Seaboard92
Engineer
Planning
If the last trip didn’t seam planed to you then this one really lacks planning. The only thing I wanted to do was visit Виктория in St Petersburg and she wanted me to visit her. She misses me tremendously when I am gone. So I’m November I moved my days so I could get the last weekend off. All she can ever really get off is a weekend which takes four days for me. Two to fly, and two to visit.
So the planning involved me looking at which flights had the best load factors that I could potentially get a seat on. I had thanksgiving off which corresponds well with the desire to go for the weekend as I can leave on Thursday. Unfortunately the direct flight from Charlotte to London wasn’t running on it. So I had to miss thanksgiving. So then I looked at all the various options. I could fly from ORD, DFW, MIA, or JFK.
The flight from JFK when I reserved it had three flagship first and twenty flagship business and very few non revenue passengers. So I chose that one. Then to get there I chose the morning one so I could have the highest priority on the standby list figuring there would be some D1Ts with early flights. There ended up not being any other D1s so I could have opted not to. The reason I chose to fly on AA there is so I can get a bed at least going.
As far as what to do I basically left that up to Виктория her city, I figure she knows best. Besides she’s fairly opinionated so it’s better to just roll with the flow.
Day Zero: Packing
Well I don’t generally ever unpack from work and I decided to use the work suitcase because it has good wheels. I put off packing most of the day because I bought the Lego Seinfeld set a few days prior and I wanted to build it before I got home and the bigger Assembly Square arrived. And my family opted to send her quite a few gifts as well so it took a bit of time to Tetris it into my bag. Then I went to sleep.
Day 1: Connecting in New York
I opted to take the early flight because I wanted to have the highest priority to score the last flagship first seat. So I had my dad drive me to the airport at 330 In the morning to avoid having to park my car, and so he could get it fixed. A few weeks ago a semi truck backed into me when he got tired of waiting on a train. So I have to get some more damage to my car fixed as a result.
I checked in for my flight at the airport because on international flights they have to check the documents and in this case Covid tests. Then I used KCM for security so I could get to the gate faster. I could use KCM as my flight to NY was to Newark so it wasn’t considered international.
My friend Troya was my flight attendant on my short flight to Charlotte. I already knew this the day before so I bought a dozen doughnuts for the whole crew. We talked in the terminal for a minute and then I got on the CRJ900 for Charlotte. There was some confusion about the count which caused us to be a little late departing. And the flight attendant in first class didn’t even attempt to do a drink service. I’ve worked this flight a lot and I never miss a service.
We got to Charlotte in the usual E concourse and I had an hour to go to B. Surprisingly HMS Host had their stuff together. He chick fil a was open at our early hour for the first time in months. And for the first time ever they had a cashier on each register and were moderately friendly. I say moderately because it’s still far below what a real Chick Fil A’s standards are. But I managed to get a biscuit that I ate on the plane. I then walked to Gate B15 and got my boarding pass for first class.
The plane next to us was one of the RetroJets which I photographed while I ate my breakfast. This flight was smooth and uneventful. The only complaint was Charlotte didn’t cater well so we had no apple juice or Sprite Zero. That is just like Charlotte catering though. It’s worse in the regional side though usually. I spotted one NJT train from the air as we were landing. We had a long time waiting for a ramp crew to come because it doesn’t matter where you are we have a lack of ramp crew or gate agents.
Eventually we were able to get off the plane and I was able to get off relatively fast to go to the city. My initial plan was to go to the Macy’s parade but my friend Alexander invited me to ride the Harlem Line with him. I took the air train to the train station and just missed the first of two commuter trains. I grabbed the second one and had a lovely conversation with the trainman for a few moments. It was a short ride over to the city. When I emerged from Penn Station it was sheer pandemonium.
It took me about five minutes to decide this wasn’t worth it. All of the streets were blocked with large garbage trucks preventing the view of anything but the balloons. And I’ve never cared for the Ballons. So I texted Alexander and told him I would join him. I had 25 minutes to get from the area near Penn Station to Grand Central. It was cutting it close but I managed to make the train and I only had to run over 40 peoples toes with my suitcase.
I met Alexander on the platform and we went for the vestibule a bit further down and boarded with one minute remaining. Then once we got past Harlem 125th St I booked him a non rev ticket to Miami on my benefits and he gave me a great tour of the Harlem Line. Seeing he grew up on the Harlem Line he knows it really well. He only went as far as Southeast because that is close to where his family lives. I then transferred to the three car shuttle train to Wassaic.
This part of the line is much more rural than the southern end. The southern end feels kinda like an interurban because of how close the stations are to each other. At the north end i had about thirty minutes til the train went back which I spent talking with the engineer before departing. Honestly I wasn’t really impressed with the scenery. I changed trains again at southeast and returned to the city. The only big piece of scenery is the graveyard which has its own station stop.
