Day One - July 30, 2010

#1 - Holy cow, it’s early.

It’s 7:20 am and I am sitting in Starbucks at the Cincinnati airport, waiting to hop my connecting flight to big bad LAX at 9:30. The fact that I am sitting in Cincy at 7:20 should tell you that I have been up far too long. My flight left Louisville this morning at 6:00, which meant I needed to be there around 5:00, which means dear Mom picked me up at the ungodly hour of 4:15. At that point, I had been up for 20 minutes. It is amazing how fast I can get ready when there is little to no time to spare. Kids, this is going to be a long day.

I’ve not blogged much about this trip to Los Angeles. I have no excuses other than a combination of laziness and being extremely busy. I’m excited about this trip to LA, more so about getting out of Corydon for a while. I am NOT wanting to go back to work, and this is just another way to delay it another day – or nine. There is so much to look forward to on this trip! Hanging out with Gerrad today, a trip to Disneyland tomorrow (oh, the Motherland!), brunch on Sunday, a dinner reception that night, a week learning about the Koreas, a Korean spa experience…the list goes on and on. But for now…

Man, am I ever exhausted. This is my third trip this summer, and I really need to learn how to stay home for a change. That’s a bit of a handicap when one loves to travel as much as I do. I am not in any way, shape or form a fan of Mitch Daniels, but at the moment I am an ardent supporter of that “Start in September, End at the Beginning of June” school calendar idea. I have a lot of stress about the upcoming school year, and especially how the new technology component is going to fit in with what I do, especially considering the fact that I have no technology in my room to speak of but am expected to teach as though I have it. It’s frustrating, and is putting me in a really foul mood. Luckily, I know that I am not alone in this frustration. However, I am going to try to leave it behind for the coming week and enjoy this amazing experience that is awaiting me.

Until then, I will continue to sip my quite excellent chai tea latte, look for a place to buy a blanket because I am freezing, and try to catch a nap. Did I mention that I only had around 3 hours of sleep last night? Oh, the humanity!

Catch you guys from the West Coast!

Song of the Moment: “Theme from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” (played as I went through the gate to board the aircraft.


#2 – Seat Numbers and Various Other Lessons on How to Behave in Flight

So, I have this fear anytime that I have a ticketed seat that once I get to that seat, someone is going to be in it. This may surprise you (a LOT), but I really don’t like confrontation. I would prefer that everything just go my way without me having to make an issue out of it. Not such a bad thing, right? At any rate, the idea of having to cause a scene because someone is in my seat is something that just isn’t that appealing to me. I mean, the thing is, it’s my seat, right? It shouldn’t even be a situation. But it sometimes unfortunately is, and today’s flight to Los Angeles was one of those times.

To start with, and to be perfectly clear, I bought my ticket for this flight months ago. I was able to easily choose my seat, which was a window seat. I always shoot for the window seat because I am a tad claustrophobic, and I like that window (and the little bit of extra space that comes along with it). So imagine my dismay to find someone else in my seat! What!?! I very nicely explained to the lady that she was in my seat, to which I was given the reply that someone else was in her seat. I failed to see how this concerned me. As I was trying to work this out, a lady who sat in the row in front of my assigned seat said that her boys had messed up the seating situation, and she gave a little shrug and a smile as if to say, “Ah, boys. What are you going to do with them?” How about get them in their assigned seats? There’s a start! It’s not that I am heartless, but the only seat open was the dreaded middle seat, my chief nemesis when flying. So the flight attendant comes up and asks if there is a problem. I said my seat was occupied. The mama (who was trying really hard to pull off a Sarah Palin look) explained her situation. The boys had been assigned seats apart from each other, and they wanted to sit together. Would you mind, the flight attendant questioned of me. Ah, crap. Stuck in a situation here. If I say no, I’m the mean woman. If I say yes, I get the middle seat. Definitely a no-win situation.

So I am in the middle seat. Mom, I did the right thing. But I am NOT happy about it. The lady in my seat (which I am conveniently sitting next to), is a space hog. It is a good thing that I can dislocate my shoulders as I have had to sit with my left shoulder pushed forward for close to an hour now. Only three more hours to go!

Yep, I’m bitter. You try typing with a shoulder out of socket and then talk to me. As such, allow me to present some handy tips for flying:

1. When buying an airline ticket, you can choose your seat onboard at the same time. Do it! Pick one you like! And if you are buying your tickets late, understand that your choice of seats may not be available. Never at any time is it appropriate to board the plane and sit wherever you wish. Other people may have planned their trip earlier than you, and they chose their seat for a reason.

