lithera | Hallo all!

I am here! I was nowhere near Mangalore for that plane crash. I saw news of that just before I got on the plane in Frankfurt. Ending up here, there are a lot of news stories about it, of course. Apparently, according to The Hindu Times, one of the survivors was noticed when he showed up at immigration and customs looking to process his paperwork.

Anyway... the trip so far: Got to SeaTac with no problems at all. I jumped on the plane and ended up being seated next to a two year old who seemed to think I was the greatest thing ever. She was also squirmy as all get out, so I got a few indicental punches and kicks but it wasn't really a big deal. I got to catch up on some movies I hadn't seen, which was rather nice. The North Atlantic is still a horrible place to fly over full of turbulence.

The Last Station: This is fascinating stuff and I see why Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer both got acting nominations. These are two people who are very much in love and have reached a point, after 40+ years of mariage, where they're no longer compatible. It was very moving and enjoyable. And now I want to learn more about Tolstoy and his wife.

Up in the Air: I enjoyed the movie. I enjoyed it a lot but at the same time, it just has an ending that sort of peters off into nothing. It isn't unpleasant but it doesn't give much sense of resolution if you the sort that needs one. It did make me wonder how many miles I've flown, though. Hard to come up with a number, all in all. I hit 100K easily, especially considering that I did almost 10K yesterday alone.

Princess and the Frog: I enjoyed it but it won't be one of my favorites, I don't think. Naveen distracted me as was pretty much Prince Eric with a different skin color in the looks department.

Frankfurt airport is still under construction. It seems to be the way of most of the European airports. Schipol is still my favorite without question, though the Germans are pretty intense about their security. I was there long enough to see news on the crash in Mangalore and to see what things I'm going to try to pick up on my way back through if I get a chance. Anyone want any alcohol? There are some pretty impressive botles of wine and Scotch available in the Duty Free.

The flight from Frankfurt to Chennai was not as pleasant. The man in front of me had his seat all the way back almost instantly and for the entire flight. It was so close to me that I had my best sleep by leaning forward and putting my forehead on the seat. So, that was lovely. I was running out of movie options at this point, so I watched The Blind Side, which was much better than I thought it would be. I don't know as it was Oscar worthy but it certainly wasn't bad. I tried to sleep some rather than watch Avatar again.

Getting off of the plane.... hrmmm. Well, getting off the plane here is somewhat like getting off the plane in New Orleans. Except hotter. And more humid. And it smells more... swampy and earthy. There were brief moments of repreive as you'd walk beneath under an air conditioner. And once I got outside, I realized that as warm as /that/ was, it was actually air conditioned inside. Outside my clothing was stuck to me almost instantly.

I realize I have no idea, at all, of the layout of this city and even if I did, I would have no idea how to get anywhere. If I felt safe driving here, which I wouldn't. There are lines on the road but they're vague guidelines in that people kind of pay attention to them but only sort of. You honk when you pass, you honk when you want to pass, you honk pretty much any time you might feel like it.

I've sent an e-mail to my coworkers here, hoping that she'll get back to me with when I'm expected to be in the office. I know that they have tasks that start at 8, so if I don't hear from her, I'll be planning to be there by then - I hope.

So, I'm here, m'dears. I'm safe. I'm staying out of the trillion degree temperatures outside - for the most part. It can't be entirely avoided.