Darth Marsden
05-16-2007, 07:46 PM
Because Darth Marsden's Diary is too obvious.
Monday, May 7th
18:45
Is this a dagger I see before me? No, it's a Notebook. Or to be precise, a 'Pukka Pad', as I shall never refer to it again. I picked the book up while grabbing this week's supply of Coke, and hopefully I'm going to use it to keep a record of what I do on my impending visit to the good ol' United States. If I forget to do so... well, then I'm beyond hope.
18:51
I'm switching to a different pen. See, when I picked up my Notebook, I also grabbed some gel pens to use, but unfortunately the plastic grip that's on them is absolutely useless (not to mention painful) and the only replacement I can find throughout the house is blue, so instead of using one of the black pens as I was planning, I'm going to be using the blue one instead. Ce la vie, or something.
19:02
Well, dammit. This is the sole rubber grip within these four walls and the damn things too big for the pen, which means it keeps sliding up and down the pen. This is going to be a real pain.
And yes, this is the sort of thing I worry about.
19:07
Sod it, I'm using my trusty fountain pen. £1 from Tesco and it's yet to let me down. Better yet, it uses Black ink cartridges, so I can go back to the original color I started this diary in. Fountain pens for teh win! Now if I can just remember to bring enough spare cartridges...
19:40
At my Dad's insistence, I finished packing. I was gonna get round to it, honest! Shirts, socks, undies (ooh la la), PJs and some of John Gardner's Bond books. Isn't my life exciting. I'm also going to borrow my mother's MP3 player, since I don't actually have one of my own. I just wish the thing weren't bright Pink...
19:45
Hmm... should I take my Contact Lenses with me or not? Well, let's think about it. Its 5 minutes, if that, each morning, but it does mean that I can actually wear one of my many pairs of sunglasses. ...yeah, I'll bring 'em along. I won't bother wearing them tomorrow - I'll be too tired, since I'm not gonna sleep tonight - but I'll put them in my suitcase ready for Wednesday and onward. Hope the folks at customs don't think the solution is poison or anything.
20:44
By popular demand, I've posted my latest South Park rip-off on AGN. Well, I say 'popular demand', but I actually just wanted more then two people to post in the thread. Wonder if anybody actually realized that? Eh, whatever. Hope people enjoy it, the original is one of my favorite episodes of South Park.
Tuesday, May 8th
00:24
Happy May the 8th! Ok, I've loaded up my Mum's MP3 player with the sort of music I like to listen to (selected tracks from the soundtracks of Half-Life, Opposing Force, Quake II and Streets of Rage II - yeah, I know, I'm weird) and now I'm just popping the last few things into my suitcase, 'cause I know I've forgotten a bunch of stuff. I'm planning to grab a shower at around 04:30 which should 'wake me up', but that still leaves me with around 4 hours to kill. I think I'll watch a film - question is, which one?
Also, before I forget - Heroes. Why can't you be on 52 weeks a year? Best. Show. Ever. (It was on earlier, which would have been Monday night , and we're up to episode 13. More please!)
02:01
Wrongfully Accused is a wonderfully funny film. Why don't they make films like this anymore? All we get these days are toilet humor and the latest Waylan brother's crapfest. Bring back ZAZ-style comedy! (That's Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zucker,_Abrahams_and_Zucker), for the less comically inclined)
02:05
Hey, this Notebook has a bit of fabric attached to it I can use as a bookmark! Sweet!
03:03
As is usual with me, before I can play a game, I have to replay all its sequels in order before I can get to the actual game I want to play. It's the same with Half-Life 2 - I can't play it, or it's add-on Episode I, until I've played through the original and its add-ons. Trouble is, I finished the three (HL, OpForce and BS), so why aren't I playing the proper sequel yet? Because I've got to go through all the unofficial add-ons as well - mods that place you as even more people making their way through Black Mesa (which is WAY bigger then even the Administrator must have imagined). So far I've seen the disaster through the eyes of Gordon Freeman (HL), Adrian Shepard (OpForce), Barney Calhoun (BS), 'Just Barney' (Azure Sheep (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/azure-sheep-single-player-half-life-mod/)), Bob Dewey (Case Closed (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/case-closed-single-player-half-life-mod/)) and I'm currently living through Bryan Anderson's (Cleaner's Adventures (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/cleaners-adventures-single-player-half-life-mod/)) worst day ever, as well as having plenty more to go through.
