Im pasting this from my FB checkin at the airport so that i may share it with my AOD comrades. Ill be back home at least until sometime next week, so expect consistent network connectivity again!
Checkin as follows-
It started off innocently enough. The night before, i requested shuttle service to the airport at the front desk. I was kindly informed that a taxi had been arranged and i could join that with another hotel guest, and the hotel would cover the cost. A bit odd, but perhaps the regular, branded shuttle was under maintenance or the driver was unavailable or some other reason. Certainly nothing to lose sleep over. Well, the morning came -far too early, i might add - and i sat in the hotel lobby awaiting aforementioned taxi. Through the clear doors i could see the hotel shuttle, so perhaps it was a scheduling issue and not a maintenance one. Still no matter, as long as i was getting to the airport i wasn't too concerned about how i got there, at least not yet. A white, unmarked Lincoln pulled up to the entrance, completely devoid of advertisements or identification of public transport vehicle. The driver came in, completely bundled up in heavy jackets as if he was embarking on an expedition to the Arctic, and headed to the front desk. My instincts told me this was the driver. After a short conversation, the front desk agent handed some bills to the man dressed for visiting the Eskimos. Not that cash payments for fares are anything unheard of, but it did trigger another alert of my already raised suspicions. He turned to us and confirmed that he was indeed our driver, and we followed to his inconspicuous taxi. After a couple failed attempts he opened the trunk so that we could place our baggage inside. It was littered with various items that really called into question whether this vehicle was regularly utilized as a passenger transport in a professional manner. I elected not to sit in the back seat with the other guest, instead choosing the front passenger seat. I delicately closed the door, gingerly so as it felt old, brittle and prone to break. Coupled with the dilapidated interior, the authenticity of this taxi remained entirely dubious. The engine started and as we drove along there was a constant sense that we might not reach our destination, as the entire journey was accompanied with that persistent whine one would associate with an old car in this condition. I'm no car guy, but i would assume it was something related to a belt assembly. On top of this was the continued oddity of the situation, leaving me wondering was this some strange arrangement with the front desk guy, some friend or family member or some such, or if i should keep a watchful eye on our route and be ready to bolt should we deviate from the standard path. Damn the luck that i had put everything in the trunk, but it couldn't be helped now. Certainly a well known hotel chain wouldn't sell me to the kidney donation collectors or non-prescription logistics specialists, and such thoughts were completely unfounded, but they surfaced nonetheless. In the end nothing extraordinary happened; we arrived at our intended destination as scheduled. However the summation of all the small irregularities left me bemused enough to type this narrative. In fact, the only crime committed here is that if you made it to the end of this monologue, i have stolen your time and im not giving it back. No refunds, no returns. Good day.
