A Bite of the Big Apple
Sep. 7th, 2004 12:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteWell, I'm finally back home in Northridge... yay? Today was a semi-disaster, but things have slowly gotten better. I'll skim over New York and everything else, but if I forget anything, I'll be sure to write about it later. I only had 'Net access at the Holiday Inn (surprisingly enough), but then again, I didn't really have time to wander around the Essex House and look for amenities...
After the reception (which was held at the Knights of Columbus, a really nice place with dumb waiters), Gary was nice enough to drive me back to the Inn where I packed up and checked out-- the plan was for me to meet Mike in New Brunswick (New Jersey) and party, stay over at his place, all that jazz. I was a bit freaked at first, waiting at the rather large and intimidating Long Island Rail Road station, but eventually I found a sign that indicated when the next train from Penn Station (New York) would be coming to Long Island. I hopped that train, and actually struck up a strange conversation with two guys-- only one of whom I got the name of-- Jeff. We talked about the differences in trains between California and New York, people dying in bloody disasters on or near trains (I told you it was a strange conversation), and abrupt moving around the country (several of his friends up and moved to California!).
He was nice enough, once we got to Penn Station, to show me upstairs and to an Info Guy, who pointed me at the New Jersey Transit. I bought another ticket (one thing about the public transport-- it's bigger, but more expensive. $9 to go from New Brunswick to Penn Station!) and waited around for an NB train. Long story short and forty minutes or so later, I arrived in New Brunswick. I got a bit lost trying to find Mike, and eventually made my way to the opposite side of the station where he was waiting.
And he was smashed.
I mean, I knew he was, or would be by the time I got there; not only was it Rush Week at Rutger's, meaning loads of fraternity and sororities partying, but it was also his house mate's and friend's 22nd birthday, plus another person's housewarming. We took the Knight Express bus to the house (which was packed with people, some of them singing "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys), and I promptly took shelter in Mike's room-- a complete mess, of course. ^_^ I felt totally out of place, and far too young in that place. o_O I don't really know why: Mike's only a year and a half older than me. A few of the other people were older-- 22 and 23. (The irony is, Scott's 24, and I barely consider that anymore.) Mike had to deal with cleanup -- at least three of his five invited over friends apparently barfed everywhere, and there was much to be dealt with.
Some time later, things got relatively cleaned up, and I changed into my pajamas (in case you haven't figured it out, I'm not exactly a shameful person; I don't require a bathroom to change in. 'Sides, no one was in the room anyway! ^_~) and waited for Mike to come back. NB was roasting hot compared to Penn Station (then again, I was underground-- I never actually went outside to Manhattan that day), so I was glad for the fans they had propped up everywhere. Of course, as it got colder, my feet started to freeze, and I remembered that tank tops and pajama slacks aren't exactly the best nightwear for every state in the nation.
Mike wanted to know why I'd pretty much (okay, I did) rejected him-- with that whole awkward phone conversation. It's funny how he can make me feel guilty for not wanting him. Seriously-- I'm in control of my own emotions and feelings, but... even if it's a low blow, and he didn't INTEND to do it, he really did guilt trip me. He was saying stuff like "I'm used to being second choice" or whatever. Frankly, I don't think he really WANTS a true relationship with anybody-- he likes fooling around. He's decent to a degree-- he'll stop if you want him to, and he's horribly honest about everything when he's drunk, but... he still does stupid stuff and, no matter what he says, doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes. He admitted he fooled around with a taken girl, just to see how far he could get. -_- Sorry, but logic like that just screams "STUPID!!" to me. But that's my honest opinion, and it's from a female perspective.
Yes, Mike is my friend, but he was also one of my badly chosen crushes and my "first." I'd like to say that gives me some leeway regarding criticisms of him, especially when we slept in the same bed. -_- Talk about awkward. Honestly, I didn't mind the "cuddling" aspect (I used him as a pillow, pretty much), but... well, he obviously wanted to DO something, and I did NOT. But while guys have a rather obvious solution to being horny in inopportune situations, girls... well, don't. Okay, we do, but it's not easy, or subtle or... X_X You all know what I mean, right? To a degree. (My catchphrases of the week. Get used to them.)