Now since I use a PC that's not connected to the internet (I have an external hard drive that's switched between the two so often I've lost count of how many times I've done it), I don't use Steam, and therefore have had to use the old 'WON' version of Half-Life - the ones that were released on CD before Steam came along. For years this has worked absolutely fine, but for some reason Ive noticed that HL has been having problems with certain mods - USS Darkstar (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/uss-darkstar-single-player-half-life-map/), They Hunger (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/they-hunger-complete-series-half-life/), etc. At first I thought it was the custom models I've downloaded from the HIT Forums (http://www.hl-improvement.com/forums/index.php?board=3.0) or just thrown together myself, but even after moving them from the appropriate folders they still crashed HL. The final straw came when I couldn't even run ETC II (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/etc-2-half-life/), a damned fine mod that I hadn't played in years - literally.
And so, irritated beyond belief that everything I'd tried - Re-installing, patching to various levels, yelling at the PC - had come to nothing, I decided to look on teh interwebs and find a version of Half-Life that would run. I should probably mention to anyone reading this that I do legally own versions of Half-Life, Opposing Force, Blue Shift and Half-Life 2. But that's by the by.
Searching a torrent site I frequent because of the large amount of Doctor Who stuff they have, I happened upon exactly what I was after. Basically it was the version of Half-Life they sell over Steam, only it was cracked so that it didn't use Steam at all and could be run stand-alone. Just what I wanted. So I downloaded it, transferred it over to my PC, installed it and gave it a whirl, and lo and behold, it ran perfectly. Even better, it came with the music as MP3s, so I didn't even need to put the CD in to hear the tracks - they played automatically.
The only trouble I've found is with the numerous mods I've acquired for Half-Life. Most of them run absolutely fine straight off the bat, but hardly any of them have any menu splash screens. They did so in the old WON version of Half-Life, but not in the Steamed version. And so, for the past couple of nights (since my sleeping pattern has been so messed up) I've amused myself by creating custom splash screens. They're not particularly advanced - just a few models posed in Half-Life Model Viewer (http://chumbalum.swissquake.ch/hlmv/index.html), which I print-screen and paste in Paint Shop Pro, ready to be tweaked and edited onto a suitable background. They're not much, but they're better then that frankly irritating picture of Mr Freeman and that sodding shotgun...
03:18
Well, great. I've been writing so much that now my finger hurts. Bah.
05:16
Down Periscope - fun film. Pretty much just Fraiser at Sea, but there's nothing wrong with that. Anyway. Dad said we had to leave at 5:15, without fail, so we'll be leaving in about 10 minutes, when the ladies are finally ready to go.
05:32
Finally leaving, which means I'm going to be stuck in an enclosed space with the people who spawned me (I wasn't born, I was spawned by the darkest depths of hell and forced into this world through the people I know to be parents, and upon my death I shall return to the darkness below to rule forevermore) and a singing nun of a sister who's even madder than me and WILL. NOT. SHUT. UP. MP3 time!
05:35
Man, writing in a moving vehicle is a lot more difficult then I remember.
06:30
So... hungry... and tired, but not as much as I am hungry. Wish I'd brought my GBA, I could do with some Golden Sun right about now.
06:57
Currently standing around, waiting for someone to pick our car up because we didn't call ahead and confirm out booking. Thanks, Dad - it's bloody freezing and I don't have a coat because 'I won't need one in America'. Bah!
07:10
Dad saw me writing my last entry (he didn't actually see what I wrote, thankfully!) and told me to keep an eye on my fountain pen. Apparently they can leak due to the change in air pressure, so if, in two and a half hours, which is when I expect our plane to actually take off, I start using a different pen, now you know why.
07:15
Fare thee well, luggage. I trust that the staff here shall treat you well. Rest assured, if they do not, or if any of my valuables are damaged along the trip, there shall be crimson red for the cleaners to mop. :D
07:37
We've had to stop at one of the four WHSmith stores. Four? Seriously? Are people that lazy? Anyway, Mum wants her precious puzzle magazines. I mean, really, what's the point? She never does half of them anyway. Honestly...