I arrived back at grand central and thought maybe I would look for my favorite restaurant in grand central. But it appears Tri-Tip has not survived the pandemic. So I took the 4 train downtown towards Brooklyn. Then I struggled hauling my suitcases out of a non assessable station so I could go to Juniors my favorite New York diner.
I didn’t expect it to be as busy as it was being a holiday but the restaurant was packed. I was in and out fairly fast though because as I was sitting down I realized how close I was to Atlantic Terminal so I wanted to take that instead of my original plan of the subway to the airport. At Juniors i had a Burger and it was good. Then I was off to Atlantic terminal via a CVS. I went to buy something and I left empty handed because I was a bit embarrassed to ask an employee for.
I then grabbed the Long Island Railroad and walked as far up on the platform as the train was open because I know less people will chose to board the further up the platform. I had to use the bathroom after the conductor lifted my ticket in the next car over. He didn’t seam to have a problem with me changing cars in motion to do that. It felt great at speed because it was a cab car to a cab car so it was wide open between them. I was then at Jamaica within about fifteen minutes. I heard a diesel when I got off so I crossed thru an American Elektrichka so I could see the diesel commuter train.
Then I went up to the AirTrain and took it to terminal 1. Why didn’t I take it all the way to terminal 8 I had a feeling I would get there faster if I switched to the local terminal only train that takes the wye because I was a bit short on time. I was correct and beat my other train by five minutes. Then I checked my bag and then went thru normal security. It wasn’t that bad but at 7 PM with very few flights to go out what do you expect. I went to my gate and gave a small thanksgiving gift to the gate agent before they started assigning seats.
Now it wasn’t because I wanted the last seat in Flagship First but because I see how poorly our gate agents are treated and I figured I could at least make work on the holiday at least somewhat enjoyable. I did end up getting a Flagship Business seat though. The Last one before premium economy but it didn’t matter to me. What mattered was having a bed for the night. We boarded late because the cleaners took a long time to clean the plane.
Then I went to my seat and wished my neighbor happy thanksgiving. His response was “we should never have let you keep your country” this was a British man still bitter over the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. I pretty much Ignored him the rest of the flight. My FA came by and grabbed my order. Once in the air about an hour into the flight he brought my Horseradish Beef Short Rib as I watched “Free Guy” for the second time in my life. I rewatched it because I really liked that movie the first time I watched it. I then had a vanilla sundae afterwards for dessert and finished the movie. Then I made my bed and went to bed.
I tried to wear my headphones which muffle noise to go to sleep so I wouldn’t here the Grouch snoring nearby. Then I went to sleep.
If the last trip didn’t seam planed to you then this one really lacks planning. The only thing I wanted to do was visit Виктория in St Petersburg and she wanted me to visit her. She misses me tremendously when I am gone. So I’m November I moved my days so I could get the last weekend off. All she can ever really get off is a weekend which takes four days for me. Two to fly, and two to visit.
So the planning involved me looking at which flights had the best load factors that I could potentially get a seat on. I had thanksgiving off which corresponds well with the desire to go for the weekend as I can leave on Thursday. Unfortunately the direct flight from Charlotte to London wasn’t running on it. So I had to miss thanksgiving. So then I looked at all the various options. I could fly from ORD, DFW, MIA, or JFK.
The flight from JFK when I reserved it had three flagship first and twenty flagship business and very few non revenue passengers. So I chose that one. Then to get there I chose the morning one so I could have the highest priority on the standby list figuring there would be some D1Ts with early flights. There ended up not being any other D1s so I could have opted not to. The reason I chose to fly on AA there is so I can get a bed at least going.
As far as what to do I basically left that up to Виктория her city, I figure she knows best. Besides she’s fairly opinionated so it’s better to just roll with the flow.
Day Zero: Packing
Well I don’t generally ever unpack from work and I decided to use the work suitcase because it has good wheels. I put off packing most of the day because I bought the Lego Seinfeld set a few days prior and I wanted to build it before I got home and the bigger Assembly Square arrived. And my family opted to send her quite a few gifts as well so it took a bit of time to Tetris it into my bag. Then I went to sleep.
Day 1: Connecting in New York
I opted to take the early flight because I wanted to have the highest priority to score the last flagship first seat. So I had my dad drive me to the airport at 330 In the morning to avoid having to park my car, and so he could get it fixed. A few weeks ago a semi truck backed into me when he got tired of waiting on a train. So I have to get some more damage to my car fixed as a result.
I checked in for my flight at the airport because on international flights they have to check the documents and in this case Covid tests. Then I used KCM for security so I could get to the gate faster. I could use KCM as my flight to NY was to Newark so it wasn’t considered international.
My friend Troya was my flight attendant on my short flight to Charlotte. I already knew this the day before so I bought a dozen doughnuts for the whole crew. We talked in the terminal for a minute and then I got on the CRJ900 for Charlotte. There was some confusion about the count which caused us to be a little late departing. And the flight attendant in first class didn’t even attempt to do a drink service. I’ve worked this flight a lot and I never miss a service.
