Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Welcome to...Philadelphia???
Yes, we're back to Philadelphia...already.
What a crazy journey. Wednesday we were rather hectically (spelling?) trying to get ourselves ready to leave for India at 5:45 that afternoon from Philadelphia airport, connecting through Newark to Delhi. Around 12:45 pm I get an automated call from Continental saying the flight from Philly to Newark has been delayed, and it's been delayed so much that we would miss our connection to India. I hurriedly get on the phone with Continental and after the third time, and lots of hold time, they tell us we can take a train from Philadelphia to Newark airport, leaving at 3:58, arriving at 4:58 pm - PLENTY of time to make an 8:45 pm flight to India...right?
WRONG. We get to 30th Street Station in Philly at 2:20 pm, get our tickets, and wait...And wait...there's a green (how ironic) sign saying that all trains are delayed due to power outages. Our train says it's only delayed 20 minutes - we think that's totally fine. 20 minutes turns into 30 minutes, and we get to boarding around 4:30. No problem...lots of time...right?
WRONG. We board, the lights on the train are off. The announcer comes on and says they're having a problem switching the engines. (We later learn the engine blew with a big explosion.) While we are waiting, there's one of those guys...those guys who can't shut up, has to tell someone his whole life story, loudly, while the rest of us must listen. He's in the area between the two cars, and thank goodness when the conductor shut the door. Didn't block out his droning, but quieted it a bit. Not enough for the man next to us who, ironically, couldn't stop talking about how annoying that guy was.
The announcer comes on again, and tells us their having trouble switching the engines. Then he comes on again and says they switched the engines, but they're having trouble with the track wires. Then he comes on again and says...that all southbound trains have been canceled due to power outages. We think to ourselves, who cares...we're going north....right?
WRONG. Turns out all the southbound trains are ahead of us in the station and they have to move them out before we can go northbound. In the meantime, I'm calling Continental who tells me that we should proceed ahead to Newark, but that if we miss the plane, there are no other flights into India until maybe Friday. I'm anxious at this point. But I dealt with it fine - everything happens for a reason, I kept saying...and I was still hopeful.
We finally leave Philly at 6:20 or so, but the train has to travel slowly for some reason or another. As we're getting to Newark, I tell Continental that we're almost there and ask what we should do. They told us to go directly to the head of the line, etc. When that train arrives in Newark (around 7:40), I told Hasan to follow me and I'm going to move FAAAAAAAAAAST. We get to the Elite counter (supposedly being a lifelong loyalist to Continental was going to help me through this), who tells us we have to go downstairs where they deal with such situations and an agent takes us there. We've now picked up a mate - a girl whose boyfriend is in India for studying and whom she is visiting for a week. OK, great - we have an agent to help us navigate...right?
WRONG. We go downstairs where it is chaos. One woman is having an absolute crying/begging fit because she's apparently just been told it's too late for her and her family to get on the 8:45 flight. The main agent downstairs is being quite rude with people, as are a few of the other agents. They tell those of us that have come to the head of the line that all of this is not fair and to get in the end of the line. I quickly realize this is hopeless - even the agent that came down with us has abandoned us. So we go back upstairs since we think the Elite desk would be a better place to redo this itinerary. They send us back down. Some Elite status.
We get back downstairs and that same rude main agent says "all Delhi passengers come over here". Thank God there were the two of us because Hasan could stay in the line while I went over. I felt bad for the single passengers who lost their place in line and went over there...no sooner did I get there, did she say "oh right, you guys are all canceled. that's right - you need to wait in the end of the line". Seriously.
Anyways, I decide to call Continental while waiting in this line at the encourage of the other passengers. It's about 8:30, and I'm pretty sure it's hopeless, but why not. This phone call ends up yielding me a very nice agent who tries to find us some way to get to India over the next few days...but unfortunately everything is booked...until Monday!
I spend about 45 minutes on the phone with him, get us good seats, an ability to refund the ticket if we can find something better in the next couple of days, and resign ourselves to a changed itinerary. I could hear the disappointment in my sister's voice...if my niece knew we were going to be there "day after tomorrow", then I can remember how disappointed I was when I was a kid and my family got delayed. But we'll be there next week and...
...everything happens for a reason. The way we see it, we got to relax all day yesterday which was much needed. I get to go to yoga a lot over the weekend, because my body aches a lot.
The worst part? The 260 bucks we had to shell out to get home from Newark on Wednesday night after all this. We weren't about to do the trains or a bus at that hour. So we got a private car service, fell asleep, and didn't have to leave our Roxie for another few days.
Lesson learned - no more flying from Philly to Newark for a connecting flight. Just take a train much earlier in the day. Which is exactly what we are going to do on Monday. EARLY.
