Knowing that the entire world, save myself and maybe eighteen other people I know, was in line last night buying the final book of Harry Potter, I knew I was going to have some major encounters with him today.
This morning I woke up to go to the San Jose airport so I could start my travels. My boss has sent me to Washington DC for two conferences that are back to back, both in the Capital Hilton (and guess where I am staying?). So, I created a game this morning as I was driving to San Jose: How many times will I see somebody reading the new book?
I woke up somewhat early this morning in order to wrap up my packing. I also wanted to go somewhere and get breakfast (and not buying a muffin at a coffee shop). However, all the restaurants in downtown Santa Cruz where one consumes breakfast were not open at seven in the morning. Nonetheless, I bought a damn muffin at a coffee shop. Lame. There was at least an hour that I saved so I went and took some odds and ends from my house and dropped them off at the Salvation Army store (although they weren’t open yet, shhhh). After that, I was on my way to San Jose.
When I got to the airport, my game was in full effect. While in line at the security checkpoint, many of the bins had Harry Potter in them. When I arrived to my gate, every other chair had an individual reading the book.
To distract me from my observations, a random man asked if the seat next to me was being used. I replied no. The man began talking to me about flying to Dallas (this is where my layover was). He then told his story: his son was part of a motorbike derby contest and he was flying to Dallas where he then would fly to Oklahoma City and then drive to Kansas where the derby is being held. He began going into much greater detail about the motorbikes involved. I knew he had mechanic experience due to his choice of terminology. And, of course, he assumed I knew what he was talking about. I was hoping he wouldn’t ask me any questions because I am known for having a blank stare on my face when someone is talking about something I don’t know. While he spoke I kept thinking of that woman Yuriko from the wedding who asked me if I knew what music therapy was and Nikki, my gravity angel, asking if I knew what gravitational waves were. However, this man with the auto-mechanic language did not ask me if I knew what he was talking about (and besides, I wasn’t attracted to him like I was to the two described, so I guess I was in the clear).
This man continued talking about motorbikes, and then went into greater detail about the differences between Hondas and Kawasakis; then there was the discussion of cylinders, usage of oil, RPM numbers, and many many more things. At first, I was hoping that he would find something else to do (like go to the bathroom), or that our flight was ready for us to board, or that I would run into somebody I knew from UCSC. None of those happened (well, we eventually board the airplane). However, my attitude changed about him. He went into further length about the motorbikes and his son’s admiration of them. He then noted how expensive they were to maintain and use, but he mentioned how if that was what he had to commit to in order to make sure his son wasn’t on the streets, or caught up in drugs, or hanging out with the wrong people, then so be it. I really admired his efforts with this.
We eventually board the plane. I sat next to an elderly woman who was connecting to Houston from Dallas and then meeting her family near the gulf for a week long cruise. She seemed excited about this, but about eight minutes after this conversation, she passed out for the entire flight. At that point I began my test; I combed around the plane with my eyes to see where Harry Potter was. The row across the aisle from me had three people seated (all probably related). All three of them had their Harry Potter books open. I glanced behind me and there was a mother and daughter, both with Potter. I leaned over the chair in front of me, and sure enough, the Harry and the Potter were in two of the three seats.
In order to keep myself distinct from the rest of the plane, I read my copy of Dave Eggers’s A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. From my last flying excursion, I was looking forward to my addiction of cheese/crackers and ginger ale. This was my first time flying American Airlines, and I must say I was a little disappointed. They came around with their beverage cart, and they lacked the ginger ale. Plus, they don’t give out snacks. You had to buy them! Never mind that the airline tickets were over two hundred dollars. Three dollars for a bag of chips, four dollars and fifty cents for a candy bar! I had a cup of orange juice and held onto my pride.
We landed in Dallas and there wasn’t much time between this flight and my next one. I rode one of the transit devices that looped around the airport to get to my desired terminal. In front of me was a family, who were probably uber Christians. The daughter wore a t-shirt that had the typical smiley face and the quote below it was “Smile. God loves you.” Her conversation to her parents dealt with time.