Basically, it's not 100% easy to be lying in a bed sort of sprawled all over a guy, and not do SOMETHING. Even if it's accidental, and I mean that completely. You know, you turn the wrong way and you're lying across the wrong part, or your arm has nowhere to go but behind someone's back? Like that. I repeat, we didn't do anything. But... ick, I still feel kind of bad. Not just guilty, but bad. I keep thinking I should have requested to sleep on the floor or something. o_O
Next morning, I met Mike 2, aka Creepy Mike. He's nice enough, but... well, a little dense? Or maybe it was just Mike's bad luck-- CMike refused to leave after we'd woken up. Mike was fed up with how I wouldn't do anything, and pretty much left (for a while), while I tried to sleep. Later on, I got dressed-- sad thing, the weather was chilly, and I had two options: skirt, or shorts. I opted for shorts, despite the mysterious bruises that have been appearing sporadically over my legs. I'm always paranoid about how my legs look, you see... (I hate my legs.)
We (Mike, CMike, and myself) headed to this dining hall (I forgot the exact name). I had raisin French Toast with blueberry smear, some orange juice, eggs, and a thing of bacon. That one dining hall had a good variety-- salads, a deli, custom omelettes, Chinese food... nice. And there were bunches of dining halls all around campus, and Mike said each one had its specialties or weaknesses. We headed back to the house after that, and shortly thereafter cleaned up. I got to meet the House Kitten, this adorable, scrawny little white and gray thing named Patty Khana, I think. She liked to play parrot and crawl up my shoulder. She also liked to play with this fuzzy green thing. ^^ SOOOO CUTE! I love cats.
After that, CMike, Mike and I went on a car tour of the Rutger's campus. Now, Mike laughed when he saw a map of CSUN, because he's right-- CSUN is like a primitive village compared to Rutger's, which practically *is* all of New Brunswick. They own most of the town itself, too. It's HUGE. They have multiple bus lines, just for getting around campus. (There's even this bizarre system of using the letters of the buses to indicate where they go-- for example, A is for Asian, so take the A bus to get to the Busch Dorms, where mostly Asians stay). I thought that was weird, but interesting nonetheless. Then there was Passion Puddle (or pond, or something)-- there's an old legend or whatever that if you walk around it 3 times with someone while holding their hand, you're destined to get married to them. o_O Well, I can at least use that in a fic...
Mike and CMike proudly showed me the distance a water balloon launched 3-man water balloon launcher that their friend invented went-- over the entire pond, and smack near the bus stop. Apparently it hit so hard and fast that the balloon burst into very tiny pieces, as we could only find a few very small scraps of balloon. We swung back to the house and got my stuff after that, hit up Dunkin' Donuts (because I told Mike I hadn't been to one yet; he's right, the coffee is kinda good. I leeched off his Iced Latte, and considering I can't STAND coffee, that's saying something), and then dropped me off at the New Brunswick station. Mike saved me money by giving me a ticket, and thankfully, the conductor didn't give me any guff about it.
The train ride back was, of course, uneventful, so I listened to Thalia for the whole ride. Seriously, she was my saving grace this weekend. I would have gone nuts had I not thought to bring her CD. This one pushy lady didn't even bother to ask "May I sit down?"-- she just gestured at me and said "I'm sitting down," like I had to follow her orders and move my stuff. Keep in mind that I had ALL my stuff with me-- a suitcase, a huge backpack, and my purse. In small train spaces, it's not easy to keep all that together and still be comfortable, so I remained pissed at this woman until we got to Penn Station. I headed out the Madison Square Garden exit, which was creepily deserted and had only a few cops nearby. Around the block, I got my first real glimpse of Manhattan-- WOW. Big, noisy, crowded! ^_^ So full of life! I went to a dispatcher and caught a ride to the Essex House, the Westin off Central Park South where Mom and Gary just checked in.
The taxi driver didn't talk to me at all but that was okay, I just stared out the window like the tourist I am (was?). We went through Times Square and down Eighth Avenue, and Mom was waiting for me outside. Turns out I had a room all to myself again, this time a whole FLOOR apart from Mom and Gary (unlike the HI, where I was only a few doors away). But I didn't get the chance to enjoy it for that long-- yeah, I took a much-needed shower (a disaster-- the tub faucet wouldn't turn off, the drain was detached from the tub, and the lights in the bathroom were glitchy), but after that, we headed out. By then, it was late evening, so we went in the car to Ground Zero, and parked nearby.