2. If you gave up your seat because someone sat in yours and you didn’t want to cause a problem, understand that you may cause one when sitting in another seat. If you volunteer to move, then you move. Don’t make others do it.

3. When in a close environment, like plane seats or concert seats, understand that you have your space. Don’t take others’ space. As a fat girl, I am extremely conscious of this. If you sit next to me, and I am already struggling to stay in my area, it would be helpful if you would stay in yours.

4. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are the victim of the above crimes, you should probably pop a Benadryl and take a nap. I took one, and it’s starting to kick in. I’m napping and just daring anyone to ask me to get up so that they can go to the bathroom.
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Song of the Moment: Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi. Apparently I am feeling violent at the
moment.


#3 – Contemplations on Moving to the Greater Los Angeles Area

After a nice two hour nap on the plane, I finally arrived in Los Angeles. Woo hoo! Getting off of the plane and out of the general travel mode would prove to do wonders for me, as the rest of the day was FANTASTIC!!

Gerrad picked me up at big bad Los Angeles International Airport, and then we proceeded to play tourists. It’s hard to recall all of the places we went, but I am going to do my best! Our first destination was to head to Santa Monica. Gerrad had a couple of things that he wanted to pick up, and I literally didn’t mind where we went because everything was going to be new to me. Santa Monica was a fantastic start though!! Santa Monica’s pier is famous, and we walked the length of it. Along the way there were people selling various souvenirs, dressed up as movie characters with whom you could have your picture taken (including the saddest Mickey Mouse and Elmo that I have ever seen in my life!)…just the usual gauntlet of things to see and do. We had lunch at Bubba Gump’s, where we were tested on our knowledge of all things Forrest Gump and had some amazing seafood! I had fish and chips, which I ordered just for the halibut. Seriously. It was made of halibut. I also had my picture taken at a sign marking the end of the famous Route 66, which has its terminus in Santa Monica. Oh, but I haven’t mentioned the weather!! It is glorious out here. Nice and breezy, temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. Having left a humid inferno of epic proportions (oh, Ohio Valley – what fun you are in summer), this weather was quite welcome.

Next we took a driving tour. Gerrad drove me past some famous houses, including Hugh Hefner’s pride and joy, the Playboy Mansion, of which I could only get a picture of the entry gate. I saw Aaron Spelling’s house, Bob Hope’s, and a lot of other pretty high end properties that only left you wondering as to who could be living inside. Of course we traveled through Beverly Hills, where I really wanted a rocking chair to put on top of Gerrad’s car so that I could ride through those pal-lined streets in style. I saw the famous Rodeo Drive, the Regent Beverly Wilshire at the end of the street (you may remember it from “Pretty Woman”), the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Hollywood Bowl…oh the list goes on and on! I really need to go back and look at all of the pics to see what I have seen! It’s all a bit overwhelming!

A definite fun stop of the evening for me was to hit Hollywood Boulevard and see the sights there. I was able to see some stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, see Grauman’s Chinese Theater with all of the footprints and handprints outside (Eddie Murphy’s feet are ridiculously small, by the way). Then, oh yes, a trip to Disney’s Soda Fountain, located right next to their theater, the El Capitan. Gerrad had an ice cream sandwich that I am pretty certain almost made him pee his pants in delight (and truth be told, it was the best ice cream sandwich ever). I had a milkshake-y kind of drink made with vanilla ice cream and orange soda. It was to die for. We then waddled back to the car to head for dinner – there’s nothing wrong with starting with dessert, right? We ate at one of Gerrad’s favorite restaurants, Bossa Nova, which is a Brazilian restaurant. The food was killer. Our appetizer was simple yet delicious – it was shredded chicken mixed with cream cheese, then wrapped in dough and deep fried. You ate it with hot sauce, and it was pure heaven. My entrée was a pasta dish, cheese filled raviolis topped with chicken, prosciutto, asparagus, and onions in a cream sauce. I couldn’t eat all of it! I tried my best. Another great part was the fact that it was cold outside, kids, and we sat under one of those outside patio heaters. That’s right. On July 30 I ate dinner under a heater outside. And this, for various other reasons, is why the thought of moving here ran through my head multiple times today. LA rocks. Period.