(no subject)

[shadowkat]

1. The Case Against Checking Bags. Sigh.

Okay not a good article to read if you've had a difficult work week and are somewhat irritable. Also, stressing about up-coming travel plans to see family members.

I'm procrastinating buying plane tickets to see the aging parents at Christmas.
I need to buy them this coming week.

Also, I have to go up and see my brother and niece (aka love of my life) on Friday by train.

Anyhow I didn't make it through the article, since by the mid-way point, I felt an overwhelming urge to smack the writer in the nose. A bloody nose would do her some good, I think. Teach her humility. Or better yet, a broken wrist, then she can't write for a bit.

So all I'm giving you is the link. You can read or not, at your own risk.


2. Got stuff done today. Sent my laundry out to be washed, folded, and delivered. Found a place that did same day pick up and delivery for smaller loads. (My loads are by definition smaller -- since it's just me, and I only wait two weeks to do my clothes. Also I wash and hang dry the delicates separately. (Weirdly DW's spellcheck has decided that delicate can't be plural only singular. I've chosen to ignore it. Could be worse -- the spellcheck at work often tries to spellcheck things via French, in other words it's reading everything in French and giving me the French spelling for the words.)

Anyhow, it worked. Slightly more pricey than doing it myself. About $27.50 (I got a $2.50 discount, so in actuality $30.) When I do it myself, it's ten-fifteen dollars. So I save twenty dollars doing it on my own. Time consuming, but cheaper. Alas, I cannot do it myself at the moment -- since we don't have any dryers. Because the landlords removed the electric dryers (that were temporary) and the gas isn't on to run the gas dryers. We also don't have an oven or stove. But we do have hot water and heat (I don't think I need to explain this except that I'm grateful.)

They did take a while longer to pick it up -- the appointment was for nine. I made sure I was up by eight, etc, but because of the NYC Half-Run Marathon that starts in my area -- the roads were closed off, so the driver had to go around the block to get to me. (Honestly, NYC has one too many marathons and parades for its own good.)

Also got groceries done -- or sort of done. I feel like I'm constantly going grocery shopping. I should just order online. But what would be the fun in that? Plus, it's a great excuse to get exercise. I walked a mile and a half to and from the store, and did weight lifting on the way home -- the groceries weighed twenty pounds.

And cleaned out the refrigerator. Took out the trash and recyclables.

Watched a bunch of television shows. Wrote three paragraphs on book. It's almost reached the 700 page mark. This thing is going to be murder to edit and revise, just saying.

All told a productive Saturday.

3. Television Shows..

Eh, I went to sleep during Prodigal Son -- I'd just gotten back from getting groceries and called my mother. I was tired. Didn't sleep well last night either.
And...a side-effect of CBD is feeling a bit sleepy or fatigued, apparently.

It wasn't bad this week. The series seems to be examining the psychological effects on a family that houses a serial killer over a period of time. And asking the question of whether enabling the killer or even inadvertently aiding them, makes one complicit? To what degree can they really claim innocence?

Other than that it's sort of your standard brilliant guy solves insanely gruesome murders. If I didn't love the cast as much as I do, I'd have given up on it by now.
Because this isn't my trope. I like mysteries, but serial killers annoy me, mainly because they've been overdone. Let's face it, if we had nearly as many serial killers as fictional television shows and books have written stories about, we'd all be dead by now. There'd just be serial killers wandering the earth.

Bob Hearts Abishola -- is admittedly hit or miss like all sitcoms. But it is among the few that I actually adore the lead characters and can relate to them. I particularly love Abishola and her two friends at the hospital.

The Connors -- it didn't make me laugh this week either, mildly chuckle perhaps, but I enjoyed it. And I'm hoping I've seen the end of David, who ...makes me cringe. He reminds me far too much of a guy I dated in college. Passive Aggressive Narcissistic Asshole. They blame you for everything they've done, don't accept responsibility for anything, and act like they have no power, and whine incessantly. I agree with Jackie and her Dad, she should have kicked him to the curb ages ago. Also he was cuter when he was younger. He has not aged well. And should get rid of that beard.

Unfortunately, it cost her Ben. But she's still working with Ben -- so I'm hoping Ben stays in the show. David unfortunately will stay too as the kids dead-beat Dad, mainly because the actor no longer has the Big Bang Theory. (Why he requires another job, I don't know. He was making more than a million a year. He's a mega-millionaire, folks. The cast on the Connors are not multi-millionaires.)

I did love everyone else's stories. Just not Darlene's. Also how they poked fun at the Bachelor. (I can totally see Jackie watching that series.) Becky is fun. And the actress from Sons of Anarchy and Modern Family is a great addition, along with the guy who plays Chief Webber on Greys.

This is Us -- Well, Jennifer Morrison works better as a potential love interest for Kevin than Zoe did. Less contrived. Also she's not into him or his world. I also like Griffin Dunn as the uncle. Phyllicia Rashad as Beth's Mom is another welcome addition. The only storyline that is starting to grate is well, Kate and Toby. Also, Beth's dancing...uhm.

