so i have just discovered itunes podcasts - so fun! well, wait. it's fun, yes, but i have just realized how many HOURS of the past few days i have wasted browsing the itunes podcasts directory. and yes, i did download many music videos, but i'm done with that. we're in a recession! i need to be SAVING money not downloading music videos for sentimental value!
BUT the podcasts are free. and i have german and french and english ones. so exciting!
one of my favorite movies is The Departed and so when I saw a podcast of the making of the departed i thought, "well, i have to have that." so i downloaded it. if you don't know, the departed takes place in boston, my old stomping ground for many years. i have a love/hate relationship with boston, leaning towards the latter. so when they interviewed marky mark (now going by mark whalberg, although to me he will always send good vibrations through the funky bunch) and he explained why he was so excited to work on the departed, i had to laugh. 1) martin scorcese and 2) being back in boston, his hometown. he then notes that his character is a cop and that "you either become a crook or a cop in boston. or a construction worker. there's not too much in between."
so true.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
why i'm still afraid of ryanair (london - final)
my last day in london was very relaxed (well, up until i got to the airport). i woke up and hung out with elaine's friend while elaine slept. we watched bridget jones's diary which is always refreshing to watch. after we woke elaine at 1pm, the three of us joined elaine's sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law and went for lunch. we found a pub a few minutes away from elaine's and had typical english fare. i thought we left there at 4:15 and that it took us a little more than 5 min to get back to elaine's. i gathered my things and elaine and i left for the tube station. the goal was to get to the tube station at 4:30, but when i looked at my watch it said 4:50. i wasn't entirely worried - i figured i must have switched the time incorrectly or something. i definitely did not think that was the real time.
i got to liverpool station in less than a half hour. i jumped on the first train to stanstead airport to discover that i had just missed one and this one was running late. oh, and it was not a 30 min ride, but a 45 min one. oh, and my ipod clock was correct - my flight was leaving in about an hour. all of these little losses of time added up to one final fact: i got to the airport, to the ryanair counter, at exactly 30 min before the flight was meant to leave. an english girl was there with me. we spoke with the woman, who did not seem to be rushed, and explained that we each had carryon luggage and would like to check in. at the time, the board which displays where to check-in still said that the flight was open for check-in. she radios on her walkie-talkie (is that what they're called when anyone other than 7-year olds are using them?) to the gate agent explaining our situation. he calls back, "ummm, nooo... the flight is on time. i don't think they'll make it through security on time." that's it. he didn't even sound convinced. kind of like he didn't care. so the two of us are standing there looking at this woman and she looks back at us. after about 15 seconds she says, "well, you heard him. the flight is closed." ????
since this is ryanair, if you miss your flight, you are forced to buy a ticket for the next flight rather than being put on the next flight. i have a feeling that the guy on the other end of the walkie-talkie was just looking out for his job and figured it was an easy way for ryanair to make 100 pounds (50 pounds for each of our tickets). so i go to the ryanair ticket counter (separate from the check-in counter) and say, "apparently i have missed my flight." the guy responds, "well, why are you not sure?" and i said, "well, i think i can still get through security in time, but they won't let me check in." no response. he then explains that the ticket is 50 pounds for a monday morning 6am flight. he suggested i go to air berlin to see if they have a flight flying out that night (sunday). since i had friends in berlin waiting to see me, i wanted to get back as soon as possible. the flight at air berlin for that night was 230 pounds. !! i ask the woman at air berlin if there were hotels at the airport and where could i get information on them. she points me in the direction of the hotel information desk.
my thinking was that, if i had to take a 6am flight, i would have to leave london around 3am, at the LATEST, to get to the airport on time (and i certainly did not want to miss the flight again) and it cost 30 pounds just to get back in to london. staying at the airport would be the easiest and cheapest option, in a day full of tiring, expensive choices.
