PALM BEACH: Back to back…

…or rather back to home, and now back to work. I could happily have had another day off and relaxed/scummed around the flat/slept, but…never mind. Schlepped myself and the laptop collection back into work this morning – will the bloodmarks on my shoulders ever heal?

I’ll fill in the details for the remaining days shortly, but some amusement on the way home – supposedly stringent security meant that not only did I have to remove the laptops from their securely packed and bloody heavy rucksack, but I was also forced to:

> Place them into separate plastic trays to pass through the scanner
> Empty all my pockets, and be asked repeatedly if I had any metal objects
> Take off my shoes, and put them through the scanner
> Take off my belt, and put it through the scanner
> Hang on to my (far too large) trousers to prevent impromptu nudity and (probably) arrest and incarceration for indecent exposure
> Stand around like a tin of milk waiting for the security bloke to let me back into the line having unpacked and undressed – apparently having more than 1 laptop really put a crimp in his day, and he wanted me to know

Joy joy joy. Still, I was lucky enough to be travelling with a couple of partners from Spain, who scooted me through check-in at the first-class desk (instead of waiting in the mile-long queue the great unwashed like myself were supposed to use), and arranged entry to the BA Exec/Frequent Flyer/Posh lounge. That meant I could dump my bags, do a bit of shopping, then come back and chill out for a couple of minutes with a drink – and I’m very grateful for their help!

Still, to come back to earth with a bump, PIPEX had evidently managed to bollix up my new ADSL order, so having spoken with a customer “service” person, discovered that “there must have been a problem” (I think the word used was “hiccup”) and I should try again. Great. And the odd emails I’d received? Bug. Fault. What felt like a healthy dose of “don’t know, don’t care, sod off” attitude. I will be distinctly hacked off if the reconnection doesn’t go smoothly – I was considering switching to Plusnet, but decided to stick with what has worked in the past. I know, what a philistine, what a luddite, but hell – I was happy enough with the connection I had before – I’d hate to move and get caught.

Enough for now – I’ll fill in the back entries later.