Yesterday (this is weird to say, because I feel like it was merely hours ago with the time change and few hours of sleep) I was packing for Spain and guess what? My external hard drive broke. I accidentally knocked it over (from upright to its side) and it started making a beeping noise. Thus, it died. So that was just a huge suck of a time trying to figure that out.
Therefore, I didn't bring it to Spain.
What this hard drive contained: ALL pictures since frosh year of college, ALL my spain footage, ALL my music, ALL my school assignments since frosh year of college, etc. etc. I think you get the idea.
Maybe it will be recovered. If so, that will be expensivo.
But, I left for Spain anyways, despite the death to the technology world.
So my dad booked my flight to Madrid and Alicante, and he used his miles/milage card so yeah, i was BUSINESS PLUS. I was walking through the airport, looking at the lowlifes around me, just thinking "I bet THEY don't get free coffee, free internet, free snacks and SPECIAL TREATMENT before the flight like I do!"
So I went to the Admiral's Lounge in O'Hare, which, to be honest, wasn't too special. I mean, they didn't even have bowls for you to take the chex mix in. Only cups and plates. Plates?! Seriously? They are the least portable of containers for chex mix! So I took a cup of it, which I ate as I would drink coffee, except with more staring by passersby who were wondering why there were pretzels hanging from my mouth after each sip. I am BUSINESS PLUS, people! I don't have time for your silly methods of eating with your hands!
The benefit of the lounge was I was able to print my USAC arrival update that I was supposed to have on me before getting to the airport. And printing was free! Again, BUSINESS PLUS people don't need to prepare ahead of time. They just do whatever, for free.
I had a near heart-attack on the flight to Madrid, thinking we were overcome by terrorists. Here's how it went down.
I was sitting in my seat reading after we got on the plane (we board first) and we were just hanging out by the gate for a while while the snow cleared a bit. Then I notice there is an alarm going off in the plane, quite loudly. It sounds like a door was forced open (or shut...or something BAD WAS HAPPENING!).
Anywho, I am just sitting, reading, and out of the corner of my eye, I see a man with baggy pants, a forest green fur-lined hooded coat RUN to the front of the plane (where we are). No credentials. Just running. Into the cockpit. Where he disappears, for about five minutes. Meanwhile, there was what sounded like an announcement, where they turn on the microphone then turn it off again, resulting in a static noise. I am sitting here, freaking out, like "This man just ran to takeover the cockpit. I will die. This is all."
But then I noticed that none of the flight attendants seemed to notice his sprint to the cockpit, and the other passengers had "this happens all the time" written on their faces. Finally, the guy emerged, holding a clipboard and wearing some kind of laminated tag around his neck. I didn't see this when he ran up there, but since he wasn't wearing any other uniform-type clothing, I was freaked.
The flight was super nice. When I was in Madrid Airport boarding the flight to Alicante, these two american guys started talking to me (which makes me wonder: how did they IMMEDIATELY know I was american? Was I that obvious? Did I just look that way because I was wearing ugly gym shoes?) and then amongst themselves about the flight they took from Chicago (I think we coincidentally were all on the same flight) and how it was long, uncomfortable, and crowded. While they talked, I had the following conversation in my head as I listened.
Guy: It was so crowded!
Me: You mean, there weren't empty seats in front of you and in your row like ME, BUSINESS PLUS WOMAN?!Guy: Yeah, and that movie "cloudy with a chance of meatballs" was terrible.
Me: You mean, you didn't have a choice from over 15 movies on demand, and TV shows as well? (Not that I chose well...I chose "Bandslam" only because I knew it would be terrible. Like, so bad I can't see it again. It tries too hard. It's just bad.)Guy: I tried to sleep, but it was really uncomfortable.
Me: You mean you couldn't just recline your seat fully? And you didn't have TONS of leg room in front of you? Had I known you before this flight, I could have invited you to the front with me, then you could have sat cross-legged on the floor between me and the seat in front of me, and we could have set up a TV tray to have tea on. THAT IS HOW MUCH ROOM THERE WAS.
But aside from all that luxury, I just enjoyed myself with the three-course dinner (chicken soup, salad, bread and olive oils; beef tenderloin with dried apricots and leeks in a mustard/beer sauce; and vanilla, mango and coconut ice cream.
