I’ve been thinking for a while now about how different life is here versus on the road. Sure, there are the obvious ones…but last month I had a not-so-obvious difference pop up into my face. Waiting for my flight to STL from LGA, I got stranded for five hours past security. There was one 20-seater bar and that was it. So, I started to talking to my fellow travelers. I soon learned that there was another traveler my age that was heading back to STL via Milwaukee, too. And when we started talking about hotel rooms in Wisconsin, that’s when I realized how different my life is now. She had just booked a Milwaukee room for $80 or so, and I needed to get me one too. If it had been 2007-2008, I’d have just asked if she wanted to share. I mean, who wants to pay $80 for a place you’ll spend maybe eight hours?

But I let it go. And after making yet an actual friend (as opposed to just meeting the acquaintance as I did that chick) on that same journey, I even passed up another opportunity to offer a room-share arrangement (although that may have been a bit more shady-sounding considering he was married and his wife wasn’t there).

Granted, I didn’t spend the night alone in my hotel room. Thanks to my chattiness (and Facebook), I made a new friend and hung out with an old one…but I did go to sleep without a roommate. It’s still a bit odd when I think about it.

So, yeah…from sharing rooms in Laos, so we could each save $0.75, I’ve come a long distance.

Yep. That’s how I spent my Saturday after Thanksgiving.

And I wonder why I have a cold now. (But still feel like crying every time I think about the game.)