Ready to leave... almost

Well.

In a little over a day I'll be headed back to good ol' Washington state. It's been a ride for sure. I've worked really hard at my internship (some of my stuff is going to show up in these next few issues) and I've been incredibly independent and dealt with everything pretty well.

This last Thursday through Sunday I took a press trip to Reno to cover their Lake Tahoe Forum and Renewable Energy Summit. I saw Bill Clinton speak, which was pretty rad. I don't think I've ever been so captivated by someone on stage. He looked so thin, almost gaunt, and aged but as he stood up there in his navy blue blazer and red polo shirt, my breath was taken away by his humor and speech.

This trip was jam packed. You have no idea how exhausting it is to get dragged around by people who want you to write a story in their favor so badly that they act like their job depends on it. Or maybe you do. But now I do too. Apparently Reno alone has like seven geothermal power plants and the most solar power per capita in the country. Who would've thunk? I thought Reno was where my grandpa, the one who has a hula lady tattooed on his forearm and a head that has been bald since his mid-twenties hangs out. The one who turns down his hearing aids so he doesn't have to listen to any of us talk. Yeah Reno with all its neon lights, smoking and gambling seems like a place to meet old ladies named Ethel with blue hair and a cup full of quarters. I actually rode the elevator with two prostitutes upon arrival. But who knew that it would also be such a renewable energy hub!

They had a wrangler for me. Her name was Erin, and they flew her out from Denver for the sole purpose of hanging out with me and paying for everything. How do people get these kind of jobs? She was blonde and polite... An ACL injury caused her to walk a bit slower than the rest of us. Her husband's name is Fran which I find absolutely charming. Not Francis. Not Frank, but Fran. Okay. She was charming, his name was charming, and she put up with me for a couple of days, so God bless her.

I talked to the geothermal man, a biodiesel expert, an algae enthusiast, a man who makes battery technology for electric cars and a big wig named Chuck who ran the whole show and bought me breakfast. Jam packed!

The whole conference made me feel like a businesswoman, like I needed a blackberry to keep up on all my emails and phone calls, like I was actually working for once. It was a good trip. I made some friends in the PR sector even though I really resent what they do. I ate a whole bite of chopped walnuts (I thought they were almonds) and my throat, lips and tongue proceeded to swell up to the point where I thought I might have to go to the ER (Woo!).

The way home was even better. I started out at 6 a.m., just missing the airport shuttle and desperate to get to the airport on time I took a cab. We followed the airport shuttle the whole way there and I felt like an idiot. If only I hadn't gone back to turn off that lamp that stayed on, maybe I would've made it. Damn my energy conservationist mind. I started at 6 that day. My flight to Denver was on time, but my flight out of Denver to NY was three and a half hours late. This was on top of a two hour layover as it was. What does one do to entertain themselves during this time? I felt like Tom Hanks in "Terminal," walking up and down the newly shampooed carpet trying to think of what I could do to occupy my time that wouldn't involve additional calories or sitting on the floor. I bought an issue of Scientific American about food consumption in America. Quite interesting but only held my interest long enough to notice my gate had been changed and the flight was even more delayed. What is someone such as myself supposed to do when all of her intellectual entertainment hasn't sustained her? Time for beer. Ah yes, the Colorado sports bar. Thank goodness. I had a couple of New Castles and by that time it was about time to board the plane.

We got on. The explanation for the delay was thunderstorms in NY, though I was informed later that it was a mere drizzle. Flew over, got in at about 10:30 and turns out my roommate, who said she would pick me up, is unable to come get me. AWESOME! NY transportation, here I come.

Took a bus they told me would go to Grand Central, where I could catch a train home. Turns out it didn't, and I got off at the last stop, somewhere in the middle of Harlem. I caught a cab. He looked like he was new, by the way he was looking at the guide to NY he pulled out after I asked him to bring me to the nearest train. He dropped me off at the 6, which i do believe does NOT go to Grand Central. I sat there clutching my bag, watching a very large rat sniff around the tracks. The handle on my bag had just broken and my thumb ring was bent from carrying my suitcase all around. The 6 finally came and I got on and headed to the Harlem train station. In tears, I waited on the platform for the New Haven train to come and I finally got on and settled in for the 45 minute ride home. It was not even five minutes into my ride when the man sitting across the aisle from me vomited on the floor. He emptied the entire contents of his stomach, and I took my ticket and moved to the next car.

Can you think of a worse travel day? Because I honestly can't. And in a little over a day I will be doing it all over again, coming in to Seattle.

What a ride it has been, here in Connecticut. If you asked someone when they were younger where they would like to end up, I bet no one would ever say CT. But now that I'm taking this Audubon internship, I may be here for longer than I expected.