Text 7997, 101 rader
Skriven 2013-12-19 08:45:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: travels 610
===================
Turns out my room was not quite so perfect as I had
hoped: the alarm clock didn't work (so I opened the
curtains to be wakened by the sun), and the bed I
carelessly flopped down in had been recent occupied
by someone wearing heavy heavy cologne ... after
finding this out and rinsing myself off, I simply
went over to the other bed and had a decent sleep.

So I got up at 9ish and went out for the Hampton
breakfast, of which the best things one can say
are that one won't die from it and that it's worth
half the price, which is zero.

Waiting for the elevator was an incredibly gorgeous
20-something, who sort of smiled and said "hi" after
I stammered my good mornings; it appears she's
accustomed to elderly men drooling down their shirts.

I deliberately sat with my back to her so as not to
dilute my breakfast, which consisted of turkey sausage
and "western-style omelets." The sausage was, well, it
tasted of elderly turkey thigh meat, so not poisonous;
the omelets were egg substance with dice of ham, red
and green bell pepper, maybe a whisper of onion mixed
in, fried hard and then folded around some white dairy
product. I gave up on this and had a bowl of oatmeal
with granulated brown sugar, mixed white and dark
raisins, and almond slivers: quite good, actually.

I heard the young lady having a meeting with her
colleague, another blonde but only ordinarily pretty:
sounds like they're pharmaceutical salespeople, and I
predict that they will soon become fantastically
wealthy and retire to Cancun by the age of 40, where
elderly men will then have a decent chance but
20-something men will have a better one.

A lot of people at the front of the hotel, and I
anticipated a full shuttle; but they ended up leaving
in cars and taxis, and the shuttle had me as the only
passenger. So I left $2 with the driver instead of
the usual and customary $1. I had him drop me off at
D instead of F (where my gate was), because PreCheck is
at B/C and D only, or at B/C (where the bus shuttle to
F departs from), because I'd heard that the congestion
there is massive. Security, despite their now funneling
the elderly, lame and halt, and harmless-looking into
the fast lane, was close to instantaneous here, though
there was this exchange between me and the guy in front.

 [guy in front starts removing his shoes and taking out
 his computer]

 - You don't have to take your shoes off here unless they
   have metal in them.

 - Really? Are you sure?

 - Yep, and you don't have to put your computer and liquids
   bag into a bin any more.

 - Are you sure?

 - Put it this way, you don't see me doing any of that, do
   you?

So the guy didn't hold up the line, and I was on my way
in 4 minutes tops.

It's a better atmosphere than (I forget) either La Guardia
or Logan, where there's some person with a shrill voice
saying "DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING FROM YOUR CARRYON. DO NOT
REMOVE YOUR SHOES. DO NOT USE THE BINS" and who accosted
some poor deaf or ununderstanding soul who went over to
the stack of bins down the way to pick one up.

I had an hour at the club before my flight, which was at
11:20, but I walked past the United Club, my favorite haunt,
and took the bus to the US Airways Club, where I could be
more easily helped if something happened to my flight.

Well, nothing horrible happened to my flight, and we got in
to Williamsport right on time; I sat next to some guy who
goggled as I did the crossword puzzles and brain teasers in
the magazine within the first ten minutes, so he used that
as a conversation opener, and we had a pleasant chat - he's
a management consultant whose current project was with a gas
company (which I didn't ask and he didn't volunteer), first
time in Williamsport; I gave him the rundown on the dining
highlights of the town and mentioned that he'd be amused by
the airport (insofar as it has but one gate and three flights
out a day but has a decent restaurant anyhow).

Annie picked me up - she's lost a few pounds - and had bbq
beef ribs ready for me at the house - I can't see how anyone
could lose any weight on those. I had mine with piri-piri
sauce, a good combination. Whoops, I don't have space to
talk about lobsters in this post.
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