This last week I participated in a project in another city that helped determine if some mathematics problems were aligned with state standards. I flew out of Columbus on Sunday night, and I had a stopover in Chicago. Unfortunately, as soon as I got on my plane in Chicago, it started snowing. My airplane got in line on the runway, but then the pilot announced that we had to go back to the gate for de-icing. We went back to the gate, got de-iced, and got back in line on the runway. Then the pilot announced that we had to go back to the gate for de-icing again. We went back to the gate, got de-iced, and got back in line on the runway. Just as we were about to take off, the pilot announced that all runways were closed, and that the flight had been cancelled.

In all, we spent about five hours on the plane, and we never got off the ground. I ended up spending the night in Chicago, and I arrived a day late to the project. Fortunately, the organization that I was working for was very understanding (there were some other people who came a day late because of the weather as well), and I participated in the project on Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m glad to say that the flight home was much less eventful.

Tags: math, mathematics