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and last updated July 18th.,1999.
WELCOME TO MY DAY..
IT IS NICE TO HAVE YOU SHARE IT WITH ME...
Well, folks, I MADE it!
And those new suitcases DID turn out to be something of a trap!
In fact, I was faced with another "Repack at the checkin desk" situation, as when I had to unpack and repack at the carousel to please the Belgian officials, last year, when they wanted me to take THREE light suitcases and make them into TWO heavy ones!! (an experience so unpleasantly handled that I will never set foot in their country again!)!
This time, a really nice young lady, (Thankyou , Jenny), explained that they have a new policy on hand-luggage, especially with laptop computers, and that one of my bags was over the weight limit, and that my computer, in its carry case, would be over the cabin limit of 7 kilos....and she waited patiently and encouragingly as she directed the redistribution of the weight..some from the heavy case to my computer case, the computer case changed to checked-in luggage, and the computer carried on as cabin baggage.....
But it was all so NICELY managed!
The long wait wasn't too bad, either..
Then, on the plane, I met up with a lady realtor from Boulder, Colorado, though she is really a New Zealander, and she has offered me free accommodation in Boulder, with my own room and bath and phone, and full use of the pool and her lovely granite kitchen, which she has not used in the four years of her marriage, in exchange for having me check her computer for viruses, reconfigure some programs she has lost the use of, and teach her and her husband enough about their machines to give them confidence...
And I've flown enough, now, to notice the difference between airlines, and, believe me, folks, Air New Zealand is up there with the BEST!!
To begin with, they seem to have at least double the staff of equivalent-priced American lines, with a happy mix of males and females, and everyone obviously ENJOYING their work...an impression I rarely received on the airplanes I flew in the States last year!
When I commented, I was told that New Zealand is having to rely more and more on its tourist industry, and that The USA's decision to tariff imported lamb is probably the last nail in the coffin, and that the country now plans to ride, not on the sheep's back, but on the well-padded shoulders of well-heeled tourists!
Just as an indication, they have a chef on board, so that things like steak or scrambled eggs are actually cooked fresh; one can actually look forward to--and enjoy--that breakfast after the long, long night...and they even serve ratatouille, for heavens sake, though after cooking six weeks' supply of that for the husband, I wasn't in a hurry to try it..but when I did I found it almost as good as my own!
But Air New Zealand handles things differently!
Which separated my computer from its master disks, and all my passwords and addresses, which was a bit of a worry..
And meant that I had to buy another lightweight computer wheelie-bin in Auckland, which gave me..gulp!.....another bag!!
Funny that one sometimes has to take an overseas trip to meet one's neighbours, but some folk who live just a block away from me were waiting for the Gull, Geelong's airport bus, too, and they are into computers and small business, same as I am, and we actually had quite a lot of fun,and arranged to meet again, later, and perhaps have me do a webpage for them, or have me show THEM how, which I think would be better .
She will even meet my plane!
And I would have to say, Air New Zealand will be roping them in, should this standard of Air Service be maintained!
And if you think that first glimpse of the Land Of The Free looks kinda hazy...I assure you, there is nothing wrong with the Nikon lens..that is the way it IS!! (As any contact lens wearer will verify!
Thus Los Angeles Internation Airport, the notorious LAX came, therefore , as even more of a rude shock than usual....
I think Americans must figure that if telling people ONCE is good, telling them TEN times is ten times as good..and that telling it LOUDER works faster!
And was it MY fault if I couldn't understand the hispanic (or Martian?) accent of the Customs and Immigration Officer I was unlucky enough to score?
Then, as I had suspected, my would-be chauffeur didn't show.
And the weather is so great here right now that I can't imagine what Los Angeles people have to be surly about...unless it is the fact that they are working and not out enjoying that sunshine, and that sea breeze!
I was determined to catch some of that sun, and went for a walk after a swim,before I had even configured the computer hookup, remembering the area fairly well from last time
And I was delighted to find a Ralphs supermarket just around the corner...
After the smiling serenity of Air New Zealand staff, the rather different approach of LAX Customs and Immigration personnel is very marked!
And they do YELL so!!
It doesn't..it just deafens and deadens one's senses after a flight that long!
I mean, okay, they were having a bad day...three big Jumbos in at once, and one of them Chinese, and one Japanese..but the immigrants were't the enemy....surely??
WE WERE an hour late, so he might have been unable to wait, but I have a suspicion he was there all right, and freaked out at the sight of how I look after 25 hours in the air!
(He messaged me about it next night, but more about that later!)
And that didn't faze me, particularly; cabs are easy to get at LAX, though I think my cabbie was the Immigration officer's brother. But he did find the nearby Airport Hotel, a Courtyard By Marriot., and the El Segundo version is particularly nice...and I rewarded his nastiness by giving him a big enough tip that he might revise his opinion of Australians and be nicer to the next one!!..
It is nice here; somehow El Segundo has managed to become a near-airport corporate centre without losing its beach-village character. It is all manicured lawns and flower beds, curving colums and polished granite, yet retaining small shopping strips and a variety of eating places to feed the hungry office-tower denizens..and it is walker-friendly, though I didn't encounter a fellow stroller in my whole long weekend there..but then, it WAS the weekend!!
In fact, I must have looked pretty much at home, strolling about, because a lady from Mississippi, another hotel resident, asked ME for ideas about good places to walk to, her party all being asleep indoors, and she being too afraid to drive in this strange part of her country in their hirecar.
And I was able to help her...though I had to apologise for not accompanying her, because my feet were protesting, a lot, about this walking stuff...but I could quiz her about Mississippi, my third scheduled stop, and she asked ME all about the crocodile wrestling and snake hunting in Australia, which she thinks must be a very exciting place to live. She was surprised that I hadn't met Steve the famous Australian crocodile hunter,of whom her family seem to be GREAT fans!
