In Nashville, photo glitch

Pouring rain in NYC this morning. The car came on time -- thank God because it came at 9, still rush hour, heavy rain, and I thought of that line from Trains, Planes and Automobiles when John Candy says we'd have a better chance of playing Pick Up Stix with our buttcheeks than getting out on the flight. There's no way I would have gotten a cab.

I'm feeling smug and efficient until I remember that Delta has two separate buildings now (remember that nightmare??) and I forgot to check which one I depart from. I asked the driver to wait while I asked curbside check in if this was the place for Nashville and he said yes. The driver left, and then the guy couldn't find my flight. He kept saying, "Are you sure it's 11:05?" and I said yes, although I wasn't THATconfident.

So he goes inside, comes out, says I'm on the list, does that annoying tap tap tap on his keyboard, looks puzzled, tap tap tap again and does that a few more times and then me and my flight suddenly appear.

The photo glitch is that I couldn't find the cable that connects my camera to my computer. I was searching high and low last night -- even got down and looked under my bed. So I can take photos, but I can't transfer them to a computer.

I find this store called "Electronics" in the Delta gate area at LGA and am temporarily happy that maybe I can buy a new one. I find what looks like the cable and bring it to the clerk with my camera and asks if it's the right one. Dummy, of course, says yes, but this other customer, a young girl (OK, so she was in her early 20s) butted in which was fine with me and said No, it's not. The customer then started looking for the right one and I stood there. I thanked her for her help and she said she's a nerd about this stuff.

Then she said the thing that so annoys me -- she says, "this is the old Blackberry style port" -- as if I've shown up with something so old and so outmoded that the cables aren't even made any more... this camera is under a year old. So I have no cable, but I will take photos.

On a small airplane which doesn't leave from a regular gate... you go down two flights of stairs, then onto a shuttle bus, then a drive around LGA to a distant location and board the airplane while getting rained on. Crew was lovely, flight was fine.

Arrived in Nashville and I refused to take the Opryland bus. Came to the cab line and there were three women in front of me and one asked me if I was here for the conference. I'm not naming the name of it since you're not supposed to talk about work stuff. And I said yes, and she said, "and you write for the magazine?" and I said yes, and she said, "You're Patricia" and I said yes. Oh my god, I'm a celebrity. It's such an odd thing to be recognized by a stranger. They offered to share a cab, but gee, no thanks, don't want to be one of four people wedged into a cab.

I told the dispatcher I wanted a sedan, as opposed to a minivan and he called up the next sedan -- yes, my favorite -- a crown vic! The driver was very funny -- I had told him how much I hate the Opryland and he was saying he hears that all the time. The place is just too big.

Checked in, trudged to my room, and all is well. Ordered a club sandwich and soda ($4.50 for a 12-ounce bottle). I've been to all the Gaylord properties -- Orlando, Dallas, DC and the guy at the front desk told me that they all together would fit inside the size of the Opryland. When is a hotel too big?

Anyway, here we go... maybe I can find a cable here.