Showing posts with label flight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flight. Show all posts
Friday, November 30, 2012
Coffee Mug Murderer - No More!
Back in August I had an interesting run in with the (alleged) coffee mug murderer on my JFK-LAX flight. Turns out they're dropping the charges with not a lot of other details. Oh, well. Still a cool story I guess.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Flying with the (In)Famous
When it comes to flying, well, as you can see on the sidebar of this page, I get around. I've seen quite a few famous people in airports (the Miami Ink cast, Bruce Bruce), met a few (Lou Farigno and Cesar Millan), and flown with more (John Witherspoon, John Anderson, Chris Broussard, Nicholas Turturro). With my LAX - JFK weekly route, I'm sure that there have been more that I just haven't seen. However, this Thursday's flight took the cake.
When I got to the security line at JFK, I noticed a few extra policemen walking around but didn't think anything of it. I grabbed a bite to eat before boarding, where I was in the second row aisle seat. A guy with a tennis bag came to sit down at the window in my row and asked if I'd heard about the 'coffee cup murderer' in the news. I had read about it, but hadn't seen her picture until I looked it up on my phone as we sat there. Apparently she had just boarded our flight with two large looking marshal types.
The short story is that back in April, 70 year old Lois Ann Goodman's husband of almost 50 years died from a supposed fall down the stairs. She is a professional tennis line judge and was in New York for the upcoming US Open. The Los Angeles coroner found some inconsistencies with a fall, mostly the fact that fragments of a coffee mug were found in his head. Why it took 4 months to figure this out, I don't know. She was arrested in New York and they were flying her back to LA to face charges.
I discreetly got up to use the restroom as others were still boarding, and sure enough - 4 rows behind me, there she was in the window seat. The middle seat was empty and the officers sat in both aisle seats in that row. There were no announcements and it was all very hush-hush. If my seatmate hadn't told me, I never would've known.
At one point on the flight, one of the officers got up and escorted her to the restroom. She was still in her US Open uniform and had her jacket draped over her hands to hide the cuffs. The officer unlocked them when she got to the restroom and then put them back on when she came out. Again, very subtle and most people didn't know to pay attention. She brushed against me as she went back to her seat (as does everyone since I don't really fit into the seats very well). Eerie for me, but she had a blank, emotionless stare the whole time.
When we got off of the plane, it was obvious that they weren't going to escort her through the main terminal. There was a policeman waiting at an emergency exit at the end of the jetway, and luckily it was glass and I could see through it. A few passengers 'in the know' and I waited to try to snap a picture as she left. We could also see a police car on the runway, so I know that the paparazzi and news crews surely waiting at baggage claim weren't going to get a thing.
Looking back, I really should've taken a video instead of a picture. They waiting for everyone to get off the flight before bringing her out, and all I got was this lousy, blurry, pic (I blame the glass that separated us). Regardless, I had a pic, and I know no one else did.
As I descended the escalator toward baggage claim, I could see the ruckus of reporters, cameramen, and others with microphones. A reporter (very hot, I might add) with a KTLA mic was asking everyone if 'she' was coming. I delivered the bad news that she wasn't... but I got a pic.
Immediately, everyone was crowded around me, asking if I could text it to them. It was funny because as you can see, the picture quality is really bad. I briefly had a thought that I could sell it, but I was so embarrassed that they were so desperate for anything that I gave it away to whoever asked.
Once that was finished, the lights came on, mics came up and it was like I was in a press conference. Questions came from all sides - Where was she sitting? What was she wearing? Did she look sad? Did she say anything? Etc. etc.
After the lights went down I made my way to my car and to Lindsay's house. Sure enough, clips from my interview made it on the lead story of all four major LA networks (and even the blurry pic on one channel).
Almost famous.
When I got to the security line at JFK, I noticed a few extra policemen walking around but didn't think anything of it. I grabbed a bite to eat before boarding, where I was in the second row aisle seat. A guy with a tennis bag came to sit down at the window in my row and asked if I'd heard about the 'coffee cup murderer' in the news. I had read about it, but hadn't seen her picture until I looked it up on my phone as we sat there. Apparently she had just boarded our flight with two large looking marshal types.
