sleepysleepysleepysleepy
I am back in the US and dead from jetlag. orz Carrying my suitcases and bags and backpack and laptop for a whole day murdered every muscle in my body and now I can barely get out of bed.
The ten-hour flight back wasn't bad because I spent the ENTIRE time hypnotized by the Hatsune Miku PSP game. R is amazing so the morning of my flight he came to my room and suddenly GAVE ME his PSP and just told me to mail it back if he asks for it ;_; I miss him so much already lkdjsg
by some weird coincidence, someone from my Japanese class back at my US college was in Japan at the airport getting on the same flight as mine, so at least I had a travel buddy. A travel buddy who was probably weirded out by my awkwardness like everyone else because he ran away pretty quickly. orz
After the flight I was stuck in customs for TWO HOURS because the line was so goddamn long for no reason. Took an hour just to show our passports. Every time someone passed through the jerks working there would waste time making small conversation ("So where did you go? How was it? Did you have a good time?") even when their bored voices made it really obvious that they didn't actually care, so it took forever to do something so simple. Then for some reason we all had to go in and GET OUR BAGS, which took another hour because there were so many people in a small space trying to get their baggage. Then another long line, also for no fucking reason (to show our passport AGAIN as we exit the baggage area). All that work just so I could show my passport twice and carry my bags by MYSELF to a United checkin counter so they could move the bags to my next flight. (isn't moving luggage between planes for transfers the airline's job? fuck you, airport)
Needless to say, because of the pointless lines, lousy employees, and crappy facility (the Los Angeles airport is an enormous shithole that isn't nearly large or good enough to suit the number of people transferring there; every single escalator and moving sidewalk around customs was broken, making it take even more time) I missed my flight to Denver. They moved me to a flight two hours later, which I STILL barely made because their security line was horrible. They were funneling three lines into one line and they had ropes everywhere and didn't clearly mark which area was the right one to enter and kept changing the ropes. :\
I couldn't even find where to go from the customs exit because they don't have signs or staff directing anyone. I asked the first nametag-wearing person I could find for directions, but she didn't even work there. Apparently that airport has people who surround the customs exit to ask confused and jetlagged people for DONATIONS. It makes me absolutely furious. What about people who have never been to the US before and can barely speak English? The first thing they see in our country will be some asshole asking for money and will probably pay because they'll think it's some kind of American custom. :\ Ugh.
That lady gave me wrong directions so I walked outside and was approached by another nametag-wearing lady who was dressed in a flight attendant-esque unifom. She asked me "So, sweetie, where is your destination?" and I explained to her where I was going and how I couldn't find the gates. She gave me directions and then... asked for a donation. These donation-hungry bastards are even going so far as to disguise themselves as employees to be helpful and then ask for a donation after they've made you feel indebted and guilty. Where the hell were the actual EMPLOYEES?
I would write a giant complain to the Los Angeles airport if I knew where to send one. They probably wouldn't read it, anyway. Next time I go to Japan I am going to make sure my plane transfers in San Francisco instead; the airport there is awesome and put me through none of that bullshit. I was out of my first plane and to the gate for my second in like 15 minutes in San Francisco. The facilities are bigger and cleaner and have better food, too~
Just spent today sleeping and trying to make my brain adjust to its surroundings. I make :O faces every time I go outside and see big cars and big streets and people speaking English so it's going to take a week to wear off. The food makes me miserable. In Japan I could get a delicious set meal with drink and sides pretty much anywhere for about $8 without having to pay tip. Here, the food comes in huge portions with a bad taste (quantity is louder than quality pretty much everywhere I go) and costs usually at least $10 plus tip and no drink included. I want to cry. =A= I hate the American tipping culture so much (pay your damn employees better! and you should be doing your best because it's your job and not because you want a few extra bucks!). Someone give me a list of countries that do not accept tips so I can go there forever.
Fruit flies have invaded the kitchen so I can't even cook up anything fresh. I wanted to come back and practice all of the new dishes I learned and have some fresh food but the second I whip out a veggie to cut it it will probably get swarmed by flies, so I am just hiding in my room with a glass of water waiting for them to die out. My bus pass expired so it's not worth it to stray far from home to get a good bite to eat. I couldn't even find anything good in the grocery store's takeout section. They have a giant wall of cold bottled drinks but NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM was sugar-free. They had plenty of different teas but ALL of them had sugar or artificial sugar. I don't want fifty flavors of gatorade or other colored sugar water please give me some cold tea ;A; I like cakes and ice cream too but do we really need so much sugar in things that aren't desserts? I used to be able to drink several cans of soda a day but now I can't even take more than two sips before I start feeling sick. I hope some company out there will hear my pain and try to make money off of me and other Americans with similar feelings (if there are any out there aaaaa) ;A(\ I am just so sick of being stuck with water (if that's even an option) or nothing when I am at American convenience stores, checkout counters, takeout areas, vending machines, and pretty much everywhere else. I only like a little bit of sugar in my coffee, and even then only a LITTLE bit. The canned coffees here make me feel like I am drinking ice cream.
oh wow this entire post is bitching :( FORGIVE ME
it's probably because these jetlag headaches are making me grouchy.
