day zero
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
my san diego to los angeles flight got cancelled, apparently a bit of rain isn't good for tiny turboprop flying tin cans. good to know. so the airline got us an airport shuttle instead and in an interesting twist, the driver misunderstood the simple "get us to the airport safe and sound" instructions for "you're in the Amazing Race - go like hell and risk death!" He drove very aggressively, tailgating cars, passing on the right, etc, all while in a large Ford Econoline van in the pouring rain surrounded by California drivers, mind you. I've never been in a vehicle that violated the carpool lanes before, you know those little double lines that you're not supposed to cross? i counted eleven times that he violated that rule worth a $391 ticket, eleven and a half if you count this one time he crossed right when the passing dotted lines were beginning. i didn't hear anyone complain though, I bet a few were even secretly happy considering that they were probably going to miss their flights but hoping for a miracle.
i sat next to an interesting guy, part of a crew of Swedish people from Volvo doing some testing on their cars. turns out California is a great place for that because of the proximity of such varying climates: hot, cold, high altitude, low, etc. they bring their own diesel fuel too, since the American flavor is too dirty for their engines.
the super-right neocons can make the weird, inconvenient, questionably competent security machine at the airport, but the cogs are still made of people: the dude searching me and my stuff had a friendly anti-Bush conversation after seeing my "Defend America, Defeat Bush" bumper sticker on my laptop. he even saw my turkish flag on the bottom by the battery and said he was stationed there, in Adana.
first time I saw the sun today was when my plane was on out on the tarmac, at the foot of the runway, bracing itself a few seconds before launching towards new york. a few minutes later, we burst through the rain clouds into brilliant sunshine and blue skies. i can almost feel my future getting brighter. cheeseball, yes, that's how it felt though.
watching "80 Days Around The World" and the cartoonish depiction of Constantinople way back in the day, with Arnold as some kind of prince with many wives. funny, but only in a "I'm trapped on a place with nothing else to watch" kind of way.
the pilot has been giving updates on the yankees game over the p.a., with a bit of panache too! quoting yogi berra, "it ain't over til it's over."
Dude, we're on the approach to JFK and I can see the baseball stadium where the Yankees are playing! It's beautiful, like a little green and white glowing gem, crystal clear. You can see the infield and the dirt, the stands, etc.
Just after the touchdown, taxing up to the gate, the flight attendant started giving a play-by-play of the Yankees game, since they were down by like 7 runs and it was the bottom of the ninth. I hate baseball and it was still very exciting.
It was great seeing Brett at the airport again. I was waiting by the baggage claim for my stuff, both of us shooting the breeze while a pair of (I kid you not) duct-taped moose antlers kept circling by on the carousel.