I’m writing this entry from Chicago’s O’Hare airport, in the middle of my journey back home for my holiday vacation. I’m happy to be able to see my parents again. I’ll be spending almost two weeks away from work, the longest time away since last Christmas vacation. The weeks leading up to my vacation were much more stressful than normal, so the time off is welcome.

One thing I want to remember for next year is to remember to calculate the travel time with time zones in consideration. I live in the Eastern US time zone, and O’Hare is in the Central US time zone. I left home at 6 am this morning, thinking it would take 4 hours to get to the airport, which it did. However, I had thought this would mean 10 am. It didn’t. I arrived at 9 am, over 4 hours before my flight was scheduled to leave. This was much more time than I needed to park my car, arrive at the terminal, check in, check my bags, go through security and eat lunch. I still had time available to take a quick nap and write this, after all that.

When airports advertise that WiFi is available in all terminals, they should advertise whether it costs something or not to connect. I was surprised to hear this airport does in fact have WiFi. They announce this availability every 15 minutes on the overhead speaker system. As I pulled out my laptop, wanting to connect, I search and find out that you have to pay to use the service. If I had had nothing else to do with my laptop, I would have been upset. Imagine someone wanting to connect to a free WiFi hotspot, which are becoming more and more common these days, only to find out that it is a pay service, and have to shut down. They probably just wasted 5 minutes or more, depending on the speed of the computer.

Another thing I’ve noticed about this airport (O’Hare) is that the bathrooms are considerably inconsistent when it comes to amenities. The first thing I noticed when using one of the stalls here is the automatic sanitary toilet seat dispenser. I had never seen such convenience. You wave your hand in front of a sensor, and a new sanitary toilet seat cover slides across the toilet seat, ensuring a healthy experience. I thought it was worth mentioning, because I had never heard of such a thing, much less seen one. This must have cost some money to install and keep in working order. Not to mention the cost of the disposable seat covers. But after using the toilet paper, I was thoroughly confused. Why spend so much money on a disposable toilet seat cover, and then have toilet paper thinner than the thinnest tracing paper? I thought about joking with one of the janitorial staff, “Do you think we could get some thinner toilet paper here? This stuff is unacceptably thick.” I reconsidered, imagining he has to deal with all kinds of complaints like this, and it’s not even his fault. The second thing I noticed was the automatic sink. This is always nice. No handles to breed germs. But the soap dispenser and towel dispenser both required to be touched in order to be used, defeating one purpose of the automatic faucet. I suppose the main purpose of the automatic sink, as far as the airport is concerned, is to save water. The last thing I noticed was that the soap dispenser and towel dispenser were unusually high on the wall. I mean, I’m 6 ft tall, and they were both above eye level. The first time I ever flew alone, I was 12, and probably couldn’t have reached either well enough to wash my hands properly. I was shocked. Imagine if a little person wanted to wash their hands!?

All of this shies in comparison to the stress I normally have during the day on a Friday lately. So the change of pace and unexpected happenings are welcome. The flights in my end of the terminal are suffering from over booking, and many of the passengers are stressed out, wondering if they will be able to make their flight. One of the gate agents seemed to be overly perceptive, and decided to lighten the mood. He proceeded to take the microphone, usually reserved to page passengers and make announcements, and sang a song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. The crowd, all waiting for their over-booked flights, seemed to appreciate the gesture. He had a wonderful voice, and received sincere applause from everyone that heard the young man serenade us. American Airlines must have good hiring practices.

I now have about 20 minutes before my flight and should probably shut down. I’ll upload this when I come across free Internet access. More than likely, at my parent’s house.