Grey's Anatomy -- the Pacific Northwest Hospital subplot is the best thing in the series at the moment. Watching Alex recruit various people from Grey-Sloan Memorial, the latest being Owen. And each person struggle with the less than high caliber conditions. Pacific Northwest is more realistic. That looks like a hospital. Grey's looks like a television writer's romantic fantasy of a hospital. The romantic subplots? Eh. Except for Vic/Avery, which I adore and we get just enough to keep us satisfied but not too much. Also Link/Ameilia, just enough, but not too much. Everyone else...eh. Although I do like Deluca and Meredith, even though I'm starting to feel sorry for De Luca who deserves better.

I'm not sure what the writer's plan is with Meredith, except that this is most likely the actress' last season with the series.

A Million Little Things -- seems to be deliberately highlighting the self-absorbed nature of the characters, and how this is destroying their relationships with others. It's when they look past themselves that things get better.

9-1-1 -- made me want to smack Buck upside the head again. After the first two episodes, where he was so likable and actually attractive, he goes back to being a self-absorbed macho jerk. However, the new addition to the cast -- Bosch, is a relief.

And I have so many more. I still want to catch a few things on Netflix -- Political (Ryan Murphy series show-casing, Gwenyth Paltrow, Bette Milder, Jessica Lange..), Steven Sonderberg's controversial Laundramat - the satire about the Panama Papers, show-casing Meryl Streep, Antonio Banderas, among others, The Irishman by Martin Scorsese -- with Joe Pesci, Robert Deniro, and Al Pacino, and The King (adapted from Shakespeare's Henry V histories).

There's also Watchman on HBO. Far From Home - via On Demand.

Ugh. Yes, I know, it's a sad sad thing to complain about too many television shows.

4. Books..

Eh. I'm not reading anything that interesting at the moment. Just mindless stuff that makes me happy at the moment and I can forget quickly thereafter. And not think that hard about. That's what I want right now, because work is kicking me, and I have information overload.

But I enjoy reading mindless romantic stuff for pleasure. Also comic books. Romance novels and comic books are my twin guilty pleasures. That and General Hospital. Let's face it, I have a lot of guilty pleasures.

Will state that Nora Roberts Contemporary Romance novels are a bit of a breath of fresh air. Who knew? Well, Nora Roberts fans, apparently. I found it amusing that one of the reviewers on Amazon whined about the Nora Roberts that I'm currently reading -- for being out of date with MeToo. Why? Because the hero pulled the heroine into his arms and kissed her. After she began taking his class. First of all, they met a couple of days prior to that. Second, she kissed him back. And third, it was published in 1990.

And..fourth? It's still more progressive than half of the modern post 2010 contempories that I've read. I would not describe American Queen, or Time Served, or any of the others as remotely progressive or MeToo. Nor would I want to be with any of those men -- they are assholes. The women in each? Passive doormats.

The plus side of Nora Roberts? Less sex, more relationship drama, more focus on friendships, families, kids, and jobs. The people actually have well-rounded lives that exist outside of the bedroom or sex. It's a lovely thing. In short, it's not just soft core porn with a bit of plot.

There's a reason Nora Roberts hogged the field for so long, she takes the time to develop characters.

On the comics front? I think I already wrote about it. Just finished X-men #1 and I'm on the fence. It's too...bland. Hickman needs to stop focusing so much on the world and bit more on the characters.

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

I agreed with a good bit of her opening statements, though consider me astounded that American Airlines offers any food at all.

The Atlanta airport is a cruel mistress

I'd be astounded if anyone with a layover there doesn't consider this with a sense of dread. It's been a rare layover where I wasn't rushing to make my connecting flight given its layout.

LaGuardia is unspeakable

I've only been there once in the past 10 years and was not impressed either. But I'd suggest she consider the New Orleans airport.

You basically have to walk ten miles from the gate to customs in Montreal.

It's been a long time but I think she's right.

The Indianapolis airport is the best airport in the United States; fight me.

I wouldn't object. Their redesign is quite nice and it isn't too far to walk as airports go. Though for me the best airport is one with about 10 gates that you can get in and out of quickly and has free parking.

People are strangely obsessed with boarding early as if they want to sit on the plane longer than necessary. They hover around the boarding gate, no matter how often the gate agents provide clear, concise instructions about boarding.

I've always thought this at well and have zero idea why airlines don't simply board from the back to the front in a smooth orderly process. It gelled for me though I was traveling with a carry on though why people are so obsessive about it. Normally I just have my backpack and it fits under the seat so I have nothing to worry about.

I’m allergic, no thank you.

This. Fortunately, I'm not allergic to dogs and cats are rarely brought on planes. But I am not thrilled to be breathing recirculated air for hours with cats aboard and I definitely feel for those allergic to dogs.

