If you follow me on Twitter, you already know that sometime early Thursday morning 4/2, I lamented the fact that according to the national weather service, a blizzard is supposed to hit Wayne, NE this weekend. Why would I worry about a blizzard in Wayne, NE? Well, because as I write this I am sitting on the floor outside my gate at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, on my way to Wayne… Now, I won’t be able to actually post this until I arrive at my destination (via Sioux City, IA BTW – Airport code SUX… yeah, no kidding.) I can’t post this yet because it seems that airports have done away with free wi-fi and are now charging 8 bucks for a couple of hours. I don’t need it that bad… What I need is a Crackberry….
Either way, I had intended to tweet along, letting y’all know what was going on as I embarked on this odyssey to be Guest of Honor at WillyCon XI, the Wayne State College SF/Fantasy convention. However, I have obviously been thwarted in that respect.
So…This first leg of my journey will be compressed here as a randomly entered journal of pseudo tweets… My personal hashtag for this will be #fuckme… I will also be adding psuedo tweets from others who had a direct influence on my trip, but didn’t even know they were tweeting:
@mrsellars – Fuck me. Lambert airport is charging for Wi-Fi. No tweets till I make it to Minneapolis.
@mrsellars – Why is the turbine on the left engine going whocka-whocka-whocka-thumpa-whap?
@mrsellars – How many hamsters does it take to make that turbine turn so fast?
@flight_attendant – We use guinea pigs on this plane.
@mrsellars – Okay, I’ll bite. How many guinea pigs?
@flight_attendant – Fasten your seatbelt sir.
@flight_attendant_#2 – Wah wah wah, nah wahm nah wah…nom.
@mrsellars – Damn… She sounds like the adults on a Charlie Brown cartoon.
@flight_attendant – Coffee?
@mrsellars – Yes, please.
@mrsellars – Roller coaster turbulence over Iowa. My theory? Rising gases from a cloud of cow farts.
@mrsellars – May I have some more coffee?
@flight_attendant – I think you’ve had quite enough sir.
@mrsellars – On ground in Minneapolis. Texted E K. Now sitting and waiting for gate to be free.
@mrsellars – Damn! The universe apparently knows I missed my morning walk. Arrived gate F12 – connection at gate A11. Walkies!
@mrsellars – Still 3 hours before I can board egg beater express bound for Sioux City. ½ cup of Fiber One at 6AM now wearing off. Need food.
@mrsellars – Nothing here. Food court ½ mile back the way I came. Walkies!
@mrsellars – Quizno’s line around block. Employees moving in slow motion. Stomach not happy.
@mrsellars – Caribou coffee across the way. Going there.
@mrsellars – Consumed not so stellar 2 dollar roast turkey wrap with 1 dollar 11 oz beverage that had blue green algae in it. Total cost $11.05.
@mrsellars – Floor show during lunch. Captain Important paced back and forth in front of me yelling into his bluetooth headset. Impressive.
@mrsellars – Walkies! Now back at gate. No seats available. Crap. I’ll sit over here on the floor.
@mrsellars – Okay. Now I’ll tweet for a bit.
@mrsellars – FUCK ME! Minneapolis charges for Wi-Fi too!
@mrsellars – Fuggit. I’ll write it on word and post it as a blog later.
@mrsellars – Damn! How far up do her legs go? Interesting view from down here on the floor.
@mrsellars – Shit (or :poopie: for the Bitten by Books chatroom crowd.) My foot fell asleep.
@mrsellars – Aha! People going to Ohio are boarding. Now’s my chance for a seat in the waiting area.
@mrsellars – Missing my desk chair. It’s a hell of a lot more comfortable than this one.
@Gate_Attendant – Sir… Sir! Are you on this flight to Ohio?
@mrsellars – no ma’am.
@Gate_Attendant – Are you sure?
@mrsellars – Well, no, I don’t guess I am. I just told your ticket agent to give me a boarding pass for a random flight. Maybe I should look.
@Gate_Attendant – Why are you wearing shorts? It’s 30 degrees outside.
@mrsellars – It’s complicated. You see, I have a condition.
@Blond_Gate_Agent – Yah…Yah…I doo, don’tcha know…Yah…
@Original_Gate_Agent – Yah, yah… I doo too, yah’know… Yew betcha…
@mrsellars – Yep. I’m definitely in Minnesota.
@mrsellars – Holy crap… I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much “A Prairie Home Companion” hair all in one place my entire life.
@mrsellars – I didn’t even know they could still do those hairstyles. I wonder how many curlers they used on that one…
@mrsellars – They just started up one of the egg beaters. I can still identify individual blades on the prop even though the engine is screaming like a banshee.
@mrsellars – Wait… I can see the pilot through the windscreen…
@mrsellars – Reading the pilot’s lips – I think I can, I think I can…
@mrsellars – Might need to go back for coffee. Another ½ mile. Getting workout today.
@mrsellars – I haz a headache. Battery on notebook running low. Might need to find an outlet.
@mrsellars – Went about ¼ mile. Came across machine that sells coffee for a dollar. Decided to give it a try.
@mrsellars – Punched in 1 F 3 for what was supposed to be a Butterfinger Latte.
@mrsellars – Got 6 F 6 instead – year old pencil shavings strained through one of E Kay’s stockings with lukewarm water and a hint of rancid honey.
@mrsellars – Don’t ask me how I know what E Kay’s stockings taste like. I won’t tell you.
@mrsellars – How far is it from F12 to A11?
@Another_Gate_Agent – A little over two miles.
@mrsellars – Srsly?
@Another_Gate_Agent – Yah.
