Season opener...

Nanowrimo beckons again.

Sancho, please hand me that lance, will you?

Cheers...

Close timing...

I had completely forgotten that the New York subway runs a sparser schedule on the weekends. That, and the fact that the E train station at 53rd Street & Lexington Avenue was not handling any Queens-bound trains (requiring one travel south to 47th Street and Rockefeller Center first, where one could then board a train headed for Queens) made my decision to quit the hotel at 9:30 am a poor one.

I waited over 10 minutes for the southbound train to show up, but then luck turned my way. At 47th & Rockefeller Center, I could hear a northbound train approaching as I exited the southbound E, so I ran up the stairs, across the overpass to the uptown side of the station, and then down the stairs, just in time to board a Queens-bound F.

The E and F trains pretty much follow the same route once they hit 74th Street & Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, but I stayed on until 71st & Union, where I saw an E train slowing down across the platform as our F was pulling in. I hoped our train would stop in time for me to board the E and while the issue remained in doubt for what seemed like minutes, it was resolved in my favor, just barely. The E took me to Jamaica, where I went upstairs to catch the AirTrain, which took me to JFK. In all, I ended up at the check-in about 27 minutes after I had intended to be there, but still 45 minutes before the start of boarding.

The flight itself was uneventful, except for my successfully completing the first 1700-word installment for Nanowrimo. It feels like quite an accomplishment, compared with some previous years, but there's 29 more such sessions to go (assuming I am not suddenly struck by a stroke of creativity that allows me to lay down more than the average daily share of words), and I would have to get at least 10 such sessions down before I could start to think that I had progressed significantly farther than in previous years.

The one glitch for the day came at the baggage carousel in Houston, where it turned out that some number of passenger bags had been misrouted in New York, and mine was one of them. I understand stuff like this happens from time to time, but it seems to happen all too often with me. At any rate, it's not healthy to get worked up about it, so I maintained an even strain.

Stuff like this happening notwithstanding, I am slightly puzzled as to why airline baggage officials waited until after all other bags had been picked up and the conveyor halted - leaving eight individuals standing around with puzzled and slightly worried looks on their faces - before making it known that some of us had been waiting in vain. Was it just poor planning or was this some kind of airline policy aimed at not letting the rest of the passengers (those who had picked up their bags and left) know that there had been a baggage problem? I might ask next time, I don't know.

With any luck, according to the airline, the bag will be delivered here tomorrow. Meanwhile, I have work set up for the next two days, with more promised as we go. Between this, that, and Nanowrimo, spare time will be at a premium for the foreseeable future.

Ah, well, you know what they say: industry is the enemy of melancholy.

Cheers...