going to Oh. Hi. Oh! [and other travel news]
well, i'm going to ohio next month. just bought a ticket. everytime i think about going to ohio i think, "i can't believe i'm going to ohio." who does that? i mentioned to the russian that this seems like stuff people do in movies rather than in real life (see "Meet the Parents". or don't, cause lord knows i'm not recommending the film). he asked if i'd ever met a boyf's family before and i said not really. i met ____'s family, but that somehow felt incidental to the fact of our dating. i would've met them anyway just because we were friends. (i'd already known his mom and sister. it was only his uncles and aunt that i met new.) and it sure didn't require getting on a plane and making a special trip.
(when he asked if i wanted to go, i said that i wanted to go because he wanted me to go, and he was like 'so you don't want to go' and i was like 'i didn't say that,' and he was like 'but you didn't say that you wanted to go' and i was like 'well, i mean, it's not like going to ohio has been on my list of things to do' and he was all 'right, so you don't have any interest in going to ohio,' and i was all 'well, no, but i'll go because i have an interest in you,' and he was all 'well why didn't you say so?' and i was like, 'i thought it was implied.' difficult to imagine he couldn't have guessed that. maybe he just needed me to say it out loud.)
he started nudging me about making the trip with him when i got back from the annual labor day weekend trip with my mom. this year's convention was in atlanta. it was both planned and super-last minute because my mom's method of planning was a little lacking. i guess she has a friend who works for an airline, who promised to get us travel vouchers. when those didn't materialise, she had to buy tickets. she accidentally bought tickets for a later flight time than she wanted, so we got to the airport super-early the morning-of and changed flights. (couldn't fly stand-by, unfortunately, so she had to pay the change fee.) as we were sitting on the plane, i asked where we'd be staying and learned she hadn't made arrangements. i convinced her to call the niece she'd assumed would be able to accommodate us, and we learned that there was no room in her room; she was staying with her brother and his kids. mom called another niece, who lives in atlanta and agreed to pick us up from the airport. (i got to meet her son for the first time. he's 10 but very big so looked at least 13 to me. he's also got a mental handicap of some kind; I think my mom mentioned autism but i'm not sure whether that was a theory or a diagnosis. he doesn't like freeways, apparently, so spent the ride from the airport with his head buried between a pillow that was propped against my knees and the back of the driver's seat. this is my mom's oldest brother's daughter. her mother, my mom's sister-in-law, is also staying in atlanta. she recently had surgery, but our trip was so whirlwind, we didn't get to see her; just talked to her, and another cousin, on the phone.)
when we got to the hotel, the site of the convention, we learned that all of the rooms that had been reserved at the special convention rate were sold out. mom didn't want to pay full price for a room. so, we went to the suite that had been rented by the convention committee, got something to eat (they served free meals for all the convention attendees) and mom asked around until we found a woman who had a spare bed in her room. this woman turned out to be a cousin of mom's. she was very nice and i wish i could remember her name. i only remember that her last name was joseph, because i needed that info to connect to the free in-room wifi. i'll have to ask about the rest of her name later. (and i seriously doubt joseph is really her given last name. i sense christian name shenanigans there.)
other details of the trip:
i was up most of the night before. i'd tried to get my hair braided before the convention weekend, but my regular braider totally flaked. mom's got some kids staying with her. two hong kong exchange students (boys) and one cameroonian girl who was recommended by a friend of hers (they took a cna class together). mom asked the cameroonian girl to braid my hair the night before we left. so that took until 11pm or midnight and then i had to buy toiletries and get packed. long story short, by the time we got to atlanta, i was knackered.
mom's legs were swollen and she was having trouble walking, so i requested a wheelchair for her. definitely helped us get through security faster. (i caused a bit of a delay, though, because i forgot to take my pepper spray out of my backpack.) i think that's also the reason we got bunkhead seats on that first plane. very nice.
the convention itself was fine, just as usual. got a chance to wear some new outfits. i had more of a hand in selecting the design of these ones, so i really looked forward to wearing them. and i was really glad they still fit, since mohammed made them last year. i'm usually a bit aloof at these events, but this was the first year i felt disconnected. so i think i'll try to participate a bit more next year. some good news is that... well some history is that there are now two onitsha america groups because of a rift several years ago. a contentious election, ending in a law suit. the loser took his supporters and formed his own club. now the two factions are tired of being separate, so are looking for ways to reunite. talk at the convention was of maybe voting to eliminate the contested position altogether, so there would be nothing to fight over. (but, to paraphrase my dad when i told him about this, "a nigerian giving up a seat of power? willingly? yeah. when pigs fly." so we'll see what happens.)
the flight back was eventful. we got to the airport on time. (mom rented a cab, which turned out to be $20 more than she'd been told it would cost. she got a bit salty about that, but it beat taking the train.) the airport in atl had a designated waiting area for folks needing wheelchairs, so we sat there for a while, but finally got on the plane. oh, but first i should mention that there was a tropical storm in the south that weekend. it didn't quite touch atlanta, but still the weather got progressively worse. the first day we were there was sunny hot humid. the next day was gloomy hot humid, and then it started to drizzle. monday as we were leaving was another overcast day.
