Travel Gripes: Getting There is Half the Battle (Pt. 2 of 2)

I’ve found that it can be just as fun and interesting to travel within the U.S. as it is to travel abroad. Each state has something unique to offer and while I hope to be able to fit in more of that type of travel over time, I haven’t been too thrilled with the process of getting to where I’m trying to go lately. Mother Nature has a way of reminding us that we are not as in control as we like to think and a few of my 2010 trips are evidence of that. I’ve had to adjust to delays stemming from high winds, heavy rain, blizzards, and even a volcanic eruption. But I haven’t let any of this mar my vacations and while I plan to thoroughly check the weather forecasts before venturing out in the future, I know that the mishaps add to the overall experience especially the ones we are least prepared for.

Upon waking during my last day in Virginia, I knew that getting home would be a problem. There wouldn’t be any broken down buses this go-round but the snow that had started the night before now blanketed everything in sight and instead of abating, seemed to be gaining traction. As cozy as my stay had been, I needed to get home so despite the disappointment I felt during the first leg of my trip, I was actually happy that I had decided to take the Chinatown bus instead of flying. They were unlikely to cancel, even during whiteout weather. And when our bus loaded up and took off at a steady pace and only slightly behind schedule, I held out hope that we would arrive at our destination with a two hours delay, at most. Wishful thinking. At 12 hours, my return trip would be just as excruciatingly long as my arrival. Still, as long as the ride was, I was happy to be in a bus and not in any of the numerous abandoned cars we passed on the highway.

My fellow passengers were much more quiet that previous ones, making it easy for me to sleep off and on throughout the first few hours. It was only when we finally made it to the tunnel and had to wait over half an hour for the snow plows to clear the way before they seemed to really come alive. By that point, most of us had been sitting on the edge of our seats for several hours and had been constantly relaying news of our progress to concerned friends and family. But when one passenger decided to exit the bus to ask the policemen why they were blocking our way, several others took it as an opportunity to joke and make fun of her. Looking back, I can understand the change in our collective mood. Although I wouldn’t allow myself to think about anything but making it home, I’m sure that some of us thought that we would have to wait out the storm at some point along the way. Thankfully, we made it to our destination and I got home less than an hour later.

The recent blizzard reminds me of the first blizzard I ever faced, over 10 years ago, not so much because it was almost as fierce but because I couldn’t make it home before it reached its highest point. I remember going to a party thrown by one of my mother's friend earlier that afternoon. By the time my mother was finally ready to leave, the blizzard was picking up speed and instead of taking the risk associated with taking a cab, my mother decided to accept our host’s offer and spend the night. My mother doesn't feel completely comfortable unless she's in her own home. I'm like her that way so when she told her us to get ourselves together the next morning, I was more than ready to go. Unfortunately, the blizzard was still going strong and although we were able to find a taxi to take us part of the way by taxi there was just no escape from the biting cold, burning throat and stinging ears. We had to have trekked home in the snow for at least an hour and while this blizzard was less dramatic and although I was only exposed to the extreme weather for up to 15 minutes, recalling that time that had me anxiously sitting on the edge of my seat all the way home.

Travel Gripes: Getting There is Half the Battle (Pt. 1 of 2)

Undoubtedly, the biggest news surrounding the Tri-State area has been the blizzard that blew through on Sunday and pretty much paralyzed the area through most of Monday. Today, things are getting back to business as usual but last I heard there was snow accumulation of upwards of 20 inches in NYC and I felt just how strong the winds were during my brief foray outdoors on Sunday and Monday. Staying in was definitely the best course of action but since I was returning home from a holiday trip when the blizzard started, I had no choice but to hunker down and hope that I made it there as quickly as possible, with little incident. You see, with a whole day and a half off from work and the promise of an extended weekend, I took the opportunity to book a trip to visit family in Virginia. During the previous weekend, I’d taken a bus down to D.C. and before I could even leave the city, what had started off on a high note quickly went south when I arrived at the pick-up location and came upon the mass of people who were clogging up the sidewalks waiting for their delayed bus. My bus was in turn delayed and it took over two hours of standing in the freezing cold before the bus arrived and we were finally on our way. At the time, I thought that that was the worst that could happen but apparently, I was overly optimistic that nothing would mar the holiday weekend.

