What Time Is It?

Welcome once again to the latest installment of my continuing adventures. Like my last post I am once again waiting for a ride that will take me to Benazir Bhutto International Airport for a flight; this time to Oxnard, Ca. Taken in conjunction with just getting back on Monday from my 10 day trip to Jacksonville, Fl and staying up too late that last couple nights playing Lexulous and Mob Wars on Facebook (I knew joining that thing was going to be a bad idea) my body basically does not know where it is. I'm sure by time I land in LAX at 1 AM local time my brain will be completely short circuited. The good news is that after this trip I will have earned about 40,000 frequent flier miles (one silver lining). But I am getting ahead of myself. I still haven't told you about the last trip.

I left at 4 AM (which is when I leave tonight, or this morning or whatever). Apparently all the flights out of here heading to the States leave dark and early in the morning (somewhere between 2:30 and 4 AM) just like all the flights form the States to here leave around 10 PM. I have to say going to the States seems to suck less than the flight coming to Pakistan, and not just because of the destination. We go over this some in aviation physiology, but I can't recall the exact rational. Basically though the fact that we get to the States during the day seems to make adjusting easier than getting to Pakistan in the early morning. I think sleeping on the plane going east sets you up better and no matter what you are going to be tired when you land so landing in the evening places you closer to the local time to sleep as well.

Here is a tip for those of you that might be flying internationally in the near future. If you have the ability and/or option to get upgraded to business class, DO IT!!!! As far as I can tell there really isn't a first class, so business class is up front where all the good times are. If there is a first class I have to see it just to find out how it could get better. First when you check in you get to go to a different line which is always faster. Then you go to the lounge where they have comfy chairs and drinks (sometimes of the adult variety depending on the country) and snacks and computer access and so on and so on. The seats are huge. The flight attendant gives you a menu so you can place your meal order (yes they actually serve meals - plural) before you take off and they start serving you almost right after flight. On the Boeing 777 the seats can lay completely flat so if you sleep on your side or your stomach like I do you can actually fall asleep. If you don't feel like sleeping they have fully interactive foldout screens (not those dinky ones in the back or the headrest in front of you) with like 100 movies to choose from. After you land they take you to the terminal in a separate bus (the planes almost always park away from the terminal and you get bussed in) and again get to go to a wonderful lounge while one of the airline people clear you passport and get your next boarding pass. I tell you it is the only way to fly. Granted this was all on Qatar Airways, but I flew Emerits to Bahrain in January and it was pretty nice as well. The only bad part is when you have to make that last leg (or first if you are coming this way) on the American carrier. The American version of business is not the same and you are back with the unwashed masses for that flight. For those of you wondering, no the government does not pay for me to fly in business. It pays for the standard economy class and I pay the difference, which is not necessarily cheap, but I figure it's not like I can really spend it on anything else here and it is so worth it.

The one thing that kind of bugged me during this trip was that at Doha, Qatar before you can go to the lovely lounge I had to go through security again. This in and of itself is not that big a deal. What irked me was I had crammed everything into a carry on bag so I wouldn't have to deal with checking anything and getting it lost. When I sent my bag through the x-ray machine I had all my toiletries in it. I had all the miniature sizes and in they were in the clear zip top bag, but I also had a small set of fingernail clippers and two Mach 3 razors. For some reason the security guards felt that this was a safety concern and told me I would either have to check the bag or get rid of the items. I tossed them rather than check the bag. For next hour I tried to figure out how in the world I could possibly take over the airplane with a set of fingernail clippers and 2 Mach 3 razors and I have to say I couldn't come up with anything plausible (and I have a rather active imagination in this area - don't ask).

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind security. I think it is a great thing and absolutely necessary. What I have a problem with is the appearance of security; security for the sake of having security. It's like some of the checkpoints here. The police or guards just wave you through without even looking at you. I've seen them stop a car and be talking to the driver like they are concerned about them and another car just pulls around and drives through (like impatient people can't possibly be terrorists). Lets just say I try to keep my own guard up even after I pass a check point.

Back to the trip, I had a one night layover in DC so I got to hang out with my buddies ET, Nicole S. and Becca M. Here are a pictures to properly embarrass Nicole.

Nicole doesn't like taking pictures.

The meeting in Jacksonville was largely uninteresting. Two days of work crammed into four. I won't bore you with the details. The good part though was getting to see all the guys and gals from the gaggle in Pensacola who are now stationed there. It was great to see you all and I hope you had fun. I know I did.

The P'Cola Gaggle does like taking pictures.

I mentioned my trip to Bahrain earlier and I have not forgotten that I still owe you pictures from that trip. My plan was to bring the disposable camera I got in Bahrain and get the film developed while I was there in Jacksonville and scan them to my computer when I got back. Unfortunately that plan was gooned up by Walmart. I went in on Tuesday to drop the film off at the counter that proudly displays "One Hour Processing". When I told the lady behind the counter that I wanted to get the pictures developed the first thing she tells me is they don't do one hour photos anymore. This should have been a HUGE flag, but I was there and I had a few days to spare and she told me they would be ready on Friday. I didn't leave until Saturday, I thought to myself (more on this later) so it's no big deal. I'll just come back a get them. Friday afternoon comes and I roll in to get the pictures and the nice guy behind the counter says they don't have them and if I turned them in on Tuesday they won't be ready until Monday. Needless to say (but I will anyway) I was a tad bit miffed. I was having a very hard time expressing my displeasure while remaining civil to the guy.

I understand that the guy I was talking to now was not the lady who apparently lied to me and it wasn't his fault she didn't know what she was talking about. I really don't like yelling at the wrong folks but this kind of this really bugs me. Maybe I'm getting old and cantankerous, but it doesn't seem that hard to me. Tell me what you can do and what you can't. Give me the information and I will make the decision that works best for me and everything will be good. Granted I could have taken the camera to CVS or Ritz or anywhere else, but based on the information I was given by someone who should have known it should have worked (huff, huff, huff ... ok clam down). Anyway the net result is I had to leave Jacksonville without the pictures and my good friend Katie L. will have to mail them out to me. Hopefully they will get to me in the next couple weeks, depending on the mail.

You may recall I said I was thinking I was to fly out on Saturday. Well that is indeed what I thought and with that thought in mind I went to the airport Saturday afternoon, turned in my rental car and walked up to the check in counter. Unfortunately that is about as far as I got. I put in my confirmation number and the screen comes back at me that it can't find my reservation. I re-enter the confirmation number thinking maybe I fat figured something. Same result. I'm starting to get a bit concerned, looking at my paperwork when I notice the date in the upper corner of the screen behind the itinerary I am holding. It says Saturday 14 February 2009. The date on my itinerary said Sunday 15 February 2009. That's right I was there on the wrong date. Fortunately I was there early rather than late, missing my flight, but it was a bit embarrassing. The worse (and funniest) part was the next day I went to have lunch with a Katie and Jen T. when my friends Scott and Gena P., who I had just dinner with the night before and had said goodbye to and who thought I had already left, pulled up next to me at a traffic light. The puzzled look on Gena's face was classic even if it was at my expense.

Overall it was a fun trip. I hope this trip will be just as good. I am particularly looking forward to coming down to San Diego on Friday and Saturday. For you SD crowd, let the games begin. And for everyone remember to be good. If you can't be good, be good at it.