What to say about that area? I was never there (or at least, I don't remember it well) when it was actually the Twin Towers, but I do remember seeing them from the top of the Empire State Building some years ago. And now? It's just this gigantic gaping hole in the ground. Huge, and blatantly obvious, but I didn't even notice it until Mom pointed it out. It's surrounded by fencing and guards and all sorts of metal walkways-- and it's totally capitalistic. It's ironic, really-- the destroyed towers represented American capitalism and the way of life here, and to the people that hijacked those planes, they were a symbol of everything they hated. So they destroyed them, and managed to wound us, the pompous Americans. But years later, we're still flocking to the site of so much mayhem, chaos, and sadness... and we're buying souvenirs and trinkets. People sold sweaters, caps, mugs, crystals, and 'tragedy' guides. The very thing the hijackers tried to destroy sprung from the rubble. I took loads of pictures, but I need to finish off the 2nd roll and find a developing place before I scan them and post them at Snapshot. I plan on making a few collages of sorts, and maybe adding some thoughts I had while wandering around Ground Zero. We returned the car after that, and started walking around.
After that, we went into this random restaurant-- I had actual tortellini (not the frozen and reheated kind! Did you know real tortellini is bucket-shaped?) and some Coke (I actually felt guilty about the soda I had this weekend. Damn, the dentist's brainwashing is getting to me)-- and it was delicious, though a bit huge. Then again, New York never does ANYTHING in the small scale. Even McDonald's has bright flashing neon lights, sort of like it's a Broadway musical of French fries (ahem, FREEDOM FRIES) and cheeseburgers. I took loads of pictures again, but it's a matter of whether they came out or not. *crosses fingers*
More walking around... eventually we headed back to the hotel, and I was exhausted, so I went right to sleep-- especially since I had to be up before 4am, when my Super Shuttle would arrive to take me back to John F. Kennedy Airport. I was shocked that my flight going back to Burbank via Phoenix was so early, and I wonder why I didn't pick up on it earlier. But I had to put up with it... or try.
Now you'll know why I said my "bite of the Big Apple" got poisoned. Aside from the disappointment of not getting to see more places (specifically, the ABC Studios, YM's offices, and the Statue of Liberty), the big f*ck up of the weekend came at around 3:07 yesterday morning. And given that I was still mostly functioning on Pacific time, this made things even worse. I was tired and... VERY, VERY ILL. Since I'd gotten to Manhattan, I hadn't been feeling myself-- hot and cold flashes, lurching stomach, and aches all over. I blamed it mostly on being on my red, but that ended the other day. Getting stuck with a massive stomachache wasn't what I intended for my one night's sleep in the famous Heavenly beds. *sigh* I want those pillows.
Anyway, I ended up being in the bathroom for about forty minutes, and I threw up about three times. It was sick, and scary-- and when I finally caught a breath (of non-acidic, non-regurgitated material), I called Mom, who was nice enough to come down to my room immediately. I was torn between staying in New York longer and having Mom call America West, but I knew it'd be a pain in the ass, given that my shuttle was due to arrive any moment, and no matter how icky I felt, the worst was over. So I got dressed anyway, and soon we were waiting down in the lobby. Mom even let me take the $5 Italian water-- and I guzzled enough of it over the course of the day that my stomachache faded.
The Shuttle was the miserable experience-- packed full of 9 people, and going waaay too fast to be comfortable. But I got off first, thankfully, so I headed straight into the America West terminal-- where I waited. And waited. For the "City That Never Sleeps," there sure seemed to be a severe lack of awake agents to help the steadily-growing lines. Even the kiosks were offline. -_- I waited because I knew I'd have to check my bag, so when people finally arrived, I went through pretty quickly.
I admit-- I splurged at a CD store in the airport, near my Gate (1!). I bought the Madonna Greatest Hits collection, which features several of my favorite songs, but not all of them. I should get more Madonna CDs... (Madonna reminds me of Sung. I wonder how he's doing?) The booklet revealed a lot of... er, strange things about Madonna's songs. Makes me wonder if there's a site out there somewhere dedicated to finding out the "story behind the music," asking artists what inspired them to write about what they did. The booklet said Madonna's "Deeper and Deeper" actually had to do with a miner coming to terms with his homosexuality, which made sense, after listening to the song. But it's still surprising, and I wonder if it's actually true.