In general, I hate traveling during major holidays. There are always too many people in one place and inevitable delays. But it’s a necessary evil. And although I very much wanted to be home on Christmas with the rest of my immediate family, I could not go back on my promise to visit one particular family member who would be alone for the holidays. So I sucked it up and prepared myself to tack on at least another hour to my trip. But I could not have prepared myself for how long my estimated 6-7 hours trip actually lasted. Imagine this, we’re steadily rolling along for close to an hour after pulling away from a rest stop in New Jersey when the bus suddenly slows down and pulls off to a soft shoulder. The driver briefly steps out to check on something and is starting up again within a few minutes. My thoughts at that point were that he really needed a cigarette or to empty his bladder and I couldn’t begrudge him that, as long as there weren’t any more sudden stops. But that was exactly what happened. Not only once but three more times the bus started and stopped before the driver finally announced that he would have to pull into a strip mall close by and we’d have to wait about two hours for another bus! Throughout the stops, a few of my fellow passengers went up to the bus driver and asked him to tell us what was going on. Not an unreasonable request, considering we were paying customers and we were expecting our next and final stop to be in Virginia, not Delaware. But since the driver claimed not to speak any English, he pretty much ignored all questions and said nothing more than he felt that he needed to. One can imagine how someone would react to being ignored in such a manner but that’s Chinatown customer service for you!

The Chinatown bus companies have a long, storied history of poor, rude service, cramped buses and uncommunicative drivers and I saw evidence of this when I boarded the bus. The only words spoken to the customers were instructions to have their tickets available and when a passenger complained that his seat was wet, they told him to sit down. When he refused, the drivers told him to get off the bus and wait for another one and started pulling off before he’d gotten a chance to comply. If this was a sign of things to come, I missed the memo completely. In all fairness, if the proprietors and drivers were bad, the customers weren’t much better either. Many were loud and inconsiderate…but one can concede that their behavior manifested as a result of our shared circumstance.

When our bus broke down, instead of sitting quietly, napping, reading, or doing any type of constructive activity, most of the fifty plus passengers took the opportunity to socialize. Some made frequent trips to the liquor store and smoked and drank steadily for the over fours hours that we had to wait until another bus showed up. Some stayed on the bus and talked in loud voices to the people around them. And some gossiped about the people drinking on the sidewalk. One woman in particular seemed to feel duty-bound to give play-by-play announcements of other people’s activities. When people ran across the parking lot to find a restroom, she reported on it. When a group made yet another trip to the liquor store, she mentioned that too and made her disdain clear. Every word spoken and every action taken was an opportunity for her to comment. And judge. For me, she was one of the most annoying passengers because of her know-it-all, holier-than-thou attitude and strident voice that seemed to reverberate in my ear. Just my luck that she had the seat directly behind me! Of course, the real drama didn’t start until some of the drinkers were drunk enough to feel put out by the fact that we were well beyond the estimated two hours wait and there was no bus in sight and no forthcoming news from the driver. As if this would help our cause, a few of the drunks proceeded to curse and threaten the driver with bodily harm if a bus didn’t show up within a certain amount of time. This went on a few more times and thankfully, the driver survived each encounter unharmed. But I was relieved when a state trooper arrived (someone called to report the bus driver?) and these episodes came to an end. Since I was sitting in the second row, I couldn’t help but witness the exchanges and while the developing drama added interest to what could have been an otherwise dull trip, it shamed me. These were not people who I wanted to spend any considerable amount of time with and I’d have to consider other options when making travel plans in the future.

If I thought that our remaining 3 hours drive would pass in peace and quiet because of the late hour, I was once again proven wrong. Shortly after the state trooper arrived to question the driver and make some calls, another bus pulled up and we were quickly underway. We had first boarded the bus around 3 pm and it was now sometime after midnight. Clearly, many of us were tired but some people, mainly the drunk people, weren’t ready to pass out or let us rest. While the bus was in motion, the walked up and down the aisle, passed out liquor to anyone who wanted some, spoke in loud voices and generally made a nuisance of themselves. Some of the other passengers yelled at them to sit down and shut up and it was another hour before the bus finally quieted down and peace reigned. When I finally disembarked from the bus just before 4 am (a whole 12 hours from when I first boarded), I bitterly regretted that I had purchased a round trip ticket. I was not looking forward to repeating any part of that experience.

