Last Minute "Dream like you'll live forever, live like you'll die today." - James Dean
Sat 7-31
I feel good…I knew that I would naw. So good. So good. I got drugged. I haven't picked up my Zafron (nausea pill) yet. My health expenses are nearing $400 in co-pays alone and I already have 25% too much of a drug in my body. To add to the budget crisis, Jet Blue tickets were now $114! I got on the phone with Customer service and asked if the price would go down. She wasn't sure. I informed her that there were still 18 seats open. She told me the best thing I could do is wait on stand-by to get the original $69 price. The gambling man that I am, I agreed. It was a calculated bet: 18 seats, less than 18 hours before departure. I was San Jose bound for cheap!
On Monday morning, Dawn dropped us off at the Long Beach airport. Our flight was scheduled for a 9:06 am departure. We get dropped off at 8:15am. I love the Long Beach airport. It's small, quiet, and reminds me of pre-911 airports. Usually, the same person checking our luggage is also the same attendant checking our tickets as we board. How this is possible is beyond me. They may also be the pilot for all I care because at this airport, the service is friendly, the flights are on schedule, and we don't run into FSA junkies scorning the masses and ordering us to strip down, bend over, and cough.
Today, however, the check-in hub was a Zoo. The lines were wrapped around the building. I am now worried about stand-by. But the airport doesn't disappoint. Everything worked out fine, although our flight was delayed 2 hrs. This explained the madness. Flights had been canceled from the previous night due to poor weather conditions on the East Coast.
Despite the bonus time, Niko and I still managed to be the last two to board the plane. Our names were called on the telecom. As we proceeded through security, we ran across the tarmac. A douche-bag air director decided it was in his power to scold us as we ran towards the plane: 'We have a schedule to keep!' Oh…the updated schedule…didn't get the memo. To add insult to injury, just as we were about to take off, we received a friendly message from the pilot: "Huh…we have been told conditions are bad in SF. I will call New York in ten minutes to get an update. Until then, sit tight, and enjoy your individual TV screens. Our apologies for the delay." Got that memo. Won't be late this time: the seat belt signs stayed on. We sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes before finally taking off.
Three hours delayed, we finally land in SF. We should have landed in OAK. I'll save that for Niko to tell. We flew in with other Regional's from his company and, thanks to the iPhone, found out that the location for their business meeting was on the other side of the bay. We all hopped into a shuttle. They were headed to Oakland, I was headed to concord. We pick up two other parties on the route. One is headed to Berkeley, our first stop. I pulled out my iPhone and browse the map only to only find out that from here, I'd need to go in the exact opposite direction from Oakland. As far as the driver was concerned, I was part of the group headed to Oakland. I quickly tapped through some applications and found a coordinate to a B.A.R.T. transit station on route to Oakland. I abruptly asked the driver for a quick favor. He obliged. A one-liner put the fare on the company tab: "They'll take care of it." Success! The train pulled up just I enter the station. The iPhone, by far, is the best investment I have made.