i approach the desk called "hotel information" and ask about hotels, particularly the hilton (where i have pas mal amount of points). he explains to me that [despite being the HOTEL information desk], he only has information on the holiday inn and the sheraton. he points me in the direction of airport information for hilton information. she gives me a piece of paper with numbers for the three hotels. i then call the hilton - keep in mind, using my german mobile phone calling a london number - tres cher! i secure a room at the hilton (about 97 pounds), even though the woman on the phone could not tell me how to actually get to the hilton at the airport (it wasn't within walking distance) and go back to the ryanair counter.
i walk up to a woman at ryanair and say "i'd like a ticket for berlin tomorrow morning." she stares at me, gape-mouthed, "they're cheaper if you book online." right. "ok, but i don't have access to the internet." (what did she think - i drove all the way out to the airport to book a ticket???) "i was told that its 50 pounds." "oh, so you missed your flight?" "yes." she gives me a ticket and many grimacing faces while she realizes i dont, just to annoy her, have my confirmation number on me. finally: ticket sorted out. she kind of points me in the direction of the hotel transportation. i have to ask 3 people along the way where i can catch the shuttle for the hilton hotel. once again, i have just missed the last one and have to wait 30 min.
the rest of the night was uneventful except that i got to watch american tv in the hotel. yippee! i got room service and woke up at 4am to catch my flight.
a few hours later, i was back in berlin.
2-3 days after i got back to berlin, i receive an email from ryanair:
i got to liverpool station in less than a half hour. i jumped on the first train to stanstead airport to discover that i had just missed one and this one was running late. oh, and it was not a 30 min ride, but a 45 min one. oh, and my ipod clock was correct - my flight was leaving in about an hour. all of these little losses of time added up to one final fact: i got to the airport, to the ryanair counter, at exactly 30 min before the flight was meant to leave. an english girl was there with me. we spoke with the woman, who did not seem to be rushed, and explained that we each had carryon luggage and would like to check in. at the time, the board which displays where to check-in still said that the flight was open for check-in. she radios on her walkie-talkie (is that what they're called when anyone other than 7-year olds are using them?) to the gate agent explaining our situation. he calls back, "ummm, nooo... the flight is on time. i don't think they'll make it through security on time." that's it. he didn't even sound convinced. kind of like he didn't care. so the two of us are standing there looking at this woman and she looks back at us. after about 15 seconds she says, "well, you heard him. the flight is closed." ????
since this is ryanair, if you miss your flight, you are forced to buy a ticket for the next flight rather than being put on the next flight. i have a feeling that the guy on the other end of the walkie-talkie was just looking out for his job and figured it was an easy way for ryanair to make 100 pounds (50 pounds for each of our tickets). so i go to the ryanair ticket counter (separate from the check-in counter) and say, "apparently i have missed my flight." the guy responds, "well, why are you not sure?" and i said, "well, i think i can still get through security in time, but they won't let me check in." no response. he then explains that the ticket is 50 pounds for a monday morning 6am flight. he suggested i go to air berlin to see if they have a flight flying out that night (sunday). since i had friends in berlin waiting to see me, i wanted to get back as soon as possible. the flight at air berlin for that night was 230 pounds. !! i ask the woman at air berlin if there were hotels at the airport and where could i get information on them. she points me in the direction of the hotel information desk.
my thinking was that, if i had to take a 6am flight, i would have to leave london around 3am, at the LATEST, to get to the airport on time (and i certainly did not want to miss the flight again) and it cost 30 pounds just to get back in to london. staying at the airport would be the easiest and cheapest option, in a day full of tiring, expensive choices.
i approach the desk called "hotel information" and ask about hotels, particularly the hilton (where i have pas mal amount of points). he explains to me that [despite being the HOTEL information desk], he only has information on the holiday inn and the sheraton. he points me in the direction of airport information for hilton information. she gives me a piece of paper with numbers for the three hotels. i then call the hilton - keep in mind, using my german mobile phone calling a london number - tres cher! i secure a room at the hilton (about 97 pounds), even though the woman on the phone could not tell me how to actually get to the hilton at the airport (it wasn't within walking distance) and go back to the ryanair counter.
