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18 October 2007

Early morning coffee ramblings. [More:]
I'm making an early start today, my flight's not for hours yet but I have to go to the dentist this morning. I'm hoping to be out of there by 10.30, then it's 2 hours on the Tube to Heathrow, probably 45 minutes lining up to check in, then I'll have plenty of time to get through security (queues at Heathrow can take 90 minutes).

One of my co-workers is also flying out of Terminal 3, so I'll probably meet up with him and his wife for coffee once we're all airside.

There is no food in the house, so breakfast is plain oatmeal made with water and a banana. This will be one of those days when I eat food I wouldn't normally feed to a dog, and at strange times.

The food at Heathrow is not good - mass catering, high prices, lots of starchy stuff.

Plane food is worse, especially since the airlines cut back on their catering and stopped doing 'fruit plate' meals, which I always used to order. I knew they'd be made fresh that day, unlike the preservative-laden chilled meals, and instead of getting 'chicken or lasagne', I'd be served a little box of melon, pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, grapes, usually with a pot of yoghurt or cottage cheese, plus a selection of cheese and crackers, and a dessert pot. Always the person sitting next to me would say 'wow! I wish I'd ordered that' as they chewed on their microwaved mystery meat.

All the airlines have stopped doing meals like that, after 9/11 they had to cut costs, so now the alternatives are veggie, kosher, halal and that's about it.

I'm hoping to get some sleep on the plane - I have my eye mask and blow-up neck pillow. The main movie is 'Ocean's Thirteen', so I'll have gorgeous George on a loop for seven hours if I can't sleep.

I am so in need of a break. The atmosphere at work is awful, because in the New Year one-third of the staff will be sacked. I'm fairly certain I'll be ok, I'm being sent on a couple of courses and have been asked to say nothing about them to other staff. Everyone is worried, and of course management is exploiting the fear because they know people aren't going to complain for fear of being put on the list.

All in all, life is good. I'm excited about this trip, looking forward to seeing friends, having a little fun. I'm making a side trip up to Woodstock for a couple of days, and there is so much to see in Noo Yawk that I didn't get to see before.

OK, I need to get in the shower. Be good bunnies. See you in NYC.
Intercontinental tin can transport sucks, ej. But New York is waiting for you, on the other end! Endure your flight, and enjoy your trip!
posted by paulsc 18 October | 01:01
All the airlines have stopped doing meals like that, after 9/11 they had to cut costs, so now the alternatives are veggie, kosher, halal and that's about it.


Are you vegetarian? I always order that sort of thing (or the seafood only option) and I'm usually pretty happy with it.

I'm hoping to get some sleep on the plane - I have my eye mask and blow-up neck pillow. The main movie is 'Ocean's Thirteen', so I'll have gorgeous George on a loop for seven hours if I can't sleep.

Even if you just close your eyes and chill down as close to sleep as you can, you'll feel better. Jetlag flying west is a breeze, though. It's coming home that'll suck.
posted by chuckdarwin 18 October | 04:22
See, now I found the jetlag from Chicago to Europe much more manageable than the jetlag from Europe to Chicago. Odd.

I'm awake two hours early and can't go back to sleep. This post actually reminded me that I could make some coffee.

I hope you have fun in NY, ej!
posted by youngergirl44 18 October | 06:06
See, now I found the jetlag from Chicago to Europe much more manageable than the jetlag from Europe to Chicago. Odd.

It's not odd; everyone is different. I hate that short night you get coming over... you probably hate that looooong night going back (to the US).

Check out this site... it tells you how to beat the lag.
posted by chuckdarwin 18 October | 06:23
She must be on the road by now.
i've been checking rates and found i can travel to either NY or DC for around or under $100. Part of me just wants to go to the National Gallery for several days. Another thinks i should make the shorter trip to Chicago to catch a ride with a friend. The rest is just searching for options.
i wanna do something fun for Halloween, dammit.
*grumble, grumble*
posted by ethylene 18 October | 06:24
I want some thing to do for Halloween too. The costume party I've been going to annually for years was canceled. The hostess went into labor.

I'd also love to go to NY or DC for a while. Have you been to the National Gallery before? I think it's wonderful.
posted by youngergirl44 18 October | 06:57
i have but not for nearly long enough. i saw the Vermeer show ages ago. i love the Hirschorn.

i feel oddly optimistic today.
Does anyone know about train travel?
Will baggage be interfered with or searched?
i'm gonna need a valid ID, aren't i.
Good lord, i haven't traveled in ages.
i haven't even been on a plane post boom boom.
posted by ethylene 18 October | 07:09
i haven't even been on a plane post boom boom.

It sucks. Full stop. I always get searched, it seems. The whole experience is expensive, constricting, clausterphobic, inconvenient, uncomfortable, smelly, exhausting, and environmentally damaging. Plus, the extra security makes you feel like a criminal; the food is rubbish; there's no free drinks and the movies suck.

I'm not a fan. I used to be, in my golden and ignorant youth.
posted by chuckdarwin 18 October | 08:14
In the middle of a thunderstorm at DFW (Dallas) and the resulting cancellations/rebooking, for which I had to keep going in and out of security, some guy thought that my watch might be explosive, and insisted on taking me aside and painting it with some liquid that was supposed to reveal such.

The fact that I am here typing this indicates that it wasn't. . .
posted by danf 18 October | 10:34
It's not early morning now, but I am groggily waiting on coffee...good luck on your trip EJ! Have lots of fun and take lots of pictures!
posted by SassHat 18 October | 10:51
the food is rubbish; there's no free drinks and the movies suck

The food on the internal US flights I went on was fecking appalling. Never again will I eat that. Luckily on the way back from PDX I had a wonderful packed lunch Specklet made me. Delta apparently signed a contract with Coke, so everything is from that company apart from the booze which was $5 a throw. Soft drinks were free, though.

The films were okay, although I did manage to destroy my earphones and the socket they plug into on the way out, so managed to miss all three because all I had was picture. I missed out on earphones on the way back and was about to ask for a pair until I noticed it was Lindsey Lohan pic, so went to sleep instead.

posted by TheDonF 18 October | 15:02
But don't we all, really? || This is a Military Thread

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