I ended up going back to the CD store 3 times, because the jewel case was broken, as was the first replacement the guy gave me. By the time I got back, I listened to a few songs, and then not long after, we boarded the plane. The catch was, we didn't take off until later, even though we were the first flight out that morning. -_- Plus, the timezone difference had me worried once we got to Phoenix (I slept through most of the flight; I woke up only to watch "Raising Helen," which was cute, but predictable), and I thought I missed my connecting plane. Thankfully, all was well-- I called Mom from Phoenix, walked to my other gate, and boarded in the 6th group. This plane wasn't as bad as the one from Burbank to Phoenix the first time-- it was larger, with nice seats-- and we had trivia. I slept most of the way again, though I did wake up to grab a drink and munch on my snacks-- some strawberry applesauce, a crossain-wich, and some Wheat Thins. The stomachache was gone, but the pressure changes in the plane from JFK gave me massive headache.
Finally, we arrived in Burbank-- home sweet home for me, I guess. Grandpa was supposed to pick me up just after 12, but thankfully time was on my side and I got my bag and spotted him driving up to the curb within a few moments. We talked a bit about my New York adventures, and then we got home... I promptly conked out after I gave Baba her New York magnet. My headache mostly went away, but I'm still feeling kind of out of it. I'm just glad to have all my stuff around me. ^_^ Tomorrow-- Math and CAD, which should be easy. I might see Scott at the bookstore, and that's pretty much it.
I do have to go to sleep soon...
Notes: I just finished uploading the "fixed" chapters of 7B and 8 of 'What Doesn't Kill You' to both my website and FFnet. Turns out FFnet glitched my chapter order, and Chapter 8 was posted twice, while Chapter 7B vanished altogether. To eliminate confusion, I've renamed 7A to 'Love and Confusion,' rather than the 'Happy Birthday Seto Kaiba, Part A' that it was before. The changes, including the boldface removal in Chapter 8 should be gone. Sporadic changes may appear throughout the coming week-- basically nitpicky edits.
I played some SO3-- nice graphics, but kind of "old school," like FFIX. I wish there were an option for Japanese voices... I had to restart the entire game because it froze when I tried to initiate the Battle Trophies option (which replaces the Voice Collection from SO2). I saved in the Rescue Ship... the battle system and save pattern is still pretty weird though, so it'll take some adjusting to. If I get the chance, I have to buy FFX and just FINISH that damn game. Then I can finish FFX-2, and THEN I can concentrate on SO3. ^^;;
Hrm, I want some Thalia icons. Photoshop, here I come!
After the reception (which was held at the Knights of Columbus, a really nice place with dumb waiters), Gary was nice enough to drive me back to the Inn where I packed up and checked out-- the plan was for me to meet Mike in New Brunswick (New Jersey) and party, stay over at his place, all that jazz. I was a bit freaked at first, waiting at the rather large and intimidating Long Island Rail Road station, but eventually I found a sign that indicated when the next train from Penn Station (New York) would be coming to Long Island. I hopped that train, and actually struck up a strange conversation with two guys-- only one of whom I got the name of-- Jeff. We talked about the differences in trains between California and New York, people dying in bloody disasters on or near trains (I told you it was a strange conversation), and abrupt moving around the country (several of his friends up and moved to California!).
He was nice enough, once we got to Penn Station, to show me upstairs and to an Info Guy, who pointed me at the New Jersey Transit. I bought another ticket (one thing about the public transport-- it's bigger, but more expensive. $9 to go from New Brunswick to Penn Station!) and waited around for an NB train. Long story short and forty minutes or so later, I arrived in New Brunswick. I got a bit lost trying to find Mike, and eventually made my way to the opposite side of the station where he was waiting.
And he was smashed.
I mean, I knew he was, or would be by the time I got there; not only was it Rush Week at Rutger's, meaning loads of fraternity and sororities partying, but it was also his house mate's and friend's 22nd birthday, plus another person's housewarming. We took the Knight Express bus to the house (which was packed with people, some of them singing "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys), and I promptly took shelter in Mike's room-- a complete mess, of course. ^_^ I felt totally out of place, and far too young in that place. o_O I don't really know why: Mike's only a year and a half older than me. A few of the other people were older-- 22 and 23. (The irony is, Scott's 24, and I barely consider that anymore.) Mike had to deal with cleanup -- at least three of his five invited over friends apparently barfed everywhere, and there was much to be dealt with.
