CTHB

The flight home was LAX to Newark and the Newark to Ottawa. So, the weather will cooperate, of course.

Of course.

The flight out of LA went without a hitch and if I had to complain about anything, it was that they showed Catwoman as the in-flight movie. It was distracting when I wanted to sleep. It's hard not to be distracted by Halle Berry slinking around as a cat. I imagine I might have enjoyed the film more than the people that actually listened to the sound.

Newark brought new challenges, perhaps best summed up this way: I was awakened from my impromptu bed on the floor near Gate 101A by the announcement that my flight had been canceled due to weather.

Seems that a major weather front had beeb rolling in through the Midwest and was set to hit the NY area by afternoon. I heard it stretched up into Canada, so it's hard to say if the cancelation was due to conditions in Ottawa, the high winds in Newark, or the lack of equipment--airline speak for "the airplane"--that may have originated from the Midwest and got snowed in.

Whatever the reason, I was screwed for a flight on Thursday, but I was confirmed on a flight for the following day, Christmas Eve, in the afternoon.

Not about to hunker down at the airport for 27 hours, I decided to head into the city. It would mean having to get a room, though.

The travel agent at my workplace really came through for me in a time of need and even scored me a great deal, considering it's Manhattan during the holidays.

I stayed at the Waldorf Astoria. It was pretty damned sweet.

I was so tired from the redeye travel and the Christmas shopping around Herald Square that the first thing I did when I checked in was to collapse on the bed. Various phone calls strung me along in a half-wakened stupor until 6 p.m., when I finally succumbed to exhaustion.

I slept till midnight, took a shower, and considered food since I hadn't eaten since the previous night's dinner.

But, I was distracted by The Last Samurai on HBO. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the film. It's a little gory at time, but I thought it was well done. Tom Cruise could stand to be a little less stiff, though.

After the movie, I finally dealt with food. Got some Nantucket Nectars Guava--wow, I miss these drinks-- and some pineapple at the deli on the corner, then decided to order room service.

I went all out and got myself some French Onion Soup and a 2.5 pound broiled lobster. Heaven! Ate it while overdosing on my fourth Law & Order for the day. In the end, it was a fantastic meal... and I think I watched a total of five Law & Orders.

Slept again, trying to return some normalcy to my sleep schedule, and wrote some postcards and letters before heading out for some picture-taking, shopping, and the commute back to the airport.

I'm about to leave New York again, for the first time since I moved away from this area fifteen months ago. I have no hair goo. I had to buy a scarf and gloves because mine are in baggage and who knows where that is now. I'm wearing an obnoxiously Canadian hat.

But, at least, this time I learned how to make french fries.