07:50
Feed me, Seymour! Or Dad. Anyone! Feed me! Seriously, I'm so hungry I could even eat something from McDonalds. That's how freakin' desperate I am. McDonalds. <Shudder>
07:57
Having failed to find anything more commercial then a Garfunkels, we've decided to head for one of the many (!) Starbucks. I loath places like Starbucks, simply because they don't have anything simple. All I wanted was a Coca Cola and a plain cheese sandwich or something, but no. Nothing doing. After much deliberation, I ended up getting a singular croissant and a packet of crisps, no drink. £2. £2! And I'm STILL hungry! Gah!
08:22
We're finally boarding the plane. Now to sit back and wait as absolutely nothing happens for half an hour. Story of my life. <Whistles>
08:43
It's not just my sister who's singing anymore... now the whole freakin' family's doing it! Augh! Make the hurting stop!
09:20
Movement! Oh no, wait - we're just moving backwards a bit. Joy of joys. Oh, and what's this now? The obligatory safety video, which is as rubbish as always. This SO needs a RiffTrax (http://www.rifftrax.com/).
09:35
...and we're finally off. Woo.
09:52
I was originally hoping to grab a bit of sleep on the plane ride over to the States so I'd have enough energy to survive our first day in New York. So much for that. The plane's bouncing around more then a cheerleader's rack, which is, in itself, a difficult mental image to sleep through. Hmm.
10:07
Food! It was rubbish, but since I don't tend to eat most of the stuff they give us, the rest of my family kindly gave me their lesser items - rolls, mini Crunchie bars, etc. Added all together, what I did eat was pretty filling.
12:42
Upon finishing lunch I had a browse through the stuff available on the TVs installed in the back of the chairs and found that their music selection was absolute crap. Instead, I decided to watch Lethal Weapon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethal_weapon), which I'd never actually seen., Not a bad film, but it wasn't what I expected, though truth be told, I didn't actually know what I was expecting. I'm about to watch Children of Men, which I also wanted to see, and since we've 3 3/4 hours until we land, I think I've enough time to squeeze it in.
14:38
I very rarely cry. I'm not saying that to be macho, it's just how I work. I didn't cry when our first cat was run over. I didn't cry at that scene from Bambi. Hell, I didn't even cry when either of my grandparents died.
Children of Men (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Men) made me openly weep.
It's easily one of the best films I've ever seen, even though I'll probably never watch it again. The performances were simply amazing, the single-shot takes were utterly impressive, the story was heart-wrenching, it was just... moving, on so many levels. I can easily see why so many people have raved about this film - it easily deserves every accolade given to it.
14:47
Ok, two tissues later (bless you) and I think I'm ready to face the cameras. Man, I've never cried so much at anything. Pansy that I am.
16:06
Managed to waste an hour or so listening to my music (seriously, the plane's selection of stuff it terrible) and trying to remember which level it came from. Ah, the memories of an erstwhile gamer.
I've decided not to adjust to American time in my diary just yet, even though we're flying right over the place as I write. Here's what I will do: When we land, I'll adjust my watch so that I can get a vague idea of what the time actually is over here today. As for the diary, I'm going to continue to use the 24 hour clock until tomorrow, at which point I'll start using American time here. That means that today will go on until 29:00, though I probably won't be awake that late.
...look, it makes sense to me, Ok?
16:14
Dammit, the airline staff are recollecting the headsets they gave out at the beginning of the flight! Damn them all to hell! They were comfy, they were. Bah!
16:33
...and we've finally landed at JFK Airport. Dear lord, it's bright out there. Good thing I decided to bring my shades with me. Bad think I can't wear them unless I put my contacts in.
17:00
We're still waiting to get through customs. Me and my crew (well, family) are from England, so we're pretty good at that terribly alien concept called 'waiting in line', but even so, I gather we're going to be in for a long wait.