@mrsellars – Yep. Got my exercise.
@cellphone – Boopee Doopee Doopee Dooooo Ahhhh Boopee…
@mrsellars – Hello?
@EK – Hi.
[Rest of conversation censored due to graphic depictions of @mrsellars imagination along with sappy woodja-woodja lovey stuff…]
@mrsellars – Still have headache. Took aspirin. Noticed that people in Minnesota have apparently never seen a man wearing shorts before.
@mrsellars – Another hour plus left before the egg beater express flits me off to Sioux City. Hear they have Fly SUX T-shirts for sale. MUST have one…
@mrsellars – Srsly. It’s a moral imperative.
@mrsellars – Gate change. Oh joy… Not.
@mrsellars – Apparently Minnesotans are also AFRAID to SPEAK to a man wearing shorts.
@mrsellars – Thought I just saw Maurice Minnifield from Northern Exposure…
@mrsellars – No, not the actor. The REAL Maurice Minnifield…
@mrsellars – Damn! Rest of the passengers caught on to the gate change, and followed me over here. So much for a peaceful flight.
@mrsellars – Imagining E K wearing [CENSORED]
@mrsellars – {Bored Sigh}
@mrsellars – Wondering if @PaulCooked ever got that badger off his head…
@mrsellars – Pretty sure I just saw Kenny Rogers working on the ground crew. Must be paying off “Gambler” debts. (Ha! I kill me!)
@mrsellars – Guy with HUGE ASS headphones staring at me. Kinda freaky.
@mrsellars – Egg beater express got upgraded. Now flying on Estes model rocket. Hope the nose cone doesn’t suddenly fall off. Don’t wanna land using a plastic parachute.
@passenger – I’m supposed to sit in that seat next to you.
@mrsellars – Okay, but the flight is only half full and the flight attendant said sit anywhere you want.
@passenger – My ticket says I’m supposed to sit in that seat next to you.
@mrsellars – Are you just dying to sit next to me or something?
@passenger – But… But… My ticket says I’m supposed to sit in that seat next to you.
@mrsellars – Okay, “Sheldon”, how about if I move and let you have that seat.
@passenger – But, but… Doesn’t your ticket say you are supposed to sit here?
@mrsellars – No, “Sheldon”… My ticket says general seating. It’ll be okay…
@Flight_Attendant – Coffee?
@mrsellars – Yes, please.
@Flight_Attendant – Cream and sugar?
@mrsellars – Is the coffee really THAT bad?
@Flight_Attendant – Fasten your seatbelt sir.
And, now I’m here, and life is getting back to normal. Well, as normal as it can be for an old guy on a college campus, anyway…
More to come…
Murv
Tasialue
April 2nd, 2009 at 19:47
You always brighten my day, Murp. I love your sense of humor. Hope your con is better than the trip to get there! See ya when ya get back!
Paula
April 2nd, 2009 at 20:09
::falls over giggling:::
Laume
April 2nd, 2009 at 20:29
Gee, being a famous writer who gets to travel sounds SO GLAMOROUS! Thanks for destroying my fantasy. LOL.
Mariah
April 2nd, 2009 at 20:46
ROFLMAO!!! I needed a good laugh! Sorry it was an exasperatingly sucky trip for you though! And I totally can hear the phrases…”doncha know”…”you betcha”….oh, let’s not forget “okie dokey, artichokey”…my husband is from right next door in WisCONsin(we say it like that to annoy him)and I hear those phrases all the time from his mom. Enjoy your trip!! Stay away from the frat boys!
*Mariah
JodiLee
April 3rd, 2009 at 02:13
Priceless! 😀
Gail Wood
April 3rd, 2009 at 06:31
A new art form. tweet-essay
I lived in Sioux City when I was a kid. SUX describes my memories of it.
Glad to see the glamorous life of a word-slinger continues with verve!
PaulaCS
April 3rd, 2009 at 06:48
I am going to have to remember this technique for relieving incessant frustration and overwhelming boredom. Should have tried it in Cincinnati on Christmas Day for eight hours!
Rachel
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:07
LMFAO
“@mrsellars – Punched in 1 F 3 for what was supposed to be a Butterfinger Latte.
@mrsellars – Got 6 F 6 instead – year old pencil shavings strained through one of E Kay’s stockings with lukewarm water and a hint of rancid honey.”
Priceless. Uh Murv, why ARE you wearing shorts? 🙂
M. R. Sellars
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:17
ROFL!
Yeah… That was one of my faves… Should’ve walked all the way back to Caribou, but then it would have cost more like 5 bucks. Probably would’ve tasted more like coffee though. :-/
On the shorts – Unless I’m doing a formal bookstore signing, you pretty much find me in denim cargo shorts and a polo (or tee if totally informal event/informal store) so long as the temp is above 15 to 20 and there’s no wind. Yeah, really. I actually run VERY hot. Blood pressure is perfect, no heart problems, none of it, fortunately for me, but my body just runs hot all the time. If the temp breaks 65, I start sweating. For real. My father was that way, and my kid is turning out that way too… Must be something genetic. :-/
But, if you coop me up on an airplane in long pants and such, I am absolutely miserable. So, I ALWAYS travel in shorts and a Tee. The tee usually has some random saying on it, like “I can see your lips moving, but all I hear is Blah, Blah, Blah” or a picture of Oscar from Sesame Street with “The Original Grouch” scrawled beneath.
I think I am going to have some made that say, “Card Carrying Curmudgeon – Speak to me at your own risk.” (grin)
Virginia Hendricks
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:07
*snort* Sounds like my trip this week. LOL. You need a kindle to twitter from 😉