Back to shore!

I'll be brief, because I have much more important things to do than blog. But we're back to Florida after our lovely geeky cruise (which was great). I'll say a good bit more about that eventually, but right now I'm going to sit here waiting in the airport and edit my pre-tenure review portfolio (due Monday), my course syllabi (they start Monday), and possibly some work emails (some of them due Monday). We get home to Alma late tonight.

And... home!

I'm much more in the mood to collapse into bed than to post oodles of news here, but we have indeed made it home safe and sound. The house seems very quiet compared to what I've been used to lately, and it seems to be rocking considerably less. It's good to be here! We'll surely say more soon.

Why we won't fly Spirit Airlines again

[Ok, one quick blog topic.] Kim and I have taken Spirit Airlines three or four times in the past few months. They are quite cheap (even when you factor in all the other charges), but we've decided that we're not going to be flying with them again.

The real deal breaker is legroom. On every flight we've taken with them, regardless of its length or the type of plane, the legroom has felt at least as cramped as what we'd normally expect on a small commuter plane. I was never able to fully extend my legs: my shins bumped up against the bar under the seat in front of me long before they could straighten out. On top of that, it was actually difficult to fit my backpack between the seats to get it to the floor and to lay it down once it got there (yes, it was stuffed quite full, but I've never had that kind of trouble before). If you're remotely as tall as we are, this really is a serious issue despite the cost advantage.

Also, a minor grumble from today: our flight was scheduled for 4pm. They started boarding at 3:15 (as scheduled), and pretty much everyone was in their seats by 3:35. Then we sat there, waiting. They started preparing to leave a bit before 4:00, but then everything stopped: we waited until 4:20 for a few people from a connecting flight, and didn't get off the ground until around 4:30. Now, I approve of making sure they made their plane, but why did they pile us into that cramped plane so very early? Even without the connection delay it seemed silly. (Also also, presumably not their fault, but there were a lot of twits on the flight who ignored all the usual seatbelt and luggage and electronics rules.)