The travel day
Mar. 26th, 2008 08:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ksmithColor Me Wiped.
I didn't get to bed until well after 11pm. It didn't help that I woke up a few times during the night--anticipation, I think, and paranoia about being late and missing my flight. It also didn't help that I felt compelled to do just about anything else last night other than pack. I cleaned the bathroom and the top of the refrigerator and vacuumed when I should've been packing. When I finally did get to packing, I wound up leaving out the comfy room pants and top, and the pair of sneakers. I may wish I had kept the sneakers, but there wasn't any room. The thing with rolling garment bags is that they're not really designed to hold much of anything that isn't on a hanger.
So, finally finished packing. Slept, sorta. Up at 6am. Coffee. Get ready. Thought about breakfast, but wasn't sure what the traffic would be like, and figured I could get something at the Red Carpet Club. Encountered much construction on 294, but other than that, made good time. Parked. Checked bag. Love having access to Premier. No line at check-in. Then on to security screening for the first time in over 4 years. Asking more travelled friends for advice and checking websites made a difference, along with watching the seasoned business guys. Made it through. That left me with about 90 minutes to kill, so, off to the RCC.
After a single visit to the RCC located near the B gates, I will say that I wasn't overly impressed. It's nice, clean, quiet--even the little kids there are quiet--and if I had a layover of several hours, I would possibly think differently. There are outlets everywhere to charge equipment. Kiosks for folks who have to work. TVs, a bar, plenty of places to sit. Two options for wireless, T-Mobile and another plan that would have cost me $6.95--given that I was only going to be there for an hour or so, I didn't think it worth the trouble to sign up, but as I said, if I was going to be there for a few hours, I would've gone for it. The food, unless I missed something, consisted of highly refined breadstuffs--mini bagels, croissants, and banana bread au cellophane. I think I saw yogurt. Fruit. Coffee, juice. Frankly, for that money, I would have liked to see 1) whole grain anything, and 2) a toaster. I'll be using it a few more times this year, but if I had to choose right now between RCC and spending the money on seating upgrades, I'd go with the seating. Economy Plus makes a difference. Not having my knees bumping the seat in front of me makes a difference. RCC? We'll C. I left to find the gate, and picked up a turkey sandwich at a cart because I really needed protein.
Flight-wise? First the flight was scheduled to leave on time, at 10:40. Then we were delayed 20 minutes due to air traffic control something or other. Around 11, we boarded, then were told that takeoff would be delayed until 1140, iirc because of the wind. But we got a reprieve, and were given clearance to take off at 11:10 or so, the upshot of which was that we wound up arriving in Nerk on time. Landed. Claimed bag. Found the airport trains, which took me to the NJ Transit train. About 20, 25 minutes later, there we were pulling into New York Penn Station. Followed the signs to the 7th Avenue exit, walked about a block, and there was the hotel. Checked in, got to room, and phoned Diana-my-editor. The plan was for me to come down to the Harpercollins building, meet folks, then go to dinner. And we did all that, along with a podcast interview that will show up on the Eos website at some point in the near future. Stuff about Jani and Endgame and the idomeni that you may or may not have already known.
Dinner was at a neat place called PlanetThailand212. Much good conversation with Diana, along with food. For an appetizer, I had Larb Kai, which was minced chicken, peanuts, and toasted rice marinated in ginger. The entree was a very tasty Thai shrimp and veg tempura. Dessert was also committed in the form of a creme brulee sampler--ginger, green tea, and another variety the name of which I forgot but that was very good. I am stuffed. I told myself that all I had up to that point was the banana bread and the sandwich. But still, tempura *and* creme brulee. I will do much walking tomorrow to make up for it. The plan is to walk to the Met Museum, spend the day checking out some of the exhibits, then get back to the hotel in time for the conference kick-off at 7ish.
Good day. Busy day. Really, really tired. The room is small but nice, with Aveda products in the bathroom and a little stuffed gorilla on the bed. One downside, which is becoming more apparent with each passing minute, is that air flow into my room is sweeping up restaurant smells from either the hotel or a nearby steakhouse. If I were hungry, it would smell lovely. Now, it's just annoying. Hope it eases up as the night wears on.
So far, so good.
I didn't get to bed until well after 11pm. It didn't help that I woke up a few times during the night--anticipation, I think, and paranoia about being late and missing my flight. It also didn't help that I felt compelled to do just about anything else last night other than pack. I cleaned the bathroom and the top of the refrigerator and vacuumed when I should've been packing. When I finally did get to packing, I wound up leaving out the comfy room pants and top, and the pair of sneakers. I may wish I had kept the sneakers, but there wasn't any room. The thing with rolling garment bags is that they're not really designed to hold much of anything that isn't on a hanger.
