OMG American Airlines

A few years ago I started flying a lot to and from Switzerland. I accumulated a LOT of frequent flyer points. I was able to use these over the past weekend to upgrade my seat, my wife's seat, and my two children's seats to business class on American Airlines. We paid for economy. This is actually an amazing thing when considering how many people also wanted to upgrade. I guess suffering so much through the past afforded me a one-time luxury, which I really needed to take advantage. I'll come back to why.

During boarding, the announcer called us "business ass classengers". Twice. I picked up on it the first time, Kris refused to believe me when I tried to tell her. Then , both Kris and I heard it the second time. It's funny enough that she said this. It's more funny to know how true it is what she's saying, even if she's slipping by accident.

During the reshuffle process, Kris and I were seated together. Not bad at all. The kids were spread across the plane. Also, not bad if you're a business ass classenger since you don't have to hear two pre-teens fight about touching each other's arms on the arm rests, or putting their shoes under the other's seat.

The first business ass classenger to see one of my children looked at my son, my 9 year old, and promptly looked around as if he were on Candid Camera. Kris darted up to him from a few rows back.

her: Sir? Would you be willing to trade seats with my daughter, just over there?
bac: Ha. When I saw him, I knew I would be moving.
son: Yeah, I'm not so comfortable around strangers.
bac: You'd be surprised I'm not all that strange.

Family settled, the plane was delayed by two hours for replacing a valve sensor in the right engine. I'm happy to wait as long as it takes for a cross-Atlantic 9 hour journey, just to be safe.

Back to why I needed the advantage this time... I somehow chose this 9 hour flight to mature a flu to the point of severely high fever, serious dehydration, and a dramatic disoriented wheelchair ride off the plane in NY. Had I been sitting in coach, I can't imagine going through all of those hallucinations for so many hours with so many people crammed around me. I think they lucked out, too. Kris not so much, but everyone else...

Back to rehydrating.

Summer

So... Where is everyone? Oh. It's the beginning of summer. School is out. Vacations begin.

I learned this. I learned because over the past several weeks, "end of school year" activities have intensified. This is another cultural thing Europeans laugh at Americans about. "You Americans and your work... Who has time? Who.. has... time? But then if we do not ever take time, how can we ever have time?"

I am told not to plan for major software releases during the summer. No one is around to test, or accept the risk of such a schedule.

So... Where is everyone?

I'll be in Kansas City trying to find ways of shipping Chipotle vegetable burritos to Switzerland.