Now, for those of us who are fat, this is, indeed, more challenging and whether to check a bag or not becomes a bit more complicated.

She's right about that, particularly if one is traveling outside of the U.S. Inside is bad enough, outside you may be completely out of luck.

I've rarely had a lost bag problem and even more rarely had to wait past a day to get it delivered, but those events are memorable and can be a crisis if you are on a tight schedule and are moving around every day or two. It's certainly one reason I travel by direct flights whenever possible.

Frankly though, I've no idea why airlines chose to impose baggage fees the way they do. They ought to charge for carry ons, not checked luggage. I mean Southwest manages with 2 free suitcases so I think all airlines can offer one free suitcase and charge instead for carry ons. This would save them time and they'd probably still make money. Everyone could still bring on a purse or a laptop or something which fits under the seat and they could offer exceptions for diaper bags or medical devices.

However what she, surprisingly, doesn't mention is the excess weight fees. That's where you could indeed end up paying almost as much for a bag as the airplane ticket itself. These used to be around $75 and have also gone up to $100. And it is very easy to have an overweight bag. We retired two suitcases recently because they were damaged (a risk of checking them) and I replaced them with the lightest weight bags I could get because I could shave off up to 7 pounds. That could make the difference in a 50 (or 40!) pound limit and a whacking big charge at check in.

Ooh, I had not heard about Laundromat. I'll have to stick that in my queue.

[rose_griffes]

I'll admit, I found the first part of the checked-bag article so tedious that I had to skim halfway down just to get to her argument about why we should check our bags. As for that part, though? Yeah, my experience matches up with hers. It's a pain to deal with carry-on luggage, and those times when they offer to check it for free well in advance, I nearly always take them up on it, unless I'm in some kind of time crunch or place where losing a bag would be catastrophic rather than an inconvenience.

I agree with yourlibrarian that airlines should consider making the checked bag free and charging for the carry-on. The time-saving would be huge.

I'm probably going to try Bob Hearts Abishola sometime this week. I'm picky about comedy shows, but the two of us overlap in TV tastes enough, and now I'm curious.

Re: romance novels - the good ones really do make for a nice break. Agreed that Roberts is a solid writer who can do characterization well, from what I recall of her books. Also, I skip a lot of sex scenes, so the fact that those weren't usually the main focus in her stories was a plus.

[shadowkat]

What no one here is taking under consideration is travel anxiety. I get that not everyone experiences it the same way. Or copes in the same way. But let's face it -- traveling is anxiety inducing.

My sister-in-law hates flying so much that she is taking three trains to get to JFK, instead of just a quick drive to the Albany airport and flying.

A lot of people who take planes -- suffer from varying degrees of anxiety. Anxiety can be crippling. And no, drugs don't necessarily help -- hello, side-affects. I suffer from travel anxiety. And I do certain things to manage mine -- because I have to fly on a plane to see my parents who live far away from me. And I want to go interesting places. I also live in NYC, and NYC airports are a nightmare. And I've lost baggage several times when I checked it as a youngster. I remember going to and from home and college by plane as a kid -- and it was Russian roulet with the luggage. They misplaced it several times.

Every time my baggage gets checked -- I spend the whole trip worrying about getting it on the other side. I worry watching the carousel. Would it be easier to check it? Yes, of course it would. But I'd be an anxious mess. My blood pressure through the roof. My hands shaking.

So to deal with my travel anxiety -- I do the following:

* I get to the airport three hours ahead of time.
* I print off my tickets ahead of time or at a kiosk (I don't trust the phone app.)
* I carry-on my bags, and I'm careful to pack items that need to be removed in a smaller bag. I pack light. (My father was a road warrior and I've flown on planes since I was three years of age -- so I know how.)
* I pay extra for even more space/even more speed -- partly because I have very long legs, and partly because I want to board early because I'm afraid someone will take my seat, and I'm afraid I won't have a place to put my carry on bag.
* I always sit on the aisle - claustrophobic and I need to be able to get out easily.
* I sit towards the front of the plane -- claustrophobic.

Anxiety is not rational. The fears often build up over time. I didn't feel this way when I was younger. I had no issues traveling when I was younger, but I also was living closer to family, and wasn't living in a big city with two huge and maddeningly airports.

And doing these things gives me a sense of control and a feeling of safety.

[rose_griffes]

You're right about that not being a factor in my thinking. I'm glad you've found ways to make travel more manageable. (And hard agree: medication can have enough side effects that it could potentially make the voyage so much worse. Especially if it's not a medication that someone routinely takes.)

[shadowkat]

Exactly. My poor sister-in-law has hunted down a medication that will make it possible for her to fly to Istanbul. She tries to avoid flying at all costs.

I honestly think that was my problem with most of the article -- the writer is completely and utterly oblivious to travel anxiety issues, possibly because she's never experienced it? If someone has a pet on a plane -- it's there as a comfort animal. They have a prescription for it.