Check back for part 2 wherein I recount my attempt to brave a blizzard in order to get home.

Movie Gripes: "Killers" Bored Me To Death!

Killers has got to be one of the worst movies I’ve seen in a long time. It was not a movie that I had any real desire to see but since it was freely available at the library, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. Wrong! I wish I could get back the hour and forty minutes that I spent watching this atrocity but alas, try as I might, I can’t seem to eradicate it from my memory. Not yet. Hopefully the next ten movies I watch will go a long way towards accomplishing that.

Killers star Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher as a successful couple who met while on vacation and fast-tracked to marriage. They lead a seemingly pleasant life until his past as a “licensed killer” catches up to him and he becomes Target No.1. The movie is categorized as an action flick and while there was plenty of shooting, blowing things up, and hand-to-hand combat to round things out, it was a major snooze fest. Not interesting at all! First, the chemistry between the leads was nonexistent but I think this has more to do with the actors themselves. Both lack any kind of charisma and while she’s prone to histrionics that can be gratingly annoying after a time, he’s just…bland and without affect. I don’t how he ever got into acting but this farce of billing him as such has gone on long enough. If ever someone truly deserves a Razzie, it’s him. And her.

Of course, the dialogue and plot didn’t exactly deliver anything praise-worthy either. Picture this, a couple lives in a close-knit community, blissfully unaware that friends, co-workers and neighbors alike are plants just waiting to be activated and get the kill order. This is a stretch even for real-life t*******ts and we all know how effective certain organizations have been at using sleepers to infiltrate entire countries. But I digress. The dialogue is flat and cheesy at best and I was hard-pressed to crack even one smile. Trust me, I laugh over the stupidest stuff but this was even more than I could handle. I knew the movie was going nowhere when a half hour in, we were still exploring the couple’s coupledom and listening to their trite conversations. Seriously! I should have stopped it at this point but I chose instead to let it play on while I found other distractions. Killers pretty much lost me at the beginning because when it finally delivered several action sequences in close succession, I was not moved. Nothing about this movie excited me.

I’ve heard people say that best part was the end when describing a really bad movie, play, or whatever. That expression fits Killers perfectly. When the credits rolled and I heard the lyrics “I’m fed up…” I knew that at least one other person realized that this movie was no prize. Before it wrapped, Killers managed to drop one last stink bomb because the resolution has got to be the most convoluted part of the movie. Unfortunately, good or bad, I still hate to give away the ending of anything so I’ll say very little else about it. I will add that Mr. Magnum P.I., Tom Selleck, disappointed me because up until that point, I thought that he was the movie’s only saving grace and the only one in Killers who really saw it for what it is: a load of crap!

Event Gripes: The Wedding & The Dress

Have you ever been to a party where you hadn't planned on staying until the very end and then you looked up as they were turning on the lights and realized that that’s exactly what happened? Well, that was my experience when my friend K. got married. I’d known about the wedding for quite a while but in the last two weeks leading up to it, I discussed it with friends and family with annoying frequency. Actually, I didn’t talk about the wedding so much as I discussed what I would wear to it. You see, I don’t wear dresses too often and the wedding would be a formal affair. I refused to show up in pants or basic black. Care needed to be taken and I needed to go shopping!

Unfortunately for my friends, I mentioned every shopping foray every chance I got. Since I went shopping a few times each week in search of a dress, this was more often than I like to admit. And when I finally found two dresses two days before the wedding, I needed to try them on and get my sister’s opinion, send pictures to G. to get her take, show pictures to my co-worker and a few others to get their feedback and generally annoy everyone with talks about what I would wear to the wedding. Even the bride was not immune from my dress talks but since it was her day, I tried to keep it at a minimum and leave the focus where it needed to be, on her. In any case, when it came down to choosing between my two options we were all in agreement and if the compliments I received at the wedding are anything to go by, I made the right choice. Of course, I also needed accessories which in turn led to even more annoying chats. I was a monster, but one who was well put-together come wedding day.