i walk up to a woman at ryanair and say "i'd like a ticket for berlin tomorrow morning." she stares at me, gape-mouthed, "they're cheaper if you book online." right. "ok, but i don't have access to the internet." (what did she think - i drove all the way out to the airport to book a ticket???) "i was told that its 50 pounds." "oh, so you missed your flight?" "yes." she gives me a ticket and many grimacing faces while she realizes i dont, just to annoy her, have my confirmation number on me. finally: ticket sorted out. she kind of points me in the direction of the hotel transportation. i have to ask 3 people along the way where i can catch the shuttle for the hilton hotel. once again, i have just missed the last one and have to wait 30 min.
the rest of the night was uneventful except that i got to watch american tv in the hotel. yippee! i got room service and woke up at 4am to catch my flight.
a few hours later, i was back in berlin.
2-3 days after i got back to berlin, i receive an email from ryanair:
You are shortly booked to travel with Ryanair (your flight information is detailed below).again: 2-3 days AFTER i got back to berlin. either their systems are incompetant or they are victims of hackers. either way, i am finding a really good paying job so that i never have to fly them again.
Ryanair Flight Details
Confirmation No: K213ML
FR 8547 SXF STN
november planning - help!
so i need help. i need to start planning my trips in november and i am not sure where to go. here are the logistics:
classes end oct 27.
i have my apt in berlin until oct 31.
i need to be in paris by nov 14 so i can fly to barcelona. i return back to paris on nov 17.
i need to be in london on nov 27 to fly back to the US.
so... this means there are a few weeks with nothing planned.
here are some options:
i have friends who have offered to let me stay in oslo (never been to norway), rome (been to venice, not rome), dublin (been to), and brussels (been to). not that i have to go somewhere i have never been, of course. or i could go see an old high school friend in basel or a friend from college in israel (never been to).
i was kind of thinking that i might spend a week or so in paris so that i could take a french refresher class, see friends, and ... well, its paris. i would also like to get to london on the 20th or 21st so that i could spend some time with elaine and maybe travel around england while she works during the week.
any other ideas of where i should go?
i am kind of afraid of flying cheap airlines and may just be interested in flying air france or KLM (since they are partners with northwest where i have beaucoup miles).
take the poll or leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. i'm hoping to start booking my travel plans in the next few days...
classes end oct 27.
i have my apt in berlin until oct 31.
i need to be in paris by nov 14 so i can fly to barcelona. i return back to paris on nov 17.
i need to be in london on nov 27 to fly back to the US.
so... this means there are a few weeks with nothing planned.
here are some options:
i have friends who have offered to let me stay in oslo (never been to norway), rome (been to venice, not rome), dublin (been to), and brussels (been to). not that i have to go somewhere i have never been, of course. or i could go see an old high school friend in basel or a friend from college in israel (never been to).
i was kind of thinking that i might spend a week or so in paris so that i could take a french refresher class, see friends, and ... well, its paris. i would also like to get to london on the 20th or 21st so that i could spend some time with elaine and maybe travel around england while she works during the week.
any other ideas of where i should go?
i am kind of afraid of flying cheap airlines and may just be interested in flying air france or KLM (since they are partners with northwest where i have beaucoup miles).
take the poll or leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. i'm hoping to start booking my travel plans in the next few days...
where should i go in november? poll archive
where should i go in november?
dublin 5 (35%)
oslo 5 (35%)
munich 3 (21%)
helsinki 3 (21%)
roma 6 (42%)
basel 0 (0%)
israel 4 (28%)
other (leave comment) 0 (0%)
dublin 5 (35%)
oslo 5 (35%)
munich 3 (21%)
helsinki 3 (21%)
roma 6 (42%)
basel 0 (0%)
israel 4 (28%)
other (leave comment) 0 (0%)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
on and on and on and on (london 3)
so i just want to finish memorializing my trip to london...