The short story is that back in April, 70 year old Lois Ann Goodman's husband of almost 50 years died from a supposed fall down the stairs. She is a professional tennis line judge and was in New York for the upcoming US Open. The Los Angeles coroner found some inconsistencies with a fall, mostly the fact that fragments of a coffee mug were found in his head. Why it took 4 months to figure this out, I don't know. She was arrested in New York and they were flying her back to LA to face charges.
I discreetly got up to use the restroom as others were still boarding, and sure enough - 4 rows behind me, there she was in the window seat. The middle seat was empty and the officers sat in both aisle seats in that row. There were no announcements and it was all very hush-hush. If my seatmate hadn't told me, I never would've known.
At one point on the flight, one of the officers got up and escorted her to the restroom. She was still in her US Open uniform and had her jacket draped over her hands to hide the cuffs. The officer unlocked them when she got to the restroom and then put them back on when she came out. Again, very subtle and most people didn't know to pay attention. She brushed against me as she went back to her seat (as does everyone since I don't really fit into the seats very well). Eerie for me, but she had a blank, emotionless stare the whole time.
When we got off of the plane, it was obvious that they weren't going to escort her through the main terminal. There was a policeman waiting at an emergency exit at the end of the jetway, and luckily it was glass and I could see through it. A few passengers 'in the know' and I waited to try to snap a picture as she left. We could also see a police car on the runway, so I know that the paparazzi and news crews surely waiting at baggage claim weren't going to get a thing.
 |
| My horrible photo made it onto a local LA news broadcast |
As I descended the escalator toward baggage claim, I could see the ruckus of reporters, cameramen, and others with microphones. A reporter (very hot, I might add) with a KTLA mic was asking everyone if 'she' was coming. I delivered the bad news that she wasn't... but I got a pic.
Immediately, everyone was crowded around me, asking if I could text it to them. It was funny because as you can see, the picture quality is really bad. I briefly had a thought that I could sell it, but I was so embarrassed that they were so desperate for anything that I gave it away to whoever asked.
Once that was finished, the lights came on, mics came up and it was like I was in a press conference. Questions came from all sides - Where was she sitting? What was she wearing? Did she look sad? Did she say anything? Etc. etc.
After the lights went down I made my way to my car and to Lindsay's house. Sure enough, clips from my interview made it on the lead story of all four major LA networks (and even the blurry pic on one channel).
Almost famous.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Home and back again
It’s been a whirlwind week and I’m already on the flight back – it’s been my first chance to write in the past 10 days. Let me go back about a week and a half to my last night in Sydney…
I had promises from Dan 'Superfunkdaddy' Hoppin to meet up on my last night. I haven't mentioned him in the blog but Dan is British guy that is friends with Danni and company. We clicked immediately upon meeting, and have the same sarcastic, punny sense of humor. Dan likes to Photoshop. I'll give this link a 'Not Safe For Work' warning, although it is highly hilarious. There are many more pictures in his Facebook albums that crack me up. Yes, he put this on Facebook. If he and Tim meet up in July, I fear the planets may align and I will dislocate my jaw from laughing at whatever it will be that they do.
Anyway, so Dan and the Cali girls all said they wanted to go out on my last night, but when I called it seemed that everyone was on a date, tired or otherwise occupied. Instead, I spent the night chatting with people from the US as I lay in bed, my friend Courtney in particular. It was during working hours for her and I think she was really bored. By the time 3 or 4 am rolled around, I realized that I might be able to stay up all night. I hadn’t planned on doing that, but it made sense. Why not go ahead and throw of my schedule as much as I could?
So with Courtney’s help and lots of internet browsing, I made it through the night without much of a struggle. Around 7:30 I went out and got a taxi and headed to the airport. My 10 am flight was scheduled to connect in LAX and land in Atlanta at 3:30, giving me that day back that I lost on the way over a few months ago.
I wasn’t hardcore enough to have any drinks pre-flight, so I hoped my voluntary sleep deprivation would suffice. I popped an Ambien, plugged my ears and pulled my hat down over my eyes since it was light in the cabin. I couldn’t stretch out as much as the flight over because it was more full but I did get an aisle seat. I tossed and turned a bit, but had a decent 8 hours of sleep (for a plane). There were two Aussie women sitting next to me, and when it was obvious that I was awake she said to me, “I have never seen someone sleep so well on a plane. How do you do it?” I reached in my bag, pulled out the prescription bottle and rattled it. She started laughing.
