Airplanes
4/13/11 Air between SD and Houston TX on a Continental flight.
My eyes itch; my knees are pressed up against the seat pocket where the sick bag sits. My arms are squeezed against my side, trying not to crowd the guy in the seat next to me, who has never made eye contact. I was going to say good morning but I am guessing he would prefer his privacy and to tell you the truth, so would I. This is just the transition. On my lap is my wallet with my cash and credit cards, and a thank you drink certificate from my friend who is a flight attendant for watering her plants last week. I am a little groggy this morning and am not sure if it is the Claritin or the Ambien hangover although I didn’t take a whole one last night. Its 9:29 California time and I just ordered a red wine since they don’t have sparkling. I felt the need to explain I was on vacation and the flight attendant; a guy,obviously didn’t care in the least. – Not whether I had the wine or not, nor whether I existed really. I don’t think he is making more than the briefest of eye contact with anyone. Perhaps too many shifts or a bad morning. The cheese platter is pretty good and a reasonable price considering it s exactly what I wanted. Kindles ipads, net books and game devices are all out and in use, the curtain between coach and first or business class looks like mosquito netting, it is transparent. I think that normally on the planes I've been on the curtain is opaque, I’ve always assumed so we can’t see the food and drink the big buck fliers are getting and revolt. I didn’t bring my expensive glasses with me, I don’t think, but I did take the older pair or transitions and the red framed arty ones. My only jewelry is the journey silver necklace I bought from a catalog, and my tiny opal drops from la Costa gems. I always enjoy browsing through sky mall to see what new gadgets are out, but I’ve never ordered anything from it. I’ve also done a brief tour through my new sonny camcorder instruction manual, but am not really focusing. There is an older woman o the plane that looks vaguely familiar, don’t know where from. At the airport I tried to figure out how to send a compliment to the continental headquarters about Noemi who is an agent in San Diego and who was very helpful and caring. I tried using the virtual agent on line, but comments weren’t on the agenda. Now at last I’ve captured her name so I could do it later. I wonder if I took a vote of all the passengers how many would think I had a drinking problem by seeing me order the red wine at this time of day. Geesh I don’t ever drink alone, and only on rare occasions like travel do I drink during the day. Funny in all these ye3ars I’ve never seen Saundra in a uniform; I’ll have to ask her if she has a picture. Another agent who was guiding people into lines, an African American woman, had a double breasted dress sort of uniform on. I complimented her and she said I guess it’s cute but I have to wear it every day, but I do have a job, I guess that is a blessing isn’t it. My shuttle driver from the parking lot is from Michoacán and knows san Miguel. He told me a story about when he was 16 the government in Guerrero negro was offering free land and building materials to adults, but he was only 16, his brother 17 so because they didn’t think about getting a fake ID they lost out on the land. So here he is now, living in TJ, working in San Diego, but he is lucky. All of Baja is full of immigrants looking for their dreams to come to the US, and he is doing that. I told him I had never been south of guaymas on the mainland, and he said san Miguel will be much different than anything I’ve seen in Baja. I told him I’m looking forward to it. I asked him if he’d seen me walking Rosecrans to work, and he said he never notices the people on the street. How odd that seems to me, a visual person not to notice the fixtures.
Its 9:53 and I’m nodding off, after two lattes and that small bottle of wine and the Claritin I guess I’ve mellowed out. Still at least an hour and a half in the air. Maybe a short nap while I can.
My eyes itch; my knees are pressed up against the seat pocket where the sick bag sits. My arms are squeezed against my side, trying not to crowd the guy in the seat next to me, who has never made eye contact. I was going to say good morning but I am guessing he would prefer his privacy and to tell you the truth, so would I. This is just the transition. On my lap is my wallet with my cash and credit cards, and a thank you drink certificate from my friend who is a flight attendant for watering her plants last week. I am a little groggy this morning and am not sure if it is the Claritin or the Ambien hangover although I didn’t take a whole one last night. Its 9:29 California time and I just ordered a red wine since they don’t have sparkling. I felt the need to explain I was on vacation and the flight attendant; a guy,obviously didn’t care in the least. – Not whether I had the wine or not, nor whether I existed really. I don’t think he is making more than the briefest of eye contact with anyone. Perhaps too many shifts or a bad morning. The cheese platter is pretty good and a reasonable price considering it s exactly what I wanted. Kindles ipads, net books and game devices are all out and in use, the curtain between coach and first or business class looks like mosquito netting, it is transparent. I think that normally on the planes I've been on the curtain is opaque, I’ve always assumed so we can’t see the food and drink the big buck fliers are getting and revolt. I didn’t bring my expensive glasses with me, I don’t think, but I did take the older pair or transitions and the red framed arty ones. My only jewelry is the journey silver necklace I bought from a catalog, and my tiny opal drops from la Costa gems. I always enjoy browsing through sky mall to see what new gadgets are out, but I’ve never ordered anything from it. I’ve also done a brief tour through my new sonny camcorder instruction manual, but am not really focusing. There is an older woman o the plane that looks vaguely familiar, don’t know where from. At the airport I tried to figure out how to send a compliment to the continental headquarters about Noemi who is an agent in San Diego and who was very helpful and caring. I tried using the virtual agent on line, but comments weren’t on the agenda. Now at last I’ve captured her name so I could do it later. I wonder if I took a vote of all the passengers how many would think I had a drinking problem by seeing me order the red wine at this time of day. Geesh I don’t ever drink alone, and only on rare occasions like travel do I drink during the day. Funny in all these ye3ars I’ve never seen Saundra in a uniform; I’ll have to ask her if she has a picture. Another agent who was guiding people into lines, an African American woman, had a double breasted dress sort of uniform on. I complimented her and she said I guess it’s cute but I have to wear it every day, but I do have a job, I guess that is a blessing isn’t it. My shuttle driver from the parking lot is from Michoacán and knows san Miguel. He told me a story about when he was 16 the government in Guerrero negro was offering free land and building materials to adults, but he was only 16, his brother 17 so because they didn’t think about getting a fake ID they lost out on the land. So here he is now, living in TJ, working in San Diego, but he is lucky. All of Baja is full of immigrants looking for their dreams to come to the US, and he is doing that. I told him I had never been south of guaymas on the mainland, and he said san Miguel will be much different than anything I’ve seen in Baja. I told him I’m looking forward to it. I asked him if he’d seen me walking Rosecrans to work, and he said he never notices the people on the street. How odd that seems to me, a visual person not to notice the fixtures.
Its 9:53 and I’m nodding off, after two lattes and that small bottle of wine and the Claritin I guess I’ve mellowed out. Still at least an hour and a half in the air. Maybe a short nap while I can.
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