Flying Home to Slave to the Machine

I boarded my plane in Bergen for Amsterdam and then arrived in Amsterdam to be mildly interrogated before jumping on the plane to Detroit. I was subjected to an exit/entry interview before boarding the plane or arriving in the country. I was asked the usual line up of questions. Where are you coming from? How long have you been gone? Why are you going to the US? I gave my typical honest answers which fail me every time. I told the truth. I flew into the UK the end of December. I named the other countries. I said I was flying home for work. My interrogator asks if I live in Norway now and where I am working there. I give him a confused look and say I'm going to the US to work. I don't live or work in Norway. He asks why I have a return flight to Norway from the US in December. It was then that I remembered that I bought a round trip flight. I told him it was cheaper. He looked at me confused and asked the prices. I told him $1600 for one-way but only $1150 for a round trip flight. He looked less confused and more understanding then. He let me through to board the plane.

I board the plane only to be subjected to another reminder that I am returning to the US. Half the plane is filled with college kids, returning from what, I haven't the slightest idea. All I could hear was gossip, gossip, excitement, lots of American accents, and as quick as possible, my Bose headphones were applied to block the voices and postpone reality as long as possible.

I arrived in Detroit for customs and another speedy connection for my last leg to Indianapolis. My brothers were texting me excitedly. We of course schemed a plan to surprise my parents. Jacob did the negotiating and had my parents at the airport to pick up his fiancé who was in town for a bachelorette party. In reality, there was no bachelorette party and his fiancé would not be arriving. Instead, they had me walking out of the airport. I could see my dad saying something (which I later found out was along the lines of, "Well, that looks like Jessica"), followed by a shrill-like voice from my mother as she jumped out of the car in tears of joy (I think) before the car was even stopped.

I made it back for a rather anti-climatic year at the Indianapolis 500. I visited family and friends for about nine days. Dad helped me find a car to buy. I posted on Facebook that I needed a partner in crime for the drive back to Arizona. Judge Akers in my town happens to be my friend on Facebook (a good family friend and previous neighbor). His daughter moved to Arizona three months ago. He gave me her number. I called her and asked if she could be on a plane in two hours. She says sureee, why not?! Spontaneity = bonus points in my book. I didn't really know her, besides as being a family friend, until the drive. We detoured a little to see my brother and Renee in Wichita Falls, TX for the night.  We hit the road early the next morning for the "scenic" route back to Phoenix. The scenic route that I wanted drove us by White Dunes National Monument.

When I arrived back in Phoenix, I was exhausted, jet lagged, wired, and tired, all at the same time. After squaring away some work B.S., I headed to higher ground near Flagstaff for climbing from Thursday until Sunday.

Paradise Forks, AZ

Monday and Tuesday I had orientation at the hospital (what a waste of their money since I am just a rehire six months after leaving). Wednesday afternoon I had to go in for my first actual shift. I was a bit nervous...justifiably so after a six month hiatus.