What did I learn this weekend?

Thank goodness - I'm finally back in Chicago. I never thought that I would be so happy to see the city, even if it's blanketed in snow. Of course, my bag from Atlanta did not arrive on the plane that I was on this morning, instead it arrived about 45 minutes later on another flight and was totally covered in snow and dirt. Why would things end on a positive note??

So while napping in the cab and doing nothing other than balancing my checkbook and laying on the couch all day, I've reflected on the last 72 hours and compiled a list of the things I've learned from this experience.

What I've learned (March 20-22):

• Always trust your gut - even if what it's telling you to do isn't all that appealing at the time
• Never check a bag at the airport, especially if you're only going to be gone for 48 hours
• Stop being so vain - leave some of the makeup stuff at home - no one will judge you
• Continue to resist the urge to tell an airport worker, who claims "I'm incapable of understanding" an answer to her question, where the f*ck to shove that question
• Even when everything is going wrong, there will be one nice person who will take pity on you and help out
• Realizing that certain things are out of your control is hard, but once you realize that, it's a lot easier to handle
• Finally, I am way too old to wear PINK from Victoria's Secret

I know the last bullet is a bit crazy, but I was tortured at the gate this morning by "college spring break" preppie sorority girls, who were decked out in PINK and Lily Pulitzer colors while eating bagels and cream cheese (which they didn't skimp on applying to the bagel) while talking about how "fat" they are, starting all of their conversations with "you will never believe...." and laughing and eating in unison. Kill me. Fortunately they were not on my flight, but rather I was treated to about five members of the Wisconsin baseball team.

Hel-lo boys. Who wants to help a girl carry her bags?