Some time later, things got relatively cleaned up, and I changed into my pajamas (in case you haven't figured it out, I'm not exactly a shameful person; I don't require a bathroom to change in. 'Sides, no one was in the room anyway! ^_~) and waited for Mike to come back. NB was roasting hot compared to Penn Station (then again, I was underground-- I never actually went outside to Manhattan that day), so I was glad for the fans they had propped up everywhere. Of course, as it got colder, my feet started to freeze, and I remembered that tank tops and pajama slacks aren't exactly the best nightwear for every state in the nation.
Mike wanted to know why I'd pretty much (okay, I did) rejected him-- with that whole awkward phone conversation. It's funny how he can make me feel guilty for not wanting him. Seriously-- I'm in control of my own emotions and feelings, but... even if it's a low blow, and he didn't INTEND to do it, he really did guilt trip me. He was saying stuff like "I'm used to being second choice" or whatever. Frankly, I don't think he really WANTS a true relationship with anybody-- he likes fooling around. He's decent to a degree-- he'll stop if you want him to, and he's horribly honest about everything when he's drunk, but... he still does stupid stuff and, no matter what he says, doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes. He admitted he fooled around with a taken girl, just to see how far he could get. -_- Sorry, but logic like that just screams "STUPID!!" to me. But that's my honest opinion, and it's from a female perspective.
Yes, Mike is my friend, but he was also one of my badly chosen crushes and my "first." I'd like to say that gives me some leeway regarding criticisms of him, especially when we slept in the same bed. -_- Talk about awkward. Honestly, I didn't mind the "cuddling" aspect (I used him as a pillow, pretty much), but... well, he obviously wanted to DO something, and I did NOT. But while guys have a rather obvious solution to being horny in inopportune situations, girls... well, don't. Okay, we do, but it's not easy, or subtle or... X_X You all know what I mean, right? To a degree. (My catchphrases of the week. Get used to them.)
Basically, it's not 100% easy to be lying in a bed sort of sprawled all over a guy, and not do SOMETHING. Even if it's accidental, and I mean that completely. You know, you turn the wrong way and you're lying across the wrong part, or your arm has nowhere to go but behind someone's back? Like that. I repeat, we didn't do anything. But... ick, I still feel kind of bad. Not just guilty, but bad. I keep thinking I should have requested to sleep on the floor or something. o_O
Next morning, I met Mike 2, aka Creepy Mike. He's nice enough, but... well, a little dense? Or maybe it was just Mike's bad luck-- CMike refused to leave after we'd woken up. Mike was fed up with how I wouldn't do anything, and pretty much left (for a while), while I tried to sleep. Later on, I got dressed-- sad thing, the weather was chilly, and I had two options: skirt, or shorts. I opted for shorts, despite the mysterious bruises that have been appearing sporadically over my legs. I'm always paranoid about how my legs look, you see... (I hate my legs.)
We (Mike, CMike, and myself) headed to this dining hall (I forgot the exact name). I had raisin French Toast with blueberry smear, some orange juice, eggs, and a thing of bacon. That one dining hall had a good variety-- salads, a deli, custom omelettes, Chinese food... nice. And there were bunches of dining halls all around campus, and Mike said each one had its specialties or weaknesses. We headed back to the house after that, and shortly thereafter cleaned up. I got to meet the House Kitten, this adorable, scrawny little white and gray thing named Patty Khana, I think. She liked to play parrot and crawl up my shoulder. She also liked to play with this fuzzy green thing. ^^ SOOOO CUTE! I love cats.
After that, CMike, Mike and I went on a car tour of the Rutger's campus. Now, Mike laughed when he saw a map of CSUN, because he's right-- CSUN is like a primitive village compared to Rutger's, which practically *is* all of New Brunswick. They own most of the town itself, too. It's HUGE. They have multiple bus lines, just for getting around campus. (There's even this bizarre system of using the letters of the buses to indicate where they go-- for example, A is for Asian, so take the A bus to get to the Busch Dorms, where mostly Asians stay). I thought that was weird, but interesting nonetheless. Then there was Passion Puddle (or pond, or something)-- there's an old legend or whatever that if you walk around it 3 times with someone while holding their hand, you're destined to get married to them. o_O Well, I can at least use that in a fic...