17:30
Alright! Finally through customs and we've grabbed our luggage. Now all we have to do is wait for the taxi-cab to take us to our hotel. I've no idea how long this will take, but I'm going to estimate at about an hour. SInce we appear to have a bit of time, and it appears to be really, REALLY bright out there, I've retrieved my contact lenses from the side pocket of my suitcase and popped them in. Huzzah! I can now wear my shades!
17:35
The taxi-cab is finally here and our luggage is not so much loaded as chucked into the trunk. I do not have high hopes for the rest of the drive, particularly after the driver had a right go at one of the other passengers for not being 100% clear on something. And now we've driven straight into bad traffic. Perfect.
18:10
We've just driven past the towers which, in Men In Black, were plot elements in that they were actually spaceships which the big bad alien tried to use to escape earth. Surprising how run down they look.
18:35
As per Mr Marsden's request, I'm writing down the number of our taxi-cab: it's Airlink Van #634. The man is driving like a lunatic - it's a wonder we haven't hit another car. Are all the taxi-cab drivers in the States like this?
18:42
When I die, I want it to be quick, unexpected and painless. I'd also like it to be when I'm 93. DO YOU HEAR ME, ME TAXI-CAB DRIVER?
19:20
We've finally made it to the Edison Hotel. Amazingly, we're still in one piece - how the hell did we survive that with all our parts intact? Of note: the bellhop who greeted us and took our bags was nicer in the 2 minutes we spent with him then the taxi-cab driver was during our entire 80-minute journey. I suspect my Dad will be having strong words with the taxi-cab's company, and I can't say I blame him either.
19:45
The room (for that is indeed all it is) is quite nice, for what it is. Two beds, a TV and a bathroom complete with those little soaps everyone else steals and the individually wrapped plastic cups that nobody ever uses. Me and Dad will be sharing one of the beds (that's gonna be fun, considering my Dad snores loud enough to wake the dead) while Mum and my sister will share the other one.
On a more serious note - disaster! The solution for my contact lenses has leaked inside my suitcase! Probably should have kept it wrapped up. Fortunately the leaked liquid was absorbed by my PJs and a pair of Jeans, which means that my camera and other stuff remain safely dry. The drenched trousers are currently hanging from the shower curtain rail - hopefully the PJs will be dry in time for tonight's snore-fest.
20:00
After leaving the hotel room, we decided (and of course by 'we' I meant 'the others', because I honestly don't care what we do, so long as I don't get dragged round clothes shops all the time) to go for a wander around Times Square, which is about a 45 second walk from our hotel. As we went a wandering, I was drawn into one of the stores by a Family Guy themed set of Uno (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uno_%28game%29#Special_packs), and after browsing through the store, I found and purchased a pair of blue sunglasses. I have been looking for the perfect pair of blue sunglasses for months now - I have black and yellow sunglasses, but I have simply been unable to find that perfect pair of blue sunglasses that's juuuuust right. And here they are, first thing into my holiday. What are the freakin' odds?
Next up, since we were all famished, was a trip to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubba_gump_shrimp_co), where we ordered far too much (even though there is no such thing in the US) and I rediscovered the wonder that is American Root Beer, along with the genius concept that is 'free refills on soda'. We seriously need both in English restaurants. Seriously.
Feeling full and overweight (I suspect we shall feel this all to often over the next few days) we wandered further up the street and discovered Midtown Comics, which sold fresh fruit and chocolate. Sarcasm, ladies and gentlemen! My Dad is pretty interested in comics, though where he gets the time to read them I've no idea, and it's an interest I've inherited. After perusing the store for a while, I left empty handed. My father did not. Need I say more?
22:45
After the comic store we just sort of ambled around the area for a while. At my request we went into the Virgin megastore so I could see if the new Linkin Park album was out (no such luck - 13/05/2007, the day after we come back). Once inside, we saw the first of what I'm sure will be the first of many in-store displays that the family will want to take pictures off - a giant Spider-Man statue hanging from the roof. His digital camera satisfied, my Dad lead us all back out to continue out aimless mooching through New York.
23:30
Back in the hotel after more wandering. As I predicted, my sister insisted upon taking photos of everything, so we had to keep stopping for a minute or so, which got old very quickly. Having played with the TV for a bit, we're all going to grab some sleep so we can get up early and continue out escapades. Considering I've been up for 30-odd hours, this sounds like a wondrous idea.