What a crazy journey. Wednesday we were rather hectically (spelling?) trying to get ourselves ready to leave for India at 5:45 that afternoon from Philadelphia airport, connecting through Newark to Delhi. Around 12:45 pm I get an automated call from Continental saying the flight from Philly to Newark has been delayed, and it's been delayed so much that we would miss our connection to India. I hurriedly get on the phone with Continental and after the third time, and lots of hold time, they tell us we can take a train from Philadelphia to Newark airport, leaving at 3:58, arriving at 4:58 pm - PLENTY of time to make an 8:45 pm flight to India...right?
WRONG. We get to 30th Street Station in Philly at 2:20 pm, get our tickets, and wait...And wait...there's a green (how ironic) sign saying that all trains are delayed due to power outages. Our train says it's only delayed 20 minutes - we think that's totally fine. 20 minutes turns into 30 minutes, and we get to boarding around 4:30. No problem...lots of time...right?
WRONG. We board, the lights on the train are off. The announcer comes on and says they're having a problem switching the engines. (We later learn the engine blew with a big explosion.) While we are waiting, there's one of those guys...those guys who can't shut up, has to tell someone his whole life story, loudly, while the rest of us must listen. He's in the area between the two cars, and thank goodness when the conductor shut the door. Didn't block out his droning, but quieted it a bit. Not enough for the man next to us who, ironically, couldn't stop talking about how annoying that guy was.
The announcer comes on again, and tells us their having trouble switching the engines. Then he comes on again and says they switched the engines, but they're having trouble with the track wires. Then he comes on again and says...that all southbound trains have been canceled due to power outages. We think to ourselves, who cares...we're going north....right?
WRONG. Turns out all the southbound trains are ahead of us in the station and they have to move them out before we can go northbound. In the meantime, I'm calling Continental who tells me that we should proceed ahead to Newark, but that if we miss the plane, there are no other flights into India until maybe Friday. I'm anxious at this point. But I dealt with it fine - everything happens for a reason, I kept saying...and I was still hopeful.
We finally leave Philly at 6:20 or so, but the train has to travel slowly for some reason or another. As we're getting to Newark, I tell Continental that we're almost there and ask what we should do. They told us to go directly to the head of the line, etc. When that train arrives in Newark (around 7:40), I told Hasan to follow me and I'm going to move FAAAAAAAAAAST. We get to the Elite counter (supposedly being a lifelong loyalist to Continental was going to help me through this), who tells us we have to go downstairs where they deal with such situations and an agent takes us there. We've now picked up a mate - a girl whose boyfriend is in India for studying and whom she is visiting for a week. OK, great - we have an agent to help us navigate...right?
WRONG. We go downstairs where it is chaos. One woman is having an absolute crying/begging fit because she's apparently just been told it's too late for her and her family to get on the 8:45 flight. The main agent downstairs is being quite rude with people, as are a few of the other agents. They tell those of us that have come to the head of the line that all of this is not fair and to get in the end of the line. I quickly realize this is hopeless - even the agent that came down with us has abandoned us. So we go back upstairs since we think the Elite desk would be a better place to redo this itinerary. They send us back down. Some Elite status.
We get back downstairs and that same rude main agent says "all Delhi passengers come over here". Thank God there were the two of us because Hasan could stay in the line while I went over. I felt bad for the single passengers who lost their place in line and went over there...no sooner did I get there, did she say "oh right, you guys are all canceled. that's right - you need to wait in the end of the line". Seriously.
Anyways, I decide to call Continental while waiting in this line at the encourage of the other passengers. It's about 8:30, and I'm pretty sure it's hopeless, but why not. This phone call ends up yielding me a very nice agent who tries to find us some way to get to India over the next few days...but unfortunately everything is booked...until Monday!
I spend about 45 minutes on the phone with him, get us good seats, an ability to refund the ticket if we can find something better in the next couple of days, and resign ourselves to a changed itinerary. I could hear the disappointment in my sister's voice...if my niece knew we were going to be there "day after tomorrow", then I can remember how disappointed I was when I was a kid and my family got delayed. But we'll be there next week and...
...everything happens for a reason. The way we see it, we got to relax all day yesterday which was much needed. I get to go to yoga a lot over the weekend, because my body aches a lot.
The worst part? The 260 bucks we had to shell out to get home from Newark on Wednesday night after all this. We weren't about to do the trains or a bus at that hour. So we got a private car service, fell asleep, and didn't have to leave our Roxie for another few days.
Lesson learned - no more flying from Philly to Newark for a connecting flight. Just take a train much earlier in the day. Which is exactly what we are going to do on Monday. EARLY.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Food, glorious food
It's been a week of good eating. I hate to say this, and Wendy will probably be dubious, but today I ate at a corporate cafe that was (dare I say it?) a better eating experience than the ones I've had at Google. I went to lunch at the Urban Outfitters company cafe today down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and it was just so terrific. The views are neat - water, ships, etc. Urban Outfitters spent a lot of money putting their corporate complex down there. The cafe building is a renovated warehouse - they preserved so many of the warehouse components (beams, pumps, etc.) while adding in all the warm fuzzy woodsy-ness that is Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. So the cafe was gorgeous, the food was fresh and YUMMY, and the people were quite hip.
