armagnac!

[verbicide]

I fucking hate airlines. Just hate them. The entire system is set up to be as inconvenient and expensive and unpleasant as humanly possible. I don't think I'm asking too much. This trip is more than 20 days away and all I want is a reasonable fare, nonstop flight and on the days I want. There are plenty of flights, but for some reason, Alaska wants an extra $9000 to fly you back from LAX nonstop. United will do the nonstop back but only at an insane hour of the morning. And why the fuck is it more expensive for me to fly to LA than it is to fly to NY? Grrr.

The whole nonrefundable thing freaks me out. How did we, the consumers, allow airlines to dictate such horrible customer service to us? "That's right, motherfuckers, we'll fly you when we want, where we want and lose your baggage in the process. We can cancel a flight without any notice, but you can't change your schedule without paying exorbitant fees. Pissed off? SECURITY! Cavity search!"

Brh. And I hate flying. It freaks me out. I don't have to be sedated, but I tend to white knuckle through turbulence. I don't want to have to deplane, wait, and get back on for another leg of travel for such a short freaking flight. I don't understand why the direct routes from LA are so fucking expensive. It's no sweat to get a nonstop from here to there. Graaargh!!!

Ok. Must move off this or will break things.


Finally booked my ticket for LA. I'm looking forward to going. It'll be great to see my family again. It's ten days, so I'm a little apprehensive. I hate leaving Hobbes. I wish I had a longer break so I could enjoy the time in LA and still have some time off from school here. Oh well. I'm staying a bit longer because I'm planning a side trip to San Diego. Stace moved there right before I moved away from SoCal (a fact she may never forgive me for) and I want to go visit. Fun will be had. Just realized... sunshine. Huh. *perk*

I was so pathetic today about that damn assignment. Instead of churning through it after work, I decided I was exhausted and needed a nap. I am a loser. I was lying in bed, covers over head, not at all sleepy, simply avoiding reality. I eventually had to give myself a bitch-slapping which wasn't fun, because I can be mean.

Biggest benefit of hauling self out of bed: Sarah was around! Whoop! I never see her anymore because our schedules are diametrically opposed. But tonight, we caught up!

Oh, and I did finish the fucking waste of time assignment and emailed it off. Two more class meetings. I can survive this.

I should really get cranking on Mishy's scarf. It'd be nice to give it to her in person next month.

Still addicted to Michael Ball's crooning voice. As much as I love his Marius in Les Mis, I think this is my favorite role for him. Much bigger part and much more melodrama.

Alex: "Live or perish in its flame! Love will never never let you be the same!"

Torn between playing FFX-2 and knitting while watching Mrs. Brown.

Comments

[rimrunner.livejournal.com]

I couldn't believe what some of the tickets to Budapest cost. I thought the Concorde had been retired from service?

I used to like flying. Now, totally unreasonably, it scares me. For the flight overseas I'm bringing melatonin and a good book.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

I thought the Concorde had been retired from service?

As did I. It had that crash in 2000 and I haven't heard much about it since.

I've found audio books to be very soothing on flights, lately. I can recline a bit and just close my eyes and be lulled into comfort. Makes the time go faster.

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is expensive! Are you renting your own plane or something?

I'm not scared of planes--I used to be, but I've been doing enough flying the last few years, I got over it. I do hate air travel, though. Especially the parts that involve airports. Dirty, germ-infested pits of despair, they are. Especially LAX. Worst. Airport. Ever. (At least, the worst I've ever had the misfortune of experiencing.)

Feel bad for me: I've got an 11-hour flight to Europe coming up. And it's for work, so it's not even like I'll be having fun.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

You know, maybe I'm having a stupid moment, but I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. So, just on the chance you're not: the $9000 was hyperbole. I got a ticket for $223 on United. Alaska had tickets for $200, but all of them required a stop on the way back. To get a nonstop flight back, the fare was going up to $300+. Annoyingly, I'd been collecting mileage on Alaska.

I used to be terrified of flying. Now, having done enough flying over the years, I only hate it. I know it's irrational, but turbulence just kicks in my primal animal fear.

About your upcoming trip: Yuck! Will you at least get some extra time for fun?

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

Actually, I was just being silly; I thought you made a typo or something.

There might be some small extra time for fun (because I am saving my boss $500 by staying an extra day--how's that for wacky ticket pricing?), but I'll probably be too jet-lagged to appreciate it.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

I was having a particularly dim morning.

See? That $500 for a day later (or earlier or whatever the case may be) is what drives me completely insane about airfares.

Have a good trip!