The ten-hour flight back wasn't bad because I spent the ENTIRE time hypnotized by the Hatsune Miku PSP game. R is amazing so the morning of my flight he came to my room and suddenly GAVE ME his PSP and just told me to mail it back if he asks for it ;_; I miss him so much already lkdjsg
by some weird coincidence, someone from my Japanese class back at my US college was in Japan at the airport getting on the same flight as mine, so at least I had a travel buddy. A travel buddy who was probably weirded out by my awkwardness like everyone else because he ran away pretty quickly. orz
After the flight I was stuck in customs for TWO HOURS because the line was so goddamn long for no reason. Took an hour just to show our passports. Every time someone passed through the jerks working there would waste time making small conversation ("So where did you go? How was it? Did you have a good time?") even when their bored voices made it really obvious that they didn't actually care, so it took forever to do something so simple. Then for some reason we all had to go in and GET OUR BAGS, which took another hour because there were so many people in a small space trying to get their baggage. Then another long line, also for no fucking reason (to show our passport AGAIN as we exit the baggage area). All that work just so I could show my passport twice and carry my bags by MYSELF to a United checkin counter so they could move the bags to my next flight. (isn't moving luggage between planes for transfers the airline's job? fuck you, airport)
Needless to say, because of the pointless lines, lousy employees, and crappy facility (the Los Angeles airport is an enormous shithole that isn't nearly large or good enough to suit the number of people transferring there; every single escalator and moving sidewalk around customs was broken, making it take even more time) I missed my flight to Denver. They moved me to a flight two hours later, which I STILL barely made because their security line was horrible. They were funneling three lines into one line and they had ropes everywhere and didn't clearly mark which area was the right one to enter and kept changing the ropes. :\
I couldn't even find where to go from the customs exit because they don't have signs or staff directing anyone. I asked the first nametag-wearing person I could find for directions, but she didn't even work there. Apparently that airport has people who surround the customs exit to ask confused and jetlagged people for DONATIONS. It makes me absolutely furious. What about people who have never been to the US before and can barely speak English? The first thing they see in our country will be some asshole asking for money and will probably pay because they'll think it's some kind of American custom. :\ Ugh.
That lady gave me wrong directions so I walked outside and was approached by another nametag-wearing lady who was dressed in a flight attendant-esque unifom. She asked me "So, sweetie, where is your destination?" and I explained to her where I was going and how I couldn't find the gates. She gave me directions and then... asked for a donation. These donation-hungry bastards are even going so far as to disguise themselves as employees to be helpful and then ask for a donation after they've made you feel indebted and guilty. Where the hell were the actual EMPLOYEES?
I would write a giant complain to the Los Angeles airport if I knew where to send one. They probably wouldn't read it, anyway. Next time I go to Japan I am going to make sure my plane transfers in San Francisco instead; the airport there is awesome and put me through none of that bullshit. I was out of my first plane and to the gate for my second in like 15 minutes in San Francisco. The facilities are bigger and cleaner and have better food, too~
Just spent today sleeping and trying to make my brain adjust to its surroundings. I make :O faces every time I go outside and see big cars and big streets and people speaking English so it's going to take a week to wear off. The food makes me miserable. In Japan I could get a delicious set meal with drink and sides pretty much anywhere for about $8 without having to pay tip. Here, the food comes in huge portions with a bad taste (quantity is louder than quality pretty much everywhere I go) and costs usually at least $10 plus tip and no drink included. I want to cry. =A= I hate the American tipping culture so much (pay your damn employees better! and you should be doing your best because it's your job and not because you want a few extra bucks!). Someone give me a list of countries that do not accept tips so I can go there forever.
Fruit flies have invaded the kitchen so I can't even cook up anything fresh. I wanted to come back and practice all of the new dishes I learned and have some fresh food but the second I whip out a veggie to cut it it will probably get swarmed by flies, so I am just hiding in my room with a glass of water waiting for them to die out. My bus pass expired so it's not worth it to stray far from home to get a good bite to eat. I couldn't even find anything good in the grocery store's takeout section. They have a giant wall of cold bottled drinks but NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM was sugar-free. They had plenty of different teas but ALL of them had sugar or artificial sugar. I don't want fifty flavors of gatorade or other colored sugar water please give me some cold tea ;A; I like cakes and ice cream too but do we really need so much sugar in things that aren't desserts? I used to be able to drink several cans of soda a day but now I can't even take more than two sips before I start feeling sick. I hope some company out there will hear my pain and try to make money off of me and other Americans with similar feelings (if there are any out there aaaaa) ;A(\ I am just so sick of being stuck with water (if that's even an option) or nothing when I am at American convenience stores, checkout counters, takeout areas, vending machines, and pretty much everywhere else. I only like a little bit of sugar in my coffee, and even then only a LITTLE bit. The canned coffees here make me feel like I am drinking ice cream.
oh wow this entire post is bitching :( FORGIVE ME
it's probably because these jetlag headaches are making me grouchy.