Chuckler’s Musings

so here i am, in the US of A. There was a huge football game on today, apparently of crucial importance that the conference almost stopped for. They had it projected on a huge screen that everyone came into the dining hall to watch. Chicago vs New Orleans, I forget who won. Look it up if you like.

On my plane to Bangkok, I sat next to some European guy whose mission was to get as hammered as possible on the flight. It was quite impressive … we’re talking dual wine glasses, so he could drink from one while waiting for the other to be refilled. He passed out a couple of hours from the end of the flight, but when he woke up he started hard drinking again. I didn’t really understand it.

I had a free night in Bangkok, thanks to Thai Airways, so I didn’t need to collect any luggage … just take my carry-on through immigration, skip the baggage claim, and then through customs and into the limo. It was a warm evening, and I was sweating quite a bit. I was tired, too, and was suprised the limo to the hotel took around 3/4 hour. I was staying at the Amari Watergate (Amari was the “brand name” of the hote), which was really quite nice. In my time in Bangkok, I visited my favourite bookshop, favourite internet cafe, favourite restaurant, favourite cafe. 24 hours is a really convenient amount of time to spend there - although I felt a bit “feverish” by the time I left … I think it was the weather.

The flight from Bangkok to Los Angeles was nice - I was in a row by myself, which meant I could spread out nicely. I had audiobooks, and real books to keep me amused. I listened to Bill Bryson’s new book, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. I read Mario Puzo’s Fools Die, and watched Romeo + Juliet. Long flight I was glad to be off by the end.

Excess baggage from Brisbane to LA was 2 bags @ US$109 ea. Excess baggage from LA to Dallas was US$160.

My flight to Dallas from LA was via Las Vegas, and the flight from Vegas to Dallas featured a nose bleed that just wouldn’t stop. Eventually the cabin staff noticed and brought me an icepack. I was moderately mortified.

I needed to pay for a SmartCart for my bags at Dallas, and then in the world’s biggest scam needed to rent another cart once I got to the car rental terminal. I got the car from Hertz, and ended up going with all insurance options … most folk will probably remember my umming and ahhing before I left concerning which insurances to get. My TomTom wouldn’t start, but the car I had had Neverlost in it, so it didn’t matter too much. I prefer the TomTom to the Hertz GPS - it just doesn’t compare really - so I’ll work on updating the firmware etc on the unit in the hope it’ll soon go.

The hotel here is good, I arrived 6am Saturday. I tried to sleep as soon as I arrived, but couldn’t … so I went out for breakfast at Denny’s. Get this: scrambled eggs, 2 link sausages, 2 x smoked sausages, 2 sausage patties, 3 pancakes, bottomless tea and tip came to US$10. As Leyton said, at those prices, Australia will NEVER catchup to being the most obese nation in the world. Ah well.

Unfortunately after the breakfast I started to feel tired, so thought to myself that I would have a nap. 15 hours later, I woke up, having slept through 2 alarms - one set by me, one set by the previous guest in the room, which I discovered this morning. This meant that I woke up at mdnight - perfect for overcoming jetlag - and got some work done. I then read a little and went back to bed around 3:30am. This morning, the trade show started.

Things are going well, the booth looks great. The one thing I’m not sure about is parking … I think I may be booked when I pick up the car tonight, but cez la vie.