Night all.
Monday, May 7th
18:45
Is this a dagger I see before me? No, it's a Notebook. Or to be precise, a 'Pukka Pad', as I shall never refer to it again. I picked the book up while grabbing this week's supply of Coke, and hopefully I'm going to use it to keep a record of what I do on my impending visit to the good ol' United States. If I forget to do so... well, then I'm beyond hope.
18:51
I'm switching to a different pen. See, when I picked up my Notebook, I also grabbed some gel pens to use, but unfortunately the plastic grip that's on them is absolutely useless (not to mention painful) and the only replacement I can find throughout the house is blue, so instead of using one of the black pens as I was planning, I'm going to be using the blue one instead. Ce la vie, or something.
19:02
Well, dammit. This is the sole rubber grip within these four walls and the damn things too big for the pen, which means it keeps sliding up and down the pen. This is going to be a real pain.
And yes, this is the sort of thing I worry about.
19:07
Sod it, I'm using my trusty fountain pen. £1 from Tesco and it's yet to let me down. Better yet, it uses Black ink cartridges, so I can go back to the original color I started this diary in. Fountain pens for teh win! Now if I can just remember to bring enough spare cartridges...
19:40
At my Dad's insistence, I finished packing. I was gonna get round to it, honest! Shirts, socks, undies (ooh la la), PJs and some of John Gardner's Bond books. Isn't my life exciting. I'm also going to borrow my mother's MP3 player, since I don't actually have one of my own. I just wish the thing weren't bright Pink...
19:45
Hmm... should I take my Contact Lenses with me or not? Well, let's think about it. Its 5 minutes, if that, each morning, but it does mean that I can actually wear one of my many pairs of sunglasses. ...yeah, I'll bring 'em along. I won't bother wearing them tomorrow - I'll be too tired, since I'm not gonna sleep tonight - but I'll put them in my suitcase ready for Wednesday and onward. Hope the folks at customs don't think the solution is poison or anything.
20:44
By popular demand, I've posted my latest South Park rip-off on AGN. Well, I say 'popular demand', but I actually just wanted more then two people to post in the thread. Wonder if anybody actually realized that? Eh, whatever. Hope people enjoy it, the original is one of my favorite episodes of South Park.
Tuesday, May 8th
00:24
Happy May the 8th! Ok, I've loaded up my Mum's MP3 player with the sort of music I like to listen to (selected tracks from the soundtracks of Half-Life, Opposing Force, Quake II and Streets of Rage II - yeah, I know, I'm weird) and now I'm just popping the last few things into my suitcase, 'cause I know I've forgotten a bunch of stuff. I'm planning to grab a shower at around 04:30 which should 'wake me up', but that still leaves me with around 4 hours to kill. I think I'll watch a film - question is, which one?
Also, before I forget - Heroes. Why can't you be on 52 weeks a year? Best. Show. Ever. (It was on earlier, which would have been Monday night , and we're up to episode 13. More please!)
02:01
Wrongfully Accused is a wonderfully funny film. Why don't they make films like this anymore? All we get these days are toilet humor and the latest Waylan brother's crapfest. Bring back ZAZ-style comedy! (That's Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zucker,_Abrahams_and_Zucker), for the less comically inclined)
02:05
Hey, this Notebook has a bit of fabric attached to it I can use as a bookmark! Sweet!
03:03
As is usual with me, before I can play a game, I have to replay all its sequels in order before I can get to the actual game I want to play. It's the same with Half-Life 2 - I can't play it, or it's add-on Episode I, until I've played through the original and its add-ons. Trouble is, I finished the three (HL, OpForce and BS), so why aren't I playing the proper sequel yet? Because I've got to go through all the unofficial add-ons as well - mods that place you as even more people making their way through Black Mesa (which is WAY bigger then even the Administrator must have imagined). So far I've seen the disaster through the eyes of Gordon Freeman (HL), Adrian Shepard (OpForce), Barney Calhoun (BS), 'Just Barney' (Azure Sheep (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/azure-sheep-single-player-half-life-mod/)), Bob Dewey (Case Closed (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/case-closed-single-player-half-life-mod/)) and I'm currently living through Bryan Anderson's (Cleaner's Adventures (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/cleaners-adventures-single-player-half-life-mod/)) worst day ever, as well as having plenty more to go through.
