Jet Blue & Nice TSAs

There is something about traveling with JetBlue that just changes my entire mood. First, my cabbie made fantastic time to JFK. Yes, I left the house at 5:45am but in New York you never know. Sometimes it just takes forever. He was also cheerful and friendly. Maybe it was just that he was just starting his shift. But somehow I think it was weird JetBlue Good JuJu.

I had gotten my boarding pass online at home but I was still checking one bag, so I expected at least some line and waiting. When I walked it, it was of course buzzing and crowded with holiday travelers... and some obvious add frustration because of storms in Denver and such. But the lines seemed to be moving quickly. I just wasn't sure what line to get into. Normally just finding someone to tell you where you need to go is a pain. Not at Jet Frackin' Blue. Not only is each counter staffed, but there are at least a dozen folks standing at the line entrances to help. A dozen! At least!

So one quickly directs me where to go to check my bag and I have to wait maybe 8 seconds before I'm at the counter. My bag is tagged and checked in under 3o seconds. I have been in the airport for under two minutes and my bag has been checked.

So off to security. This has been mildly problematic for me in the past because I share a name with someone on the Do Not Fly list. But that always gets hung up at check-in, so I figure I'm in the clear. Nope. See, I'm an idiot. Well, and idiot in NYC who uses his ID for 3 things: buying booze, occasionally to show when making credit card purchases, and getting on planes (oh, and the very rare getting into certain buildings). I don't drive with it because I live in NYC. I also somehow missed that it expired last March.

The TSA at the start of the security line catches it, gives me an apologetic sigh (Lady, no need to apologize... I'm the one who let it lapse and never noticed) and marks up my boarding pass with 4 large S's and some scribbles. The advantage of this is that I get to by pass the rest of the line (Yay!). It was short and moving quickly anyway. I go straight to the x-ray machine, go through and then get put into a glass box. It felt a bit like I was in a 50's tv gameshow sound proof booth and John Tuturro was about to out me as a cheat. In in a minute a very pleasant TSA agent led me to a table while a junior (and obviously a bit nervous) agent grabbed my stuff from the conveyor belt. They led me to a table and the senior agent went through my stuff and cleaned my laptop with a cloth on a stick (okay, maybe he was checking for explosives), while the agent McShakey-hands wanded me. But they were very nice and clear with their instructions and what they were doing. It also felt thorough. Short on some sort of plastic weapon attached to my yam sack (sorry, that is my current favorite euphemism) or inserted... well, where on 'inserts' things, I'd have a darn hard time getting anything through.

And it was quick. Maybe 4 minutes.

The food court was a bit swarmed, but Dunkin' Donuts had set up an extra coffee booth (medium only) at the back of their kiosk. So my waiting time to buy a coffee was under a minute. I then spent way to much on a thing of salted mix nuts. I've been craving nuts lately. I think I've recently cut my meat intake way down in a quest to eat healthier and I may be lacking proteins. Neither here nor there, really, just that it explains why I spent $6.49 on 9oz. of nuts. (They are tasty, though. Even the brazil nuts which I usually find dry and dusty.)

Anywhozits, the best think about flying with JetBlue before I've never even got on the plane? Free wi-fi. Free. Because they know the cost is negligible. And it makes me happy with my extreme lack of sleep over the last two days. (It occurs to me that sending the words "TSA," "security," and "explosives" might trigger something if sent through their system. Mmmmm. Let's see what happens.....)

Speaking of kitties...

How much change do you get with a dead cat for a Big Mac Value Meal?

I apologize. I'm in a mood tonight. Packing. Feeling antsy. Not about going to L.A.. I love going to L.A.. I just have somethings that I making me distracted.

January is going to be a crazy month. I can just tell.

105,365

I'll be going to Julep to celebrate. I will NOT be drinking a lot. But I will have one mint julep and sip it like a southern gentleman.

U.S. Embassy in Argentina to Barbara and Jenna: "Get the hell out!"

I really don't feel that politicians' children are fair game. I mean, it wasn't their choice to be in the spot light. But when you are the daughters to the President of the United States of America, I kind of think that you should be discrete.

That's why I love talking about Barb & Jen Bush. Those rapscallions!

Now a lot of the stories my just be wild Argentine tabloid lies. I don't know if they really are running down the halls of their hotel naked. And maybe there is a reason the Secret Service seems to just not care about them any more. (An ABC producer was able to walk up to Barbara and talk to her while she was checking her email in the hotel lobby.)

Either way, it does appear the U.S. Embassy is sick and tired of the new stories. And it's good to know that they aren't there scouting for housing for their dad for when they war crimes start.

(via Wonkette)

SixSider @ The NSA

On the way to Baltimore to got to the America Visionary Art Museum, we stopped by the NSA. We didn't see if we could drive up to the main building (see below photo), but we took the winding path to the closed-for-the-day Cryptology Museum. I checked my cell to see if it was being tapped. And sure enough, it was! No, not really. Actually the battery was dead... but why??? Dum Da Dummmm!

The real NSA.

SixSider @ EPA

This morning I got up early to wander down to The Mall. On my way back, I smelled something funny. It was here. Go figure.

SixSider @ Papa Six

Here is my favorite. Papa Six taking photos! Here he is taking pictures of the the Jefferson Memorial while on a business conference call. Multi-tasking! Sweet!

(Note: all D.C. photos by Mama Six except for the Boy Scout one which was by Papa Six is Mama Six's camera.)