Mike and CMike proudly showed me the distance a water balloon launched 3-man water balloon launcher that their friend invented went-- over the entire pond, and smack near the bus stop. Apparently it hit so hard and fast that the balloon burst into very tiny pieces, as we could only find a few very small scraps of balloon. We swung back to the house and got my stuff after that, hit up Dunkin' Donuts (because I told Mike I hadn't been to one yet; he's right, the coffee is kinda good. I leeched off his Iced Latte, and considering I can't STAND coffee, that's saying something), and then dropped me off at the New Brunswick station. Mike saved me money by giving me a ticket, and thankfully, the conductor didn't give me any guff about it.
The train ride back was, of course, uneventful, so I listened to Thalia for the whole ride. Seriously, she was my saving grace this weekend. I would have gone nuts had I not thought to bring her CD. This one pushy lady didn't even bother to ask "May I sit down?"-- she just gestured at me and said "I'm sitting down," like I had to follow her orders and move my stuff. Keep in mind that I had ALL my stuff with me-- a suitcase, a huge backpack, and my purse. In small train spaces, it's not easy to keep all that together and still be comfortable, so I remained pissed at this woman until we got to Penn Station. I headed out the Madison Square Garden exit, which was creepily deserted and had only a few cops nearby. Around the block, I got my first real glimpse of Manhattan-- WOW. Big, noisy, crowded! ^_^ So full of life! I went to a dispatcher and caught a ride to the Essex House, the Westin off Central Park South where Mom and Gary just checked in.
The taxi driver didn't talk to me at all but that was okay, I just stared out the window like the tourist I am (was?). We went through Times Square and down Eighth Avenue, and Mom was waiting for me outside. Turns out I had a room all to myself again, this time a whole FLOOR apart from Mom and Gary (unlike the HI, where I was only a few doors away). But I didn't get the chance to enjoy it for that long-- yeah, I took a much-needed shower (a disaster-- the tub faucet wouldn't turn off, the drain was detached from the tub, and the lights in the bathroom were glitchy), but after that, we headed out. By then, it was late evening, so we went in the car to Ground Zero, and parked nearby.
What to say about that area? I was never there (or at least, I don't remember it well) when it was actually the Twin Towers, but I do remember seeing them from the top of the Empire State Building some years ago. And now? It's just this gigantic gaping hole in the ground. Huge, and blatantly obvious, but I didn't even notice it until Mom pointed it out. It's surrounded by fencing and guards and all sorts of metal walkways-- and it's totally capitalistic. It's ironic, really-- the destroyed towers represented American capitalism and the way of life here, and to the people that hijacked those planes, they were a symbol of everything they hated. So they destroyed them, and managed to wound us, the pompous Americans. But years later, we're still flocking to the site of so much mayhem, chaos, and sadness... and we're buying souvenirs and trinkets. People sold sweaters, caps, mugs, crystals, and 'tragedy' guides. The very thing the hijackers tried to destroy sprung from the rubble. I took loads of pictures, but I need to finish off the 2nd roll and find a developing place before I scan them and post them at Snapshot. I plan on making a few collages of sorts, and maybe adding some thoughts I had while wandering around Ground Zero. We returned the car after that, and started walking around.
After that, we went into this random restaurant-- I had actual tortellini (not the frozen and reheated kind! Did you know real tortellini is bucket-shaped?) and some Coke (I actually felt guilty about the soda I had this weekend. Damn, the dentist's brainwashing is getting to me)-- and it was delicious, though a bit huge. Then again, New York never does ANYTHING in the small scale. Even McDonald's has bright flashing neon lights, sort of like it's a Broadway musical of French fries (ahem, FREEDOM FRIES) and cheeseburgers. I took loads of pictures again, but it's a matter of whether they came out or not. *crosses fingers*
More walking around... eventually we headed back to the hotel, and I was exhausted, so I went right to sleep-- especially since I had to be up before 4am, when my Super Shuttle would arrive to take me back to John F. Kennedy Airport. I was shocked that my flight going back to Burbank via Phoenix was so early, and I wonder why I didn't pick up on it earlier. But I had to put up with it... or try.
Now you'll know why I said my "bite of the Big Apple" got poisoned. Aside from the disappointment of not getting to see more places (specifically, the ABC Studios, YM's offices, and the Statue of Liberty), the big f*ck up of the weekend came at around 3:07 yesterday morning. And given that I was still mostly functioning on Pacific time, this made things even worse. I was tired and... VERY, VERY ILL. Since I'd gotten to Manhattan, I hadn't been feeling myself-- hot and cold flashes, lurching stomach, and aches all over. I blamed it mostly on being on my red, but that ended the other day. Getting stuck with a massive stomachache wasn't what I intended for my one night's sleep in the famous Heavenly beds. *sigh* I want those pillows.
