jiggity jig (Atlanta wrap-up edition)
I’m home from Atlanta safe and sound. It’s funny- the company did go to pretty good lengths to ensure that we were comfortable and cared for while we were there, but at the end of the training, they kind of kicked us out the door quickly. Class is over at 4:30 on Friday, and corporate travel had booked 6:30 flights for most of us. Corporate headquarters is fully half an hour from the airport. By the time I had arrived at the airport, checked in, and made my way to the farthest concourse and found my gate, they were starting to board the plane. But I had made it and the flight home was pretty uneventful.
I did have to stop and render assistance to a couple of guys in the parking garage whose batteries had died while they were on their trip. As I made my way to my car, I had seen the guy with the SUV getting a jump from another car. As I was trying to put my suitcase into my car, I could hear one of them cursing, and then they approached me to ask if I could give them a jump.
Now, this is the part where my mom cringes. Lest you all think I’m some kind of Good Samaritan, you should know that it is generally not my practice to offer assistance to stranded motorists. It’s not that I don’t care, it’s that I’ve heard too many stories about young women out by themselves getting themselves into bad situations by trying to be nice to strange men pretending to need help. After all, this is what Triple A and cell phones are for, no? And this is a well-lit parking garage, not even that far from the actual airport. So I hadn’t planned to offer to help.
But they asked, very politely. And at all times they maintained a respectful distance from my person, so I agreed. After all, I can’t just walk through life being suspicious of everyone, and if all else fails, a car can make an effective weapon. So Mom, you can remain calm. 
Anyway, their plan was apparently to jumpstart the SUV, and then let the SUV jumpstart the sedan, but the last time they had tried it, the SUV had punked out rather than jumping the sedan. They tried it again while I waited to see if it would work, and of course it didn’t. Even I know you don’t jump a car with a dead battery off another dead battery.
So I gave them both another jumpstart, for which they were most grateful, and we all got on our way.
I arrived home to find a somewhat frantic cat, mewling at the door while I fumbled with the lock. Then there was cuddling and intense purring for a little while. Then I ordered pizza because I hadn’t had dinner and by then it was nearly 10 PM. I was HUNGRY, dammit.
But I am home. Hooray! Tom comes home from Florida tomorrow night, and then he’ll be around Monday, and then has to turn around and take another trip on Tuesday. Oh yeah, and one over the weekend, which at least is personal, not business.