The wedding itself was a wonderful affair. The venue was elegant and featured a beautiful view. The bride was stunning in her original dress and unique updo and she and her new husband made for an adorable couple. Their wedding was a perfect blend of traditional and unconventional touches which seemed perfectly suited to the pair. Of course, during the receptions there were the incidents you expect to find at a wedding what with people getting stumbling drunk but nothing could have detracted from the happiness that radiated around the room.

As much fun as I had, I was initially worried about not knowing too many people at the wedding. Even after I was allowed to bring a friend along for company. I wanted the evening to be about sharing in K.’s enjoyment, not trying to generate conversation with strangers out of thin air. My worry was for naught. When I arrived, I immediately saw some recognizable faces and as the evening wore on, I caught up with some about what’s been going on with them and I met some new faces who were as happy to be there as I was. But more importantly I simply enjoyed being in that moment! Between sampling the Southern-style food, taking pictures in the photo booth, laughing at some of the hilarious antics and toasts, dancing to songs I didn’t know or hadn’t heard in a long time, and sharing in my friend’s joy I had a blast! I only hope that all of my yet-to-be-married friends also know how to throw parties that elicit this much fun.

Weekend Update: Next Day Air, The Amazing Race, The View

Next Day Air premiered in theaters this weekend and although I didn’t see it (not yet), I really wanted to. The kicker is that very few people seem to want to (It ranked #6 on the weekend box office chart with crap like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past placing ahead of it). This is one of those ‘hood’ movies that do not command the respect of a major Hollywood blockbuster. Without seeing the results, I could have bet that a lot of people chose to see Star Trek instead but this movie looks so funny (see the trailer for yourself). And with a cast like Wood Harris, Mike Epps, and Donald Faison (Turk from ‘Scrubs’) it practically guarantees laughs. This reviewer compared it to Friday and gave it a mixed review but it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a ‘hood’ movie and I could definitely use some of their brand of humor right about now.

The season finale for The Amazing Race aired last night on CBS and although I find all the contestants to be amazingly annoying, I’d come too far not to watch one more time. The final three teams included Victor and Tammy, Margie and Luke, Cara and Jaime. Margie and Luke were ahead going into the final challenge but alas they completely crashed and burned when Luke’s memory failed him. One small hiccup and frustration completely got the best of him. I don’t usually gloat at other’s misfortune but a part of me was somewhat mollified by the fact that they were the last to check in at the final pit stop. Of the three remaining teams, they were by the far the most annoying. NB: you can watch entire episodes of the show on cbs.com – no need to wait for a repeat on the travel channel.

The View photos coming soon…They’ve been transferred to my laptop so I just need to upload them here. It’s surprising more complicated than it sounds. FYI, Steve Harvey is the guest today.

Annoyances

It’s clear that winter is behind us but I wasn’t quite ready for this shift to summer-like weather (although it hasn’t gotten too bad yet). I can’t stand extreme temperature because too much heat saps my energy and freezing cold depresses me. And yes, 90 degrees is extreme considering we’ve been in the 50s and 60s since the start of spring. This annoying tendency of the weather to jump and dip at will lead me to reflect on other things that I find just a tad annoying.

1.) Unreliable transportation- when it takes me an additional hour to get where I need to go (Greyhound), I consider that poor service. And, I don’t appreciate having to pay $22 more each month (MTA) when service is slated to be cut. Where’s my money going?

2.) (Uneasy) quiet- I like my peace and quiet but there’s a reason why I’m in no hurry to own a house. I feel secure at the thought of 50 other renters packed around me when I go to bed at night. There’s no better reminder of this than being alone in a house out in the boonies with very little outside noise.

3.) Poor internet connection- especially when I have the momentum to whittle through those projects on my list. It’s almost guaranteed that I will be booted off a server within five minutes of connecting to it. I just can’t afford to pay for my own internet right now.

4.) The pain of breaking in semi-new shoes- we try shoes on in the store and they feel great. Not so great when you wear them outside for the first time. I usually give up on certain shoes after wearing them once. Sometimes, I forget about the pain I experienced the first time and give them another try. Not always the best idea but a necessary step since they’re on their way to becoming comfortable throughout the third wearing. But the times leading up to that point…a little painful.

5.) Passive aggressive people- need I say more? We all know them; life would be so much easier if everyone would just “say what you need to say” (love this song!)