Last week was Thanksgiving - leftovers from which we are still eating. I was quite intent this year on having a proper sit-down Thanksgiving with table linens and all. And we hosted a lovely one...turkey (thanks Ebonie), cornbread stuffing, salmon, collard greens, yams, mushroom rice, desserts, mac n' cheese, and it goes on...even potato salad that I actually really liked. (It must have been my standing over my mother-in-law-to-be saying "MORE paprika" :) After dinner, we and the rest of the family piled up pillows and blankets on the couch and floor and watched The Day After Tomorrow. I amazingly made it through the whole movie without falling asleep. Thanks Evelan for staying up with me!
Here are some pics from the holiday...we should have taken more...but we were busy cooking, sleeping, eating, and talking. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is for anyways?
Before I publish this, I wanted to share two wonderful stories I heard today about my favorite munchkinettes. The first is about my sister's daughter Tanuja who is 3.5 years old. Apparently she's going through a fussy phase, and to help resolve situations that arise, my sister invented Miss Fussy. And so what they do is they ask Miss Fussy to go away. This morning, while I was talking to my sister, there was apparently a little mini-drama about the coldness of the water that Tanuja was being washed with. There was no hot water available, and she was about to have a mini-meltdown. So my sister said "Can we ask Miss Fussy to go home? To go back to her house?" and Tanuja said "yes" and asked Miss Fussy to go back home...and thus she calmed down. Later, Tanuja got onto the phone with me and told me how she doesn't want Miss Fussy to come over, so she tells her to go back to her house...but that she has to keep telling Miss Fussy this over and over again. I just about died laughing.
The second story is reprinted without permission in its entirety. It is written by Wendy about Tallulah and comes with visual aids:
"Tallulah's pals Baby and Curious George. Apparently Curious George was misbehaving earlier, as she was putting George on time out while Baby got yogurt. The other night, she was reading a book to her penguin in the bath tub, and the penguin had the audacity to float away. She grabbed him and put him in time-out on the edge of the bathtub. "Time out, Time out." Penguin was then responding "Sorry, sorry" in Tallulah's voice. And Tallulah comforted him with "Kiss kiss Penguin," but followed up with "Time out." Quite interesting to see yourself through the eye's of your child."
I say, aren't children grand?
Last week was Thanksgiving - leftovers from which we are still eating. I was quite intent this year on having a proper sit-down Thanksgiving with table linens and all. And we hosted a lovely one...turkey (thanks Ebonie), cornbread stuffing, salmon, collard greens, yams, mushroom rice, desserts, mac n' cheese, and it goes on...even potato salad that I actually really liked. (It must have been my standing over my mother-in-law-to-be saying "MORE paprika" :) After dinner, we and the rest of the family piled up pillows and blankets on the couch and floor and watched The Day After Tomorrow. I amazingly made it through the whole movie without falling asleep. Thanks Evelan for staying up with me!
Here are some pics from the holiday...we should have taken more...but we were busy cooking, sleeping, eating, and talking. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is for anyways?
Before I publish this, I wanted to share two wonderful stories I heard today about my favorite munchkinettes. The first is about my sister's daughter Tanuja who is 3.5 years old. Apparently she's going through a fussy phase, and to help resolve situations that arise, my sister invented Miss Fussy. And so what they do is they ask Miss Fussy to go away. This morning, while I was talking to my sister, there was apparently a little mini-drama about the coldness of the water that Tanuja was being washed with. There was no hot water available, and she was about to have a mini-meltdown. So my sister said "Can we ask Miss Fussy to go home? To go back to her house?" and Tanuja said "yes" and asked Miss Fussy to go back home...and thus she calmed down. Later, Tanuja got onto the phone with me and told me how she doesn't want Miss Fussy to come over, so she tells her to go back to her house...but that she has to keep telling Miss Fussy this over and over again. I just about died laughing.
The second story is reprinted without permission in its entirety. It is written by Wendy about Tallulah and comes with visual aids:
"Tallulah's pals Baby and Curious George. Apparently Curious George was misbehaving earlier, as she was putting George on time out while Baby got yogurt. The other night, she was reading a book to her penguin in the bath tub, and the penguin had the audacity to float away. She grabbed him and put him in time-out on the edge of the bathtub. "Time out, Time out." Penguin was then responding "Sorry, sorry" in Tallulah's voice. And Tallulah comforted him with "Kiss kiss Penguin," but followed up with "Time out." Quite interesting to see yourself through the eye's of your child."
I say, aren't children grand?
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