My dilemma was that there were still 6 hours left in the flight. I decided to cut an Ambien in half and see what happens, then take the other half between Los Angeles and Atlanta. I probably got another 2 hours of sleep and spent the rest of the time watching the in-flight entertainment. Luckily they have shows like 30 Rock, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Family Guy and newly released movies to choose from for free.
When I landed in LAX I had exactly an hour to make my next flight, which I knew would be tight. The airport there isn’t set up very well for international transfers (and neither is Atlanta for that matter). I had to wait at a carousel for my luggage and then check it back in which took forever. Then I had to pass through customs which empties you on the outside of the airport where taxis are dropping people off and picking them up. Then I had to go back inside, through the regular security and make my way to the gate. At this point it was 7:45 and my flight was supposed to leave at 8:00.
A guy was standing at the entrance to an escalator while looking for something and holding up traffic. I gingerly stepped around him and up the steps. He said something like, “Watch it, buddy.” I turned around and said, “Hey, you might have time to waste but I don’t.” He replied something about how I should get to the airport on time or something like that, but I was up the steps and let it go. No use getting in an argument in front of the TSA, that might be bad.
It turned out that my flight was delayed by a half hour so I had some time to relax in the terminal. I took the other half of the Ambien and got a few more hours of sleep on the plane before we landed in home sweet home. Just like when I first landed in Sydney, it was hard for me to tell what day/time it was or how much good sleep I had actually been able to get. I talked to my parents and we planned on going out to dinner near their house. I needed to pick up my mail and the pair of shoes I ordered, and to see Zabba of course. Later that night I went to Tap and met up with Daya and a few of her friends for a bit, then went to Hand in Hand to see Courtney (happy birthday!).
I had waves of exhaustion followed by waves of being wide awake, but my goal was to stay up fairly late and then just crash when I got home. I went to bed around 2 am and to my dismay I woke up, WIDE AWAKE, at 6 am. I sat up in bed, not knowing what to do. I suspended my car insurance for the duration of the trip so I was reluctant to use it too frequently, but this is Atlanta. I hopped in the car and drove to downtown East Point to see if my favorite diner (Thumbs Up) was open. It would be a few more hours so I continued to drive. I turned toward downtown and watched the sun come up over the city as I rolled through the empty streets. It ended up being a good reintroduction to my city.
I found myself up on Howell Mill so I stopped at Waffle House, that location where I have a lot of memories from when I first moved to the city including running into P. Diddy (I’ll blog about that sometime) and many late nights with friends that lived in the area. This morning there were still a few late nighters holding on to their last bit of inebriation through piles of waffles, eggs and greasy hash browns. I opened my latest read (I am Legend) and ordered my usual – The All-Star Special. On a side note, I am Legend was one of the few books that was worse than the movie. Others on the short list include A Beautiful Mind and Up in the Air.
I went back home and did some cobweb and dust cleaning around the kitchen and got ready for one of the highlights of my week – Shooting the Hooch. I invited Courtney and met up with my friends James, Erin, Shawn, Jaime, Micah and Daya, among others. Eric, Lindsay, Tim and Dylan punked out, no me gusta! We first started floating the river last summer and I had it on my MUST DO list while I was home. If you live in Atlanta and haven’t done it, shame on you.
The water was cold, as always (water is released into the river from the bottom of Lake Lanier), and it started to rain about 10 minutes into the float. It would’ve been miserable if it lasted the entire trip. Luckily we got through it and the rest of the day was bright and sunny. I got to catch up with everyone, have a few drinks and relax away the jet lag. We stopped a few times along the river and I did something I’ve never done before – catch a fish with my bare hands! I think it was sick or something because it was treading in about 6 inches of water, but it was a legit 6-7 inch bass, big enough for me to stick my thumb in its mouth and hold it like the bass tour pros, yee haw. As always when I catch my first fish of the day, I kissed and released it (that way it would tell its friends how nice I was and they would let me catch them as well – just like Dad taught me).