Anyway, I ended up being in the bathroom for about forty minutes, and I threw up about three times. It was sick, and scary-- and when I finally caught a breath (of non-acidic, non-regurgitated material), I called Mom, who was nice enough to come down to my room immediately. I was torn between staying in New York longer and having Mom call America West, but I knew it'd be a pain in the ass, given that my shuttle was due to arrive any moment, and no matter how icky I felt, the worst was over. So I got dressed anyway, and soon we were waiting down in the lobby. Mom even let me take the $5 Italian water-- and I guzzled enough of it over the course of the day that my stomachache faded.
The Shuttle was the miserable experience-- packed full of 9 people, and going waaay too fast to be comfortable. But I got off first, thankfully, so I headed straight into the America West terminal-- where I waited. And waited. For the "City That Never Sleeps," there sure seemed to be a severe lack of awake agents to help the steadily-growing lines. Even the kiosks were offline. -_- I waited because I knew I'd have to check my bag, so when people finally arrived, I went through pretty quickly.
I admit-- I splurged at a CD store in the airport, near my Gate (1!). I bought the Madonna Greatest Hits collection, which features several of my favorite songs, but not all of them. I should get more Madonna CDs... (Madonna reminds me of Sung. I wonder how he's doing?) The booklet revealed a lot of... er, strange things about Madonna's songs. Makes me wonder if there's a site out there somewhere dedicated to finding out the "story behind the music," asking artists what inspired them to write about what they did. The booklet said Madonna's "Deeper and Deeper" actually had to do with a miner coming to terms with his homosexuality, which made sense, after listening to the song. But it's still surprising, and I wonder if it's actually true.
I ended up going back to the CD store 3 times, because the jewel case was broken, as was the first replacement the guy gave me. By the time I got back, I listened to a few songs, and then not long after, we boarded the plane. The catch was, we didn't take off until later, even though we were the first flight out that morning. -_- Plus, the timezone difference had me worried once we got to Phoenix (I slept through most of the flight; I woke up only to watch "Raising Helen," which was cute, but predictable), and I thought I missed my connecting plane. Thankfully, all was well-- I called Mom from Phoenix, walked to my other gate, and boarded in the 6th group. This plane wasn't as bad as the one from Burbank to Phoenix the first time-- it was larger, with nice seats-- and we had trivia. I slept most of the way again, though I did wake up to grab a drink and munch on my snacks-- some strawberry applesauce, a crossain-wich, and some Wheat Thins. The stomachache was gone, but the pressure changes in the plane from JFK gave me massive headache.
Finally, we arrived in Burbank-- home sweet home for me, I guess. Grandpa was supposed to pick me up just after 12, but thankfully time was on my side and I got my bag and spotted him driving up to the curb within a few moments. We talked a bit about my New York adventures, and then we got home... I promptly conked out after I gave Baba her New York magnet. My headache mostly went away, but I'm still feeling kind of out of it. I'm just glad to have all my stuff around me. ^_^ Tomorrow-- Math and CAD, which should be easy. I might see Scott at the bookstore, and that's pretty much it.
I do have to go to sleep soon...
Notes: I just finished uploading the "fixed" chapters of 7B and 8 of 'What Doesn't Kill You' to both my website and FFnet. Turns out FFnet glitched my chapter order, and Chapter 8 was posted twice, while Chapter 7B vanished altogether. To eliminate confusion, I've renamed 7A to 'Love and Confusion,' rather than the 'Happy Birthday Seto Kaiba, Part A' that it was before. The changes, including the boldface removal in Chapter 8 should be gone. Sporadic changes may appear throughout the coming week-- basically nitpicky edits.
I played some SO3-- nice graphics, but kind of "old school," like FFIX. I wish there were an option for Japanese voices... I had to restart the entire game because it froze when I tried to initiate the Battle Trophies option (which replaces the Voice Collection from SO2). I saved in the Rescue Ship... the battle system and save pattern is still pretty weird though, so it'll take some adjusting to. If I get the chance, I have to buy FFX and just FINISH that damn game. Then I can finish FFX-2, and THEN I can concentrate on SO3. ^^;;
Hrm, I want some Thalia icons. Photoshop, here I come!