And I felt out of place on this flight namely because I just felt uber american in a sea of Spaniards. I was wearing a hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, where the same-aged girl next to me had her long, blonde hair gorgeously done in picture-perfect loose waves, wearing a gold and navy silk scarf over a long jersey shirt and knee-length cardigan over dark leggings and black boots. Wow, way to dress to make me feel unstylish. Not that my hoodie/sneakers combo was meant to be a fashion statement. She was all "I'm a veteran to the business class" too, in the way that she magically whipped a TV screen out from under the seat. Literally.
I mean, I was about to give up on the TV thing and rank Iberia under British airlines, thinking how I could at least sleep with the recliner chair or read to pass the time. Then out comes seasoned traveller with her TV screen from nowhere, pressing away on the touch screen with ease. Once I figured out the TV situation, she once again one-upped me by finding the food tray with ease. I was looking for a LONG time for that thing. Who would have thought the arm rests were hinged to open up to a mini desk?! And finally, she watched her TV, headphones in place, with ease, as I struggled to plug my headphones into what I later realized was a screw-on plate to assemble the chair. Way to tell me the correct spot, flight attendant, and therefore make me struggle for a good five minutes while the spanish girl next to me watches her italian film with English subtitles, both languages I am sure she fluently understands.
But, I do have to say that I totally one-upped her in KNOWING HOW TO REWIND SOMETHING. I mean, I watched that band movie (about 90 minutes long) in 100 minutes or so, with pauses for the food and restroom. But since I could see her screen from my seat, I noticed she watched the same scene of the movie like 3 times. And I could read the subtitles, so it was obvious that it was playing over. This happened because she would rewind to go back a second, and end up going to the opening titles. This happened a lot. I watched the bandslam movie, I fell asleep, woke up, fell asleep, woke up, and had breakfast ALL in the time it took her to watch her one movie. Unless it was like, 5 hours long. Or maybe she just really liked the opening credits rolling on the screen over and over and just wanted to rewatch that. Or maybe it was because she was taking full advantage of the free wine and had like 5 on the flight.
Even the flight attendants didn't care about English, and therefore contributed to this all-Spanish-no-Americans flight theme. I mean, when we landed, they were all "bienvenido a espana, y esperemos que vuelan con Iberia en su proximo viaje." Then when they said it in English, it was like "welcome to spain, and we hope you flaba Iberia nextre." I just found it funny.
The BUSINESS PLUS lounge in Madrid was sweet too. If I were someone who liked liquor, I would have been in heaven: there was a fully stocked bar, just open for you to make whatever you wanted. There was an electronic coffee machine (you know I hit that up), sandwiches, juice, milk, fruit, yogurt, etc for free. It was great.
Then, in the madrid-alicante flight, the lady who scanned my ticket just kept it, so I wasn't sure what my seat was. I knew I was in the fifth row. So I told this to the lady at the entrance of the plane and I said I didn't know my exact seat, but I was in the fifth row. She said "row 6 is empty, so you can sit there." Then I remembered I had a window seat. Which only left one option, 5F (the other window was occupied). So I sat there, then when it came time for BUSINESS PLUS benefit time (snacks!) the two flight attendants (a spaniard version of George clooney and the woman I spoke with before) were whispering about me. I caught their eyes and probably made it really awkward for them. Here's what I imagine they said (but they said it in Spanish)
Girl: That girl came on the flight and didn't know her seat, but now she's sitting in the Business section. She probably didn't pay for business seating, but she is here, and I don't want to give her the snack because she is probably not deserving of it!
Guy: which one?
Girl: don't look now, but the one in 5F.
(I catch both of them whispering and staring at me)
Girl: GREAT. I told you not to look!
Guy:But she's sitting here, and she caught us. We have food for her, so we might as well.
Girl: But she's probably not business!
Guy: oh well! (to me) Hello, would you like a snack!?
And the snack was a little box of three mini sandwiches with various spreads. One: tuna salad. Another: cream cheese with a piece of basil. The third: what I imagine tomato-flavored toothpaste looks like...but it tasted like pizza.