Somehow I survived the day without falling asleep, although I did manage to spill an entire bowl of marinara sauce all over myself at Fellini’s after the float. It probably made me smell better since I was all Hooched up. I cleaned up and hung out with Courtney for a while before going home to crash.
James and Micah invited me to play softball with them on Monday. Eric was out of town so they needed a spot to fill. I almost made a brilliant catch but ended up busting my butt as I dove backwards, the ball bouncing off the tip of my glove. I saw Jay B., my college friend from UK and former roommate when I first moved to Atlanta. It had been a while but was good to hear that Sara and the baby were doing well.
I also got my hair chopped off by Olga at Samba Salon (across from Tim’s house) on Tuesday, played soccer with those same guys on Wednesday, went out with Courtney to Two Urban Licks on Thursday and played soccer again on Friday with some former GT players that I’ve played pickup with over the last few years.
On Friday night we had a going away party for Dylan and Rachel, who were moving to Dallas for his new job. At least Rameen will have someone to play with now. We went to Fado and pretty much everyone was there. Daya and I hung out the most and caught up on everything, although we have emailed each other constantly through my trips (she got a new job – CONGRATS!). Two more friends have now moved to Texas… that makes 6 in the past 10 months. Hmm, maybe I should just sell the house and do the same?
On Saturday I was back at Fado at noon to a packed house to meet up with the GT soccer guys for the US-England game. I was pretty happy to come out of it with a tie. I can admit when we get lucky. After some more quality time with Zabba I met up with a few people at Moe’s & Joe’s in the Highlands for a low key night. I went home relatively early and got up the next day to visit with my Pelicans Football Club teammates. I missed almost the entire season but made the end of the year BBQ. Usually if I'm injured, it's from playing with these guys. We watched the World Cup games on that day and caught up for a bit.
My parents came and picked Zabba up later that day and I got everything packed for winter down under. Tomorrow I will go to LA, work for the day and fly out that night. I land Wednesday morning and start it all over again. I’m supposed to come home again in late July for my 10 year reunion (gasp!) in 6 weeks. Hello, frequent flyer miles.
I had promises from Dan 'Superfunkdaddy' Hoppin to meet up on my last night. I haven't mentioned him in the blog but Dan is British guy that is friends with Danni and company. We clicked immediately upon meeting, and have the same sarcastic, punny sense of humor. Dan likes to Photoshop. I'll give this link a 'Not Safe For Work' warning, although it is highly hilarious. There are many more pictures in his Facebook albums that crack me up. Yes, he put this on Facebook. If he and Tim meet up in July, I fear the planets may align and I will dislocate my jaw from laughing at whatever it will be that they do.
Anyway, so Dan and the Cali girls all said they wanted to go out on my last night, but when I called it seemed that everyone was on a date, tired or otherwise occupied. Instead, I spent the night chatting with people from the US as I lay in bed, my friend Courtney in particular. It was during working hours for her and I think she was really bored. By the time 3 or 4 am rolled around, I realized that I might be able to stay up all night. I hadn’t planned on doing that, but it made sense. Why not go ahead and throw of my schedule as much as I could?
So with Courtney’s help and lots of internet browsing, I made it through the night without much of a struggle. Around 7:30 I went out and got a taxi and headed to the airport. My 10 am flight was scheduled to connect in LAX and land in Atlanta at 3:30, giving me that day back that I lost on the way over a few months ago.
I wasn’t hardcore enough to have any drinks pre-flight, so I hoped my voluntary sleep deprivation would suffice. I popped an Ambien, plugged my ears and pulled my hat down over my eyes since it was light in the cabin. I couldn’t stretch out as much as the flight over because it was more full but I did get an aisle seat. I tossed and turned a bit, but had a decent 8 hours of sleep (for a plane). There were two Aussie women sitting next to me, and when it was obvious that I was awake she said to me, “I have never seen someone sleep so well on a plane. How do you do it?” I reached in my bag, pulled out the prescription bottle and rattled it. She started laughing.
My dilemma was that there were still 6 hours left in the flight. I decided to cut an Ambien in half and see what happens, then take the other half between Los Angeles and Atlanta. I probably got another 2 hours of sleep and spent the rest of the time watching the in-flight entertainment. Luckily they have shows like 30 Rock, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Family Guy and newly released movies to choose from for free.
