Goodbye Portland, Hello Philadelphia!

No beverage, almost no sounds for music--though I expect to... yep, there it is, one of the many canned messages about unattended baggage, in the interest of safety, carry-on baggage size, etc., and that's my music for the morning. I repose at the gate in the Portland airport waiting to board the first leg of my flight to Philadelphia. It has been a very interesting time dealing with Delta on seating for all the flights I have right now. Out of Atlanta they had changed my seats (and the type of plane) so that I couldn't have a seat with a place to put my cast in front of me--all of the traditional bulkhead seats were also in emergency rows so I don't qualify to sit there. The best they could do was put me in a seat on the aisle and have me hang my leg out into the aisle (in cart and passengers' way).

Given how badly that flight went, I was more than a bit nervous about today's. And, of course Delta/Northwest screwed up my seats again and put me in a window seat at the back of the plane with my cast on the very inside. Apparently they had an "equipment change" so "their computer" moved everyone to new seats on the new plane... with no regard to handicapped bookings. When I checked in on-line last night and found out my seats had been changed I called... Northwest (even though I booked on Delta it's a Northwest flight). After failing to get through the phone robot once and being disconnected once, I was a bit less than patient when I finally got a representative on the phone. As soon as I said I booked through Delta she said "I'll connect you with a Delta representative" and didn't give me a chance to protest. *Of course* the Delta rep couldn't help me because it's a Northwest-operated flight. My only option was to wait to ask the gate attendant to fix it today. That's the same gate attendant who doesn't even arrive at the gate till an hour before the flight when everyone is already checked in and all the seats have been claimed... *sigh*

Back to happier thoughts and times.

My week at Bullseye was long, exhausting, packed to the gunwales, and *wonderful*. I am officially becoming a KGRC (Kiln Glass Resource Center) at the end of this year. I will carry a full line of Bullseye glass in the studio for retail and wholesale purchase, and will also offer classes along with Lori Schinelli of Glass Inspirations (she hosted Johnathon Schmuck's roll-up workshop earlier this year and has Delores Taylor coming in the end of the this month to do a five-day pâte de verre workshop (a couple of spots are still available--contact me if you are interested!). Lori will have a whole range of classes in her gorgeous studio, and I will have some in mine too.

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The flights are over, they went pretty well--at least I got a bulkhead seat on both of them so I didn't have to put my leg out into the aisle. Bill picked me up at the airport, I got checked into my room with Dee, I had some wine, Dee bought me new steri-strips and put them on for me, and I went out to dinner with Bill, Elaine, their kids Katie and Daniel., Bill's cousin Nancy, and Todd and John. And a great time was had by all--Whoo hoo. Tomorrow is the first day of the show for me, we'll see how it goes (and I will be reporting).

G'night all, from the east coast again!