11) Arriving in LAX, I had visions of jumping on the earlier LAX-IAD flight. Unfortunately, I had a Priority tags on my checked bag which ensured that they would be the last off the belt at customs. Missed the earlier flight by about five minutes. Then the REALLY good news: my flight was canceled. A quick trip to the 1k center revealed that not only was my flight canceled, but so were two to Denver. Bottom line: no seats until the redeyes 14 hours later. So we got creative: LAX-JFK-IAD? Nope. LAX-EWR-IAD? Nope. LAX-BOS-IAD? Nope. LAX-ATL-IAD? Nope. LAX-MIA-IAD? Nope. LAX-MCO-IAD? AH-HA!!…but…this time it was the MCO-IAD that was the problem. So I was involuntarily reaccommodated onto Metrojet MCO-IAD. Which is fine, since UA and US will be one airline soon anyway, right? RIGHT?

12) Best seatmate of the year: When I sat down in 1D on the A320 LAX-MCO it was next to a rather ordinary looking gentleman. But When 1B showed up, he asked to switch with her. She obliged. Eventually I started chatting with my new seatmate and we got around to talking about why we were in LA. Well, my answer was simple. Her’s was a little more interesting. Her name is Amanda Ramos. Apparently she is a lady who was once interviewed by Jay Leno in his “person on the street” segment and she was such a hoot that Jay asked her to do some of the interviews for him. So about once every couple months she goes out to LA and tapes a segment for the show. Well, I had to tell her that 1) I haven’t watched the Jay Leno show in at least two years and 2) I had no idea who she was and had to ask: “was she famous?” She had a good laugh at that, because part of her appeal, apparently, is that she is so clueless about celebrities that when she interviews famous people she often asks: “are you famous?” She claims to live a normal life in MCO with no interest in “The Biz” beyond this gig. Oh, and I guess she is also known for her laugh, which she describes (and I have to agree after hearing it all the way across the county) as The Nanny on steroids. What a delight...instant karma for the MetroJet that was to follow!!