Sunday, December 23, 2007

cars and maybe a blowhorn

on our drive home yesterday, we passed by a car that ran into a ditch. there was an abc liquor store across the street. classic scene in rural north carolina.

according to the list of sample questions and answers provided by the INS, the constitution is “the supreme law of the land.” i didn’t know land had laws. i thought it mainly consisted of dirt. nations/societies have laws. maybe i’m mistaken with my american public educated mind and all. “the supreme law of the land” – it’s a phrase that simply cannot be said. it’s one that needs to be declare loudly, like with a blow horn. maybe i should bring one with me when i finally get to take the test. i’m sure it’s something that will pass security check.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

jax movie selection

my sister arrived in jacksonville yesterday afternoon. we called the one and only theatre in town to see what was playing. think about that worst movies that got released this season. that’s what’s playing here. at least the golden compass and sweeney todd are playing. i was hoping for juno, but i was asking for too much there. disappointment is what i get for being optimistic. 2 good movies aren’t bad, however. and i do have netflix, for which i am incredibly thankful.

Friday, December 21, 2007

pigs vs. people

the other day, i heard on npr that, according to a recent census, there are more pigs and hogs in north carolina than people. yup, that’s my state.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

holiday travel

i’m in north carolina for the next week or so and had the craziest time traveling here. first, i thought i booked my ticket for wednesday 12/19. good thing i was looking up my itinerary on monday 12/17 and discovered that i was to fly out the next day, tuesday 12/18. so monday was sort of a day of madness, trying to get everything done i thought i had two days to do. but most things were accomplished, and i was ready for the flight.

i headed for the subway station with r on tuesday morning as he was heading off to work and i was heading for the airport. we bid our gooey lover good-bye (yes, i’ve become one of those people), and i continued on the train to my stop. the plan was to take the train to astoria, queens and catch a bus from there to the airport.

a guy with luggage sat near me on the train so i guessed he was headed for the same destination. according to the schedule posted at the stop, the bus was supposed to come by every 10 minutes during that time of the day. we waited for about 40 minutes, and still no sign of the bus. people had already started hailing the rare cabs that happened to come by the area, strangers who paired up to split the fare. finally, the guy who was on the train with me, walked off to get a cab too. at that point, i was getting anxious about my flight as well. of course, as soon as we hopped in the cab, the bus showed up. at least we made it to the airport in good time.

but as things always seem to happen in my life, my flight got delayed by 40 minutes, something about heavy incoming air traffic. so i didn’t really need to take that cab. what’s done was done though so i had to get over it. the delay made me anxious about my connecting flight, however. the flight was supposed to take two hours, and with the delay, i had only five minutes to get to my other flight. i had a hunch that would entail running from one end of the airport to the absolute opposite end. thankfully, the flight was about 30 minutes shorter than expected so i ended up just walking briskly, not having to outright run, to the other end.

when i arrived at the other concourse, a cluster of people was standing at the entry. the concourse had been shut off. the lady next to me didn’t know what was happening. charlotte police officers whizzed past me as i waited along with the other anxious travelers. finally, we were allowed to pass through. i reached the gate just minutes before the flight was supposed to take off. i hopped on the plane and planted myself in my seat.

the plane was small, one of those with just two seats on each side of the aisle. because i got on the plane so late, i didn’t even bother to try to fit my carry-on in the overhead bin. i put it underneath the seat in front of me along with my purse. there was no one sitting next to me anyway. the flight attendant came by and told me that my bags were not under the seats enough. i tried to push them a little farther, and he walked away. i figured it was fine. but then, he came back and told me that he couldn’t close the door until i put my bags UNDERNEATH the seat in front of me. i was livid. why didn’t he had me do it “the right way” the first time around? he suggested putting my carry-on in the overhead bin, and i refused, out of spite, claiming that the compartment was too small for my bag. after some fidgeting, he was satisfied and said, “you are too kind,” for making the effort. i SO wanted to smack him.