“Dad, the future is now!”
“That’s nice, dear.”
”No, Dad, you see all this, this monorail we’re on. This is what the future is going to be. The future is now!” she continued to talk and her little brother started doing things that would question his mental stability.
The next plane was a bit more compact. I sat in the middle seat. I was in quite the contrasting situation. The person to the right of me (the window seat) was a very large man, who was bald and wore thick lens glasses and therefore I only saw little dots for eyes. The person to the left of me was a young woman; very blonde, very fit, very short black dress. What I found even more amusing was that I knew all three of us were going to some kind of conference. Blondie had a binder that displayed “Climbing the ladder you want to climb. How to be your own CEO.” Baldie had a binder and a book. I couldn’t see the binder at first, only the spine, which said “Conference Services by HK.com.” There was a label at the bottom that had his name and then “Department of the Navy.” Finally I saw the cover and it said, “HK.com presents ‘The Future is Now.’” No shit. That’s what that smiling god girl was trying to say to her dad. Maybe she was on the HK.com site. For those who don’t know (and I didn’t know either), HK.com is a site for weaponry. Apparently that’s what the future is all about, and it’s now for that matter. I was going to get my book entitled 10 Innovative Ways to Enhance Annual Giving, but decided to continue my Heartbreaking Work.
Since this plane was more packed than the previous one, there were more children and therefore, more Potters!
I landed in Washington DC/Ronald Reagan airport. I passed many families; all with Harry Potter books in their hands. I arrived to my hotel. At the check-in desk, there was a family of six in front of me. You guessed it. Each of the kids had a copy in their hands. I was amazed.
Alright, so here I am, in my bedroom, sitting on my king sized bed using my laptop. I am currently online and this is the first hotel I’ve stayed in where they are charging you for using the Internet. Luckily, I’m not paying for this. But still, $15 a day for using the World Wide Web. Seems sort of ridiculous since its $199 a night. I’m going to try to get through more of Eggers’s book; then read about the spoilers of the new Harry Potter novel. I heard in one of the airports that Potter comes out of the closet.
56, by the way. There were 56 individuals I counted with Book 7 in their hands.
This morning I woke up to go to the San Jose airport so I could start my travels. My boss has sent me to Washington DC for two conferences that are back to back, both in the Capital Hilton (and guess where I am staying?). So, I created a game this morning as I was driving to San Jose: How many times will I see somebody reading the new book?
I woke up somewhat early this morning in order to wrap up my packing. I also wanted to go somewhere and get breakfast (and not buying a muffin at a coffee shop). However, all the restaurants in downtown Santa Cruz where one consumes breakfast were not open at seven in the morning. Nonetheless, I bought a damn muffin at a coffee shop. Lame. There was at least an hour that I saved so I went and took some odds and ends from my house and dropped them off at the Salvation Army store (although they weren’t open yet, shhhh). After that, I was on my way to San Jose.
When I got to the airport, my game was in full effect. While in line at the security checkpoint, many of the bins had Harry Potter in them. When I arrived to my gate, every other chair had an individual reading the book.
To distract me from my observations, a random man asked if the seat next to me was being used. I replied no. The man began talking to me about flying to Dallas (this is where my layover was). He then told his story: his son was part of a motorbike derby contest and he was flying to Dallas where he then would fly to Oklahoma City and then drive to Kansas where the derby is being held. He began going into much greater detail about the motorbikes involved. I knew he had mechanic experience due to his choice of terminology. And, of course, he assumed I knew what he was talking about. I was hoping he wouldn’t ask me any questions because I am known for having a blank stare on my face when someone is talking about something I don’t know. While he spoke I kept thinking of that woman Yuriko from the wedding who asked me if I knew what music therapy was and Nikki, my gravity angel, asking if I knew what gravitational waves were. However, this man with the auto-mechanic language did not ask me if I knew what he was talking about (and besides, I wasn’t attracted to him like I was to the two described, so I guess I was in the clear).
