Back from Holiday (Part I)
Disclaimer: The following post is really long. I've described, in quiet detail, the events leading upto my trip to LA and also the fun I had there. So read at your own risk.
Before Leaving
The week we got off for; not only marked the Independence Day for US but also marked the day of my liberation.
There was a slight hiccup to the program, which people related to the incident are already aware of, so I don't intend to mention it again. And those of you who don't know have to die out of curiousty....I might sound cynical.....but can't help it. Somethings are best not displayed in public.
As the sun rose on friday June 30th, I woke up and realised that I hadn't even packed for my 4 day holiday in LA. It didn't take me long to pack my bags for my holiday. I had two classes on friday and I had already taken off from work. So, I finished both of my classes and came back home. I completed a final check of my bags and books I had to keep to finish my assignments that were due right after the holidays. I was excited to go visit Bhai. I hadn't seen him since Thanksgiving last November. Some people thought it wasn't a very long time. But counted in Neha Years it was a lot. And I also wanted to go see his university and hang out with him becasue the last time we went there we weren't there for long and hadn't been with him for more than 1 day when all 3 of us went to Universal Studios. Anyways getting back to the topic, I left home in time to catch the train for Airport. I caught my train and reached the Airport in time.
At the Airport
Since I didn't have any check-in luggage I just used the self check-in kiosk to check myself in. My "original flight-plan" (you'll know pretty soon why I name it so) was to reach LA through Orlando. After the security check when I reached the gate, I noticed that the flight to Orlando was late by 1 hr and 30 miins. This simply implied that I would miss my connecting flight to LA from Orlando. I went to the Customer Services desk and informed the clerk of my problem. The clerk took a look at my ticket and transferred me on a direct flight of US Airways to LA. I took the new boarding card and reached the gate for the newly assigned flight. I realised that I had a lot of time, so I called bhai and informed him of my change of plans. Also called nanima and papa (in that order), since both of them wanted to talk to me before I left for LA.
After I finished all my calls, I figured I still had time on my hands. I was feeling really hungry because I hadn't had lunch. So, I took out the littis and bharta I had packed for the flight and started dipping the litti in the bharta and eating them. This american girl sitting opposite to me was looking at my dabba with eyes wide open. She couldn't figure out what I was eating and why I was eating it like that. I think twice or thrice I caught her stare, but she continued staring. People who know me, know that I don't get threatned by such actions. So, I went on comfortably eating my littis despite her stares.
As I finished my lunch, the clerk at the desk next to the entrance to the gate announced the boarding for the flight. Since I was Zone 6, I had to wait a little more (a couple of mins). When my Zone was announced, I got in line and presented my boarding pass to clerk. The clerk tore the small detachable stub on the right side of the boarding pass and gave me the stub and kept the bigger part of my boarding pass. This is where a grave mistake happened which cost me a little while returning to Philadelphia from LA (you'll come to know).
Back to June 30th, I boarded my flight and thankfully the overhead compartment had place for my suitcase. So, here I was all set to fly from the "City of Brotherly Love" to the "City of Angels" literally so for me, as described in the paragraphs below. Here I was taking a non-stop cross country flight. I hadn't taken such a long flight since I visted papa in San Diego and co-incidentally I had travelled US Airways at that time also.
In the Flight
The flight took off 20 minutes late from Philadelphia. Once we were in the air, the reality hit me that I was going to be in the flight for 5 hrs and some mins, which is actually a very long time. But, the next second I realised that only because of this I had packed my Competitive Intelligence book in my bag and not my suitcase which was safely secured in the overhead compartment.
I took out my book and started reading. The book, I must say is pretty interesting. I didn't realise when the time passed and I reached the sixth chapter. After the 6th chapter, I decided it was time for a break. I had also taken a few short breaks during my reading to glance at the moving scenes of the in-flight movie "Anapolis". My neighbour (I still follow the british spellings)was watching "Glory Road" on his Powerbook(Apple Inc). So, I was trying to watch two movies at the same time; but later decided to watch Glory Road as I wasn't watching Annapolis from the beginning anyways.
I didn't regret my decision....Glory Road was a really nice movie. Its times like these that my dream of having a study full of books, movies and music gets re-enforced. I hope one day I can realize this dream.
And no, I'm not going to share my dream on this virtual space.So, after the movie I took a short nap and woke up just in time for the descent into the LA airport.
After Reaching LA
The descent was very beautiful, a city surrounded by mountains. After the aircraft came to a halt,we got off the aircraft and started making our way towards the bagaage claim and the exit. As I stepped outside the plane, I called my dear bro to let him know that I have arrived. He then asked me to wait outside the airport exit, so we can get out the airport quickly. I waited for sometime and he then he appeared.
I had a really warm and nice ride to his place from the airport. The best part was the view from the highway to the city. Especially, at a certain point when you are high above the city, you can see all the hustle bustle guarded by the mountains. Its so nice, its like the mountains are watching over LA to keep all the unwanted away from its people, just like our brave friends guarding the borders of our motherland, the young and valient knights of the Indian Armed Forces.
