My seat is in the very back row of the plane. How did that happen? I booked in January! At least I'm right by the bathroom and two small kids are arguing across the aisle from me.

I hate flying.

I should be in the air right now, on my way to Austin via Dallas. We even taxied to the runway. The engines even came up to speed. I even felt the acceleration and was pushed back into my seat.

Then, the plane lurched forward as the pilot hit the brakes. (I finally understand airplane seatbelts.) Fellow passengers looked around at each other, some checking the faces of the flight attendants for signs of trouble, but those guys were totally stoic.

We came to a full stop. A few moments of bewilderment later, the captain addressed us over the PA.

He said there was a discrepancy between the air speed indicators, which created unacceptable conditions for takeoff. He explained that could simply mean some moisture got into the sensors, which seems reasonable since it's been raining here in Baltimore since late last night. Or maybe it's a good excuse for something scarier-sounding.

I hate flying.

We taxied back to the gate, and a mechanic is on the way to examine the problem. The pilot told us we'll probably take off in about 45 minutes.

Side note: A dozen people apparently need to use the bathroom now.

So I guess I'm going to miss a few SXSW Interactive sessions. Sure, that's disappointing. But I'm happy to know that the pilot is quick enough to react effectively to a problem.

Still, I'm already a pretty nervous flyer (in case you couldn't tell), so that sudden accelleration and deceleration made me almost wet my pants.

All I can do now is sit here and wait, reading the status updates of friends already in Austin. It feels a little bit like a bad dream where I know there's an awesome party happening but just can't quite get to it.

I hate flying!