This episode is brought to you by the letter C. Oops, sorry, that was for Sesame Street, not smartcarleen. This blog is titled for one of my favorite songs by the Spin Doctors.

I just got back from Minnesota, and it was an interesting trip.

First, let me give you a quick rundown of my trip. I left San Diego on Friday around 1:15 pm PST, connected in St. Louis to Minnesota, and arrived in Minneapolis around 9:40 pm CST. I stayed at the Minneapolis City Center Marriott. I assisted with the 2.5-day Admin 101 training class at a health center outside of downtown Minneapolis. I flew back from Minneapolis around 3:15 pm CST (connecting in Dallas) and arrived home around 8:40pm PST.

I have a Costco-sized bottle of ibuprofen at home, and I neglected to pack any of it on my trip or any of my trips this year. Fortunately, I didn’t need it in New York or Ohio, but on this trip, I would have killed for just 20mg, let alone 200. Since I was meeting up with our main trainer, Ian, I flew from SD to St Louis and then prepared for the second leg of the flight to Minneapolis. I immediately got a migraine when I got on the second plane. After suffering miserably for what seemed like forever, I asked the flight attendant for some ibuprofen when she came around for the beverage service. They didn’t have any on the plane, but the gracious flight attendant asked the other passengers, and thank goodness someone came through. I learned a lesson and will pack extra for my next trip.

I received a lot of attention on this trip. One night at dinner, Ian and I were waiting to be seated, and I was looking over a group of people for the hostess. One of the guys in the group walked up to me and said, “Are you looking for me?” I laughed at him and said, “Not unless you are the hostess.”

While Ian and I were on the skyway looking for an Irish pub, we walked by a homeless guy who turned to Ian and said, “Man, you’re really lucky…” I looked at the homeless guy and immediately knew what he meant by how he looked at me; I just looked away and pretended to blush because I wanted to avoid confrontation. Ian must have felt the same way, so he just laughed and mumbled in agreement. The homeless guy helped us find the Irish pub we were looking for and ended up being nice even though he wouldn’t stop telling us how much he wanted to pee. On the last full day at lunch, I came out of the cafeteria to find a table of men in scrubs staring at me. After a quick inventory to ensure I had no crazy hair or toilet paper stuck to my shoe, I realized they were looking for a different reason. After that, I wondered how much I could get away with in Minnesota.

Speaking of getting what you want, every once in a while, I run across a girl who is used to getting just that. She acts like the queen of the land and rarely hears the word “no.” She isn’t necessarily a person you should worry about angering, just someone who knows exactly what to say or do to get her way. I met one such girl on this trip, and I immediately felt uneasy. I think I am used to getting my way, and something beyond my reach only makes me want it more. I’m curious if people who meet me for the first time get the impression that I feel entitled to EVERYTHING and think I might throw a hissy fit if they tell me no. After thinking about it for a while, I realized that stuff I do rarely embarrasses me in the moment; only when I see someone else do the same or similar action do I feel disconcerted. Sometimes, the answer is obvious, but most times, I have to rely on asking a close friend for a more (but not completely) unbiased opinion.