When we got to the airport, there was no line to check in, so we quickly dropped off our checked luggage and received our boarding passes. Then it was off to the security lines.
Entering the security lines, we ended up behind a woman that came to a stop just before rounding behind a wall so that she could spend the next few minutes waving and blowing kisses to a gentleman that was standing back in the main concourse. Security repeatedly told her to continue moving. I don't know if she didn't understand english, or if she just chose to ignore them. Eventually, she moved on, and we made our way to the checkpoint for passports and boarding passes.
Next we chose from 5 x-ray lines. By appearance, I thought I chose the shortest line. However, it was clearly also the slowest moving line. There was on couple that spent several minutes spreading all their stuff out taking up the entire table space in front of the x-ray machine. We all just stood and watched them. Once they finally moved on, several of us started pulling our electronics and liquids out of our luggage and removing our shoes.
While Lisa was attempting to load her liquids, shoes, phone, and other small items into a bin on the table, the same woman that was waving and blowing kisses started shoving Lisa's bin forward and bumping into her. Lisa is stressed enough when flying, this behavior just made it all worse.
I stepped into the scanner, after a quick scan I was off to load all my stuff back into my luggage. Lisa stepped in behind me and the scanner determined that Lisa would need to be patted down. Obviously this is exactly what Lisa was hoping for. What better way to reduce pre-flight stress than to be patted down by a security guard.
Since I was left to collect everything for both of us from the conveyor belt, it took longer than usual. Meanwhile, nobody else could come through the scanner until they were done patting Lisa down. Therefore, nobody else was able to remove any of their luggage. As such, everyone else's luggage started piling up behind ours until everything was jammed up all the way back to the x-ray machine. The x-ray machine operator either didn't notice, or didn't care, so they kept pushing more stuff through until the pressure caused bins to squeeze up into the air and topple. Moving as quickly as I could, I took our empty bins off the belt and placed them on top of a nearby trash can. Got scolded by the security guard for putting the empty bins in the wrong place.
Finally Lisa joined me, and as she grabbed her shoes off the belt and dropped them on the floor to put them on, a nearby guard scolded, stating "don't re-dress here, just grab your stuff and move on."
Next stop, restrooms. Always best to empty the bladder before a long flight. As Lisa finished up, she discovered she couldn't exit the stall. There was a woman standing right in front of the door with her back to Lisa blocking the way. Would you believe it was that same woman that was waving and then shoving earlier?
Eventually we settled in at our gate to wait for our flight in a few hours. Of course, our gate was all the way at the end of the terminal. The longest possible walk, and the farthest from any food or refreshments. Once we were settled I headed back to find some bland food (plain croissants, chicken egg-rolls, and white rice) so that Lisa could have something for dinner and breakfast on the plane if she found the plane food unappetizing.
I see our plane just pulled in. We should be boarding soon. I hope the flight is less exciting than the airport.
