back home

made it back to sa in one piece and i gotta say the flight back was probably the best flight i was on. after a 5 hr layover at washington dulles airport and a terrible lunch i paid ~17 bucks for, i went to my gate and asked if i could get a window seat (since i requested for one when i booked, but they gave me an aisle instead). the bi-polar lady at the desk seemed nice at first, then turned cold and told me (in not-so-friendly terms) that the plan was full and there was nothing she could do. she then took my passport and ticket, typed something in her little computer, and gave me my ticket back; then said something in whatever language i couldnt understand (or maybe i just wasnt listening), but she was back to being friendly again. getting on the plane, i went to my aisle seat, sat down, put my bag up, tried to psyche myself into thinking an aisle seat was really the best way to go, anxiously awaiting probably the most "horizontally-challenged" person on the flight to come sit next to me. then they start making the awesome pre-flight announcements and the doors start closing, and still the seat next to me remained empty. i try my darndest to hold in my anxiety. it wasn't until the plane started moving and i cleared my eyes, twice, that i let out an extended smile at the empty window seat next to me. i had my 2 seat row all to myself. for 18 hrs. simply beautiful. i proceeded to lift up the arm rest. get out my blanket, pillow, and a good book and laid across the seats. i was briefly interrupted by the attendant telling me i had to sit up and put down my arm rest for take off, but luckily she left after 2 seconds and the armrest was back up and the laying down resumed.

back to my trip, i had a lot of fun in chicago/ st. louis. I definitely didn't get a chance to do all i'd like to do and see people that i'd like to have seen (sorry guys), but overall it was good. i didn't know how i would feel coming back to sa; maybe i would really miss the states and want to immediately go back. but it was kinda weird that on the way back from the airport i felt really good as if i was back home. it was a good feeling. also, i felt more comfortable driving here than i did driving in the us (i can't remember the countless times i hit the curb in the US or went to change the gear with my left hand.) still, of course, sa drives on the wrong side of the street! here are some observations from being back in the us and then back in sa:

Notes from chicago:
--it was late may and i was freezing my ass off. what was up with that. i get to chicago with my warm clothes, looking forward to some sun and all i get is windy and cold. not happy. started getting warmer near the end of my trip

--i enjoyed, a bit too much, getting to walk around. a lot. even tho it was a bit chilly, i walked (instead of driving) to work every day, walked to lunch, dinner, and sometimes just walked around aimlessly. i can't describe very well how awesome that was. i dont get to do that in sa.

--i accomplished my 2 most important goals in the first hour of landing: 1. get a starbucks coffee; 2. get some chipotle (i would have chipotle 3 more times)

--i couldn't get used to so many cops on the highway stopping people for speeding. what a foreign concept!

Notes from being back in SA:
--as mentioned, for some reason im more used to driving here now. i almost got into some funny situations in the US trying to drive on the other side of the street.

--i dont like walking up the stairs to my apartment door. reason: on both sides of me lives a couple indian families. walking up the stairs to my place i can smell the most delicious smelling foods and i get so angry knowing there's absolutely no chance its coming from my place. i've been close many times to knocking on their door. when i got back on monday, it was even worse, because i knew i had literally no food at my place (i think i had 1/4 bag of chips, but i let a friend stay at my place while i was gone and he cleaned me out of that! heh, it's all good).

--i thought jet lag didnt really hit me. that is, until friday. i went right to work at 730 on tuesday and started on a new proj in town and pretty much have been working 12hr+ days. when i woke up on friday, i felt like absolute crap. i couldnt physically get myself up for a while, and after i did, i knew right away that i would not make it through the day (at least not well). had a pounding headache all day and could barely concentrate on work or what my mgr was saying. anyway, i finally got some much needed sleep and refused to wake up this morning until almost 2pm.

--back to the new proj i started. its in downtown joburg, so i get to finally spend some more time down there. some "interesting" observations so far:
- i dont have a parking pass yet for the garage, so i park on the street (which is not always advisable), cross my fingers, say a prayer, and head to the building.
- whoever designed the elevators must've thought he/she was really cool, but i havent decided what my assessment is yet. for these elevators, you have to choose which floor you're going to before you enter the elevator. then the screen tells you which elevator to go to. the doors open you enter and it takes u to ur flr. no buttons inside the elevator! i mean, what if i change my mind..
- the bathrooms are also very interesting. as in, i have to laugh a bit everytime i go in. first there are 3 stalls, only the first one is not really a stall. it's got a stall door, but when you open it, u see 2 small urinals. so in theory 2 people could use this stall. so that begs the question: should you close the stall door when you use the urinals. if u close the door than ur taking away someone else's right and privilege to use the 2nd urinal. however, if u recall, i mentioned these urinals are small and allow for next to zero privacy. so if you leave the stall door open and someone decides to use the second urinal, you take away that person's right (as he opens the door) to not be scarred for life, and/or vise versa. hence the dilemma
- 2nd thing about the bathroom. as u finish with your duty, u go to wash your hands, of course. well, after i did this the first time, i then turned to what looked like it was the place to get the paper towel to dry my hands. but it was not. in fact, it was some kind of container and inside this container were some always useful condoms. no i didn't mis-speak, they gave out free condoms at work, in the bathroom (mind u i dont work at an aids clinic or anything even remotely close to a clinic). i guess gone are the times when they only give out free condoms at junior high schools and ultra liberal universities...