Archive for February 12th, 2005

The Cochrane Has Landed…

Posted by jetblack on February 12th, 2005

Yes, I know I said I would post when I landed… and technically I did, because that post I wrote on the plane got posted, right?

Now that I’ve landed… Well, the airport is okay, I guess. I arrived at night, and so the most I’ve seen so far is street lights as we approached the airport, and a freeway on the way to Abbie’s place. I’ve settled in and visited, and I’m hella jet-lagged. It says it’s like before midnight when I post this, but add 3 hours and that’s what the time is over where I am. I’m not tired, yet, and I didn’t get up until a little before 10am Pacific time. Ugh.

We’re supposed to go shopping tomorrow for some basics and some food that I like and hopefully that’ll give me ample opportunity to look around and see what I can see. I’m not sure if anyone else feels this way about shifting environments, but for the first couple of hours, everything felt pretty surreal… like I did not quite beleive I was really here, and I’m not even sure if I’m explaining this right. I’m still feeling pretty surreal about the flight and being in Abbie’s house, and whatnot. She has five cats, and only two of them like me. The other three are going to get eaten if they don’t lighten up (inside joke).

Anyway, I’m trying for a little normalcy and cutting Unwound for tomorrow night’s broadcast. I’ll post later if I feel like it.

Edit: I forgot to follow up about the kids. The mom was way cool and told them to sleep after they got sugar-induced. Amazingly enough, they did sleep… so, wow.

Flight 2884 (Mid-Air Entry)

Posted by jetblack on February 12th, 2005

So, here am I in the front row of the aircraft. The flight was delayed out of San Jose by almost an hour due to inclimate weather in Phoenix. Okay, that’s a phrase I never thought I would ever hear, since every time I’ve been to Phoenix, it’s been balmy or sun-like. Anyway, it must have been monsoon season or something, because it was enough to force the flight back. Now, I consider myself a prettyh patient person (and one who loves aliteration), but I really hate flying. It’s not my favorite mode of personal transport. I don’t care how many people say how safe it is, I have a deep-rooted sense of love/hate toward flight. I fucking love the takeoff and landing, and I hate the wait in between. Though, I’m looking outside my window here right now and the view of the cloud cover is beautiful against the sunset as we fly closer toward nighttime on the east coast.

This trip marks my third visit to the east coast, including one trip to the District of Columbia and the surrounding area, along with another to New York City. I haven’t visited Philadelphia before, so this ought to be interesting. I want to apologize to my friends in Massachusetts… I won’t be able to do a tour of Boston and Worchester, like I had hoped… it’s just too far away from Philly to make the drive out. Besides, if I can’t go to Cooperstown and pay homage to the greats, there’s no way I can make it to Mass. :/ Trust me when I say that not visiting Cooperstown cuts pretty deep, since I have no idea when I’m going to be able to make it out to New England anytime soon. Well, maybe if I can work my convention schedule a little, I can stop off, but that’s with a lot of luck and fundage.

On the childfree side, I was very happy to note that there were absolutely no children under the age of sixteen aboard.. or at least maybe they were younger, but they did not scream or yell or make the flight a living hell. Of course, this streak ended once we landed in Phoenix. I’m seated next to a mom and her two kids, and both of them are 7 and 10, respectively. I know this because they keep telling everyone how old they are. So far, them seem pretty content to sip sugar through a straw and eat Oreos and Jello. I’m waiting for the sugar high to kick in halfway through the flight, possibly… right now, we’re over New Mexico, so it’s too early to really tell. I’m hoping they fall asleep… or else I’ll be asking why they didn’t take a train. Or maybe I’ll ask myself why I didn’t take a damn train.

PS: The flight attendants on this leg of the flight rule all. They are teh Awesome. Seriously, I love Southwest Airlines. The attendant on the PA, during the flight safety lecture was pointing out the rules with humor, including lines like, “If in the event this plane turns into an ocean liner, your seat cushions can be used as floatation devices,” and “For those of you who listened this far, thanks, and for the rest, good luck!” Fucking awesome.

PPS: Amazing sunset.

Leaving on a Jet Plane…

Posted by jetblack on February 12th, 2005

I’m now leaving to fly to Philly. :) Posting when I land. :)