[monday, may 17] dallas to houston to mid-atlantic to newark to houston

marilyn monroe once said "it is better to be absolutely ridiculous than to be absolutely boring."
well, the last twenty-four hours have been nothing short of absolutely ridiculous. the flight from dallas to houston went exceptionally well. my pack wasn't quite underneath the seat in front of me and our overly energetic steward did quite the number on it. it was thrown to the back of the cabin after being dramatically ripped from beneath my feet. very, very humorous. I was glad to find that everything was still in tact upon leaving.
second flight was off to a great start. i sat in the very last row next to a young woman from cyprus who was in the states doing music therapy work. unfortunately, after thirteen hours that is no longer interesting.
pretty decent airplane meal. worst movies I’ve ever seen.
my friend jean woke me up around midnight. new change of plans. being half asleep, i didn’t quite comprehend what she was saying.
we were flying over the atlantic at this time, just three hours away from amsterdam. we had to turn around. more ash from the unpronounceable volcano forced all european airports to be shut down.
we stopped in newark to refuel and speak to a flight attendant about the possibility of staying there for the night. they had already housed eight hundred unexpected guests and could not fit another plane-load. there was an older couple that was a bit confused and frightened by the turn around and unscheduled stop; they couldn't speak english. an announcement was made that if anyone could speak italian they would really like a translator. after a girl traveling with us ran to the front of the plane with her iphone translator in hand, she quickly came back to her seat and another announcement was made: "actually, we need someone that speaks romanian." ...i'm still not sure if they know what they are doing back in the states.
we continued on for three more hours to houston and arrived back around four thirty this morning.
i heard one girl say, “i’ve never traveled so far to get nowhere.” we all taxied over to the sheraton airport hotel to seek out a place to stay. we were then notified that there were no available rooms due to the vast amount of people in need of lodging for the week. we camped out in the lobby for a few hours until different arrangements were made. someone started to compare us to mary and joseph at this point. we all needed that laugh.
don't worry about us, we're enjoying lake conroe until thursday when we take off again.
making history. rolling with the punches.
in one of my classes this past semester we talked about how brick walls are put in front of us for a reason. they get rid of all of the people who don't want it bad enough. well, i'm determined. i'm going to europe.
wearing the same clothes since yesterday morning. and ready for bed at three o clock.
an unforgettable adventure indeed.
cheers, here's to eyjafjallajökull and the unexpected.