when it came time to serve beverages, he ignored me. i did have my headphones on and didn’t exactly tried to get his attention, but he never made the effort to offer me anything. only as we were about to land did the little prick stopped by my seat to get my attention. i had already turned off my ipod, as the captain requested, but left my headphones in just to see if he would say anything. of course, in his power-tripping mode, he told me, “i need you to turn off your headphones.” okay, you don’t turn off “the headphones.” you turn off the mp3 player or whatever is playing the music. i told him it’s off, and he said, “okay,” in a tone that suggested that he didn’t believe me but didn’t want to start another altercation with me. come on! he’s attending a flight that doesn’t even leave the state. either he’s a rookie or really bad. some attendants are super laid back and easy on these smaller planes. really, dude, just ease off. i couldn’t even look at the condescending little jerk as i got off the plane although i nodded a good-bye to the captain. i’m totally writing u.s. airways about this experience. with customer service like this, no wonder american airlines are tanking.

what also made me irritated were the two women sitting behind me on that flight. they must’ve been in their 50s. when i sat down, one of them was talking about how her daughter just moved from brooklyn to manhattan. but she’s in harlem. (gasp!) and it’s the part of harlem where clinton has his office, and she likes all sorts of people and really enjoys the multi-cultural aspects of the city. wow. the effort to not come across as racist/elitist just oozed out of her mouth. then, when the flight attendant was giving me trouble about my bag, one of them said, “i don’t understand why people bring so much stuff with them. i’m just worried about my safety.” really, if you really were concerned about your safety, mind your own business! i just kept telling myself that she was totally itching to get back to her country club to knock down those martinis to keep from spitting at her. and to top it off, you know how you normally give the people who were sitting in front of you the courtesy to let them go ahead of you? the wench just jumped in front of me. i cut in front of her on our way to the airport building, only sorry that my backpack didn’t “accidentally” knock her over. as we waited by the luggage carousel, she had the nerve to glare at me. yeah, the holidays certainly bring the best out of people. and to think, i have to fly back to new york next friday... happy holidays, everyone!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

runny nose and parched throat

it's that time of the year again. the annual cold. i always get really sick once a year, around the holidays. i felt i was starting to get sick about a few weeks ago and took some stuff that was able to circumvent it from festering. this time, however, it won. i've been bending over the bathroom sink, blowing out what seems to be an endless stream of snot. (i do this at home, ONLY at home, instead of blowing into a tissue, because i can wash my hands immediately afterwards without having to touch anything in between like a doorknob, and i don't want to go through ten boxes of tissues...because i have THAT MUCH snot.) my coughs make my lungs feel immensely huge and hollow while my throat feels full of goo. i've been sucking on zinc lozenges and drinking a glass of psuedo-emergen-c daily. i think i'm getting better though. in my experience, it helps to sweat so i sleep in a lot of warmth - under a heavy down comforter and wearing snuggly pj's - and i've been wearing a sweatshirt over whatever else i'm wearing around the apartment. i'm actually taking dayquil today so hopefully this won't last much longer.

Friday, December 07, 2007

security deposit

why can't landlords/ladies give tenants back their security deposits back in a reasonable amount of time? the building manager from my pasadena apartment, being a crackhead, stopped returning my calls about getting my deposit back. i had to email the city of pasadena to find out who the building owner was, google her, found another business that she owned, and then email her through through her other business's website. she was furious that i contacted her (go figure) and thought i was being inappropriate in contacting her...although it took her about 3 months to mail out the deposit to me. per pasadena's law, the landowner has 30 days to give the tenant his/her deposit.

the issue i currently have concerns our old apartment in manhattan. we moved out at the end of august. i've been calling the company for the past 2 months regarding our deposit. they kept telling us that they were sending it out. it never happened. i'm getting ready to send them a letter to state that i will be filing a formal complaint with the city attorney general. under new york laws, the landowner has to give the tenant his/her deposit back with a "reasonable amount of time". why must i resort to this? why can't they just do what's fair? is that too much to ask? i hate people who can't just buckle down and do their job. argh. if anyone has any tips, please share.