Ricky's Ramblings

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May 05, 2006

A Few Things About My Trip to Minnesota

For the third time, I recently got drafted for a business trip to Minneapolis to do some training for and have some meetings with our subsidiary that's there. Here are a few things worth pointing out:

• So it turns out that I hate Sudoku. I hate how ridiculously popular it has suddenly become, even though it's been around since 1979. I hate that the in-flight magazine even has a Sudoku puzzle in addition to the crossword puzzle. And I definitely hate the fact that I have never successfully completed one.
• One of the most anxious and frustrating times in life has got to be the time from when your airplane lands to the time you actually get off the plane. Sometimes, this seems like longer than the flight itself. In recent times, I have sat back and enjoyed watching everybody else stress out. On every flight I've ever been on, the second the fasten seat belts sign is turned off, the whole plane jumps up from their seats and starts cleaning out the overhead compartments. If you're toward the back of the plane, you know good and well that it's going to be 5-10 minutes before you can go anywhere, so why not just stay seated instead of trying to stand up and have to bend sideways because you're stuck under the overhead bin? It baffles me...then again, I must admit that there's some weird sort of adrenaline rush that hits you when you're finally free and start walking up the aisle toward the door.
• I must admit...watching episodes of The Simpsons on your PDA during a flight is pretty cool.
• I must also admit that writing down things onto your PDA about your trip so that you can write about it on your website when you get back is kinda sad.
• If anybody out there was wondering, the maze you must drive through to get a rental car out of the Minneapolis airport is ridiculous.
• The AmericInn & Suites in Inver Grove Heights, MN will never be mistaken for a Ritz-Carlton.
• It's kind of sad that two of the three meals we ate in Minnesota were at Outback and Applebee's, but the part of the city we were in didn't have a whole lot of choices.
• I think that flying to Minneapolis by way of Dallas is just crazy, but don't get me started. I didn't pick the flights.
• I can now say that I have driven a Subaru Impreza. I was not overly Imprez-essed. (rah-dump-tish)
• I kind of like not checking any bags and printing your boarding passes from home/work so you can go straight to security at the airport.
• It is shameful that I had to take four different power supplies/chargers on this trip: laptop, MP3 player, PDA, and cell phone.
• It was a rude awakening to get on a plane in Birmingham with the temperature around 87 and get off a plane in Minneapolis with the temperature around 39.
• I had my first experience at an IKEA store. All I can say is: wow.