Note: So I should have added in the last post that due to the fact that I'm not on the computer that much during the weekends I decided that it's allowed for me to post two days worth of magic in the same day (Jillian are you listening?). I'm still going to divide them into two post and they will be on different topics but in order to give myself any chance to actually accomplish this resolution I need to give myself some leeway in my posting schedule.
Adventures in Airports (January 1st)
During my Christmas travels this year I got to experience a number of airports that I had little to no experience with before. I should also say, since I don't think it is the norm, that I like airports. This might be because, with the exception of one time (damn you Dulles), I have never really had a horrible airport experience. I like airports because they are the most amazing people watching places ever; they are like a weird world where everyone is there for the same reason. Also they are fun because they are invariably different depending on what city you are in. And even though people always say that being in an airport in a certain city does not count as having actually been there, I would disagree because each airport is a small warped representation of that given city. I will now use my experiences in the airports I was in over Christmas to illustrate my point.
LAX (Los Angeles) - So I've been in the Los Angeles airport many many times (and I live in LA) so it's a little harder to form a snap judgement but I don't think I've seen so many Ugg boots and leggings worn with over sized shirts in one place in my life. Angelinos has a strange sense of stylish comfort and no where is this more obvious then in the airport. Also the lines for Starbucks are out of control. Enough said.
Houston-Bush Int. Airport - Ok I think that title basically says it all. And this is Bush II we are talking about here. This was my first time in the great state of Texas and it did not disappoint. As imagined the food choices for a vegetarian were slim but since it was breakfast I was saved by a bagel place. I heard plenty of lovely accents and saw lots of 60 year old women with bleach blonde hair and tons of makeup calling people things like sugar and hun. There were also a good amount of couples wearing matching Wranglers jeans and those weird cowboyesq shirts...odd. There is also, so I was told a bronze sculpture of the beloved dubya somewhere in the airport. I spent the retaining portion of my layover searching for it, to no avail sadly. And this is exactly what I will continue to believe Texas is like. Prove me wrong people...if you can.
Boston - On the return leg of my journey I flew out of the Boston airport, though I have been in this airport before it had been quite some time since my last visit. I was flying on Virgin airlines which apparently was given the smallest terminal ever, they only had two gates and one little food stand so I was forced to entertain myself by people watching. Like Boston itself the terminal had an odd mixture of people. I would say half were ex Boston natives who now lived in SF (where my flight was going) and were in Boston to visit the family for the Holidays. There were also a good amount of Boston natives. Who can be identified by dress and accent alone. I can't really describe them but if you have ever spent a good deal of time in Boston I think you know what I mean.
San Francisco - SFO gets the award of best airport, of this trip at least. They had the best food choices by far (two breweries in the same terminal!) and the best shopping. Granted I did spend 4+ hours here, much more then anywhere else so I really got to explore but San Francisco did not disappoint. And not just in amenities offered but also in quality of people. I arrived at my gate quite early and was able to enjoy the identical twin flight attendants manning the gate next to mine during the boarding. Let me tell you there is nothing creepier than twin flight attendants working the same gate, wearing the same outfit, talking in the same unmistakable nasally voice. And no, they were not hot. Then there was the 12 year old who sat down on the floor where he began reading his U.S. News and World Report, when he tired of that he started in on his workout routine. I judged by the push ups he was doing that today he was working on his upper body. I guess this kid was trying to push the statistics of both childhood obesity and the dumbing down of our nations children in a positive direction. Though my knowledge of San Francisco is limited to the two times I have visited there I would say that the airport portrays some of its characteristics quite well.
So in closing I will say that if you are looking for the cliff notes version of any city you could do a lot worse then visiting that cities airport. I feel all the more cultured for the layovers I had this year.
January 2nd
I'm working on an incredibly powerful, thoughtful post about new years but since this one about airports was so long I'm saving that till tomorrow, so I'll keep today's post short. I have been summoned to jury duty...maybe...well I have at least been summoned to call in everyday after 5pm to see if I will actually be summoned. This should not have been a surprise as I actually received notice last summer and had to postpone as the date I originally had interfered with my trip to Europe. However since my ability to keep a calendar is somewhat lacking I was actually surprised when I received the notice reminding me of when my date was rescheduled to. So starting Monday night I will be calling in to see if the great state of California needs me to sit in a room all day until they tell me I have not been chosen to be on the jury. Really wish I had remembered when all this was gonna happen so I could have told my work about it. Oh well we'll see how it goes, I'll keep you updated.
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