SixSider @ Boy Scout Memorial

Papa Six first enlightened me about this memorial earlier this year. Luckily we made time to visit it this time. (Actually this photo was taken on the third visit. The first time the photo didn't come out. The second, we tried to jump out just to take this picture but were foiled by a series of small fences. This third attempt was a success.) Again, I am just impressed by the almost naked man standing behind the boy. From what I can tell, his nakedness symbolizes the Boy Scout ideal of being physically fit. Or "comfortable" with our own bodies. Or with the bodies of male adults. I don't know. You can't see it here, but he does have an amazingly tight and well-formed butt.

The statue does have an inscription that ends with the words "morally straight." *snicker*

SixSIder @ FDR Memorial, part 4

And FDR is backed up by Eleanor, who also kicked some serious tuckus. I now give the edge to Team FDR over 28 foot Lincoln.

I have a feeling when they get around to making a Reagan Memorial (especially if they make giant Nancy) that he'll end up taking the top spot. Not because I'm a Reagan fan, mind you. I just imagine they'll make his memorial particularly fight-worthy. And if they put in a giant Bonzo... no contest.

SixSider @ FDR Memorial, part 3

Well, looky here! FDR keeps getting more of an edge. This is the giant Scottish Terrier, Fala. So FDR has a cape AND a giant dog sidekick. He's a bit like Superboy.

SixSider @ FDR Memorial, part 2

Okay, now we're talking! This FDR could had least give 28 foot Lincoln a good fight. And this one has a cape, so he may also be able to fly. I still put my money on Lincoln as he still has about 12 feet over this FDR.

SixSider @ FDR Memorial

Look! I'm on the lap of our cripple president! FDR was awesome! He fought the Depression better than Zoloft, fought WWII from a wheelchair, gave fireside chats! But in a fight between him a 28 foot tall Lincoln, I'd have to go with Lincoln.

SixSider @ The Washington Memorial

Not a lot to say about this one. It's tall. It's white. A bit Masonic. Much like the ex-Congressman C. Thomas McMiillen that I sat next to at Cirque du Soleil last night (more on that later). But seriously, what can you say about a great stick of stone. Something about penises, I guess... but I really have nothing to add. Maybe there is some place in D.C. where you can line up the Washington Monument with the Jefferson Monument so that the Jefferson looks like a scrotum. That could be humorous. But also a long way to go for a penis joke.

SixSider @ The OAS

Oh my god. It's the Organization of American States! I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for this moment. Really. I can't. But, look! It is Queen Isabella of Spain! The inscription reads:

Ysabel I La Catolica
Reina de Castilla
de Aragon
de las islas
y tierra firme
del Mar Oceano.

How awesome is that?

SixSider @ WWII Memorial

At first I thought it was the WoWII Memorial. I was like,"What!? They came out with World of Warcraft Two... and it is already dead?!?" But then I realized that is was a little conflict back in the forties. This is me at the Pacific side. China, Burma, India. Those are eagles, not pelicans like I thought. Pelicans would have been cooler.

SixSider @ The Lincoln Memorial

Look at Lincoln. He was huge! No wonder he kicked butt in the Civil War. He was like the Godzilla of Presidents. Scary!

SixSider @ The White House

Papa Six, SixSider, Aunt Six.
I tried to climb the fence. They said Cheney was in Iraq, so I don't know who took shots at me.

Off to Mexico

I leave in a few minutes to Mexico via L.A.. (Well, first I get to play JFK Roulette - will it take 20 minutes? Will it take and hour? And then Airport Security Roullette - Will I walk right through? Will I be cavity searched? Add in that last year my name was on a watch list... not me mind you, but still always fun...)

So no blogging for a bit. Missing both class tonight and practice Sunday (sad). However I get Sun & Fun & Drinks & Family & Turtles Laying Eggs. I think I have a decent deal here.

Other bad side is that my messed up sleep from last weekend gave me a horrible cold which is just now clearing up. Sun U& Snot! Great.

Cold

Minnesota is cold. Damn cold. This is nothing new, but I forget how cold cold can be until I actualy witness how the cold can grip you and cut straight to the bone.

But the warmth is also there, a warmth I do find lacking in NYC. I sometimes forget that it can be extremely easy to laugh, and laugh hard. I can tap into a level of confidence and comfort that I don't seem to be able to always get to in NYC.

Humph.

There are certain things that make me so sad, certain things that I don't allow myself to have, that I deny myself. Why is that?

The is a grand pillow fight in Union Square on Saturday at 2pm and I'm going to miss it.

Humph.

Nice bartender (?) purchased our table a round of car bombs last night. That was good.

Going out to dinner with 2 couples tonight. There will actually be 7 people at the table as both women are "with child." Ah, the world of bumps.

Last note: Jake showed me Yatta! today. I was unfamiliar with this new "fad" of Japanese culture. Wow. We realy did a number on their psyche, didn't we?

SantaCon, Life, Blah Blah

Been oh so busy.

SantaCon rocked, of course. Mad crazy chaos. Fantastic. (Why doesn't Minneapolis do this? Well, the cold... and the fact that no one is on the street to see it... humph.)

Team C.O.B.R.A. is gearing up. Idiotarod is not far away. If you want to be a part of the best shopping cart racing team in the history of sapce/time, contact me.

Transit strike. Needed to shop today. Grrrr. Whatever. Off to L.A. tomorrow. Yay.