Now since I use a PC that's not connected to the internet (I have an external hard drive that's switched between the two so often I've lost count of how many times I've done it), I don't use Steam, and therefore have had to use the old 'WON' version of Half-Life - the ones that were released on CD before Steam came along. For years this has worked absolutely fine, but for some reason Ive noticed that HL has been having problems with certain mods - USS Darkstar (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/uss-darkstar-single-player-half-life-map/), They Hunger (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/they-hunger-complete-series-half-life/), etc. At first I thought it was the custom models I've downloaded from the HIT Forums (http://www.hl-improvement.com/forums/index.php?board=3.0) or just thrown together myself, but even after moving them from the appropriate folders they still crashed HL. The final straw came when I couldn't even run ETC II (http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/etc-2-half-life/), a damned fine mod that I hadn't played in years - literally.
And so, irritated beyond belief that everything I'd tried - Re-installing, patching to various levels, yelling at the PC - had come to nothing, I decided to look on teh interwebs and find a version of Half-Life that would run. I should probably mention to anyone reading this that I do legally own versions of Half-Life, Opposing Force, Blue Shift and Half-Life 2. But that's by the by.
Searching a torrent site I frequent because of the large amount of Doctor Who stuff they have, I happened upon exactly what I was after. Basically it was the version of Half-Life they sell over Steam, only it was cracked so that it didn't use Steam at all and could be run stand-alone. Just what I wanted. So I downloaded it, transferred it over to my PC, installed it and gave it a whirl, and lo and behold, it ran perfectly. Even better, it came with the music as MP3s, so I didn't even need to put the CD in to hear the tracks - they played automatically.
The only trouble I've found is with the numerous mods I've acquired for Half-Life. Most of them run absolutely fine straight off the bat, but hardly any of them have any menu splash screens. They did so in the old WON version of Half-Life, but not in the Steamed version. And so, for the past couple of nights (since my sleeping pattern has been so messed up) I've amused myself by creating custom splash screens. They're not particularly advanced - just a few models posed in Half-Life Model Viewer (http://chumbalum.swissquake.ch/hlmv/index.html), which I print-screen and paste in Paint Shop Pro, ready to be tweaked and edited onto a suitable background. They're not much, but they're better then that frankly irritating picture of Mr Freeman and that sodding shotgun...
03:18
Well, great. I've been writing so much that now my finger hurts. Bah.
05:16
Down Periscope - fun film. Pretty much just Fraiser at Sea, but there's nothing wrong with that. Anyway. Dad said we had to leave at 5:15, without fail, so we'll be leaving in about 10 minutes, when the ladies are finally ready to go.
05:32
Finally leaving, which means I'm going to be stuck in an enclosed space with the people who spawned me (I wasn't born, I was spawned by the darkest depths of hell and forced into this world through the people I know to be parents, and upon my death I shall return to the darkness below to rule forevermore) and a singing nun of a sister who's even madder than me and WILL. NOT. SHUT. UP. MP3 time!
05:35
Man, writing in a moving vehicle is a lot more difficult then I remember.
06:30
So... hungry... and tired, but not as much as I am hungry. Wish I'd brought my GBA, I could do with some Golden Sun right about now.
06:57
Currently standing around, waiting for someone to pick our car up because we didn't call ahead and confirm out booking. Thanks, Dad - it's bloody freezing and I don't have a coat because 'I won't need one in America'. Bah!
07:10
Dad saw me writing my last entry (he didn't actually see what I wrote, thankfully!) and told me to keep an eye on my fountain pen. Apparently they can leak due to the change in air pressure, so if, in two and a half hours, which is when I expect our plane to actually take off, I start using a different pen, now you know why.
07:15
Fare thee well, luggage. I trust that the staff here shall treat you well. Rest assured, if they do not, or if any of my valuables are damaged along the trip, there shall be crimson red for the cleaners to mop. :D
07:37
We've had to stop at one of the four WHSmith stores. Four? Seriously? Are people that lazy? Anyway, Mum wants her precious puzzle magazines. I mean, really, what's the point? She never does half of them anyway. Honestly...