We got to Charlotte in the usual E concourse and I had an hour to go to B. Surprisingly HMS Host had their stuff together. He chick fil a was open at our early hour for the first time in months. And for the first time ever they had a cashier on each register and were moderately friendly. I say moderately because it’s still far below what a real Chick Fil A’s standards are. But I managed to get a biscuit that I ate on the plane. I then walked to Gate B15 and got my boarding pass for first class.
The plane next to us was one of the RetroJets which I photographed while I ate my breakfast. This flight was smooth and uneventful. The only complaint was Charlotte didn’t cater well so we had no apple juice or Sprite Zero. That is just like Charlotte catering though. It’s worse in the regional side though usually. I spotted one NJT train from the air as we were landing. We had a long time waiting for a ramp crew to come because it doesn’t matter where you are we have a lack of ramp crew or gate agents.
Eventually we were able to get off the plane and I was able to get off relatively fast to go to the city. My initial plan was to go to the Macy’s parade but my friend Alexander invited me to ride the Harlem Line with him. I took the air train to the train station and just missed the first of two commuter trains. I grabbed the second one and had a lovely conversation with the trainman for a few moments. It was a short ride over to the city. When I emerged from Penn Station it was sheer pandemonium.
It took me about five minutes to decide this wasn’t worth it. All of the streets were blocked with large garbage trucks preventing the view of anything but the balloons. And I’ve never cared for the Ballons. So I texted Alexander and told him I would join him. I had 25 minutes to get from the area near Penn Station to Grand Central. It was cutting it close but I managed to make the train and I only had to run over 40 peoples toes with my suitcase.
I met Alexander on the platform and we went for the vestibule a bit further down and boarded with one minute remaining. Then once we got past Harlem 125th St I booked him a non rev ticket to Miami on my benefits and he gave me a great tour of the Harlem Line. Seeing he grew up on the Harlem Line he knows it really well. He only went as far as Southeast because that is close to where his family lives. I then transferred to the three car shuttle train to Wassaic.
This part of the line is much more rural than the southern end. The southern end feels kinda like an interurban because of how close the stations are to each other. At the north end i had about thirty minutes til the train went back which I spent talking with the engineer before departing. Honestly I wasn’t really impressed with the scenery. I changed trains again at southeast and returned to the city. The only big piece of scenery is the graveyard which has its own station stop.
I arrived back at grand central and thought maybe I would look for my favorite restaurant in grand central. But it appears Tri-Tip has not survived the pandemic. So I took the 4 train downtown towards Brooklyn. Then I struggled hauling my suitcases out of a non assessable station so I could go to Juniors my favorite New York diner.
I didn’t expect it to be as busy as it was being a holiday but the restaurant was packed. I was in and out fairly fast though because as I was sitting down I realized how close I was to Atlantic Terminal so I wanted to take that instead of my original plan of the subway to the airport. At Juniors i had a Burger and it was good. Then I was off to Atlantic terminal via a CVS. I went to buy something and I left empty handed because I was a bit embarrassed to ask an employee for.
I then grabbed the Long Island Railroad and walked as far up on the platform as the train was open because I know less people will chose to board the further up the platform. I had to use the bathroom after the conductor lifted my ticket in the next car over. He didn’t seam to have a problem with me changing cars in motion to do that. It felt great at speed because it was a cab car to a cab car so it was wide open between them. I was then at Jamaica within about fifteen minutes. I heard a diesel when I got off so I crossed thru an American Elektrichka so I could see the diesel commuter train.
Then I went up to the AirTrain and took it to terminal 1. Why didn’t I take it all the way to terminal 8 I had a feeling I would get there faster if I switched to the local terminal only train that takes the wye because I was a bit short on time. I was correct and beat my other train by five minutes. Then I checked my bag and then went thru normal security. It wasn’t that bad but at 7 PM with very few flights to go out what do you expect. I went to my gate and gave a small thanksgiving gift to the gate agent before they started assigning seats.
Now it wasn’t because I wanted the last seat in Flagship First but because I see how poorly our gate agents are treated and I figured I could at least make work on the holiday at least somewhat enjoyable. I did end up getting a Flagship Business seat though. The Last one before premium economy but it didn’t matter to me. What mattered was having a bed for the night. We boarded late because the cleaners took a long time to clean the plane.
Then I went to my seat and wished my neighbor happy thanksgiving. His response was “we should never have let you keep your country” this was a British man still bitter over the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. I pretty much Ignored him the rest of the flight. My FA came by and grabbed my order. Once in the air about an hour into the flight he brought my Horseradish Beef Short Rib as I watched “Free Guy” for the second time in my life. I rewatched it because I really liked that movie the first time I watched it. I then had a vanilla sundae afterwards for dessert and finished the movie. Then I made my bed and went to bed.
I tried to wear my headphones which muffle noise to go to sleep so I wouldn’t here the Grouch snoring nearby. Then I went to sleep.