Stuck in Atlanta

Webcam picture.  Better quality photos will come once I get my
other bag which contains my camera cord.

Hey Guys,

Well, I'm stuck in Atlanta, Georgia.  My flight here from Chicago was delayed last night, which caused me to miss my flight to Buenos Aires, so I've been in this airport for the past 14 hours or so.  As it turns out, the night wasn't too bad.  After being shuffled around by some janitors a few times, I found a relatively uninhabited niche where I was able to get a good 5 hours of shut-eye.

I've never lived in an airport before, but I think I could manage surviving here for quite a while if I had a change of socks.  I took a sink shower in the bathroom this morning, but I don't have any new socks to put on, which grosses me out more than I would have thought.

Anyway, there's plenty to do here.  Lots of people-watching and media.  I've watched more hours of CNN in the past 12 hours than I can recall watching in my whole life.  Some of that Tornado footage from Joplin really struck me last night--a lot of crying parents searching for their children.  Reminds me to appreciate my safety and the safety of my family.

I've also done a lot of reading, and I am steadily coming to the conclusion that Neal Stephenson must be some kind of genius.  I'm reading Snow Crash right now, and from the first chapter I knew that he and I must flow along similar brainwaves (not that I'm a genius or anything, he's able to formulate sentences in a way I only wish I could).  Pick it up this summer if you like playful fiction with a bit of sci-fi influence.  Otherwise, check out Cryptonomicon, especially if you're into math, computers and/or WWII history.

(Along that note, does anyone know if the book Anathem is any good?  It's at the bookstore here, and I'm contemplating a purchase.  It's a daunting 1000 or so pages though, so I'd like a reliable recommendation before I dive into that investment of time/money.)

Physically, I'm pretty sore from lying awkwardly all night and slouching all morning.  That's just something I'll have to accept as a symptom of my situation, I suppose.  Comfort and tranquility are not really in the cards.  I slept through a blaring TV last night which kept talking about Oprah, and this morning while I was trying to nap, a cute little 3-4 year old girl fell (or jumped, I'm not really sure) on my face.  For now, I've given up on the sleep issue and paid $7.00 for WiFi for the day.

I'm anxious to get to Argentina, but I'm not really looking forward to the plane ride, which I assume will be agonizing after such a long day of sitting around.  It'd be nice to get some exercise, but my back is starting to hurt from lugging my bags around while I wander the concourses, and I can't just leave them somewhere.  After all, we're dealing with a Code Orange here, and all unattended bags are subject to annihilation by the airport police.

Well, it's about time I head back to Dunkin Donuts for the second time this morning.  Won't be my last time, either.  Only 10 hours until my flight, I gotta make sure I'm close to the gate so I don't miss it. More when/if I make it to Buenos Aires!



"Until a man is twenty-five, he still thinks, every so often, that under the right circumstances he could be the baddest motherfucker in the world. If I moved to a martial-arts monastery in China and studied real hard for ten years. If my family was wiped out by Colombian drug dealers and I swore myself to revenge. If I got a fatal disease, had one year to live, and devoted it to wiping out street crime. If I just dropped out and devoted my life to being bad." 

 -Neal Stephenson