But, alas, I have not had that pleasure!
I discovered Ralph in Vermont, my first American state last year, and would NEVER miss a kitchen, had I a Ralph's nearby at every stop...
And apart from the most luscious (and healthy, of course) prepared meals, I was able to stock up on some things I CAN'T get in Australia..like the toothpaste in convenient plastic bottles, and the enzyme cleaning drops that go with the contact lens range we keep in out pharmacy now, and the little individual cartons of flavoured coffee whitener....
But no battery charger yet...that will have to wait for Atlanta...unless I can locate one in the AirportFromHell!
....
I think I MIGHT be getting special treatment here!
Even though I booked in at the special online reduced weekend rate, I have room 101, which, with the boardroom, forms a little wing of its own right off the entrance , the guest lounges and the Courtyard Cafe, and they brought an outdoor chair, my standard request , with a smile.
Ma'am, eesn't zee boileeng warter een zee boileeng warter tap hot eenough?"
And it turns out that the funny red thing on the vanity unit IS my teamaker, and it works very nicely, thankyou!
I can see it is going to take me longer than usual to teach John how to do NOTHING, something I am VERY good at, especially on vacation!
There is an ice machine just down the hall, on the way to the exercise room and pool, so one can keep foods cold for a short time at least.
I panicked a bit on arrival when I couldn't find a jug or kettle to go with the coffee mugs and makings, and the housekeeper was a bit puzzled when I called her..
And just as I was feeling smug that I had mastered all Marriot's little ways!
though I will NEVER like their tap/plug/bath/shower arrangement, I can see I will have to use Marriots more than once a year if I am to keep up with the advances in their technology!
But their shampoo hasn't changed and my hair still loves it, and began to look better at once!
Though I was surprised when Mississippi friend, John, asked if I wear a stocking on my head.......huh?
John is heading to England for a week on Monday 19th for the Air Show there, and glad the Air Force plane is installing real seats instead of web seats they usually use, but John is going to take a hammock as well, so he can sleep in the back, he says.
And he is still thinking up things for me to do in Mississippi and New Orleans..
To join the long, long list of occupational hazards he has in mind, about which I've written at length on previous pages, he has added Mississippi steamboating, a visit to a cemetary to see some Voodoo Ladies, and a visit to a zoo where the alligator farm will fascinate me..
Hmmmm...
Perhaps I'll meet the famous Steve there!
I keep asking what happened to lazing beside the bayoux with a mint julep, but John says that was years ago and doesn't happen now...
I have had quite a chat to the MaitreD, (Greek or Italian?) whose constantly dropping eyes reminded me that last time in America I vowed never to wear a T Shirt in public again...
At least he had the grace, when I fixed him with a beady eye, to admire my..er...amber pendant!
And when I enquired about the fire, in summer, he said it was never permitted to go out...that it was kind of like the Olympic Flame.....
And that San Diego friend, the one I travelled right aroung the world to see, last year, (on HIS suggestion), and who kept me waiting around while he thought about it...
And that friend who was going to meet my plane and get me settled in, and take me sightseeing..that one who didn't show up......
And Sunday was another glorious sunny day..
And who asked me for cocktails at 5pm on Saturday, in, I THINK, San Diego, an invitation I filed into the "Raincheck" basket!!
Well, we are TALKING at least, which is progress of a kind...I mean, he emailed me a number to call, and a time, and I called HIM and we talked for an hour or so, (aaggh longdistance), and then HE called me,next day, and we talked for ten seconds and then his next appointment arrived...
Oh well, it is progress of a kind..and at least he seems to be showing some interest in MY progress this time!
And I guess I can forgive his not calling in when he drove close to my hotel, twice, on Saturday morning, and then straight back to San Diego...
Seems he was driving his mother in law to the airport, and that third person he mentioned in the car, so that he could use the carpool lane, must have been his WIFE!
Hmmm! I DO get the picture!!
THAT one messaged me via ICQ on Saturday nighrt and said he had lost all my info and would I give it all to him again, especially my room number, because the hotel wouldn't hand it out.....
And THEN he asked if I had lost HIS phone number , because he had thought we had a date for Saturday night and had been waiting for me to call....
And give me credit here, folks, I didn't say one word about Prior Engagements, at the airport, for example...
In fact, I didn't say very much at all..
And I didn't go out on Saturday night, either!
And by the time he reads this, and realises he knows my room number, I shall be well away!!
I called Delta to reconfirm my booking to Atlanta and to find out what THEIR policy is on weight and checkin luggage and cabin allowance...to find they are doing things the old way..three bags total with a cabin allowance of 40 pounds, which means my old computer wheelie case is not too heavy, and leaves me with..aagghh...a bag too many again!
So..on to Atlanta tomorrow, after I repack...
Someone asked me online, what I get out of all this upheaval...actually he said, "What's In it for you?"
And I might even turn on the television, just because it is there..something I haven't done yet,since I located my favourite classics station on the radio as soon as I arrived, and have been either reading, sleeping, walking , talking on the phone or computing ever since ..so it was left for John to tell me on the phone about John Kennedy Junior and his wife..
There really IS a curse on that family..!
And, last year, I was here for Viagra and Monica Lewinsky!
And this from a total stranger who had been reading the travel diary!
So said I love the warm weather , and the break from routine, and the feeling of independence... that I wanted to walk a lot and lose some weight, and he said, surely there must be MORE than that?
Well, I told you I'm thinking about it, folks, and I have been...
And I have to admit that the way I feel at home here is surprising even me...
I have to keep reminding myself I DON'T live here, and it is NOT my country!
But a part of me just won't LISTEN!!
Love to everyone ,and everyone on our side!
-from
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©Robin Knight, 1999.
