And the cat came back...

Welcome back to Mohondro's Misadventures. This trip is actually a much shorter trip than the last one. Unfortunately, I don't have much of a chance to head out and see too many sites. I'll still type away giving my opinions and observations on anything I find interesting. Here's something I find interesting; the fact that some of you have returned for more punishment in the form of my blathering psuedo-reporting. Actually, I find it humorous. At any rate, let's get this show on the road:

I'm off to an interesting start of this trip. American Airlines couldn't book me all the way through from San Diego to London. Apparently, I'll have to check in again when I get to O'Hare in Chicago. Lovely. I get on the plane and find that I've been given a nice window seat with the bulkhead in front of me. I love the bulkhead. It gives you a little extra leg room at the expense of storage at your feet. Doesn't bother me. I'd rather have the legroom :). Then I find out that I'm dup seated. Somebody else has the same seat as I do. When the stewardess checks our boarding passes, it's because I've been issued someone else's. Great. I'm told that they'll find me a seat shortly. As long as I don't have to stand up for the entire flight, any seat will do... I get a window seat in the middle of the plane. Just my luck, I get a view of the wing. Not that I'll actually see the wing. I don't use the window much anyway. I'll read and catch up on some much needed sleep.

When I arrive in Chicago, I have to leave the terminal and catch a train to another, international, terminal. I get to go through security again...yipee! I love to do that. Nothing more fun that being subjected to security checks that don't actually do anything to insure the safety of the passengers. Security is an illusion people. Did you know that you can board a plane without any ID what-so-ever? You sure can. When asked for ID, tell them you don't have any. You'll have to step aside and go through "additional screening". If it's a giant security line, you'll probably get through quicker. But, the FAA won't stop you from flying. Bureaucracy is fun, huh?

At any rate, I have to check in at the main counter at British Airways. When I get there I find that they don't open for another hour or so. Dammit! I could have slept in and taken the next flight out of San Diego. Bah! Who needs sleep?!? Due to the fact that I was hanging out with some friends the previous couple of nights, I'm running on about 8 hours of sleep over a 72 hour period. At least I'll be able to catch a nap on this next flight. I was out about an hour on the way to Chicago, but, it was pretty restless as I was sleeping against the shade on the sun side of the plane. That shade got awful warm. Whatever.

As I get on the BA plane, I get seated in a window seat on the bulkhead. Deja vu! I check the boarding pass and confirm that it's actually my seat. I get a rum and coke and settle into the flight. A small bottle of wine with dinner and kick on the in-flight entertainment. I was totally lied to by the magazine. I was told that I could watch a completely different movie. But, I "got to" watch Spider Man 3. I missed it in the theaters. Now I'm pretty sure "I wouldn't say I missed it, Bob". But, it did soak up a couple hours of the flight. I never sleep as well on a plane as I do when on an international flight. I got a couple hours of actual rest. Nice!

We arrive in London and I hit customs. It's rather nice not to be considered a threat to the British just based on the length of my stay. This lady asks me how long my stay is and passes me through without a second glance. Not like the grilling I got last time. I didn't have to produce a business card or anything.

I stand a the luggage carousel wondering if this time I will be blessed with luggage. Sure enough, within a minute of the machine spewing forth baggage, I have my quota of bags and go to pick up my car. Must just be LAX that has the kind of incompetence to lose luggage on a four hour layover. Chicago didn't seem to have any issues with it.

I pick up my car at Avis without any hassle at all. It's much smaller than I'm used to renting. Somehow I got marked for medium sized vehicles with our travel agent. This time I made sure to tell them that I want the smallest car that they offer. I had been here once before and have seen the size of the parking spaces. They are postage stamp sized. And you better have a tight turning radius because you're gonna need it. I get a Fiat Grande Punto. The key even has switchblade action! That's gotta be worth a couple pence a day just for the joy of pressing a button and watch the key snap out from the key fob!

It takes me about 30 seconds to find the radio station that I listened to the last time I was here. It takes me much longer to get used to shifting with the left hand while sitting on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of the road. Individually, those are not difficult tasks. Add those together and throw a foreigner on a busy motorway during Friday morning rush hour traffic and it becomes a wee bit more of a challenge. Oh, and a little bit of sleep deprivation. According to the clock I'd been traveling for over 30 hours. That's not really the case, however. I left my place at four in the morning and pulled into my hotel the next morning at 10am. Subtract the 8 hour time difference and we get 2am...22hours on the road. Strange. I thought that number would have been much smaller than that.

While driving to the hotel, I heard a very familiar voice say "Take the 3rd exit off the roundabout". I about freak out! I didn't order the navigation package this time, but, that wench still haunts me while I drive. Then the commercial continues explaining that the new Audi can be equipped with full navigation package for under 500 pounds. That was just a cruel joke. I thought I was back safe and sound in the UK without that damned woman terrorizing me...

The hotel room is *so* much smaller than the Travelodge. However, the shower is *so* much nicer. There is actual water pressure here. I've been screwed electronically speaking, however. The computer doesn't seem to want to recharge using the power converter that I have. And of course, I used up most of the power before I got here. The phone that was assigned to me doesn't seem to want to connect to any network that I find. Seems like it may not even be an international phone.

After the realization that I'm disconnected from the "real world", I made a huge mistake. I broke one of my biggest travel rules. I took a nap. It is my opinion that when you get to another timezone, you acclimate immediately. Don't look at the watch and think "Oh, what time is it back home". What time is it? It's whatever the time your new timezone says it is. You stay up as late as you possibly can before passing out. That way when you do wake up, you're more than likely on the new time zone's schedule. Well, I hadn't got enough sleep leading up to my arrival. That hurt and I fell asleep for what I planned to be a couple hours. Eight hours later I was awake and cursing at myself. I crashed *hard*. It was evening now and I should be getting ready to go to bed. I read until 4am and then hit the sack.