I'm Leaving On a Embraer RJ35, Don't Know When I'll be Back Again...

I made it!! I'm sitting in a really cozy bed, on Jessi's laptop, typing my journal entry in a really peaceful and somewhat secluded part of my aunt and uncles house. I've had a really long sleep (I went down at 7:30pm and woke up at 7:00am) but I'm still a little tired. Its amazing how quickly things have moved in the past week (walkaboutwise). I had to leave Sunday instead of my planned Saturday but it has all worked out so far. The underlying is what's happened between my last blog and my waking up this morning.
Saturday Evening: I (aided by my mom and Cole) packet frantically for New York and so far I think I have everything. Usually I forget something important like a phone charger, lotion or a tooth brush but I think I "done good" this time. While I was packing Jessi (and Jim) came over to wish me off/ give me a camera and laptop. The camera I was expecting (she's been trying to get rid of it ever since she upgraded to something that's an eighth its size with pretty much all the same if not better functions), the laptop I wasn't, now I cam blog, access the internet, and upload photos while in St. Croix!!.
Sunday: After I finished packing, combing my hair, removing my nose stud, not washing the dishes (it's my turn to wash them and I expect that they will still be there upon my return), talking to people who seem to have picked the worst possible time to call, and getting my affairs in order, I went to the airport with an hour to spare (although I was actually supposed to be there with two hours to spare). I seems as though nobody travels on Sundays (in Columbus at least) because there were no lines and the airports was pretty much deserted... strange considering an airport is one of those things that is always in motion, there's always someone coming or going, for some reason I find that comforting. It's because of this that I found a nearly desolate airport unnerving. After listening to my mom argue with a check in lady for over charging us an extra $5 on a ticket that cost so much money that $5 is not only measly but so miniscule that it doesn't need mentioning (perhaps that the reason my mom chose to fight this battle) I checked my bag. I felt bad for the check-in lady, it wasn't her fault, it was the system.
Because there was apparently no one leaving Columbus except for me, the security line was non existent, my mom and I killed time by noting how the stewardessing industry has changed in the past forty years (as in you used to have to be somewhat attractive to be a stewardess, not any more). When it was time to leave she hugged me twice and said she was proud of me (sniffle). I went through security and got to gate B34 with 15 minute before departure. Assuming that every one was on the plane by then and that everyone was waiting for me I tried to board but was denied seating because only first class had been seated at the time (I hate first class priority). After about three minutes of waiting I was seated. The plane was only three seats wide (two at one window and one on the other), it was a pretty tight fit. The steward had a rally bad announcement voice, he sounded drunk, but as far as I could tell he wasn't. With the combined claustrophobia, drunken sounding steward, the sudden feeling of imminent death I get whenever I board a small plane and the fact that I had slept a total of five hours in the past two days I went to sleep almost immediately after the plane wheels left the ground, I watched Columbus turn into a model city but by the time the plane reached the clouds (which were ominous) I was asleep. I woke up in time it watch the Model City New York get more and more detailed. Flying over New York it seems so much less overwhelming, it looks like Sim City, I can see abandoned projects (the actual projects, like ghetto neighborhood projects, THE projects), sunken cranes and boats in various bodies of water, and miniscule cars carrying miniscule people to their miniscule activities in their miniscule pre determined lives. As the plane landed in LaGuardia and the people and places grew they seemed so much more realistic almost as if my actually going through with walkabout isn't a dream.
NEW YORK: After much searching and a suspected robbery (a shift eyed guy had the same size, color, brand and extended compartment bag as I have (this is why you shouldn't buy luggage at Target), the only difference was that is green was slightly more faded) I found my luggage. Nobody was there to pick me up so I called my mom to tell her that I got in okay, apparently there was a huge tornado some place close to Columbus right before I took off. I called my aunt, she told me to hang tight because she was on her way. While waiting I got some Wendy's and eavesdropped on multi lingual conversations that people were having in the food court. After my aunt found me we waited for my uncle and watched the news. The story about Myanmar's Cyclone was being covered,
Aunt Vera: "That's horrible"
Me: "Yeah I heard an estimate of perhaps a final death doll of 100,000".
Aunt Vera: "There's going to be alot of traffic"
Me: ".... What?"
Aunt Vera "The Met's game just let out, there's going to be a lot of traffic"
(Apparently she was reading the crawl at the bottom of the screen:)
After we found Uncle Raymond we went to Stew Lennard's (my favorite grocery store) and got lactose free milk, egg whites and various other groceries. I love Stew Lennard's, the stores layout is mazelike and at almost every turn there is some kind of display with animated characters (animated as in moving) singing to produce themed songs.
After shopping I was asleep with in 10 minutes.

Well I think I'll do some reading before starting my day.

Until next time....