Neighborhoods

One of the best parts of New York City is the plethora of family-run or similar delis, restaurants, and boutiques. Each neighborhood is defined by its own set of ventures—and pretty much all of them have their benefits (except for maybe Times Square area. No mom and pop shops there.)

In my own neighborhood of the Upper West Side, one of my favorite spots is Celeste, where the constantly evolving cheese plate is to-die-for. The charismatic Roman owner explains his own fresh Italian dairy at the speed of lightning in his thick accent—on average I catch about an 1/8th of what he says and probably 1/10th of his jokes. But it doesn’t matter while I’m tasting anything that delicious.

Land, my favorite Thai place in the UWS, is trendy but welcoming. It’s a tiny spot that feels bigger once you’ve slid into your table because of all the mirrors and lighting. Wok basil with beef and their chicken curry puff appetizer are constant staples—but I’ve never had anything bad from here. Be careful – 3 Stars means you’re going to be crying from the spice!

This all comes to the forefront because of a recent visit to Cookeville, TN – land of commercial outposts and chain restaurants. My time in Tennessee was a fun Southern escape, but sometimes that’s just what you need to see how much you have right at your doorstep.

Just proving my point...

Just on a whim, I found this website. I didn't want to complain specifically about New York's horrible air traffic problems per se, but seriously people.

Taken directly from www.fly.faa.gov:

AIRPORT STATUS INFORMATIONprovided by the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center
George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport (IAH) Real-time Status
The status information provided on this site indicates general airport conditions; it is not flight-specific. Check with your airline to determine if your flight is affected.
Delays by Destination:
Due to WEATHER/TSTMS ENRTE, departure traffic destined to Newark International Airport, Newark, NJ (EWR) is currently experiencing delays averaging 3 hours and 10 minutes.

Due to WEATHER/TSTMS, departure traffic destined to John F Kennedy International Airport, New York, NY (JFK) is currently experiencing delays averaging 2 hours and 53 minutes.

Due to WEATHER/TSTMS, departure traffic destined to La Guardia Airport, New York, NY (LGA) is currently experiencing delays averaging 2 hours and 43 minutes.

Due to WEATHER/ENROUTE TSTMS, departure traffic destined to Chicago OHare International Airport, Chicago, IL (ORD) is currently experiencing delays averaging 1 hour and 35 minutes.

General Departure Delays: Traffic is experiencing gate hold and taxi delays lasting 15 minutes or less.
General Arrival Delays: Arrival traffic is experiencing airborne delays of 15 minutes or less.
This information was last updated: Jul 11, 2007 at 1:45 AM GMT+00:00

My reaction? New York needs to get it's act in gear!

Flight Problems

Who here has slept in an airport? Me! me! I'll admit, my "first time" was a result of poor planning... flying into Christ Church, New Zealand with no prior lodging bookings on the final afternoon of the Speights Coast to Coast triathalon.

However, my last opportunity to cuddle-up against an aging rough carpet and strips of chairs with stationary armrests was certainly not my own doing. As a keen airplane passenger, I always make sure to have at least 45 min. in between connecting flights at an absolute minimum. An hour and a half is perfect. When booking my most recent Las Vegas excursion (I keep talking about it, but I've really only been there twice in the past few months), I flew through Houston. Little did I know that my 1.5 hr layover would turn into a 7 hr overnight one, with no reimbursement or gifts from my airline!

Picture this: I board my flight 30 min. after the expected departure time, along with a schoolgroup of about 40 8th graders. Lucky me got to sit in front, behind, and next to them. Then we proceed to sit on the runway for 3.5 hours... without AC so that we can conserve fuel, avoiding a return to the gate. 3.5 hours in a plane with 40 eighth graders, people!

Eventually we do actually leave La Guardia, arriving in Houston at 12:15am, 3 hours after anticipated arrival, and well after any remaining departures from IAH. What's a girl gonna do when Continental Airlines informs me and about 15 others that because the problem was "Air Traffic Control" and not the airline, there will be no vouchers of any kind! Of course, she's going to find her next gate, rest her head on her purse, and try to drift in and out in a vacant airport terminal. I would have much rather been hitting the clubs in Sin City.

Check out what Wikipedia has to say about Air Traffic "Ground Control." It sucks, but what are you gonna do?