back at elaines, we got all gussied up and ready to hit the town. we had some champagne at her place and then went to meet the others at the restaurant Ingognico. there were 15 people, including us. i saw two of my old friends from school in france, ailish and vicki. i met some of elaines friends, which was quite fun to finally put faces to the stories. elaine had sorted out a fixed price menu with glass of champagne, appetizer, main dish, and dessert all ofr 25 GBP (which is a little less than 50 dollars).
apparently, we werent sitting on the 'cool' end of the table - we were the last to get there, so we had to take the last spots. i sat next to elaine on my left and her friend, k, on my right. k was the last person on that end of the table. across from k and i were these two girls, who, i didnt realize until the night was half over, didn't even know elaine (this is why we werent the 'cool' end of the table - elaine didnt even know these girls!). apparently elaine's birthday was around one of her friends' birthday and that friend asked if she could invite some of her friends to the dinner, so they thought it was a celebration for the other girl, i forget her name - linda or something. so when we had our toast with champagne we all said, "happy birthday, elaine!" and then they said "and linda!" and no one else knew what they were talking about.
at one point, i went downstairs to use the restroom and heard from behind me "how are you doing, danielle?" i had no idea who this person was. it turned out to be my friend lisa's friend, collette (does that have two l's or not?). anyway, i have heard about her for years and have never met her. someone must have pointed out who i was. we had a nice chat, and she was very very adamant that i move in with her and her boyfriend and just bum around london for a while. i have no idea if she will remember that conversation, but it did get me thinking... why don't i just spend the first half of the year traveling? i could go crash on friends' couches. i am sure all of you reading this are like, "grreeaaaat. just what we want - danielle visiting." well, be careful what you wish for... he he.
so after dinner, we walk down the street and head to this club, Jewel. right after i paid the 5 pounds to get in, elaines sister and soon to be brother-in-law said they were just going to head home. my feet were killing me soo much from the new shoes i had bought that day, that i figured i would take off with them. we found a cab and went back to elaines.
i later heard that they then went to a club called On Anon and as Elaine said, "on and on and on and on... until no one can walk!" apparently they had a good time there. :)
i have to go give someone else a chance on the computer, so i will finish london, and explain why i am not going to fly cheap airlines anymore...
back at elaines, we got all gussied up and ready to hit the town. we had some champagne at her place and then went to meet the others at the restaurant Ingognico. there were 15 people, including us. i saw two of my old friends from school in france, ailish and vicki. i met some of elaines friends, which was quite fun to finally put faces to the stories. elaine had sorted out a fixed price menu with glass of champagne, appetizer, main dish, and dessert all ofr 25 GBP (which is a little less than 50 dollars).
apparently, we werent sitting on the 'cool' end of the table - we were the last to get there, so we had to take the last spots. i sat next to elaine on my left and her friend, k, on my right. k was the last person on that end of the table. across from k and i were these two girls, who, i didnt realize until the night was half over, didn't even know elaine (this is why we werent the 'cool' end of the table - elaine didnt even know these girls!). apparently elaine's birthday was around one of her friends' birthday and that friend asked if she could invite some of her friends to the dinner, so they thought it was a celebration for the other girl, i forget her name - linda or something. so when we had our toast with champagne we all said, "happy birthday, elaine!" and then they said "and linda!" and no one else knew what they were talking about.
at one point, i went downstairs to use the restroom and heard from behind me "how are you doing, danielle?" i had no idea who this person was. it turned out to be my friend lisa's friend, collette (does that have two l's or not?). anyway, i have heard about her for years and have never met her. someone must have pointed out who i was. we had a nice chat, and she was very very adamant that i move in with her and her boyfriend and just bum around london for a while. i have no idea if she will remember that conversation, but it did get me thinking... why don't i just spend the first half of the year traveling? i could go crash on friends' couches. i am sure all of you reading this are like, "grreeaaaat. just what we want - danielle visiting." well, be careful what you wish for... he he.