So, finally finished packing. Slept, sorta. Up at 6am. Coffee. Get ready. Thought about breakfast, but wasn't sure what the traffic would be like, and figured I could get something at the Red Carpet Club. Encountered much construction on 294, but other than that, made good time. Parked. Checked bag. Love having access to Premier. No line at check-in. Then on to security screening for the first time in over 4 years. Asking more travelled friends for advice and checking websites made a difference, along with watching the seasoned business guys. Made it through. That left me with about 90 minutes to kill, so, off to the RCC.
After a single visit to the RCC located near the B gates, I will say that I wasn't overly impressed. It's nice, clean, quiet--even the little kids there are quiet--and if I had a layover of several hours, I would possibly think differently. There are outlets everywhere to charge equipment. Kiosks for folks who have to work. TVs, a bar, plenty of places to sit. Two options for wireless, T-Mobile and another plan that would have cost me $6.95--given that I was only going to be there for an hour or so, I didn't think it worth the trouble to sign up, but as I said, if I was going to be there for a few hours, I would've gone for it. The food, unless I missed something, consisted of highly refined breadstuffs--mini bagels, croissants, and banana bread au cellophane. I think I saw yogurt. Fruit. Coffee, juice. Frankly, for that money, I would have liked to see 1) whole grain anything, and 2) a toaster. I'll be using it a few more times this year, but if I had to choose right now between RCC and spending the money on seating upgrades, I'd go with the seating. Economy Plus makes a difference. Not having my knees bumping the seat in front of me makes a difference. RCC? We'll C. I left to find the gate, and picked up a turkey sandwich at a cart because I really needed protein.
Flight-wise? First the flight was scheduled to leave on time, at 10:40. Then we were delayed 20 minutes due to air traffic control something or other. Around 11, we boarded, then were told that takeoff would be delayed until 1140, iirc because of the wind. But we got a reprieve, and were given clearance to take off at 11:10 or so, the upshot of which was that we wound up arriving in Nerk on time. Landed. Claimed bag. Found the airport trains, which took me to the NJ Transit train. About 20, 25 minutes later, there we were pulling into New York Penn Station. Followed the signs to the 7th Avenue exit, walked about a block, and there was the hotel. Checked in, got to room, and phoned Diana-my-editor. The plan was for me to come down to the Harpercollins building, meet folks, then go to dinner. And we did all that, along with a podcast interview that will show up on the Eos website at some point in the near future. Stuff about Jani and Endgame and the idomeni that you may or may not have already known.
Dinner was at a neat place called PlanetThailand212. Much good conversation with Diana, along with food. For an appetizer, I had Larb Kai, which was minced chicken, peanuts, and toasted rice marinated in ginger. The entree was a very tasty Thai shrimp and veg tempura. Dessert was also committed in the form of a creme brulee sampler--ginger, green tea, and another variety the name of which I forgot but that was very good. I am stuffed. I told myself that all I had up to that point was the banana bread and the sandwich. But still, tempura *and* creme brulee. I will do much walking tomorrow to make up for it. The plan is to walk to the Met Museum, spend the day checking out some of the exhibits, then get back to the hotel in time for the conference kick-off at 7ish.
Good day. Busy day. Really, really tired. The room is small but nice, with Aveda products in the bathroom and a little stuffed gorilla on the bed. One downside, which is becoming more apparent with each passing minute, is that air flow into my room is sweeping up restaurant smells from either the hotel or a nearby steakhouse. If I were hungry, it would smell lovely. Now, it's just annoying. Hope it eases up as the night wears on.
So far, so good.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
RCC or NoCC
Date: 2008-03-27 05:09 am (UTC)(Aveda's nice - we got turned on to the products as a result of hotel stays)
Re: RCC or NoCC
Date: 2008-03-28 02:22 am (UTC)Yup--in the middle of a long-haul, the place to shower and zone out is probably a godsend. But if you're flying non-stop with only an hour or so to kill? Not so much.
I did notice that several of the business folk knew one another--I think they worked at the same company, and their travel overlapped. So, there are social bennies depending on the crowd.
Re: RCC or NoCC
Date: 2008-03-28 04:40 am (UTC)As for the "crowds" - I've happened upon folks in the same industry at RCCs and the like, but usually during a sales campaign where we all were in to visit the same airline, or trade shows.
The place that both horrifies and amuses me where I meet many people I know is in the security line at Heathrow's T1/T2 Flight Connections center (everyone who flies #thru# Heathrow and has to change terminals [which seems to be almost everyone] gets sent to a single mob scene at the end of a very long bus ride and walk, run thru security, and then into another line to wait to get their onward boarding pass - and even with a boarding pass, you have to get yours stamped to show that they've confirmed your baggage is moving onwards as well) I've bumped into more customers, competitors and fellow travellers in the industry in line there than anywhere else. Weird.
Enjoy The City. I hope the food scent eventually tuned out.