From the Big Apple to the Windy City

Tuesday 29 March 2005

No rain today. This made us very happy.



First stop: United Nations headquarters. I discovered that my ability to retain information has regressed immensely and rapidly. I last visited this place three years ago, yet remembered almost nothing about it. Everything the guide said on the tour still sounded fresh and interesting. The only things I turned out to remember were the silly, inconsequential things, like the gift of an ivory sculpture from China, or a model of a boat from Thailand with real gold. Things like that.


The General Assembly Hall


The Security Council Hall


The Economic & Social Council Hall


The Golden Rule Mosaic, based on a painting by Norman Rockwell





The Empire State Building was next. Damn, we should've done this first. The line was so incredibly fucking long, it snaked out of the entrance of the building. It was a two hour wait to get to the top, and every time you got out of a line, off you went to join another one. Standing in the bowels of the building, the constant hard-sell of the Combo Tickets sounded like a real bargain: US$27 each to cut the line and go for an additional simulator ride. But like I said, I hate simulator rides. Perhaps we should've bought them though, because theoretically we had to leave for our flight in two hours' time, and not just start off for the apartment then. My argument though, was that we'd come too far not to do this, and I assured Jingli with false bravado that we'd be able to make it in time.




In the bowels of the Empire State Building

This was looking like the last thing we'd see in NYC. If I had a choice though, there were so many other things to see and do. We never went to Central Park, never walked along the Brooklyn Bridge (even though I'd done that before), never visited any of the fine museums. Anyone with a passing knowledge of New York can probably name much more. It really was just a taste of the city, a little sampling of it, like the little packs of shampoo you get in the mail.

The view from the top was nice, if a little grey. It was the first time I'd been up there in the day, so there was still stuff to gawk at. But pictures speak louder than words, so here are some:




The clump of crazy tall buildings in the distance is the Wall Street area








The Chrysler Building again


Yep, she kinda caught my eye



We rushed back on the subway after that, and got to the apartment at 3.40 pm. The cab said they'd be there at 4.10 pm. Our flight was at 5 pm. Was it possible to pull it off?

At the apartment, we finally saw Danielle. She'd been out of commission the day before, feeling sick as hell. We tried to catch up in what little time we had.



I called ATA and asked them what I could do. The woman who answered, probably a sales rep, told me my only option was to put ourselves on the next available flight at 6.40 pm. The fare difference to be paid was US$180 each. Not seeing any other way out, I agreed to it.

The cab arrived and we got to LaGuardia at 4.45 pm. We'd definitely be late for our previous flight. However, we were faced with a rude shock at the check-in counter. Our original flight had been delayed till 5.30 pm, and we could still get on it. This was all well and good, except she couldn't refund our fare difference. She then told us that we could've arrived late; they'd just put us on the standby list for the next flight free of charge. As you can imagine, this pissed me off hugely. It was clear that we were the victims of unethical hard-sell tactics on the part of the sales rep, who had conveniently "forgotten" to tell us of any other options. I made a mental note to write ATA a nasty email or letter when I got home. To this date, I have received no reply from them.

She put us on our previous flight - probably in the exact two seats we gave up less than an hour ago! - and we were good to go, albeit US$360 poorer for nothing.

We flew into Midway, which I'd never stepped foot in before. It wasn't as horrible as I thought it'd be, but then again, this probably wasn't a peak travel period. I walked out of the terminal for a smoke, and found that the weather was beautiful. Amazing temperatures for Chicago, I didn't even need a jacket! What a pleasant surprise. It made my mood much better, and I almost forgot about the unpleasant drama of the afternoon.



Mun picked us up at the airport with Joyce, and we headed to the ol' Phoenix Inn in Evanston for a late dinner. It was a lovely affair, meeting up with old friends and ex-roommates over good food at a great price (US$10 each for a grand eight-course affair). Everything tasted wonderful, especially after our fast food-heavy diet of the past week. Mark, Zhichuen, Mun, Joyce and two friends I didn't know were there - good company.

My fortune read: "You are nextr in line for promotion in your firm." Spelling error included.

We hung out at Evanston Place for a while. It felt good in my old apartment building, smoking on the pool deck, talking cock with Eugene who miraculously came home. Jingli even took the opportunity to trash Zhichuen's friend at Winning Eleven.

Finally I thought it might be time to go to 809 Noyes, our home for the next couple of days. As I climbed the musty, narrow stairs with my suitcase in hand, anticipation mounted. And sure enough, waiting at the top of the stairs were good ol' Nate and Zach.

Beer, talk, smoking up, and cigarettes on the back porch ensued. I thought I'd never be able to do this again. Never say never, I guess.