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I am home in Ohio once again. 

Here's how the trip went down. 

Flight #1 - Unidentified Iraqi city to Dubai

This one was scheduled to leave at 6:30 pm, but left 1o hours later at 4:30 am. Luckily, I got to leave the airport, so I did a whole host of things while I waited: attended a birthday party, repacked my suitcase, ate dinner, got a haircut, took a shower, cancelled my hotel plans in Dubai. 

The plane was fairly nice and there were no chickens running up and down the aisles, so I was pleased. I got to Dubai with just enough time to run (ride a shuttle) to the British Airways counter in the other terminal.

Flight #2 - Dubai to London

When I got to the desk it was final call and the desk attendant gave me a "well we're a little late aren't we." Yes, 10 hours late to be exact I told her. They were very helpful, but unable to print a boarding pass; the printers wouldn't work. I had to wait half an hour for the pass which someone just wrote by hand when they finally gave up on the printer. 

Did you know it takes about 7 hours to fly from Dubai to London? I did not. 

Flight #3 - London to Chicago

Just before leaving London, I purchased a Coke. It was flavored with oranges and was disgusting, but I had to try it since I'd never seen it before. 

This flight was typical and uneventful except that the baby in the seat behind me made a sound like the villains in "The Grudge" only louder and she made it for almost 8 hours straight. I had to keep my headphones on to drown it out.

When I landed in Chicago, I had to collect my luggage for customs, except, ooops, I didn't have any luggage. The American Airlines agent was very unfriendly and told me that no one could help me until I got to Columbus. I tried to explain that I wouldn't fly to Columbus until the next day, but he dismissed me and my concerns. I was not pleased, but I was too tired to do much about it. 

I spent the night in the airport Hilton which was delightful. I really needed a good night's sleep in a comfortable bed by that point.

Flight #4 - Chicago to Columbus

This one was simple and fast; just over an hour. 

I came home and was greeted by Angie and Sis. Later we had dinner with Mom, Grandma, Vanessa, Hannah, Matt, Sam and Nikki. I surprised Mom, Grandma and the kids since the others knew I was home. Mom was super surprised, so I was happy.

I gave her a birthday card that said "Happy Bat Mitzfah!" but I inserted the word old before the words Bat Mitzfah. Get it?