The rest of my solar return day.

I'm baaaack. Remember this? Let's quote how I said the rest of my day was going to go, optimistically.

Noon-1: at this point, probably go spin some yarn or something because nobody could go to lunch with me. Sigh.

I am guessing the day will go like this (I'll update it when I return):
1-2: work.
2 p.m. Leave work.
2:10 p.m. Catch bus to Amtrak.
2:15 p.m. Get to Amtrak, get pre-purchased ticket without difficulty, with five minutes to spare before the train shows up.
2:20-3:35: Have pleasant ride on train, where I do more journaling, maybe charge my bracelet, knit, read.
3:35-5-ish p.m. Ride BART. Have pleasant ride where all on BART are sane and calm. (Snerk.)
5-ish p.m. Pick up Mom, go to airport.
5:30 p.m. Arrive at airport. Get tickets and go through security without difficulty.
7:30-8:30ish p.m. Fly on plane. Have calm and pleasant flight.
8:30-9:30ish p.m. Get to eat somehow, get to hotel somehow,
11ish p.m. Eventually go to sleep.

7ish a.m. Wake up, get dressed, go Disneyland!
8-12:30 on the 25th: Have fun at Disney!

How did it actually go? I'M GLAD YOU ASKED.

Noon-2 p.m. went as predicted. However...

2:10 p.m. Not only is the bus I need to take the laggiest bus out there...

(okay, pardon my French, and yes, I know I should know better than to say this because I had a disabled parent, and yes I am an ass for saying it)

...a girl in a wheelchair wants to get on the bus. It takes them a long-ass time to operate the lift to get anybody on there. And the bus went very slowly from there and stopped at every stop.

I was supposed to get to the train station at 2:15. I got there at oh, 2:23. AND THE TRAIN WAS ALREADY IN THE STATION. Early?! Amtrak showed up EARLY?! Since when, and WTF? We all run into the station and the people behind the desk are all, "Just run out there and get on the train, they legally have to let you on and buy a train ticket on the train." We run out there and the conductors scream at us, "You can't get on without a ticket!" We explain what the guys inside said, I show them my reservation slip, they pretty much tell us to fuck off, and of course they don't wait around for you to buy a ticket before taking off. Early.

We go back in, and the people behind the desk are all, "Yeah, we should report those guys" and one chick demands a phone number to complain to.

The next train does not leave until 3:50. I attempt to get my prepaid tickets, only to find out that since the train left, my reservation was deleted. I have to go buy another ticket. Then I call my mother (who I knew was going to yell at me for this, and she did) and she's all, "Go buy a ticket to Oakland and I'll just meet you there instead of in Pleasanton."

Yes, that's right, I had to buy THREE tickets.

Naturally, I was quite pissed off by this point and thinking, "Well, there goes my year, doesn't it? Something shitty had to happen."

At 3:50, I get on another train and have a peaceful, uneventful experience. I get picked up at 5:30 in Oakland and find out that... had I made the 2:25 train and made it onto BART, I was going to have to transfer around Bay Fair...right when a fire broke out there. Odds are I wouldn't have made my flight had I ended up stuck there. I ran into some girl at the airport later who probably barely made her flight because of BART lagging due to it, and she hadn't even been at Bay Fair. (Also amusing: I found out that they locked down my work during the last hour of the day due to protesters or something. Missed that too!)

So, moral of the story: shitty cosmic fuckery happens...and it turned out to have saved my ass and my flight. So, in cosmic terms, does that mean I get canned or something else bad happens and then I get saved from worse assfuckery? Probably, right?

Anyhoo, got through the airport and flight without incident, arrived at the hotel around 9ish, had a relaxing night, went to bed early, got up early and had lots of Disney fun, even though we ended up missing the shuttle over to Disney from the hotel (could NOT get Mom to leave the room before 7:33 and the shuttle left at 7:35...figured) and ended up walking over instead. But no biggie.

So, going off the prediction thing:
7:30-9:30 a.m. = April 24-May 24: Quiet and uneventful.
9:30-11:30 a.m = May 24-June 24: Quiet and uneventful.
11:30-1:30 p.m. = June 24-July 24: I make yarn, otherwise quiet and uneventful.
1:30-3:30 p.m. = July 24-August 24: And here's where I presumably have a very rough time during the summer.
3:30-5:30 p.m. = August 24-September 24: And here's where I get back on track, and find out that my rough time saved my ass from worse things happening. Huzzah.
5:30-7:30 p.m. = September 24-October 24: I travel successfully.
7:30-9:30 p.m. = October 24-November 24: I travel successfully.
9:30-11:30 p.m. = November 24-December 24: Kick back and relax, go to sleep.
11:30-1:30 a.m. = December 24-January 24: Sleeping, so evidently this period is very boring :)
1:30-3:30 a.m. = January 24-February 24: Ditto.
3:30-5:30 a.m. = February 24-March 24: Ditto, except for bathroom break :P
5:30-7:30 a.m. = March 24-April 24: Get up and get ready to go out and have fun.

So...rough summer, according to this, but it might all be for the best. Hopefully. Gulp.