There and back again
Apr. 28th, 2014 04:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bktheirregularSo, I'm back in Athens after a busy week in New York. As happens all too often, I stayed in The City just long enough to kick the jet lag, which meant that as soon as my body recognized it was in New York, it was time to go back to Athens.
I learned a few things on this trip:
- A traditional dinner-and-a-movie first date works a lot better when you're not preoccupied with making a good first impression. (This only really works if you've already gotten the first impression out of the way.
- It's possible to go to Central Park and get a sunburn bad enough to leave your forehead peeling.
- Getting to Citi Field (the Mets' stadium) is nearly as easy from Yorkville as getting to Yankee Stadium. You just have to make one subway transfer instead of going direct.
- Citi Field is actually a rather nice place to watch a baseball game. Of course, it was a Tuesday and it was the Mets, so the field was half empty.
- Upgrading my eastbound ticket introduced me to British Airways' overnight sleeper service, in which the evening meal is served before takeoff, you get to board the airplane early to settle in, and you're encouraged to lie down and go to sleep as soon as the seat-belt light switches off following takeoff.
- The upper deck of a Boeing 747 is a somewhat different experience from flying economy, especially on British Airways. The upper deck's about the size of an old DC-3 all by itself; there were exactly 20 seats for business class (first class gets the nose section on the 747; there's also a business section on the main deck, followed by economy-premium and then economy). It's also somewhat isolated from the engine noise, and turbulence feels a little different that far forward of the center of gravity/center of lift.
- Flying facing backwards (window seats in BA's business class face backwards) is much like flying facing forwards, except for one moment: the acceleration when you take off. I'm used to being pressed back into my seat as the engines go to full throttle; I'm not used to being pulled away from my seat and just held in place by the seat belt.
So, back to Athens, a day and a bit to recover, and back to the grind of work. Thankfully it's a slow day to come back, aside from the whining of certain Senior Partners (which is depressingly normal).
I learned a few things on this trip:
- A traditional dinner-and-a-movie first date works a lot better when you're not preoccupied with making a good first impression. (This only really works if you've already gotten the first impression out of the way.
- It's possible to go to Central Park and get a sunburn bad enough to leave your forehead peeling.
- Getting to Citi Field (the Mets' stadium) is nearly as easy from Yorkville as getting to Yankee Stadium. You just have to make one subway transfer instead of going direct.
- Citi Field is actually a rather nice place to watch a baseball game. Of course, it was a Tuesday and it was the Mets, so the field was half empty.
- Upgrading my eastbound ticket introduced me to British Airways' overnight sleeper service, in which the evening meal is served before takeoff, you get to board the airplane early to settle in, and you're encouraged to lie down and go to sleep as soon as the seat-belt light switches off following takeoff.
- The upper deck of a Boeing 747 is a somewhat different experience from flying economy, especially on British Airways. The upper deck's about the size of an old DC-3 all by itself; there were exactly 20 seats for business class (first class gets the nose section on the 747; there's also a business section on the main deck, followed by economy-premium and then economy). It's also somewhat isolated from the engine noise, and turbulence feels a little different that far forward of the center of gravity/center of lift.
- Flying facing backwards (window seats in BA's business class face backwards) is much like flying facing forwards, except for one moment: the acceleration when you take off. I'm used to being pressed back into my seat as the engines go to full throttle; I'm not used to being pulled away from my seat and just held in place by the seat belt.
So, back to Athens, a day and a bit to recover, and back to the grind of work. Thankfully it's a slow day to come back, aside from the whining of certain Senior Partners (which is depressingly normal).
