Meet Update #1

Well I'm in Chicago, barely.

We arrived at AmTrak yesterday morning early, for a train that was supposed to depart at 7:20 or so.  We waited in a very long line to get our tickets claimed and as soon as it was our turn to do so, their computers froze up.

Shortly after this we were told that the train we were waiting to board, was being delayed by a Freight Train that was holding up the tracks.  That the earliest it would be there, would be 9:30.

So we tried to make the best of it, went and had breakfast, and sat until 10:30.  At that point I told my wife "if we're still sitting here at 11:30, I'm getting a refund and we're walking out.  More than 4 hours of waiting is enough."

Then my 4 year old, who says things daily that amaze me, said something that changed the whole day.

"Mom, how will we get to Chicago if dad quits?"

My wife just looked at her and rubbed her head, and said nary a word.

And then of course I felt terrible inside, and angry all at once.  I didn't care if I had to sit there for another 700 hours, I was getting on that train.  I'm no fucking quitter and never have been.

We finally boarded the train at 11:30 (hah), and then of course had several delays and didn't get to Chicago until 9:00 P.M.  So what was supposed to be a 7.5hour train ride turned into 9.5 hours, with 1 meal served.

Fuck you AmTrak.

At least in Chicago there was an awesome stretch limo there to pick us up and the kids thought that was the greatest thing since sliced bread.  I won't lie, after the morning and day of traveling I had, it felt pretty darn good.  I drank a beer (yuck) to try and get a buzz but it was minor, and just made me feel like shit because I hate beer.

At the hotel, they decided that since AmTrak had fucked with us all day, they should as well.  And put us in non-adjoining rooms, even though we specifically stated we needed those, since we had the kids with us.  We were starving, so we ordered room service because it was late, and my wife told them to just room us after we ate.  But they didn't get this right either and had the food delivered to the adjoining rooms we would be moving to.  So we had to pack up and haul our shit down 8 floors to new rooms.  My wife let the guy at the front desk have it at this point, and really, I don't blame her.  I can understand maybe missing her telling him we needed adjoining rooms a few weeks ago, but I heard her tell him NOT to send the food to the new room because we were tired and wanted to eat before we moved again.  She got us a free breakfast out of it.

So here I sit, pretty rested actually.  I talked to Eric Lilliebridge and Wendler on the way in yesterday and Eric will make it out to watch the meet and Jim is going to be in Illinois (not in Chicago) so he said he'd be sending some good vibes my way.

It's been more than two years since the stars have aligned enough for me to get to a meet relatively healthy.  I won't lie, I'm fairly nervous about my thirds.  They are all lifts I have not hit before, and now I'll be attempting to hit them all on 1 day.  That's why my seconds will not be PR's, but will be conservative.  I'm going to try and pour everything I have into my 3rds and hope it's enough.

I have to go weigh in, get some breakfast, and then I'll probably watch the lighter weight class guys lift for a while.  I will be updating anything unusual or worth noting throughout my stay.

Talk laters.