So it's 8:39 and I've checked in. I'm connected to the internet through my jailbroken, tethered iPhone. Probably should have bought more than 20MB of data for international use (since this works), but I'm quite happy that I've gotten around ATT's repressive pricing properties, since I have an unlimited data plan. It's not like I download movies to my iPhone... I always lose minutes -- why can't I tether if I want to?
ANYway, I talked on the phone with a woman named Marianne, who will be one of my traveling companions. We've described ourselves to each other, but I don't see her (I remember short salt and pepper hair). There are lots of women in traditional Muslim garb here, more Asians than I would have thought, a couple of gray-haired older African American women, a Muslim African-American guy, and a lot of other people who "look Egyptian." I don't say that in a racist way; I can listen to an Arab-speaking person speak English and often tell that they're Egyptian -- it's just something that comes with the exposure one has while living in NYC. NYC is so interesting -- on any given day, either leaving the office to get the bus, or walking from the bus stop home, I'll greet people in Spanish, French, Arabic, and English. The other day I stopped in a restaurant, and the guys were playing a version of Bob Marley's classic "War" -- but it was in French. They were saying guerre du nord, Guerre du sur (or something. But they were doing the part where he talks about war in the four directions.) So I started singing and dancing with him. He asked me how I knew it, and I told him "I know the song in English!"
Those are the things I like about NYC.
So some guy just came and plugged his phone in, and when he did my laptop screen went dim. We worked it out, and now he's getting power and so do I. People are really amazing sometimes. I was in the line at Starbucks. They didn't have any decaf coffee and were explaining the options. I was trying to decide whether to have a Cafe Americano or a Cappuccino, and this woman behind me goes, "excuse me, I have a plane to catch." I told her to wait til I finished, and then I turned to her and said "It's an airport, hun. We all have planes to catch. Do you want me to stop doing what I'm doing because you're late?" She tells me, "You don't have to be so aggressive," to which I replied, "but I wasn't the one interrupting someone's order, now was I?" At which point she apologized. She spoke with a French accent, so I can't even accuse her of being a rude New Yorker. And I wonder if her apology was because she realized she was out of line, or because she just didn't want a conflict. Honey, if you're running late, get out of line at Starbucks and go catch your plane. Don't hate on me because I came to the airport with enough time to get coffee from the notoriously slow Starbucks....
I'm pretty happy. Sitting here with only my hoodie and my camera/laptop bag (which they didn't open and scan as I had thought. I have SO many electronics in here, and they let me go through without a second look.) My bag-inside-a-bag weighed 43 pounds, and when I put my coat in it weighed 48 pounds. Which means I get to buy 50 pounds worth of souvenirs! I took my knee brace from the side of my camera bag (strapped it there to get through security easier, rather than wearing it), and put it on in the bathroom. So now all my electronics are in an easily stashable bag, I have my hoodie and a long-sleeved tee (it's like 70 degrees in Cairo), I have my Bible in my pocket, a bottle of water and a decaf cappuccino. I'm good.
Let me stop posting. I'm typing and looking around, and I think people are thinking I'm weird. It's now 8:54. We don't start boarding til 9:40. I'm in seat 40A, Zone 3. I have to go look u p the kind of airplane we are in so I'll know where my seat is, but I think A will be a window seat. Even though I'd checked in with the Delta iPhone app, my Sky Miles number wasn't attached to my reservation when I went to check in. I attached it, though, and I think it has all my preferences, so I think it will be a window seat. I'ma publish this post, check it out, then come back and edit it.
The plane is a Boeing 767. 40A is a window seat towards the rear of the plane. At least I'll be close to the bano....
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