07:50
Feed me, Seymour! Or Dad. Anyone! Feed me! Seriously, I'm so hungry I could even eat something from McDonalds. That's how freakin' desperate I am. McDonalds. <Shudder>
07:57
Having failed to find anything more commercial then a Garfunkels, we've decided to head for one of the many (!) Starbucks. I loath places like Starbucks, simply because they don't have anything simple. All I wanted was a Coca Cola and a plain cheese sandwich or something, but no. Nothing doing. After much deliberation, I ended up getting a singular croissant and a packet of crisps, no drink. £2. £2! And I'm STILL hungry! Gah!
08:22
We're finally boarding the plane. Now to sit back and wait as absolutely nothing happens for half an hour. Story of my life. <Whistles>
08:43
It's not just my sister who's singing anymore... now the whole freakin' family's doing it! Augh! Make the hurting stop!
09:20
Movement! Oh no, wait - we're just moving backwards a bit. Joy of joys. Oh, and what's this now? The obligatory safety video, which is as rubbish as always. This SO needs a RiffTrax (http://www.rifftrax.com/).
09:35
...and we're finally off. Woo.
09:52
I was originally hoping to grab a bit of sleep on the plane ride over to the States so I'd have enough energy to survive our first day in New York. So much for that. The plane's bouncing around more then a cheerleader's rack, which is, in itself, a difficult mental image to sleep through. Hmm.
10:07
Food! It was rubbish, but since I don't tend to eat most of the stuff they give us, the rest of my family kindly gave me their lesser items - rolls, mini Crunchie bars, etc. Added all together, what I did eat was pretty filling.
12:42
Upon finishing lunch I had a browse through the stuff available on the TVs installed in the back of the chairs and found that their music selection was absolute crap. Instead, I decided to watch Lethal Weapon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethal_weapon), which I'd never actually seen., Not a bad film, but it wasn't what I expected, though truth be told, I didn't actually know what I was expecting. I'm about to watch Children of Men, which I also wanted to see, and since we've 3 3/4 hours until we land, I think I've enough time to squeeze it in.
14:38
I very rarely cry. I'm not saying that to be macho, it's just how I work. I didn't cry when our first cat was run over. I didn't cry at that scene from Bambi. Hell, I didn't even cry when either of my grandparents died.
Children of Men (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Men) made me openly weep.
It's easily one of the best films I've ever seen, even though I'll probably never watch it again. The performances were simply amazing, the single-shot takes were utterly impressive, the story was heart-wrenching, it was just... moving, on so many levels. I can easily see why so many people have raved about this film - it easily deserves every accolade given to it.
14:47
Ok, two tissues later (bless you) and I think I'm ready to face the cameras. Man, I've never cried so much at anything. Pansy that I am.
16:06
Managed to waste an hour or so listening to my music (seriously, the plane's selection of stuff it terrible) and trying to remember which level it came from. Ah, the memories of an erstwhile gamer.
I've decided not to adjust to American time in my diary just yet, even though we're flying right over the place as I write. Here's what I will do: When we land, I'll adjust my watch so that I can get a vague idea of what the time actually is over here today. As for the diary, I'm going to continue to use the 24 hour clock until tomorrow, at which point I'll start using American time here. That means that today will go on until 29:00, though I probably won't be awake that late.
...look, it makes sense to me, Ok?
16:14
Dammit, the airline staff are recollecting the headsets they gave out at the beginning of the flight! Damn them all to hell! They were comfy, they were. Bah!
16:33
...and we've finally landed at JFK Airport. Dear lord, it's bright out there. Good thing I decided to bring my shades with me. Bad think I can't wear them unless I put my contacts in.
17:00
We're still waiting to get through customs. Me and my crew (well, family) are from England, so we're pretty good at that terribly alien concept called 'waiting in line', but even so, I gather we're going to be in for a long wait.
17:30
Alright! Finally through customs and we've grabbed our luggage. Now all we have to do is wait for the taxi-cab to take us to our hotel. I've no idea how long this will take, but I'm going to estimate at about an hour. SInce we appear to have a bit of time, and it appears to be really, REALLY bright out there, I've retrieved my contact lenses from the side pocket of my suitcase and popped them in. Huzzah! I can now wear my shades!
