Day 1.5 in Tulsa

Hello everyone. I cannot believe I am here. Seriously. It's one thing to grow up somewhere and go back and visit every now and then- it still seems recent that way. But man- it's been 14 years since I have been here. It was hard to see Tulsa last night becauseI arrived around 10:15 Central Time and was dark. I actually had a great flight from Wilkes-Barre to Cleveland- sat next to a man I checked in behind and then subsequently saw him again in the airport bar beforehand- I had a few Lagers before the flight. It's kind of strange- every time I fly I play a game with myself in the terminal called, "Who Do I Think I Will Sit Next To." So, I won. I thought it'd be nice to sit next to him because he seemed nice, and I was the last one on the place and looked at my seat, and lo and behold, it was next to his.

We struck up a conversation and it was amazing- he's a newspaper guy. Publishes a Midwest alternative weekly like the one I used to freelance for-- and he used to work for the Village Voice- the god of all alt. weeklies. He's getting ready to launch his new website and I work in the Internet industry so we had a great conversation the whole way about the net, targeted marketing, the future of advertising, books, skydiving-- the whole nine yards. We didn't exchange information or anything, but I may try to look him up and tell him how he made my flight!

My flight from Cleveland to Tulsa was pretty bumpy. We rode on clouds the whole time. I did play the, "Who Do I Think I Will Set Next To Game." I was kinda hoping Drew Carey would be on my flight since he is from Cleveland. As I was enjoying a Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Smoothie (which cost me $6.00), I scanned D8 terminal and picked out a nice lady I thought I'd hit it off with. Turns out, the way this plane is set up, I sat next to no one. The left aisle only had one seat, so I scored gold and got a window and an aisle, the wing seat. It was so cloudy, I couldn't see a thing the whole way, but the sky cleared when we were over Tulsa- pretty cool and hopefully telling of my trip.

The landing was bumpy- the wheels were squeaky, but I landed so I wasn't going to complain. I got my purple luggage and headed to Hertz. I was given a free upgrade to a small SUV- a Mazda Tribute- also with a free GPS. I punched in the address of my hotel and let the computerized lady tell me where to go. So, I didn't have to worry about remembering my way around. I still made a wrong turn and ended up passing my old apartment-- my heart was racing- I could tell I was getting excited for my adventure. I turned around and found my hotel, checked in, called one of my friends here in Tulsa and crashed.

I just got out of the shower and am waiting for my cousin G. to call me back about breakfast. If he doesn't call soon, I am headed to my old middle school and high school. I heard that some of my old HS friends teach at the high school, which is cool. Have to get some batteries first for by DV(oice)R.

So, since I am in OK, I will say, see y'all lated.