Sylvia's Journal

We have been busy with snow for the last week. If we had stayed at home we would have been busy with snow again next week. But we left, and flew right under or ahead of the next storm that is expected to dump another foot of snow in the region. It is a bonus for anyone who rents out heavy equipment and/or removes snow for an interesting fee. For everyone else the snow has not been a good thing.

I don’t mind the snow as long as I don’t have to go anywhere; as long as the snow does not reach dangerous levels for roofs; as long as there are no snow dams; and as long as our elderly neighbor doesn’t require any emergency evacuation. Axel went onto the roof of our porch to remove about 1 meter of snow that obscured a good part of our windows. The house (and the porch) have been around for a century and probably made it through a few snow deposits like this but we didn’t want to take any chances – given our absence for the next few weeks. We also didn’t want to hoist this chore on our house sitters, friends of Tessa.

It was supposed to be a busy week at work, getting ready for facilitating a virtual leadership course in French, with a brief refresher training by a dear and sublimely competent colleague who has now left MSH. We ended up doing the training using webex, with me in my pajamas and not having to commute. That was a good thing. But not meeting with my co-facilitator who flew in from North Carolina for the occasion (and found herself stuck in a hotel due to the closing of our office), and the last two workdays of my colleague was a bummer.

The virtual facilitation and other assignments are placed on top of my current assignments in Cambodia and Thailand. I am conveniently 12 hours ahead which makes for night as well as day work. It is good that Axel is exploring Cambodia while I am busy as I would not be much of a companion during my 16 hour days.

We are now two-thirds on the way to our final destination. We have already clocked 17 hours in the air and have another 7.5 hours to go. None of the requested upgrades materialized. Each time we boarded I saw my name on the upgrade list in position number 1. And each time, by the time I made it to that position all the B-class seats were occupied. I ended up in a middle seat for the longest flight – but at least one of my neighbors was Axel.

But eventually all things pass, even 13.5 hour flights. And the good thing is that my frequent flyer status allows for access for me and a guest to the well-appointed Delta lounges during our waiting times on the ground.