Before Leaving
The week we got off for; not only marked the Independence Day for US but also marked the day of my liberation.
There was a slight hiccup to the program, which people related to the incident are already aware of, so I don't intend to mention it again. And those of you who don't know have to die out of curiousty....I might sound cynical.....but can't help it. Somethings are best not displayed in public.
As the sun rose on friday June 30th, I woke up and realised that I hadn't even packed for my 4 day holiday in LA. It didn't take me long to pack my bags for my holiday. I had two classes on friday and I had already taken off from work. So, I finished both of my classes and came back home. I completed a final check of my bags and books I had to keep to finish my assignments that were due right after the holidays. I was excited to go visit Bhai. I hadn't seen him since Thanksgiving last November. Some people thought it wasn't a very long time. But counted in Neha Years it was a lot. And I also wanted to go see his university and hang out with him becasue the last time we went there we weren't there for long and hadn't been with him for more than 1 day when all 3 of us went to Universal Studios. Anyways getting back to the topic, I left home in time to catch the train for Airport. I caught my train and reached the Airport in time.
At the Airport
Since I didn't have any check-in luggage I just used the self check-in kiosk to check myself in. My "original flight-plan" (you'll know pretty soon why I name it so) was to reach LA through Orlando. After the security check when I reached the gate, I noticed that the flight to Orlando was late by 1 hr and 30 miins. This simply implied that I would miss my connecting flight to LA from Orlando. I went to the Customer Services desk and informed the clerk of my problem. The clerk took a look at my ticket and transferred me on a direct flight of US Airways to LA. I took the new boarding card and reached the gate for the newly assigned flight. I realised that I had a lot of time, so I called bhai and informed him of my change of plans. Also called nanima and papa (in that order), since both of them wanted to talk to me before I left for LA.
After I finished all my calls, I figured I still had time on my hands. I was feeling really hungry because I hadn't had lunch. So, I took out the littis and bharta I had packed for the flight and started dipping the litti in the bharta and eating them. This american girl sitting opposite to me was looking at my dabba with eyes wide open. She couldn't figure out what I was eating and why I was eating it like that. I think twice or thrice I caught her stare, but she continued staring. People who know me, know that I don't get threatned by such actions. So, I went on comfortably eating my littis despite her stares.
As I finished my lunch, the clerk at the desk next to the entrance to the gate announced the boarding for the flight. Since I was Zone 6, I had to wait a little more (a couple of mins). When my Zone was announced, I got in line and presented my boarding pass to clerk. The clerk tore the small detachable stub on the right side of the boarding pass and gave me the stub and kept the bigger part of my boarding pass. This is where a grave mistake happened which cost me a little while returning to Philadelphia from LA (you'll come to know).
Back to June 30th, I boarded my flight and thankfully the overhead compartment had place for my suitcase. So, here I was all set to fly from the "City of Brotherly Love" to the "City of Angels" literally so for me, as described in the paragraphs below. Here I was taking a non-stop cross country flight. I hadn't taken such a long flight since I visted papa in San Diego and co-incidentally I had travelled US Airways at that time also.
In the Flight
The flight took off 20 minutes late from Philadelphia. Once we were in the air, the reality hit me that I was going to be in the flight for 5 hrs and some mins, which is actually a very long time. But, the next second I realised that only because of this I had packed my Competitive Intelligence book in my bag and not my suitcase which was safely secured in the overhead compartment.
I took out my book and started reading. The book, I must say is pretty interesting. I didn't realise when the time passed and I reached the sixth chapter. After the 6th chapter, I decided it was time for a break. I had also taken a few short breaks during my reading to glance at the moving scenes of the in-flight movie "Anapolis". My neighbour (I still follow the british spellings)was watching "Glory Road" on his Powerbook(Apple Inc). So, I was trying to watch two movies at the same time; but later decided to watch Glory Road as I wasn't watching Annapolis from the beginning anyways.
I didn't regret my decision....Glory Road was a really nice movie. Its times like these that my dream of having a study full of books, movies and music gets re-enforced. I hope one day I can realize this dream.
And no, I'm not going to share my dream on this virtual space.So, after the movie I took a short nap and woke up just in time for the descent into the LA airport.
After Reaching LA
The descent was very beautiful, a city surrounded by mountains. After the aircraft came to a halt,we got off the aircraft and started making our way towards the bagaage claim and the exit. As I stepped outside the plane, I called my dear bro to let him know that I have arrived. He then asked me to wait outside the airport exit, so we can get out the airport quickly. I waited for sometime and he then he appeared.
I had a really warm and nice ride to his place from the airport. The best part was the view from the highway to the city. Especially, at a certain point when you are high above the city, you can see all the hustle bustle guarded by the mountains. Its so nice, its like the mountains are watching over LA to keep all the unwanted away from its people, just like our brave friends guarding the borders of our motherland, the young and valient knights of the Indian Armed Forces.
posted by Neha | 12:14 PM
1 Comments:
the disclaimer and cynical part xcitd me a lot.. lekin naaa.. turnd out to b a blog which screams.. i luv LA.. patah nahi.. shayad.. part2 is gonna b more abt it...
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