7 Days to a New Man
Departure Syracuse International Airport 7:15 AM
Suddenly I am having doubts around Midnight the night before I'm to leave. I'm trying to negotiate my way out of what I've spent in airfare as if it was even a possibility since I booked with United and they make it perfectly clear (at least) with flights people that spend the time to "dig" for a deal will ultimately have to pay if ANYTHING is changed. Is it legal...obviously....is it right...obviously not.
BUT....."business is business." Right? After all we are American's and that is not just the "dream" we learn about as infants and really, is in fact true even in today's world.
ANYWHO...
I get BOMBED. I'm talking 18 rack of BL....Buh-Bye by the time the taxi driver arrives.
THIS event started the cascading effect of my.......Journey...(sounds so fuckin' cheezie)
I'm packed..ready to go...Everything is laid out at the door for when I walk out of my house for the next two weeks. I didn't sleep but a couple of hours the night before because I'm so anal-retentive about making sure "I'm ready....." (Knowledge based reply.....ROFL)
I set up a chair outside to await the taxi. I've NEVER used a taxi. I do NOT like relying on someone else transporting me. My old best of friends KNOW that about me (lol fuck you guys for giving me that label I can't remember) (emoji /middle finger)
AS I'm setting up my luggage next to my chair the taxi pulls into my driveway. I'm HAMMERED and now don't want to piss off this guy that's....(Indian...I...um...think...)
BUT....I'm so drunk....and within moments of meeting he knows I'm "cool" to/with him by HOW I interact with him. By the end of the trip to Handcock: $50.00 for the taxi. I......think the bill was about $43.00(ish) and felt $50.00 was a good number to leave on.
I board the plane. It's beyond fucking simple. Hancock IS an International Airport but we're fucking forgettable in the "grand scheme" of airports.
(O'Hare....I loved the "experience" but you my love are a fucking nightmare....your redemption was room accommodations at the.(can't remember) and $20.00 (2x10) mean voutures. I went to China thinking I'd eat some of the "finest" fish. What a fucking joke THAT ended up being...
anyway...
I do NOT remember much of my 1.5 hour flight to O'Hare and finding my connecting gate. Seriously, that airport is fukcing huge and I only recall I had to walk quite a bit to get to where I'd take off to Shanghai. I also knew I had around 2 hours so I knew even if I was completely incoherent that I would have enough time to figure out where I had to be.
/forward_thinking
I remember getting my seat to Shanghai and meeting a woman "joining her husband" in Shanghai. Complete excrement but I roll with it (even fuckin' trashed) and have a couple of interactions during the 15 hour flight.
*Remember* Tailwind speed +/- DOES effect time.
BUT....."business is business." Right? After all we are American's and that is not just the "dream" we learn about as infants and really, is in fact true even in today's world.
ANYWHO...
I get BOMBED. I'm talking 18 rack of BL....Buh-Bye by the time the taxi driver arrives.
THIS event started the cascading effect of my.......Journey...(sounds so fuckin' cheezie)
I'm packed..ready to go...Everything is laid out at the door for when I walk out of my house for the next two weeks. I didn't sleep but a couple of hours the night before because I'm so anal-retentive about making sure "I'm ready....." (Knowledge based reply.....ROFL)
I set up a chair outside to await the taxi. I've NEVER used a taxi. I do NOT like relying on someone else transporting me. My old best of friends KNOW that about me (lol fuck you guys for giving me that label I can't remember) (emoji /middle finger)
AS I'm setting up my luggage next to my chair the taxi pulls into my driveway. I'm HAMMERED and now don't want to piss off this guy that's....(Indian...I...um...think...)
BUT....I'm so drunk....and within moments of meeting he knows I'm "cool" to/with him by HOW I interact with him. By the end of the trip to Handcock: $50.00 for the taxi. I......think the bill was about $43.00(ish) and felt $50.00 was a good number to leave on.
I board the plane. It's beyond fucking simple. Hancock IS an International Airport but we're fucking forgettable in the "grand scheme" of airports.
(O'Hare....I loved the "experience" but you my love are a fucking nightmare....your redemption was room accommodations at the.(can't remember) and $20.00 (2x10) mean voutures. I went to China thinking I'd eat some of the "finest" fish. What a fucking joke THAT ended up being...
anyway...