so after dinner, we walk down the street and head to this club, Jewel. right after i paid the 5 pounds to get in, elaines sister and soon to be brother-in-law said they were just going to head home. my feet were killing me soo much from the new shoes i had bought that day, that i figured i would take off with them. we found a cab and went back to elaines.
i later heard that they then went to a club called On Anon and as Elaine said, "on and on and on and on... until no one can walk!" apparently they had a good time there. :)
i have to go give someone else a chance on the computer, so i will finish london, and explain why i am not going to fly cheap airlines anymore...
what am i missing most in the US right now? poll archive
what am i missing most in the US right now?
quick elimination of banks 2 (25%)
sarah palin's idiocracy 1 (12%)
new fall tv schedule 5 (62%)
something else? (comment) 0 (0%)
quick elimination of banks 2 (25%)
sarah palin's idiocracy 1 (12%)
new fall tv schedule 5 (62%)
something else? (comment) 0 (0%)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
grass... not so much for me, thank you (london 2)
so we got to elaines apartment at about 1:15 am and chatted for quite a while. we had some tea to help us sleep and then realized it was technically elaines birthday and so we had some champagne to go with our tea. i think bubbly can be drank with anything. or nothing. just drink it.
anyway, saturday morning, we got up and i met her sister, martina, and her future brother-in-law, grant. martina, i knew, was irish like elaine (obviously) and it wasnt until i had been talking to them for about a half hour and grant made some comments about new zealand that i realized he was a kiwi! i am soo horrible with accents! i told them about how, when i was in new zealand for work, i was sitting around with about 6 or 7 people from work and one of them said something like, "well, mark is american, but we like him." and i said, "who's mark?" and everyone looks at me as i realize i was sitting next to mark, the american. i had been talking to him for a few hours and had no idea he was from the US.
so, after accent faux-pas cover ups, the 4 of us go to breakfast at some english pub. i dont think i'm meant to be english. so much beans and pork and marmelade. my food was good, but it was french. wait. maybe we were at a french place for breakfast. hmm....
either way, we ate and then went shopping. i bought 3 pairs of shoes which i thought was an excellent investment considering 1) i would prefer not to stand out like an american with my sneakers all the time 2) i needed shoes for the party that night 3) i only brought 3 pairs of shoes to germany - which is AMAZING and 4) i am pretty sure i am going to wear through the shoes i am wearing now.
oh, then, get this: we sat in the park after shopping. i just will never understand this concept. it was an abnormally nice day in the city, and we were worn out from fighting the crowds, so we go to hyde park to sit. when they suggest this, i am assuming there are park benches or tables or something. nope. its just a big area of grass. they had some lawn chairs but you had to pay to use them AND they werent in the shade. when we got there i said, "well, dont we need a blanket?" and both elaine and martina, being from an irish farm, said, "no, it's not wet." i didnt bother to point out that putting a blanket on wet ground means the blanket will get wet and therefore you may, too. since i felt i needed to protect my fair skin, i asked to sit in the shade. this means that 1) the ground is moist because the sun has not dried it and 2) as elaine pointed out (and which i probably would not have noticed if she had said something) "it smells like dog poop." GREAT. of course dogs pee and poop near trees. so we sit there and everyone else relaxes, stretches out, and takes a nap. i sat perfectly straight up, not moving, so as not to further expose my clothes to the dirty, dog poop infested ground. elaine said i should take my shoes off and walk barefoot in the grass. i gave her a look and later she told me she didnt push me because she thought i needed to take baby steps. this is true. i may never get to that point.
after about an hour, we got up and went back to the apartment to start getting ready. i was relieved.