so the plane took off. everything seemed normal. then we started hitting pockets of turbulence, also relatively normal. then, you know how you never really pay attention to the safety videos because you've seen it so many times before and nothing really ever happens anyway? well, one of those things that the stewardess in the video assured us hardly ever happens, happened. the oxygen masks came down from the ceiling. the pilot got on the intercom and let us know that the cabin had depressurized and we were going to go down to a lower altitude. those oxygen masks are bullshit, by the way. i've heard that they don't serve any more purpose than a placebo, but mine didn't even have that affect. i don't think there was any air flowing through that thing. i'm not sure how everyone else managed to stay so calm. there was a guy somewhere behind me who offered the explanation that the turbulence was due to the tropical storm and the clouds and the pressure systems. his words sounded sensible enough that i guess people felt comfortably informed.
the pilot explained that the turbulence would be worse at the lower altitude. i was just glad that i'd gotten out of the bathroom before all this started (because, remember that scene from "Airplane!"?). when we got to the lower altitude, the pilot let us know that we'd be turning around and heading back to atl. he said it would take about 30 minutes. as i counted down, i considered the whole 'dying in a plane crash' thing. quite a helpless position, being in the air like that. almost any other mode of travel would have been preferable at that point because if anything happens in a plane, well, i can't fly. even the titanic had survivors.
but we landed without incident. firetrucks met us on the tarmac, inspectors waiting to board the plane and find out what the what. the airline gave us meal vouchers to keep everyone occupied while they readied another plane and rounded up another flight crew. mom and i hit Dunkin Donuts. (i had managed to get in a visit to Waffle House, but missed visiting DD before the trip's end.) the second-try flight was much smoother, and the flight attendants were very accommodating; free earbuds for everyone. (the in-flight movie was "Something Borrowed". i read through most of the film and then put my headset on when it seemed near the end, because all i really wanted to know about the movie was who ended up with whom.) applause when we landed in san francisco.
so, that was the flight experience i'd just walked away from when the russian greeted me at the door with the words 'you should come with me to ohio.' this was a bit of a problem since i'd just promised myself that i would never fly again, but get really rich so i could take cruises everywhere, and trains. but i guess i'm over it. maybe. (the nudging turned to nagging after a bit, so i didn't have much option.) on the plus side, the flight vouchers i received from delta are helping to make the upcoming visit much more affordable.
next steps: mentioning it to the parents.
This entry was originally posted at http://stuberyl.dreamwidth.org/303617.html. Feel free to comment here or there (but not everywhere).
(when he asked if i wanted to go, i said that i wanted to go because he wanted me to go, and he was like 'so you don't want to go' and i was like 'i didn't say that,' and he was like 'but you didn't say that you wanted to go' and i was like 'well, i mean, it's not like going to ohio has been on my list of things to do' and he was all 'right, so you don't have any interest in going to ohio,' and i was all 'well, no, but i'll go because i have an interest in you,' and he was all 'well why didn't you say so?' and i was like, 'i thought it was implied.' difficult to imagine he couldn't have guessed that. maybe he just needed me to say it out loud.)
he started nudging me about making the trip with him when i got back from the annual labor day weekend trip with my mom. this year's convention was in atlanta. it was both planned and super-last minute because my mom's method of planning was a little lacking. i guess she has a friend who works for an airline, who promised to get us travel vouchers. when those didn't materialise, she had to buy tickets. she accidentally bought tickets for a later flight time than she wanted, so we got to the airport super-early the morning-of and changed flights. (couldn't fly stand-by, unfortunately, so she had to pay the change fee.) as we were sitting on the plane, i asked where we'd be staying and learned she hadn't made arrangements. i convinced her to call the niece she'd assumed would be able to accommodate us, and we learned that there was no room in her room; she was staying with her brother and his kids. mom called another niece, who lives in atlanta and agreed to pick us up from the airport. (i got to meet her son for the first time. he's 10 but very big so looked at least 13 to me. he's also got a mental handicap of some kind; I think my mom mentioned autism but i'm not sure whether that was a theory or a diagnosis. he doesn't like freeways, apparently, so spent the ride from the airport with his head buried between a pillow that was propped against my knees and the back of the driver's seat. this is my mom's oldest brother's daughter. her mother, my mom's sister-in-law, is also staying in atlanta. she recently had surgery, but our trip was so whirlwind, we didn't get to see her; just talked to her, and another cousin, on the phone.)