I do NOT remember much of my 1.5 hour flight to O'Hare and finding my connecting gate. Seriously, that airport is fukcing huge and I only recall I had to walk quite a bit to get to where I'd take off to Shanghai. I also knew I had around 2 hours so I knew even if I was completely incoherent that I would have enough time to figure out where I had to be.
/forward_thinking
I remember getting my seat to Shanghai and meeting a woman "joining her husband" in Shanghai. Complete excrement but I roll with it (even fuckin' trashed) and have a couple of interactions during the 15 hour flight.
*Remember* Tailwind speed +/- DOES effect time.
I arrive, I take a seemingly endless flat auto-rails into the center of Po Dong's International Airport. I follow the signs to taxi service. I go down the escalator and after the turn-style exit the local police are in charge of helping foreigners into cabs. (remember EVERYTHING in China is about efficiency)
But I did find it uncomfortable since I took the first exit to a taxi that I walked right into scams people often complain about in China because of ignorance.
The police...who look like fuckin' Airline Pilots to me...direct me to enter a blue unlabeled cab. From what I've learned that IF a cab doesn't have tags or a label in the rear passenger door do not trust them. They are considered to be "black label" drivers that are notorious at fucking over naive foreigners and often even have a deal worked out with officers at the terminal to split the profit. (again I say this...it's NOT personal...it's just a way of life)
I tell the officer no, "no tag" and point to the door. He laughs (I still don't know why) and directs me to a minivan that's more similar to cabs seen in NYC. The driver pops out. I can tell by looking at him that he's "that guy."
Since I've already expressed dominance to the police IN China I didn't want to press my luck. I hand the driver my preprinted map to the hotel so that way (I THOUGHT) would avoid me being scammed right out the door.
I had him the map, he plays stupid, as if not to know where to go. He looks over the Google directions (which are in Chinese) and acts puzzled. I realized then the level of acting I could endure on my experience.
We go down a highway for a couple of miles and he pulls a u-turn when I start to speak to him in a seemingly stern voice. By now the 16 RMB that is the standard minimum charge for taxi service out of Po Dung (which EVERYWHERE else in China it's 8 RMB) It's a tourist "thing".....
But I did find it uncomfortable since I took the first exit to a taxi that I walked right into scams people often complain about in China because of ignorance.
The police...who look like fuckin' Airline Pilots to me...direct me to enter a blue unlabeled cab. From what I've learned that IF a cab doesn't have tags or a label in the rear passenger door do not trust them. They are considered to be "black label" drivers that are notorious at fucking over naive foreigners and often even have a deal worked out with officers at the terminal to split the profit. (again I say this...it's NOT personal...it's just a way of life)
I tell the officer no, "no tag" and point to the door. He laughs (I still don't know why) and directs me to a minivan that's more similar to cabs seen in NYC. The driver pops out. I can tell by looking at him that he's "that guy."
Since I've already expressed dominance to the police IN China I didn't want to press my luck. I hand the driver my preprinted map to the hotel so that way (I THOUGHT) would avoid me being scammed right out the door.
I had him the map, he plays stupid, as if not to know where to go. He looks over the Google directions (which are in Chinese) and acts puzzled. I realized then the level of acting I could endure on my experience.
We go down a highway for a couple of miles and he pulls a u-turn when I start to speak to him in a seemingly stern voice. By now the 16 RMB that is the standard minimum charge for taxi service out of Po Dung (which EVERYWHERE else in China it's 8 RMB) It's a tourist "thing".....
By the time I arrive to my hotel the fare is 165 RMB. Which is about $24.00 USD. I totally was fucked....Bent over, lubed and asking for seconds FUCKED by this guy. I get it....Learning experience...
I get to my room...it's about 2:00 PM the next day. I'm exhausted and after checking into my hotel (a fucking SHIT HOLE ROOM they gave me).
I wake up and it's 6:00 AM (ish). I can smoke in my room so I'm content flipping through channels of China TV none which I can understand but it provides decent background sound as I gather myself and try to remember the ride and where I'm staying for the next 2 weeks.
I get to my room...it's about 2:00 PM the next day. I'm exhausted and after checking into my hotel (a fucking SHIT HOLE ROOM they gave me).
I wake up and it's 6:00 AM (ish). I can smoke in my room so I'm content flipping through channels of China TV none which I can understand but it provides decent background sound as I gather myself and try to remember the ride and where I'm staying for the next 2 weeks.
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