anyway, saturday morning, we got up and i met her sister, martina, and her future brother-in-law, grant. martina, i knew, was irish like elaine (obviously) and it wasnt until i had been talking to them for about a half hour and grant made some comments about new zealand that i realized he was a kiwi! i am soo horrible with accents! i told them about how, when i was in new zealand for work, i was sitting around with about 6 or 7 people from work and one of them said something like, "well, mark is american, but we like him." and i said, "who's mark?" and everyone looks at me as i realize i was sitting next to mark, the american. i had been talking to him for a few hours and had no idea he was from the US.
so, after accent faux-pas cover ups, the 4 of us go to breakfast at some english pub. i dont think i'm meant to be english. so much beans and pork and marmelade. my food was good, but it was french. wait. maybe we were at a french place for breakfast. hmm....
either way, we ate and then went shopping. i bought 3 pairs of shoes which i thought was an excellent investment considering 1) i would prefer not to stand out like an american with my sneakers all the time 2) i needed shoes for the party that night 3) i only brought 3 pairs of shoes to germany - which is AMAZING and 4) i am pretty sure i am going to wear through the shoes i am wearing now.
oh, then, get this: we sat in the park after shopping. i just will never understand this concept. it was an abnormally nice day in the city, and we were worn out from fighting the crowds, so we go to hyde park to sit. when they suggest this, i am assuming there are park benches or tables or something. nope. its just a big area of grass. they had some lawn chairs but you had to pay to use them AND they werent in the shade. when we got there i said, "well, dont we need a blanket?" and both elaine and martina, being from an irish farm, said, "no, it's not wet." i didnt bother to point out that putting a blanket on wet ground means the blanket will get wet and therefore you may, too. since i felt i needed to protect my fair skin, i asked to sit in the shade. this means that 1) the ground is moist because the sun has not dried it and 2) as elaine pointed out (and which i probably would not have noticed if she had said something) "it smells like dog poop." GREAT. of course dogs pee and poop near trees. so we sit there and everyone else relaxes, stretches out, and takes a nap. i sat perfectly straight up, not moving, so as not to further expose my clothes to the dirty, dog poop infested ground. elaine said i should take my shoes off and walk barefoot in the grass. i gave her a look and later she told me she didnt push me because she thought i needed to take baby steps. this is true. i may never get to that point.
after about an hour, we got up and went back to the apartment to start getting ready. i was relieved.
missing in the US
i started thinking about this just now, i wonder what, if anything, i am missing most in the US... so, what do you think? is there any reason why i should go back to the US?? (aside from the fact that i already have a ticket...) feel free to play the poll and comment here. zaz!
london, london - part 1
i have come to school over an hour early so i can get some ramblings off my chest. hopefully i will have time to get this up...
so i feel an update is due. last thur, i spilled champagne on my computer after my yoga instructor was over. i immediately turned off the computer and flipped it upside down to let it dry out. upon the suggestion of my friend, bobby, i decided not to use it until i came back from london.
i had a flight friday night for london. friday, during the day, i was soooo incredibly bored that even walking around was boring me. my flight wasnt until 10pm, although at the time i thought it was at 9. i got up and packed, did some cleaning, ran errands, and went to school to use the computer. i was meant to meet my italian friend, luisa, but it turns out she didn't have any mobile phone credit and i didn't have internet access, so we weren't able to meet.
anyway, after i went shopping i went back to my apartment and bummed around. when i was younger, i used to have a list of "things to do when bored." i could've used that list on friday, but at the time, i didn't think to make one (which would have decreased my boredom, certainly).
