Germany also via Charlotte, I can report that customs / immigration / etc there has always been very quick for me.
How’s my day going? I’m getting ready for the Capclave concom dinner with Mmes Valente & Vaughn. That should be fun. Hell commences tomorrow.
I look forward to the day you are in North Carolina for something other than the airport. :)
The day has been ok. Faxed paperwork to our contractor from the mortagage company–long story. Mostly we’re getting the spousal unit ready to go to NY Comic Con tomorrow & watching season 1 of Stark Trek:TNG on Netflix.
Broke the lawnmower while picking up leaves, I now have a yard full of leaves that I have to rake up. Not really looking forward to that much raking.
KarenD @4:23,
Your description made me smile at the thought of a mashup between Game of Thrones and ST:TNG. I can see the poster now: Captain Picard sitting on the Iron Captain’s Chair made up of partially melted phasers (with an odd bat’leth or two mixed in for kicks) with the phrase “You make Admiral or you put on a red shirt.” underneath.
Actually, given what happens in those two series giving a different character a chance at the center chair might be more appropriate. But as River Song says, “Spoilers.”
Lolling about in Berlin, watching Monday’s Castle. I’m sorry to be missing your talks here, but tomorrow I’m at Alegria with the kids and Saturday celebrating an anniversary with the spouse. Next week we are at a meet in Cologne, so I can’t get down to Munich. It’s funny that I have seen you multiple times in the US (latest at the NYPL and BEA) and will miss you here in Germany. I’m sorry you won’t be able to visit Berlin- it’s a cool city.
I’ve spent all day putting off a work task I’m dreading but desperately need to complete. Thanks for asking/helping!
Keyframes! AfterEffects! Hard drives! Title sequences!
Oy.
Before I read your post, I thought “Gee, that airport looks familiar.” Which, of course, makes sense since I live twenty minutes away and always use Charlotte Douglas for my travels. Just wasn’t expecting to see it here.
Safe flight!!
You should be using/taking pictures of the long line of rocking chairs in the interconcourse area; much nicer way to wait between long connections in Charlotte.
I hope you are in Envoy class! Row 1 even!
Or row 6 … nice …
If not, I hope your flight is deserted. Have a good one!
I am working. really.
I hope you have a grand time in Germany! I loved living there, it’s a wonderful place!
My day is good. The web application we use at my job recently got updated and we now have added features that (surprise!) include things I was really hoping to have but hadn’t been expecting. So the next few days will probably involve learning a bunch of new ways to get my work done in less time.
Oh and I’m in the class of Linux users who said “oh yeah, Ubuntu 11.04 got released today. I wasn’t actually keeping an eye on that one.”
and that’s what I get for being snarky – I meant 11.10, not 11.04 (which was 6 months ago)
Well, seeing the black velvet Wesley Crusher on The Big Bang Theory made my day a little better…
Welcome to North Carolina!
I worked at Charlotte-Douglas for 6+ years – during the time when the new D and E concourses were built.
FYI – CLT is the 7th busiest airport in the world and the 13th most dangerous per the following:
http://www.foxcharlotte.com/news/local/Charlotte-Douglas-Ranked-13th-Most-Dangerous-Airport-131564378.html
(For those of you who believe everything they read in the paper or see on the internet … and for those who don’t!)
Have a safe and wonderful trip to Germany!
Steve@4:51,
Normally I’d be annoyed about the typo, but given that we’d just watched Angel One, with Riker exposing all that chest hair, I may not have been too far off.
Once upon a time I spent a lot of time in that very airport, to and froing between home and the US manufacturing plant of a certain machinery builder. I had a very deja vu instant when I first saw that picture. It really is a nicely-done airport, as airports tend to go. I’m certain I’ve spent significant butt-time in that very self-same seat.
(well, okay, probably not, since the terminal in question is probably on the international side of the airport)
My plane broke down, and so we missed our connection and I’m stuck in Houston today. Will be flying through Charlotte tomorrow. =)
The Charlotte airport is one of my favorites, which is probably why I never get delayed there.
And my day has been splendid, thank you.