Stories from FOWA Part 1
written by Steven on March 05, 2008
Kicking Web 2.0 to the Curb
Allan and I spent a lot of time at FOWA with our good friends Josh Owens and Adam Stacoviak. Together these two are known as "The Web 2.0 Guys" because they run the Web 2.0 Show podcast.
The conference was Thur-Fri, so Allan and I decided to leave Saturday morning, and we booked 8:00 AM flights. Our pals, Josh and Adam, were also going to the airport Saturday morning and since we had a rental and they didn’t, when they asked for a ride, we said, "Sure, no problem."
Around 3:30 AM, Friday night turned into Saturday morning and the three of us decided it was better just to stay up (Allan went to bed early). At 5:00 I went upstairs to our room and Josh and Adam went to their hotel. I took a shower and tried (but failed) to write code until 6:00 when I woke Allan up. He got ready and I snoozed for about twenty minutes. At 7:04 we were checked out and in the car in front of the Web 2.0 Hotel. Suddenly we realized my mistake. I had an “off by one error.” Off by one hour that is. The airport, Ft. Lauderdale, is about forty minutes from where we were in South Beach. Flight leaves in 1 hour minus 40 minute car ride minus 10 minute gas up rental car minus 5 minute rental check minus 5 minute print boarding passes – 30 minutes for security = OH NO!! Josh and Adam jumped in the car and we took off in earnest. Since I hadn’t really slept, Allan was driving. I was a bit scared because Allan only has advanced-amateur skills, whereas I have semi-semi-professional skills. We were on 395, the sign said Miami Airport straight ahead, Ft. Lauderdale 95 North. Allan was heading straight ahead so I told him to switch lanes and head to the Ft. Lauderdale airport. “NNOOOO!!” blasted from the back in stereo. Josh, who had a 9:00 AM flight, and Adam, 11:00 AM, were both flying out of Miami, not Ft. Lauderdale. Although unlikely to make our flight, we surely would miss it if we detoured to the Miami airport.
If we took them to Ft. Lauderdale, Josh would almost certainly miss his flight. So we did what we had to: We got off at the next exit to drop them off to fend for themselves. As we came to a stop at the red light Allan noticed a McRestaurant at the next corner and was preparing to turn when the light changed. “Oh no,” I said, “this is as far as they go.” I jumped out of the car and ran to the back, tearing their bags from the back of the SUV. Josh and Adam slumped from the car and could barely hear my yells of apology over the squealing tires as the light turned green and Allan stole away leaving them staring.
It turns out that Allan is an awesome driver. Much better than I ever knew or gave him credit for. We tag teamed the airport: I checked in the rental while he ran to print our boarding passes. He met me in the line for security. Without cutting we made it through security and to the gate with time to spare. Miraculous.
Unfortunately, the exit we choose turned out not to be such a good part of town. The funeral services will be held tomorrow. They will be missed, but the next Web 2.0 Show will be done by Allan and me. So it all turned out OK for everyone in the end.
Leave a Comment
Steven Bristol has written code for the past 20 years. He like green vegetables and kittens, oh and butterflies too. He loves to throw ninja stars at his enemies.
3 Comments
Priceless, wish I was there with a video camera.
That is one of the funniest stories I have heard in a long time. :)
I think you forgot the part of…
“After Nikki, we met with Marco and headed to “The Room” for some delicious miami beer (yes Miami brews it own!)"
By the way, I think that place is a bit Ghetto, have you heard from them?
I am very surprised you made it. FT LAUD air is such a pain…
Take care,
M