Leavn' on a Jet Plane
Since this isn't all that nerdy I'll post my travel stuff here.
May 15: 4:35 PM (MST)
As I come through customs, my theory that the people who work at the security stations are instructed not to talk to make small talk or smile in any way is confirmed. This makes sense because they want the people coming through to be as nervous as possible and make mistakes if you are being disingenuous.
I also get my cellphone tested for “substances” and get frisked. Nice. This is probably because I’m a single male with a beard traveling alone. Since I have nothing to hide it doesn’t really bother me.
May 15: 6:28 PM (MST)
Before we take off, the captain tells everyone it will be a bumpy flight. The guy behind me informs me that since we are in the back of the plane, we will be “it the back seat of the roller coaster.” Apparently, the turbulence where we’re sitting is so bad that when we are being tossed around in the back it can be smooth sailing in the front. Fun.
May 15: 7:32 PM (PST)
I see the clerk in the airport magazine store stare down a shoplifter and get him to put back the chocolate bar. All he needed to say was: “Seriously, it isn’t worth it dude.”
May 15: 9:05 PM (PST)
We start boarding the second plane. I notice that I'm on the “Tinkerbell” plane. Basically it meant that the outside of the plane had a giant Disney Tinkerbell painted on the side, and they played Disney musak when we were being ushered in and out of the plane.
May 15: 11:58 PM (PST)
As we make the final approach to LAX I get a good glimpse of LA. It sprawls below me endlessly, lights scattering into infinity. It’s also shockingly flat. Very few buildings seem to top five or six stories except for those in the (relatively) small downtown. As the plane readies for landing I hear the snap of a camera behind me, and I’m proud that I can tell it was a film camera from the sound. The last thing I see before we hit the tarmac is an In-and-Out Burger.
May 15: 1:08 AM (PST)
After waiting for the plane to park for almost 45 minutes, I finally get into LAX. The terminal that I’m in was build between 1955 and 1971, at least looking at the architecture. It looks a lot like the Edmonton airport did before they renovated it. I exit the airport.
May 15: 1:17 AM (PST)
While I’m waiting for a cab, the guy who organizes the cab lineup asks me if I’m going to the “Conference.” I say yes. We then talk about videogames for 10 minutes.
May 15: 1:25 AM (PST)
As my cab flies through the city, I’m shocked by how much I’m digging LA. The architecture has this sort of dirty deco feel to it. The city also has a lot of ugly buildings from the seventies, which makes me feel less displaced (because Edmonton has a lot of ugly seventies architecture too) than I do in New York.
May 15: 1:35 AM – 3:33 AM (PST)
Talk to Dan Lazin about video games.
May 15: 4:35 PM (MST)
As I come through customs, my theory that the people who work at the security stations are instructed not to talk to make small talk or smile in any way is confirmed. This makes sense because they want the people coming through to be as nervous as possible and make mistakes if you are being disingenuous.
I also get my cellphone tested for “substances” and get frisked. Nice. This is probably because I’m a single male with a beard traveling alone. Since I have nothing to hide it doesn’t really bother me.
May 15: 6:28 PM (MST)
Before we take off, the captain tells everyone it will be a bumpy flight. The guy behind me informs me that since we are in the back of the plane, we will be “it the back seat of the roller coaster.” Apparently, the turbulence where we’re sitting is so bad that when we are being tossed around in the back it can be smooth sailing in the front. Fun.
May 15: 7:32 PM (PST)
I see the clerk in the airport magazine store stare down a shoplifter and get him to put back the chocolate bar. All he needed to say was: “Seriously, it isn’t worth it dude.”
May 15: 9:05 PM (PST)
We start boarding the second plane. I notice that I'm on the “Tinkerbell” plane. Basically it meant that the outside of the plane had a giant Disney Tinkerbell painted on the side, and they played Disney musak when we were being ushered in and out of the plane.
May 15: 11:58 PM (PST)
As we make the final approach to LAX I get a good glimpse of LA. It sprawls below me endlessly, lights scattering into infinity. It’s also shockingly flat. Very few buildings seem to top five or six stories except for those in the (relatively) small downtown. As the plane readies for landing I hear the snap of a camera behind me, and I’m proud that I can tell it was a film camera from the sound. The last thing I see before we hit the tarmac is an In-and-Out Burger.
May 15: 1:08 AM (PST)
After waiting for the plane to park for almost 45 minutes, I finally get into LAX. The terminal that I’m in was build between 1955 and 1971, at least looking at the architecture. It looks a lot like the Edmonton airport did before they renovated it. I exit the airport.
May 15: 1:17 AM (PST)
While I’m waiting for a cab, the guy who organizes the cab lineup asks me if I’m going to the “Conference.” I say yes. We then talk about videogames for 10 minutes.
May 15: 1:25 AM (PST)
As my cab flies through the city, I’m shocked by how much I’m digging LA. The architecture has this sort of dirty deco feel to it. The city also has a lot of ugly buildings from the seventies, which makes me feel less displaced (because Edmonton has a lot of ugly seventies architecture too) than I do in New York.
May 15: 1:35 AM – 3:33 AM (PST)
Talk to Dan Lazin about video games.