17:35
The taxi-cab is finally here and our luggage is not so much loaded as chucked into the trunk. I do not have high hopes for the rest of the drive, particularly after the driver had a right go at one of the other passengers for not being 100% clear on something. And now we've driven straight into bad traffic. Perfect.
18:10
We've just driven past the towers which, in Men In Black, were plot elements in that they were actually spaceships which the big bad alien tried to use to escape earth. Surprising how run down they look.
18:35
As per Mr Marsden's request, I'm writing down the number of our taxi-cab: it's Airlink Van #634. The man is driving like a lunatic - it's a wonder we haven't hit another car. Are all the taxi-cab drivers in the States like this?
18:42
When I die, I want it to be quick, unexpected and painless. I'd also like it to be when I'm 93. DO YOU HEAR ME, ME TAXI-CAB DRIVER?
19:20
We've finally made it to the Edison Hotel. Amazingly, we're still in one piece - how the hell did we survive that with all our parts intact? Of note: the bellhop who greeted us and took our bags was nicer in the 2 minutes we spent with him then the taxi-cab driver was during our entire 80-minute journey. I suspect my Dad will be having strong words with the taxi-cab's company, and I can't say I blame him either.
19:45
The room (for that is indeed all it is) is quite nice, for what it is. Two beds, a TV and a bathroom complete with those little soaps everyone else steals and the individually wrapped plastic cups that nobody ever uses. Me and Dad will be sharing one of the beds (that's gonna be fun, considering my Dad snores loud enough to wake the dead) while Mum and my sister will share the other one.
On a more serious note - disaster! The solution for my contact lenses has leaked inside my suitcase! Probably should have kept it wrapped up. Fortunately the leaked liquid was absorbed by my PJs and a pair of Jeans, which means that my camera and other stuff remain safely dry. The drenched trousers are currently hanging from the shower curtain rail - hopefully the PJs will be dry in time for tonight's snore-fest.
20:00
After leaving the hotel room, we decided (and of course by 'we' I meant 'the others', because I honestly don't care what we do, so long as I don't get dragged round clothes shops all the time) to go for a wander around Times Square, which is about a 45 second walk from our hotel. As we went a wandering, I was drawn into one of the stores by a Family Guy themed set of Uno (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uno_%28game%29#Special_packs), and after browsing through the store, I found and purchased a pair of blue sunglasses. I have been looking for the perfect pair of blue sunglasses for months now - I have black and yellow sunglasses, but I have simply been unable to find that perfect pair of blue sunglasses that's juuuuust right. And here they are, first thing into my holiday. What are the freakin' odds?
Next up, since we were all famished, was a trip to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubba_gump_shrimp_co), where we ordered far too much (even though there is no such thing in the US) and I rediscovered the wonder that is American Root Beer, along with the genius concept that is 'free refills on soda'. We seriously need both in English restaurants. Seriously.
Feeling full and overweight (I suspect we shall feel this all to often over the next few days) we wandered further up the street and discovered Midtown Comics, which sold fresh fruit and chocolate. Sarcasm, ladies and gentlemen! My Dad is pretty interested in comics, though where he gets the time to read them I've no idea, and it's an interest I've inherited. After perusing the store for a while, I left empty handed. My father did not. Need I say more?
22:45
After the comic store we just sort of ambled around the area for a while. At my request we went into the Virgin megastore so I could see if the new Linkin Park album was out (no such luck - 13/05/2007, the day after we come back). Once inside, we saw the first of what I'm sure will be the first of many in-store displays that the family will want to take pictures off - a giant Spider-Man statue hanging from the roof. His digital camera satisfied, my Dad lead us all back out to continue out aimless mooching through New York.
23:30
Back in the hotel after more wandering. As I predicted, my sister insisted upon taking photos of everything, so we had to keep stopping for a minute or so, which got old very quickly. Having played with the TV for a bit, we're all going to grab some sleep so we can get up early and continue out escapades. Considering I've been up for 30-odd hours, this sounds like a wondrous idea.
Night all.