Good afternoon from 38,000 feet above!

I just got home from my epic 2.5-week trip to Japan on Sunday afternoon and with less than 36 hours at home (just enough time for 4 loads of laundry, a bunch of work/emails, and another round of packing) I’m off to Miami for 2 back-to-back cruises. The jet lag is real, ya’ll.

I’m on assignment for Reader’s Digest about 2 brand new cruise ships, so I’m excited to check them out on these preview sailings. Bringing my dad of course!

During my brief stint at home yesterday, I encountered a disastrous situation with an article that’s due in 2 days. Here’s what happened:

The set up

Last week, I found what looked like a very qualified source (a nonprofit) for an article about avocados … heck, this nonprofit even has “avocado” in their name! So I sent over the following questions:

1. What are those stringy things in avocados (those fibers)?

2. What causes them?

3. Are they safe to eat?

4. Are they bitter? Do they taste different? Or just texture?

5. How do you avoid picking stringy avocados? Is there a way to tell?

6. Is there anything else I should know on this topic?

Their PR team immediately acknowledged receiving the questions and promised they’d meet my deadline.

Great, I thought! This one’s in the bag!

I was wrong.

On the deadline date, I received the following: