I'm in New York

So I did make to New York...my parents picked me up from the airport,
and we then made our requisite post-airport trip to Flushing, Queens to
buy Chinese vegetables. (We live a hour away from a good Asian grocery
store.) It's good to see my parents...but I'm also reminded how I'm
very accustomed to being on my own...

Anyway, I will be here until Wednesday when I head to Connecticut to
visit my college friend Heather. Until then, I've got a wedding today,
Father's Day, a paper on Elijah to finish, and some serious re-packing
and errands.

Chicago layover reprise...

3:49 pm CST.  Ah ha!  The air conditioning is totally down.  No wonder I'm sitting here absolutely still and sweating.  (Yuck!  I miss Vancouver already!)   Anyway, we can't board because the air conditioning unit in our gate is also what cools the airplane, and the airplane right now is 97 degrees F right now....too hot to cram a bunch of people.  So...of course we're waiting for the lovely mainetance people.

Chicago Layover

It's 2:48 pm CST, (12:48 pm PST, 3:48 EST), and I'm now sitting in a shady spot in O'Hare waiting for my plane to New York.  I think the air conditioner isn't working so well today...there are big fans blowing hot air near my gate...so, I'm sitting over here with the Indianapolis people. 

Well, O'Hare is still the same, at least in Concourses B and C.  There's still that crazy psychedelic moving walkway.  You are now approaching the moving walkway, please watch your step.  You know (or maybe you don't), the crazy tunnel connecting the the United concourses with that funky neon ceiling light display.  You are now approaching the end of the moving walkway, please look down.  Every time I move through that thing, I try to find a pattern in the movement of the lights; but it still puzzles me.  I honestly don't try very hard.

I feel as though I've spent a ridiculous amount of time in these two terminals...the majority of my layovers have been here since...college....before college?  And I fly 3-4 times a year....minimum?   I don't even really like United.  Ha ha...that's what Pico Iyer said when United sent him a letter telling him that he had flown over a million miles (literally) with this one aforementioned airline.  (It's those darn yet wonderful frequent flyer miles.)  Pico Iyer is my favorite travel writer; I was thinking about what he was saying about airports when I was still at YVR.  For him, he feels very at home in an airport.  I resonate with that...but I still very much itch to leave the airport.  For him, it's like a self-sustaining city unto himself.  He once did this experiment living for a week at LAX.  I don't think I ever want to try that; 2 days snowed in at JFK was enough for me.  For him, the airport symbolized this nationless identity.  I think I'm in the wrong terminal to see that, or maybe in the wrong section.  I am still sitting with the Indianapolis folks.  (God bless them!)

Leaving Vancouver...

It's 7:07 am, and I'm sitting here waiting for my flight and trying not to fall asleep.  I only got 3 hours of sleep last night, sorting out random details, deliberating over whether or not I really needed another shirt---only to postpone the decision and throw it in a suitcase anyway.  Packing for this trip has required much more thought than my brain's current capability....there's the formal wedding, and hot and humid NY and Rome, business Switzerland, cold and rainy Holland.  Plus, I'm backpacking and also suppose to dress pretty conservatively for my program.  I think I need to do some shopping in New York. 

Anyway, it was nice yesterday...got to see Sara, Alison, Autumn and Betsy.  Had breakfast with Sara at 8am which was lovely....she's leaving for the UK for good, but I have a feeling I'll be seeing her...like perhaps in the Benelux countries or in Vancouver in the next year.  Alison was nice enough to run errands with me and treat me to some yummy laksa.  Autumn was back only for a few days only to breeze out today for her European-African adventure.  (She's the one with the packing challenge. A strict weight limit, and requests for peanut butter.)   And dear Betsy came by at midnight to say goodbye. 

Brain turning off again.  You know you're tired when your blinks turn the world black for a bit too long.  It's like my eyelids are closing the world out, pleaing to come and succumb and to keep your eyes shut.  Come, succumb to the wonderful peace that comes with sleep....come and succumb...  I've missed flights this way---okay, I've never missed a flight this way, though I've almost missed train stops this way.  I know people who've missed flights this way.  I hope I sleep well on the plane.

blog neglect...

Sorry for neglecting my blog...a few of you have commented for more
updates. I'm still trying to cultivate the blog habit.

Also, I think it's hard to know what to write about! What exactly is
blog worthy? Life this past week has had its share of ups, downs and
stuff that's just banal, but is it blog worthy? Does it matter? I'm
still trying to figure that out.

Anyway, 2 more full days before I leave Vancouver for 2 months. I've
been trying to work on two papers, but have already resigned myself to
finishing them in New York. My days are spent researching, tending to
endless leaving Vancouver and trip details, and hanging out with
friends. Sadly, I've been saying goodbye to several friends who have
finished school for good. Anneke last week, Angela on Sunday and Jackie
today. Sara tomorrow. People I will miss.

On another note, I had another weird culture-shock-y moment a little
while ago...except I think I was/am too sleep-y for it to register it
completely as such. Betsy and Brett were over tonight. While I
finished their leftover Vietnamese food, they talked about Palm Pilots
and hot syncing and building your own desktops and the difference
between a laptop and desktop platform or something. I think I could
only follow 15% of the conversation; it was like being in the San
Francisco Bay Area again with my tech friends. They then proceeded to
poke fun of my truly one-of-a-kind chopstick and pencil holding skills.
And then Betsy felt like writing her Chinese name which means Polishing
Jade. And then I wrote mine which is like one of the hardest names on
record. And we learned Brett's middle name. Brett is
also going to Rome this summer, so when we get back, we've decided to
have a Rome picture showdown.

See---isn't that kind of boring? (Betsy and Brett---you are not
boring.) Is this the sort of thing that is truly blog worthy?