when we got to the hotel, the site of the convention, we learned that all of the rooms that had been reserved at the special convention rate were sold out. mom didn't want to pay full price for a room. so, we went to the suite that had been rented by the convention committee, got something to eat (they served free meals for all the convention attendees) and mom asked around until we found a woman who had a spare bed in her room. this woman turned out to be a cousin of mom's. she was very nice and i wish i could remember her name. i only remember that her last name was joseph, because i needed that info to connect to the free in-room wifi. i'll have to ask about the rest of her name later. (and i seriously doubt joseph is really her given last name. i sense christian name shenanigans there.)
other details of the trip:
i was up most of the night before. i'd tried to get my hair braided before the convention weekend, but my regular braider totally flaked. mom's got some kids staying with her. two hong kong exchange students (boys) and one cameroonian girl who was recommended by a friend of hers (they took a cna class together). mom asked the cameroonian girl to braid my hair the night before we left. so that took until 11pm or midnight and then i had to buy toiletries and get packed. long story short, by the time we got to atlanta, i was knackered.
mom's legs were swollen and she was having trouble walking, so i requested a wheelchair for her. definitely helped us get through security faster. (i caused a bit of a delay, though, because i forgot to take my pepper spray out of my backpack.) i think that's also the reason we got bunkhead seats on that first plane. very nice.
the convention itself was fine, just as usual. got a chance to wear some new outfits. i had more of a hand in selecting the design of these ones, so i really looked forward to wearing them. and i was really glad they still fit, since mohammed made them last year. i'm usually a bit aloof at these events, but this was the first year i felt disconnected. so i think i'll try to participate a bit more next year. some good news is that... well some history is that there are now two onitsha america groups because of a rift several years ago. a contentious election, ending in a law suit. the loser took his supporters and formed his own club. now the two factions are tired of being separate, so are looking for ways to reunite. talk at the convention was of maybe voting to eliminate the contested position altogether, so there would be nothing to fight over. (but, to paraphrase my dad when i told him about this, "a nigerian giving up a seat of power? willingly? yeah. when pigs fly." so we'll see what happens.)
the flight back was eventful. we got to the airport on time. (mom rented a cab, which turned out to be $20 more than she'd been told it would cost. she got a bit salty about that, but it beat taking the train.) the airport in atl had a designated waiting area for folks needing wheelchairs, so we sat there for a while, but finally got on the plane. oh, but first i should mention that there was a tropical storm in the south that weekend. it didn't quite touch atlanta, but still the weather got progressively worse. the first day we were there was sunny hot humid. the next day was gloomy hot humid, and then it started to drizzle. monday as we were leaving was another overcast day.
so the plane took off. everything seemed normal. then we started hitting pockets of turbulence, also relatively normal. then, you know how you never really pay attention to the safety videos because you've seen it so many times before and nothing really ever happens anyway? well, one of those things that the stewardess in the video assured us hardly ever happens, happened. the oxygen masks came down from the ceiling. the pilot got on the intercom and let us know that the cabin had depressurized and we were going to go down to a lower altitude. those oxygen masks are bullshit, by the way. i've heard that they don't serve any more purpose than a placebo, but mine didn't even have that affect. i don't think there was any air flowing through that thing. i'm not sure how everyone else managed to stay so calm. there was a guy somewhere behind me who offered the explanation that the turbulence was due to the tropical storm and the clouds and the pressure systems. his words sounded sensible enough that i guess people felt comfortably informed.
the pilot explained that the turbulence would be worse at the lower altitude. i was just glad that i'd gotten out of the bathroom before all this started (because, remember that scene from "Airplane!"?). when we got to the lower altitude, the pilot let us know that we'd be turning around and heading back to atl. he said it would take about 30 minutes. as i counted down, i considered the whole 'dying in a plane crash' thing. quite a helpless position, being in the air like that. almost any other mode of travel would have been preferable at that point because if anything happens in a plane, well, i can't fly. even the titanic had survivors.
but we landed without incident. firetrucks met us on the tarmac, inspectors waiting to board the plane and find out what the what. the airline gave us meal vouchers to keep everyone occupied while they readied another plane and rounded up another flight crew. mom and i hit Dunkin Donuts. (i had managed to get in a visit to Waffle House, but missed visiting DD before the trip's end.) the second-try flight was much smoother, and the flight attendants were very accommodating; free earbuds for everyone. (the in-flight movie was "Something Borrowed". i read through most of the film and then put my headset on when it seemed near the end, because all i really wanted to know about the movie was who ended up with whom.) applause when we landed in san francisco.
so, that was the flight experience i'd just walked away from when the russian greeted me at the door with the words 'you should come with me to ohio.' this was a bit of a problem since i'd just promised myself that i would never fly again, but get really rich so i could take cruises everywhere, and trains. but i guess i'm over it. maybe. (the nudging turned to nagging after a bit, so i didn't have much option.) on the plus side, the flight vouchers i received from delta are helping to make the upcoming visit much more affordable.
next steps: mentioning it to the parents.
This entry was originally posted at http://stuberyl.dreamwidth.org/303617.html. Feel free to comment here or there (but not everywhere).