Scribblings from the Mitchy Side

There will be much baseball and Mitchy-type squee-ing in this entry. You've been warned *grins*

( Friday morning and the Uptown Tour )

( Friday Afternoon )

( The Big Game )

( Let's Go Mets! )

( Saturday morning, cancelling cards )

( Strands and food )

( Cruise and more food )

Back at the hotel, I had a shower and washed my hair, then packed everything, checking carefully that I had everything this time! For verily and forsooth, I had to be in the lobby for a 5.30am pick up by the Shuttle Service to the hotel. Gnnng!

I beat the alarm clock by an hour - 4am! gnngg! - due to the Vengeful Portobello Mushroom so I was dressed and ready to go smack on time. I huggled the Jenni, who was rather bleary, bless her. Next time we share a room, jenni411, I promise not to book an early morning flight!

The Shuttle Bus arrived on time and I was whisked to JFK, where I had to stand in the world's slowest check in queue. Dear gods, it was badly organised and badly planned that morning, which isn't like American Airlines at all. There was a gigantic queue for people with 8.30 flights and two check in people dealing with them TWO! Whereas the San Juan flight had 3 people serving them - there were complaints. Finally, I got checked in and then had to scamper from Terminal 9 to Terminal 8. Insane!! Why get people to check into Terminal 9 if the plane isn't going to go from there! Grr!!

I barely had time to change the dollars jenni411 had given me into sterling before it was time to get to the gate. I got there 15 minutes before boarding in the end. No time for breakfast either, which pleased me not at all, as it meant I'd have to eat *shudder* airline food *twitch*. We boarded on time but there was a half an hour delay on the runway after the captain casually informed us they were "just checking out the smell of burning from the galley". Way to reassure your passengers there, fly boy. Turns out someone spilt coffee on a hot plate or something. Gah!

I stayed awake long enough to eat some of the breakfast - actually, it wasn't that bad, I just don't like eating during a flight and try and avoid having anything but a snack. The smell of the food makes me nauseous, doesn't matter what food is being served or what it tastes like. *shrugs* Eh. Anyway, after breakfast, I got comfy and crashed out. Slept like a log and didn't wake up until we were an hour out from the UK. That's the way to fly :) We landed just shy of 9pm local time. Way to lose a whole day - remind me not to do that again and go for an overnight flight next time.

I had no problems at customs or baggage claim (both of which were pretty speedy) and I was soon lugging my gear down to the London Underground. There, I was NOT PLEASED to discover that my bus replacement service avoidance plan was buggered up by London Transport closing the Piccadilly line between Heathrow and Acton. Bastards! So I had to grit my teeth and get on a replacement bus. Oh well. From Acton it was painless enough and I was soon at King's Cross. I just missed the 10.44pm bus replacement train to WGC, which I did consider catching on the grounds that I'd already suffered one so why not another? But having missed it, I said "Sod it!" and caught the 11.05 to Stevenage. I was a bit worried I wouldn't have enough cash for the taxi back to WGC from Stevenage, having exactly £15 to my name but I was pretty sure I could get so close that walking the rest wouldn't be a problem, so I decided to risk it.

At Stevenage, I spoke to the cabbie before I got in, making it clear I had £15 and that was it. I told him I was close to the A1 and he agreed that I could just do it for £15, so in I hopped and was whisked home. I stopped him just short of the flats just as the meter ticked over to £15! Woo! He was very understanding about not getting a tip too, which was charitable of him.

Home at last! I fed the cat, who was doing his "Eeek! It's my mean, cruel owner who abandoned me! I must run away!!" act, which I ignored and he forgot about as soon as I put his gooshey food down. Heh. I got online and read LJ for a bit, caught up on mail, that kind of thing and finally crashed out about 2.30am. Happily, I'd taken the precaution of provisionally booking Monday off, so hopefully work wasn't surprised when I didn't show up.

And that was my trip to New York! I had a fantabulous time, I really did, and huge thanks go to Mary for providing a sofa for me to sleep on for 3 nights and being a terrific hostess. Extra huggles and thanks to jenni411, in an attempt to make her blush some more, for being a star, sharing the Mets experience with me, being a tourist in her home city and saving my life by staking me the cash I needed for the last day or so and the trip home.

All in all I can sum up the holiday with a YAY!!! *grins*

1. I'll respond with something random about you
2. I'll challenge you to try something
3. I'll pick a colour that I associate with you
4. I'll tell you something I like about you
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of
7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on yours

Yesterday went far to fast and I did very little beyond sleeping, nipping across to town to get some cash and buy supplies and updating the LJ with a full write up of the holiday.

Today was painful :P As I expected there was a gigantic pile of filing waiting for me at work, well over a 1000 pieces of paper all told, with the vast majority of it being VAT returns. End of year VAT returns, so practically every school sent one or more in. Gnnnng. What I wasn't expecting and what was the really nasty surprise was the paper mountain on my desk of financial returns. Bleh. Thought we were done with all those but apparently not. *sighs* So I spent all morning beating back that mountain, then all afternoon sorting out the filing. Haven't finished the filing yet, but the VAT stuff is all sorted into numerical order now so I can do the filing as and when tomorrow, in batches (0-99s, 100-199s etc) so that it doesn't seem like such a huge and horrible job.

This evening is all about the crash. There will be early night snoozing in the land of Mitchy, I think.