When I landed in LAX I had exactly an hour to make my next flight, which I knew would be tight. The airport there isn’t set up very well for international transfers (and neither is Atlanta for that matter). I had to wait at a carousel for my luggage and then check it back in which took forever. Then I had to pass through customs which empties you on the outside of the airport where taxis are dropping people off and picking them up. Then I had to go back inside, through the regular security and make my way to the gate. At this point it was 7:45 and my flight was supposed to leave at 8:00.
A guy was standing at the entrance to an escalator while looking for something and holding up traffic. I gingerly stepped around him and up the steps. He said something like, “Watch it, buddy.” I turned around and said, “Hey, you might have time to waste but I don’t.” He replied something about how I should get to the airport on time or something like that, but I was up the steps and let it go. No use getting in an argument in front of the TSA, that might be bad.
It turned out that my flight was delayed by a half hour so I had some time to relax in the terminal. I took the other half of the Ambien and got a few more hours of sleep on the plane before we landed in home sweet home. Just like when I first landed in Sydney, it was hard for me to tell what day/time it was or how much good sleep I had actually been able to get. I talked to my parents and we planned on going out to dinner near their house. I needed to pick up my mail and the pair of shoes I ordered, and to see Zabba of course. Later that night I went to Tap and met up with Daya and a few of her friends for a bit, then went to Hand in Hand to see Courtney (happy birthday!).
I had waves of exhaustion followed by waves of being wide awake, but my goal was to stay up fairly late and then just crash when I got home. I went to bed around 2 am and to my dismay I woke up, WIDE AWAKE, at 6 am. I sat up in bed, not knowing what to do. I suspended my car insurance for the duration of the trip so I was reluctant to use it too frequently, but this is Atlanta. I hopped in the car and drove to downtown East Point to see if my favorite diner (Thumbs Up) was open. It would be a few more hours so I continued to drive. I turned toward downtown and watched the sun come up over the city as I rolled through the empty streets. It ended up being a good reintroduction to my city.
I found myself up on Howell Mill so I stopped at Waffle House, that location where I have a lot of memories from when I first moved to the city including running into P. Diddy (I’ll blog about that sometime) and many late nights with friends that lived in the area. This morning there were still a few late nighters holding on to their last bit of inebriation through piles of waffles, eggs and greasy hash browns. I opened my latest read (I am Legend) and ordered my usual – The All-Star Special. On a side note, I am Legend was one of the few books that was worse than the movie. Others on the short list include A Beautiful Mind and Up in the Air.
The water was cold, as always (water is released into the river from the bottom of Lake Lanier), and it started to rain about 10 minutes into the float. It would’ve been miserable if it lasted the entire trip. Luckily we got through it and the rest of the day was bright and sunny. I got to catch up with everyone, have a few drinks and relax away the jet lag. We stopped a few times along the river and I did something I’ve never done before – catch a fish with my bare hands! I think it was sick or something because it was treading in about 6 inches of water, but it was a legit 6-7 inch bass, big enough for me to stick my thumb in its mouth and hold it like the bass tour pros, yee haw. As always when I catch my first fish of the day, I kissed and released it (that way it would tell its friends how nice I was and they would let me catch them as well – just like Dad taught me).
Somehow I survived the day without falling asleep, although I did manage to spill an entire bowl of marinara sauce all over myself at Fellini’s after the float. It probably made me smell better since I was all Hooched up. I cleaned up and hung out with Courtney for a while before going home to crash.
James and Micah invited me to play softball with them on Monday. Eric was out of town so they needed a spot to fill. I almost made a brilliant catch but ended up busting my butt as I dove backwards, the ball bouncing off the tip of my glove. I saw Jay B., my college friend from UK and former roommate when I first moved to Atlanta. It had been a while but was good to hear that Sara and the baby were doing well.
I also got my hair chopped off by Olga at Samba Salon (across from Tim’s house) on Tuesday, played soccer with those same guys on Wednesday, went out with Courtney to Two Urban Licks on Thursday and played soccer again on Friday with some former GT players that I’ve played pickup with over the last few years.