anyway, not wanting to be late for my flight, and having nothing else to do, i left for the airport around 6pm. i had never been to this airport (shonefeld) and so i was worried i might go the wrong way on the train or something. i got to the airport before 7 and went to check in. i was flying the dreaded ryanair and there was this massive line in front of these screens for some city i had never heard of. since it was the only line, i join it. after about an hour waiting in line, i get to the front only to be told that 1) you can only check in for your flight at the counter with your destination on the screen and 2) check-in opens 2 hours before the flight leaves. its at this point when i look at my calendar and see that my flight is at 21:55 - stupid military time got me again! luckily, i had waited so long, london opened shortly after that.
anyway, my flight to london was delayed and i landed almost 45 min late (nearly midnight). my dear friend, elaine, had sent me the train ticket from london stanfield airport in to london. i jumped on the first train to liverpool street and walked into the tube station just as they were closing the gates. i go up to swipe my oyster card (which elaine had also so nicely sent me) and notice a sign that says the last train to wherever elaine told me to go to was at 12:20am. i looked at my watch and it was 12:24. i asked the guy standing there if i had missed it and he laughed at me like, "of course you have." i showed him my paper which had elaines directions and how to get to her place. he took my shoulders and said to me squarely in the eye, "if you run RIGHT NOW you can catch the hammersmith line to [insert station name here, i forgot] and then take a bus to everly. you have to go RIGHT NOW to platform 2." i took off like a banshee. I don't actually know what a banshee is, but i think they're fast. or crazy.
anywaz, got on the train just before it left and texted elaine to tell her where i was. she instructed me of a different stop to get off, so i met her there and walked to her place. whew. so much drama for really no reason...
so i feel an update is due. last thur, i spilled champagne on my computer after my yoga instructor was over. i immediately turned off the computer and flipped it upside down to let it dry out. upon the suggestion of my friend, bobby, i decided not to use it until i came back from london.
i had a flight friday night for london. friday, during the day, i was soooo incredibly bored that even walking around was boring me. my flight wasnt until 10pm, although at the time i thought it was at 9. i got up and packed, did some cleaning, ran errands, and went to school to use the computer. i was meant to meet my italian friend, luisa, but it turns out she didn't have any mobile phone credit and i didn't have internet access, so we weren't able to meet.
anyway, after i went shopping i went back to my apartment and bummed around. when i was younger, i used to have a list of "things to do when bored." i could've used that list on friday, but at the time, i didn't think to make one (which would have decreased my boredom, certainly).
anyway, not wanting to be late for my flight, and having nothing else to do, i left for the airport around 6pm. i had never been to this airport (shonefeld) and so i was worried i might go the wrong way on the train or something. i got to the airport before 7 and went to check in. i was flying the dreaded ryanair and there was this massive line in front of these screens for some city i had never heard of. since it was the only line, i join it. after about an hour waiting in line, i get to the front only to be told that 1) you can only check in for your flight at the counter with your destination on the screen and 2) check-in opens 2 hours before the flight leaves. its at this point when i look at my calendar and see that my flight is at 21:55 - stupid military time got me again! luckily, i had waited so long, london opened shortly after that.
anyway, my flight to london was delayed and i landed almost 45 min late (nearly midnight). my dear friend, elaine, had sent me the train ticket from london stanfield airport in to london. i jumped on the first train to liverpool street and walked into the tube station just as they were closing the gates. i go up to swipe my oyster card (which elaine had also so nicely sent me) and notice a sign that says the last train to wherever elaine told me to go to was at 12:20am. i looked at my watch and it was 12:24. i asked the guy standing there if i had missed it and he laughed at me like, "of course you have." i showed him my paper which had elaines directions and how to get to her place. he took my shoulders and said to me squarely in the eye, "if you run RIGHT NOW you can catch the hammersmith line to [insert station name here, i forgot] and then take a bus to everly. you have to go RIGHT NOW to platform 2." i took off like a banshee. I don't actually know what a banshee is, but i think they're fast. or crazy.
anywaz, got on the train just before it left and texted elaine to tell her where i was. she instructed me of a different stop to get off, so i met her there and walked to her place. whew. so much drama for really no reason...
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