The Journeys of 2 Parts -- the second journey

So, right after I arrive in Chicago from Orlando, I was suppose to turn around in less than 24 hours to get to Singapore to visit family. Part one of the flight was suppose to leave from O'Hare at about noon. Boarding process went smoothly and we were all sitting down and getting comfortable but we just sort of sat there for a really long time. Finally, the pilot came on the PA to say that they were having problems with the climate control system -- one of them isn't working. So, we sat and we sat and we sat and finally, at about 3PM, the pilot said that there was going to be a plane change. At that time, I was pretty sure that I was going to miss my connecting flight in Narita, Japan. We finally boarded the other plane at 4PM to depart. The climate control system on this flight is working but the video wasn't working in half the seats. That's the problem with the Boeing 777 -- you get your private screen but if the screen is broken then you're SOL -- no video entertainment for the entire duration of your flight.

As I alluded to earlier, most of the traveller on the flight missed their connecting flight and so we were all put up in the ANA Airport Hotel which was nice. They fed us dinner and breakfast the next day and it was nice to be able to take a shower. Part 2 of the journey -- the flight to Singapore the next day departed at about 10:30AM. It was an ANA (All Nippong Air) flight it was nice! The entertainment system was fully self controlled and it even included games. The food served was better than what I was used to on some of the US airlines. Arrived in Singapore at about 6:00PM. Pretty eventless but it was kinda disappointment to lose a complete day due to airline delays.

The Journeys of 2 Parts -- the first journey

I've meant to write this for a while now but, of course, things get in the way. What do I mean by the journeys of two parts? Well, just look outside your window -- it is probably snowing. Honestly, I've about had it with the white stuff this year. The first journey of two parts was on 1/31/2008. I was coming home to Chicago from a week-long seminar in Orlando. Of course, it was snowing like crazy in Chicago and so I ended up waiting hours in Orlando International Airport without knowing if I was ever going to leave the ground in Orlando. I was tempted to purchase a ticket with Southwest Airline and fly to Midway instead of O'Hare but Southwest was giving the same information -- delayed flight and no information about whether the flight was ever going to leave the ground in Orlando. I decided to save the money and wait it out on United. No point wasting the money, in my opinion. Well, we did finally take off -- at 7PM as opposed to the 5PM scheduled time. Well, we landed and all was well -- or so I thought -- until I got to see the road conditions on the shuttle to pick up my car. Oh my, that was a long AND TIRING drive home from the airport -- what would normally have taken about 45 minutes at 8PM at night took over 2 hours to accomplished. Needless to say -- I was tired and wired when I got home.

Delusional

Ok! 2 words -- American Idol! It is now season 7 but there are still so many delusional people that audition to be the next American Idol. There are so many deaf Americans or maybe star struck or something -- OMG, have you heard yourself singing? That's not singing -- it's screaming! Some can't even hold a tune!!! And the number 1 excuse this year seems to be "But people stop when they hear me sing!" -- yeah, from shock, you moron! Reality check, people! Just becuase your family is being supportive does not mean that the rest of the world will be. Admittedly, a couple of people that auditioned did sing well but are not right for the show. For those people, I say keep singing and hopefully things will work out for you one day!

COLD!

I guess I really can't complain -- I did choose to live in Chicago -- but, can you really blame me? It is probably one of the coldest weekend in Chicago for a really, really long time. Woke up in the morning on 1/19/2008 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit temperature and it just got colder from there. I think the lowest temperature during the day was at about -6 degrees or something like that. I started the car in the morning and heard and un-godly sound coming from the engine. It was like the car was tell me, "Are you frigging out of your mind? It is so g*d da*n cold, you should just go back to bed and don't even bother to try and start me up! You crazy moron!"

Don't sprain anything . . .

I had to give myself a pat on the back -- while trying not to sprain anything in the process. My laptop bombed -- don't really know what it was but got the blue screen of death from Windows. So, I wiped the hard drive clean and attempted to reload Windows. Attempt failed. I thought maybe my disc was scratched or something so a friend provided me with an extra copy of Windows that he had (it is all legal! I am not a software pirate!). Anyway, I wiped the hard drive again and loaded the OS. Everything loaded fine and I was happy. Getting the latest Windows update, etc. and then . . . . . . it boomed again! So, I am thinking -- this cannot be a software problem. Did some research, asked around and determined that I maybe need a new hard drive. Was going to take the laptop to Best Buy or Microcenter and have them fix it for me but before I did that, I thought I would take a peek "under the hood" so to speak. Lots of unscrewing and careful manipulation later -- I figured, I could probably do it myself. I went to Circuit City to try to get a hard drive from them but they only had the REALLY big ones -- 160GB! Bear in mind, the current hard disk on my laptop only had 60GB and it is no where hear full. So I went to Microcenter to try to find a smaller one. Found a 80GB from Seagate that said Ultra ATA on it -- who knew that Ultra ATA is the same as IDE? Well, I know now. LOL! Got the hard drive home and read the packaging -- Recommend installation by the professional -- oh oh! Will I be able to do this myself? Maybe I should take it back to Microcenter. Oh well, let me give it a try -- doesn't really look that difficult! Besides, I've installed hard drives and even second hard drives on desktops before! Ok, deep breaths!!!!! Opened the case again, remove the WiFi card, remove the old hard drive, slip in the new one -- making sure to stay grounded and not pick up any static electricity. Put back the WiFi card, close the cover -- put only one screw back and power on the laptop. Deep Breaths!!!!! Viola! It worked. Recognized the hard drive, installed the OS, updated the patches, installed all the drives and I am back in business. I have to say that I am kinda impress with myself but I think that fear was the biggest obstacle in this whole process. One thing that I do have to say though -- no STATIC ELECTRICITY! You don't want to fry your components before you install them! Now, I am thinking of maybe replacing my DVD/CD RW drive with a DVD R/W drive. We'll see. LOL!

Christmas

Christmas has come and gone. What did I learn this year? That maybe Christmas has become too commercialized? I used to love Christmas -- maybe because I was younger. It was never about the gifts that we exchange but about the gathering of friends and loved ones. What's different now? I really can't tell. Last night's gathering was fun but no different than any other gatherings scattered throughout the year. Maybe the magical Christmas in Puerto Vallarta has ruined it all for me? Maybe it is my personal frame of mind? I really don't know. However, it is not really bugging me enough that I would spend hours contemplating the significance. We'll see what next year brings.

I love this clip . . .

This is a compilation of scenes from the television series Torchwood that has aired on BBC America. I don't know the full extend of the story but this scene is particularly tender and touching. Watching it always makes me a little weepy and makes me yearn for the one thing that is blatantly absent in my own life. This clip affirms that love can exist between two people of the same sex and it is not always about a sordid love affair! The name of the song is Ostacoli Del Cuore (Obstacles of the Heart) and is in Italian. Enjoy!