Mr. Hyde at the airport

The airport is not a fun place for me. Have you ever watched an old Disney cartoon that's a spoof of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde where the narrator explains the life of a cartoon character. The one I remember is where a nice guy becomes a nasty road-rage driver when he slides into his drivers seat. Well, unfortunately that's what I am like at the airport. No swearing, no hitting...just frustration at the smallest of things... I wonder if it's all that authority? Is it all those rules, time-limits, police type people, obnoxious people in business suits chatting all day on their crackberrys, or those whining ear-plugged children, noisy partiers off to Mexico, or those unsightly newlyweds?

You get little to no sleep the night before, leave late in the morning missing breakfast (all that blood sugar rising goodness), pay a lot of money to park your car, attempt to load your ridiculously heavy bags onto a too small cart, fondle a touch screen for your express pass. Then you stand in line to check your overweight luggage, which needs to be weighted...dump them on a cargo belt...stand in a very long line for some Tim Ho's so that you can quickly chug an orange juice because you cannot take liquids, gels, plastics, onto the plane. You wait in another line where you get wanded, forced to turn on all your electronics to make sure they're not bombs...and then sit uncomfortably where you can't use the wireless hotspot because it cost $4 a min to surf the web all the while waiting for the P.A to start calling flyers to board. Where you will wait in line again to be ushered into a tight plane and those small aisles to sit beside people who's shoulders, rolls are so big that they pour over to your or what you think is your arm rest. Then you take a short breath and the flight beings where you will soon or not so soon arrive at your destination to wait in line for your damaged luggage. I love the airport.

If you've read this far: I truly believe it's the emotional baggage that weighs on me the most. Too often the airport is a horrible place to be--always saying good-bye to loved ones. Loved one's that you wish you could either go with or keep here...but life moves beyond our selfish needs and desires.

So I guess I used this post to vent and to confess: I am a poor flyer aka. airport-jerk aka. Mr. Hyde. I hate the airport and what it makes me... an unlovable person.

Your EQ is 133

50 or less: Thanks for answering honestly. Now get yourself a shrink, quick! 51-70: When it comes to understanding human emotions, you'd have better luck understanding Chinese. 71-90: You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely. 91-110: You're average. It's easy to predict how you'll react to things. But anyone could have guessed that. 111-130: You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt. 131-150: You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin. 150+: Two possibilities - you've either out "Dr. Phil-ed" Dr. Phil... or you're a dirty liar.

What's Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?