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Showing posts from August, 2007

Moving to New York - Adventure 3

My third adventure picks up the next evening (that would be Friday - less than 24 hours after we've been in New York). My nephew (who missed his flight earlier) has now made his way across the continent, courtesy of Virgin America, and was with us as we returned our rental car. We turned everything and dragged his bags through the AirTrain once again, heading to the Long Island Railroad (or the LIRR as it is abbreviated here). Now if ever I get married and take my kids around on a trip or something, I'd imagine it would be very similar to what I was experiencing tonight - purchasing AirTrain tickets for everyone (mom, nephew, and me), making sure to purchase LIRR tickets, finding the elevator, answering questions about where we are headed, all while rushing to catch the train because it had just pulled in and if we were to miss it, we would have to wait another hour for a train to our destination. Once on the train, we relaxed a bit, but of course I had to inform my mother that

Moving to New York - Adventure 2

My second entry about my adventures in New York picks up shortly after arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in the wee hours of the morning. We landed after 1 a.m. and walked for what seemed like hours, taking elevators because my mother preferred them to escalators, and finally arrived at baggage claim. At baggage claim we realized we would need a cart for our 4 suitcases and 2 carry-on luggages. So, of course, the cart-dispensing machine does not work. There were workers bringing in carts from outside and we had to follow them to obtain a cart. I followed them all around the carousels and finally got one after 5 minutes of flashing money, handing over money, and trying to get my hands on one to actually roll away with me. We got all our baggage onto the cart and went to take the AirTrain (a train that connects all terminals and other stops such as rental car places, hotel shuttles, and public transportation). Rolling a cart full of baggage when platforms are uneven can b

Moving to New York - Adventure 1

My move to New York has had its fill of adventures - and not the fun and exciting kind either. Still, I guess they all add to the experience and transition of moving from one coast to another. And now that I've done it, I know what to do differently if I move again to another city. I will have to recount the adventures in parts, so I start with Adventure 1. Amazingly enough, the adventure started in L.A. I got to the airport with my mother and my nephew in tow, leading the way to the self-service check-in. We all had e-tickets. I get to the computer and for some odd reason I'm the only one who can check in. Ok....this isn't looking good. I get my bags checked in and of course, one of them is 3 pounds overweight. I was charged $25 for this overweight luggage. I paid it since I couldn't repack and I've flown with heavy luggage before and have never been charged. This was the least of my worries. My biggest worry hit when my nephew was listed as having a reservation bu

Sleepless Nights yield an Apartment

I spent last weekend apartment hunting. Actually, I only spent one day viewing apartments - saw only three apartments - and made my decision to rent the first one I saw. In some ways it's amazing because who would have ever thought that on the first day I would rent the first apartment that I saw. My friend and I were planning to spend both Saturday and Sunday apartment-hunting, but we were done by 4 p.m. Saturday. What a relief! Finding an apartment turned out to be easier than for my friend to get into New York from Houston! She was supposed to get in 9 p.m. Friday but had called me to say she was delayed and getting in probably at about 10 into LaGuardia. I was supposed to rent a car at 10 p.m. so I said it was okay. So I went to the airport to meet her and ended up waiting till midnight, only to hear that her plane had been diverted to Philadelphia. Apparently they needed gas, but they were also waiting to figure out if they would have the passengers spend the night or take off

Prayer for hostages and their families

Out of 23, 2 are no longer of this world. Families are in distress and government officials are in a frenzy to sort out this situation. A situation that no words can describe.....as if the world needs another hostage crisis, as if the deaths of soldiers and civilians in the Middle East conflicts have not been enough...... Pray for the Korean hostage situation and pray for all those who are caught up in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.