On Friday night we had a going away party for Dylan and Rachel, who were moving to Dallas for his new job. At least Rameen will have someone to play with now. We went to Fado and pretty much everyone was there. Daya and I hung out the most and caught up on everything, although we have emailed each other constantly through my trips (she got a new job – CONGRATS!). Two more friends have now moved to Texas… that makes 6 in the past 10 months. Hmm, maybe I should just sell the house and do the same?
On Saturday I was back at Fado at noon to a packed house to meet up with the GT soccer guys for the US-England game. I was pretty happy to come out of it with a tie. I can admit when we get lucky. After some more quality time with Zabba I met up with a few people at Moe’s & Joe’s in the Highlands for a low key night. I went home relatively early and got up the next day to visit with my Pelicans Football Club teammates. I missed almost the entire season but made the end of the year BBQ. Usually if I'm injured, it's from playing with these guys. We watched the World Cup games on that day and caught up for a bit.
My parents came and picked Zabba up later that day and I got everything packed for winter down under. Tomorrow I will go to LA, work for the day and fly out that night. I land Wednesday morning and start it all over again. I’m supposed to come home again in late July for my 10 year reunion (gasp!) in 6 weeks. Hello, frequent flyer miles.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
And So Begins My Adventure In Chile
I had this great plan for my 9.5 hour, 4,600 mile direct flight from Atlanta, Georgia, to Santiago, Chile. Eat the dinner they provide an hour or so into the flight, pop a Benadryl, and knock myself out for the rest of the trip. The only problem was that I left my Benadryl at home… oops. Now I had to occupy myself between the in-flight movies, the Lonely Planet guidebook for Chile, and the 70 year old woman sitting next to me. I prayed for sleep that came in fits.
One respite from the torture of monotony and purgatory between sleeping and waking was a great movie called 500 Days of Summer. It told the story of a guy’s relationship with a girl named Summer in a very unique way, jumping to different days in the relationship throughout. I thought that it accurately portrayed the mindset of a typical guy dealing with a breakup and trying to move on. At least to me, it felt very close to home. I’m still waiting on that new ‘Day 1’. See the movie to see what I’m talking about. Also, the soundtrack was filled with quality music, so check that out.
I ended up having a few brief conversations with my geriatric neighbor. As it turns out, at least half of my flight consisted of senior citizens going on a 3 week cruise from Chile, around Cape Horn and finally to Rio de Janeiro. It sounds like a cool trip, but I came to spite many of my fellow passengers. You cannot fathom the deafening snoring that I endured as I tried to find some sleep. Imagine your grandfather x 25. One man was snore-hickuping, or slowly dying, I’m not sure which. It was one of the strangest sounds I’ve ever heard.
Finally, a few hours of sleep and 4,600 miles away, I made it to Santiago. Fun fact: Santiago is actually 2 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. It's something you don't really think about until you go there. My client provided a driver to take me to the hotel for a few real hours of sleep before I went into work. I'll try to take notes of what I see and do as I live here, and so begins the month abroad. Day 1.
Check out the view from my temporary home.
One respite from the torture of monotony and purgatory between sleeping and waking was a great movie called 500 Days of Summer. It told the story of a guy’s relationship with a girl named Summer in a very unique way, jumping to different days in the relationship throughout. I thought that it accurately portrayed the mindset of a typical guy dealing with a breakup and trying to move on. At least to me, it felt very close to home. I’m still waiting on that new ‘Day 1’. See the movie to see what I’m talking about. Also, the soundtrack was filled with quality music, so check that out.
I ended up having a few brief conversations with my geriatric neighbor. As it turns out, at least half of my flight consisted of senior citizens going on a 3 week cruise from Chile, around Cape Horn and finally to Rio de Janeiro. It sounds like a cool trip, but I came to spite many of my fellow passengers. You cannot fathom the deafening snoring that I endured as I tried to find some sleep. Imagine your grandfather x 25. One man was snore-hickuping, or slowly dying, I’m not sure which. It was one of the strangest sounds I’ve ever heard.
Finally, a few hours of sleep and 4,600 miles away, I made it to Santiago. Fun fact: Santiago is actually 2 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. It's something you don't really think about until you go there. My client provided a driver to take me to the hotel for a few real hours of sleep before I went into work. I'll try to take notes of what I see and do as I live here, and so begins the month abroad. Day 1.
Check out the view from my temporary home.
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