To Bangalore

KC to Chicago:

Last meal at KCI was Arthur Bryants BBQ. Goood stuff.

Flight was short, except for the conversation behind me, which was long, dry , boring and steeped in religion comparison. An “oh my god” girl, and a dude from…pause….India. Go figure. A Sikh and Jesus freak. How badly I wanted them either to shut up, or for me to jump in and convert them to some pagan spiritual. Flight lands with about 5 minutes of quiet throughout.

Chicago: Gate to Frankfurt is about a block away. Short walk, I’m there. Sit for 2 hours that go quickly. Last American food: McDonald’s Chocolate shake, thanks to dad for the gift certificates.

Flight to Frankfurt: Economy Plus seating, not quite business class, but good leg room, empty seat to my left, window at right. What is that smell? BO that the perpetrator tried to cover up 5 days ago, it seems. BO mixed with old Speed Stick. At least they have beer. Miler Genuine Draft, Miller Lite, and Becks. OK, so let’s go with the Bloody Mary mix and some water. It is good.

Micheal Clayton is playing now, followed later by Elizabeth: the Golden Years, then Mr. Mag…Mang..Maoo’s Wonder Emporium. I should be asleep by then.

Well, maybe no movie. Have you ever seen a movie you didn’t watch? That’s what I did. The video had gone out about half=way through Michael Clayton, but the audio still ran (through headsets). I continued to listen just in case the video came back on and I didn’t want to lose the plot. But it never did and I listened through most of it before turning it off. No more movies. So I thought I’d sleep, but the lights wouldn’t go out. A long flight. Let’s see how Frankfurt is.

Terrible. The airport is huge with no ease of travel (escalators, walkways, etc), except for those going in the opposite direction of everyone else. So I hightail it the Information desk and find out where I need to go: Lufthansa transfer desk. To say Lufthansa’s service is horrible is an understatement. They had two clerks working; one stuck with a group of Russians, the other with a married couple. The latter took 20 minutes to sort out, then she abruptly went to lunch. The former took 40 minutes, then she went to lunch as her replacement arrived. The line grew so long that other travelers couldn’t get through to the other side. But Lufthansa didn’t care. They had another worker standing around and talking with the “gold” travelers and paid us no mind. Oh, well. Lufthansa is cooked in my book.

I’m stuck in the very last seat of the plane, a bit cramped but unique. I have an extra space to my right, where I put my computer so my legs can stretch out more. The dude next to me is Indian, lives in Latrobe, PA. He also likes his leather jacket, which he wore the entire flight—with a blanket covering it. I was a bit warm with just a long sleeve shirt. Holy crap, Bangalore must be hot.

We flew over the Caspian Sea, Turkey, N. Iraq (looks peaceful), Iran, Tehran, Pakistan, Karachi, Mumbai and into Bangalore. City looks like a city. They have electricity. Airport is a bit dirty, muggy, and must be hot during the day. Baggage claim is a zoo, and Indian “valets” insist they want to help you with bags. I brushed them aside, went through customs, and met Detgen outside (where she had been waiting for too long, in my opinion).

Her driver took us back to her place (they drive on the wrong side of the road over here!), which is a palace! Not literally, but 4 bedrooms, walk around deck, maid, sweeper, cook….sweet.

We should be able to hit the office party tonight.