My trip to the SFN Neuroscience meeting in DC this year began Friday with a flight scheduled for departure at 3pm and arrival at 5pm. Sounds like a piece of cake… or is it? Let’s take a closer look at my actual itinerary:

1330 After a quick lunch, Melody began driving me to airport

1400 Arrived in airport for check-in

1415 Arrived at gate; found out flight was delayed half-an-hour

1530 Boarding began another half-hour behind schedule

1550 Plane finally took off and I proceeded to catch some zzz’s

1700 Plane actually arrives on-time! Began walking to main terminal

1730 After a looooong walk, found SuperShuttle and began waiting in line

1800 Finally reached receptionist and paid for a shuttle bus to my hotel

1900 Read papers for another hour before shuttle was actually ready

1930 Shuttle leaves airport after waiting another half-hour for other passengers

2045 Shuttle drops off all 9 other passengers before finally finding my hotel

In total, my trip down took more than 7 hours – not much less than if I had DRIVEN from Boston! Part of the problem, it turned out, was that my hotel was new, and neither the receptionist nor the driver actually believed it existed. I was curious when I got to the hotel, and asked the attendant when they actually opened. The girl looked at me and said, “Oh, we just opened 4pm this afternoon.” Yes, this hotel is so brand-spanking new, in fact, that the swimming pool has not yet opened, the wireless network is still down, and the hotel restaurant is still running training exercises. Fortunately, our suite turned out to be quite modern, complete with a plasma TV and a chic-looking kitchenette. I ended my long day with a hearty meal in nearby Chinatown with a post-doc from lab. Now I’ve got to catch some shut-eye before Dalai Lama’s talk tomorrow afternoon.