My Own Airport Hell

There is a bit on Henry Rollins’ spoken word album entitled Think Tank called Airport hell. He goes through all the items that really piss him off while he is traveling, and describes one incident which happened to him on a flight to Chicago. This was prior to all the heightened security measures, such as the baggage questions, and a simple walk through the metal detector to name a few.

So my personal airport hell goes something like this: the scene is the security check, there is a line which was expected since it was after all holiday travel time. The audacity of this crew though was simply astonishing. The crew consisted of two young children, a “tween” (who thought I would ever mutter that word on the blog?) and the two parents.

There are certain items which are required to have on hand to make it though the security check points – those items being your ticket / boarding pass and your photo ID. Since I detest lines I do my best to keep the people moving fluidly, but this crew ahead of me was as Bill Walton would say “horrrribllllle”.

She, the wife / mother, approaches the security guard, and he requests the standard ticket or boarding pass which she doesn’t have ready. She proceeds to dig for them in her carry on bag and finally finds them. Of course the next question coming is “do you have your ID?”. She digs again while trying her best to frantically explain that two of the passengers don’t have IDs, they are too young, and tells the “tween” to get hers out. The husband / father is just standing there, maybe playing pocket pool for all I know. The security guard goes through all the tickets and gives them the ok to pass through to the metal detector. I hand the security guard my ID and boarding pass, only to have him stop the father.

You see he was watching all of this, but for some reason he didn’t present his ID when the guy asked the first time, repeat the process of digging for the tickets, while the kids are out of control. All the while the guard is sitting there holding my ticket and ID. There was this little hope that he would glance at my name and ticket and let me pass by this crew, but no!

The next obstacle on this alleged gauntlet was the x-ray machine. This crew stopped at the edge of the two tables which were set up so people could grab a bin; throw their stuff in it to send through the x-ray machine. The guards in there are making announcements for people to take off their shoes to send through the x-ray machine. I manage to get a little table space, reach straight across this crew and grab two bins, one for myself and some other poor passenger having to endure this endeavor.

I quickly have my things loaded in the bin; shoes included, and turn only to see that this crew has created a human wall preventing anyone from passing. So I have to wait for the mother to get all the kids shoes off, while the dumb ass husband stands there. I am fed up at this point; I see a gap in the wall and decide to make my break. I manage to get through the x-ray machine in one pass – I retrieve my things and never look back. Something that should have taken about 2-5 minutes tops took about 15 minutes. Little did I realize that they were on the same flight I was getting on – hahaha!!

One Will Do It

So after a bit of discussion the mob has spoken and one call is all it takes.
This is in reference to getting a number, calling it and leaving a message. It shouldn't have been an issue really, if some one is really interested they would return your phone call and for that reason alone is the reason alone is why there should be only one call.

Why waste someone's time though, has the culture created an image where immediate turn down is now socially unacceptable? Do they fear being called an asshole, or at the very least not have to be called anything in person?

So the new guideline has been set - make the call, leave a message if necessary, and await a response. If they want to contact you they will call you back.

On a side note while I was playing racquetball yesterday there was a statement, which taken out of context could mean all sorts of crude things:

"He likes to put it deep."

This was in reference to the serve I was hitting last night. It would go deep into the corner against the back wall which can be difficult to return.

So it Happens

This last week end was fun, aside from Friday when I played racquetball like complete garbage. Saturday more than made up for it when a friend of mine got the call saying that there was a party in celebration of a girl’s graduation. It has been some time since I have been to a house party, and this was probably one of the better ones I have been to.

The house was amazing to say the least - huge in a quiet neighborhood. Wrap around drive way, pool, and out door fire place to keep the guests warm on that chilly Saturday evening. We spent most of our time outside; everyone who was there was going to have to come out because that is where the drinks were.

So it was that night that I took my chances and actually had some descent return. I received the number of a chica I fancied, but alas as I have lamented before it seems that getting the number isn’t the difficult part. Having that individual answer or return the call is the trick. *sigh* - the quest continues!

"I am the bullet in the gun
I am the truth from which you run
I am the silencing machine
I am the end of all your dreams"

It went too far

Concerts have been increasingly violent, especially ones where heavier music is played. It is an epidemic in San Antonio where guys that go down into that circle and start throwing fists all in the name of a good time, used to be called moshing. However it seems that these people are just interested in seeing how hard they can punch someone else in the mouth to the point it is an all out fight. That is understandable to a certain extent, you chose to go down there and it is not surprising when a fight does break out cause one guy got hit by some one else.

Wednesday night up in Ohio it reached a new level, when a concert goer goes and kills one of the most recognizable metal guitarists around. Dimebag Darrel was killed at his gig last night by what I will call a former fan, who was allegedly accusing Dimebag of breaking up Pantera. Guess that guy never heard of a reunion or anything - did he feel that attached to the band? Their last album was deplorable, and it was probably better that they do their side thing.

I also heard that it was the same day John Lennon was killed by a crazed fan in New York, but I don't think that guy drew many parallels to Lennon's shooter.

Oh, and I gotta say T-Mac went off last night. 4 three point shots in the final 33 seconds of the game, one of them was a 4 point play. Sum all that up and you get a Rocket victory by one at the buzzer thanks to one of those. Very Reggie Miller-esque.

The Juice is Loose!

So it has been reported that Baseball players do use steroids. This all began with the Balco law suit, and Bonds' personal trainer being one of the individuals distributing steroids to MLB stars such as Jason Giambi, Garry Shefield, and of course Bonds himself.

Jason Giambi testified how he injected human growth hormone, known as hGH, in his stomach, testosterone into his buttocks, rubbed an undetectable steroid knows as ``the cream'' on his body and placed drops of another, called ``the clear,'' under his tongue, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. However a year ago he testified to never taking any performance enhancing drugs, but now he says that he used them for 3 years; including the 2000 season when he won the AL MVP award. Now it seems that one of the largest contracts in baseball history may be terminated by the Yankees due to the violation.

Following Giambi's foot steps were his brother Jermy Giambi, and Garry Sheffield also of the Yankees. Although Sheffield never reportedly took hGH or testosterone injections, he did admit to using the clear and the cream. Then there is the trophy in all this - the alleged best player in MLB history has now tainted just about all he has accomplished.

Barry Bonds has reportedly admitted to using the clear & the cream. He claimed that he was told they were flaxseed oil and arthritic balm respectively, but seriously for a guy who is as methodical as Bonds, do you really think he just said "Ok, thanks for the great stuff man!"? Of course he knew what he was taking, and he and the rest of MLB players continue to lie about it even if they are testifying under oath.

Baseball is tainted, and it’s unfortunate that one of America’s oldest games has fallen from a once prosperous perch. It should have been evident that when the MLB players association was so strongly against drug testing that something was going on. Jose Canseco wrote that as many as 40% or more of players used some form of steroid. Ken Caminetti won his MVP award while shooting up the junk, and now more high profile dominos are starting to fall. Why is baseball so different from other jobs, NBA, NFL, NHL all have drug policies, even I had to prove that I was clean prior to assuming my position.

Rid this filth out of baseball, I would rather watch a crappy game where I know all the players are clean as opposed to watching guys hit the ball 425 feet 70+ times a season. Get the junkies out, make an example of Giambi (both of them), Bonds, Sheffield. Make the punishment so harsh that no player would want to mess with that crap again, and test every player prior to spring training. Better yet, call them up right now during the off season and have them pass it now.