This man continued talking about motorbikes, and then went into greater detail about the differences between Hondas and Kawasakis; then there was the discussion of cylinders, usage of oil, RPM numbers, and many many more things. At first, I was hoping that he would find something else to do (like go to the bathroom), or that our flight was ready for us to board, or that I would run into somebody I knew from UCSC. None of those happened (well, we eventually board the airplane). However, my attitude changed about him. He went into further length about the motorbikes and his son’s admiration of them. He then noted how expensive they were to maintain and use, but he mentioned how if that was what he had to commit to in order to make sure his son wasn’t on the streets, or caught up in drugs, or hanging out with the wrong people, then so be it. I really admired his efforts with this.
We eventually board the plane. I sat next to an elderly woman who was connecting to Houston from Dallas and then meeting her family near the gulf for a week long cruise. She seemed excited about this, but about eight minutes after this conversation, she passed out for the entire flight. At that point I began my test; I combed around the plane with my eyes to see where Harry Potter was. The row across the aisle from me had three people seated (all probably related). All three of them had their Harry Potter books open. I glanced behind me and there was a mother and daughter, both with Potter. I leaned over the chair in front of me, and sure enough, the Harry and the Potter were in two of the three seats.
In order to keep myself distinct from the rest of the plane, I read my copy of Dave Eggers’s A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. From my last flying excursion, I was looking forward to my addiction of cheese/crackers and ginger ale. This was my first time flying American Airlines, and I must say I was a little disappointed. They came around with their beverage cart, and they lacked the ginger ale. Plus, they don’t give out snacks. You had to buy them! Never mind that the airline tickets were over two hundred dollars. Three dollars for a bag of chips, four dollars and fifty cents for a candy bar! I had a cup of orange juice and held onto my pride.
We landed in Dallas and there wasn’t much time between this flight and my next one. I rode one of the transit devices that looped around the airport to get to my desired terminal. In front of me was a family, who were probably uber Christians. The daughter wore a t-shirt that had the typical smiley face and the quote below it was “Smile. God loves you.” Her conversation to her parents dealt with time.
“Dad, the future is now!”
“That’s nice, dear.”
”No, Dad, you see all this, this monorail we’re on. This is what the future is going to be. The future is now!” she continued to talk and her little brother started doing things that would question his mental stability.
The next plane was a bit more compact. I sat in the middle seat. I was in quite the contrasting situation. The person to the right of me (the window seat) was a very large man, who was bald and wore thick lens glasses and therefore I only saw little dots for eyes. The person to the left of me was a young woman; very blonde, very fit, very short black dress. What I found even more amusing was that I knew all three of us were going to some kind of conference. Blondie had a binder that displayed “Climbing the ladder you want to climb. How to be your own CEO.” Baldie had a binder and a book. I couldn’t see the binder at first, only the spine, which said “Conference Services by HK.com.” There was a label at the bottom that had his name and then “Department of the Navy.” Finally I saw the cover and it said, “HK.com presents ‘The Future is Now.’” No shit. That’s what that smiling god girl was trying to say to her dad. Maybe she was on the HK.com site. For those who don’t know (and I didn’t know either), HK.com is a site for weaponry. Apparently that’s what the future is all about, and it’s now for that matter. I was going to get my book entitled 10 Innovative Ways to Enhance Annual Giving, but decided to continue my Heartbreaking Work.
Since this plane was more packed than the previous one, there were more children and therefore, more Potters!
I landed in Washington DC/Ronald Reagan airport. I passed many families; all with Harry Potter books in their hands. I arrived to my hotel. At the check-in desk, there was a family of six in front of me. You guessed it. Each of the kids had a copy in their hands. I was amazed.
Alright, so here I am, in my bedroom, sitting on my king sized bed using my laptop. I am currently online and this is the first hotel I’ve stayed in where they are charging you for using the Internet. Luckily, I’m not paying for this. But still, $15 a day for using the World Wide Web. Seems sort of ridiculous since its $199 a night. I’m going to try to get through more of Eggers’s book; then read about the spoilers of the new Harry Potter novel. I heard in one of the airports that Potter comes out of the closet.
56, by the way. There were 56 individuals I counted with Book 7 in their hands.
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