Because good music is just so hard to find

alright, my friend pointed out that i broke my promise, i did not post about chicago last time but that's why pencils have erasers! so far this trip has been a TRIP. big surprise, right? well here's the background story, i've flown plenty of times but never by myself, i've never taken a cab before, and i've never stayed in a hotel by myself or gone to a restaurant by myself. now i'm not saying these things intimidate me (in fact i'm excited to do these things on my own) but it's a lot to do on my first business related trip, especially when i'm surrounded by people who've done it many times. also when i'm trying to convince others that i DO in fact belong here and no i don't want the kids menu but uh...sorry, i don't know anything about world politics or anything that's in the newspapers for that matter. yeah i'll take a beer though. haha.
anyways, my flight was smooth. my mom dropped me off outside the airport and i got to the right gate and terminal and flight in plenty of time. that flight out of syracuse to jfk was only about an hour. i sat next to a funny guy who promised me his chocolate chip cookies if i guessed why the planes move out to sit on the runway (turns out it's because the pilots and flight attendants don't get paid till the doors close), but they only had chips and animal crackers. moral of the story - men will only break your heart. anyways, the flight was only an hour but it was delayed so i lost no time making it to my next flight. it was a good idea not to stop to go to the bathroom because they were boarding just as i made it to the other side of the airport. that flight was fine too, i actually fell asleep listening to "the pulse" channel on the satellite radio and so it seemed even shorter than the first flight. i didn't check any bags so i got straight off and thought about hailing a taxi. now you might be thinking, ok step one put your hand out, step two that's it. but the whole street in front of the airport was labeled "preordered taxis" or something like that, and i knew for sure that i did not preorder a taxi. just as i noticed a sign that said, "Anyone who asks if you need a ride shouldn't be giving you one.", a lady in a dodge caravan pulled up and said, "Hey hun, you need a ride?" well, you already know that i'm fine because i'm here typing this out, but that was probably not the best judgement call of the night. my fatigue and sickness and desire to be done traveling and in the warm king-sized bed waiting for me, combined with the fact that i'm never very intimidated by a 40-year-old soccer mom in a Dodge Caravan, won out against the small alarm going off that not only was she exactly the person that sign was warning me of, but her van was not labeled as a taxi in any way, nor did she know where the hotel was (i gave her the address to put it in her GPS). i'm 100% sure that any legit cab driver would have known how to get from the airport to my hotel 15 minutes away. but it was fine, i even got a receipt, and i checked into the hotel and fell asleep as fast as possible.

now that's a lot of text. i'm thinking of saving my stories from today for later. possibly later tonight, because i won't have anything to do. i'm feeling hungry and there's a restaurant downstairs, so i'm gonna eat soon (part of my motivation for saving my other stories). maybe i'll check out the gym. i could also be adventurous and get the free shuttle to take me to the nearby mall, i guess that's kinda a big thing, but eh.

two more things:
1. i had to leave my knife and lighter at home, obviously, and i don't use them very often but i do feel naked without them.
2. there's nothing that makes me feel at home, wherever i am, like a Top 40 radio station. "To my friends in New York I say hello, my friends in L.A. they don't know where I've been the past few years or so, Paris to China to Colorado..." what an appropriate song to be playing right now. "Please tell me what there is to complain about."