Day 1 - travel day

arrived at LAX with my boarding pass already printed out from the night before. Though i swear by this method, they don't put your gate number on the ticket when you check-in 24 hours before your flight takes off. security line was long so i jumped in quickly to prepare for the long hall. in front of me there is a group of 3 and behind me there is a group of 3. the guys behind me were calling the guys in front of me gays and saying how they don't like the gays and how they don't even know, etc. i couldn't figure out why they were saying this because no one (according to my gaydar) was flaming. i never once turned around to see what there problem was, but i was carrying a hot pink carry on bag (kind of my style). at the heat of their self inflected anger, a security guard said they could use the elevator to skip through the line, thank god.

finally get to security and i have to take out/off my belt, my shoes, my jacket, my toiletries, and my laptop. needless to say it was not an easy task. after 8 minutes of taking out my stuff and the putting it all back, i wandered throughout the terminal looking for any Airtran gates. i walked the entire terminal and couldn't find a single one. finally i see 2 helpful airport workers and ask where Airtran was. they were so kind in leading me over this magically invisible. one step over the line and she corrects herself, "oh, you wanted the gate, not baggage! oops, you have to go back through security now." very frustrated and very sweaty, i went back through taking my clothes off. this time i stopped at a continental worker that told me where the single terminal was, gate 69 (fitting).

so far, no one has been too helpful and everyone seems to be mad at something. the Airtran flight attendants were no different. very loud and very mean. reminds me of how Production Assistants treat background artists. preparing for arrival into Atlanta, the captain says, "You are probably wondering why we are circling." frankly i couldn't tell the difference until you told me but why? apparently the landing gear was having trouble and we were going to be met with emergency vehicles to assist us. JOY! after 30 minutes of circling and a very scary landing, we touched down safely. 3 hours and a chicken biscuit later, i set sail for NY. there is more annoying Airtran employee stories but it doesn't add to the story so i digress.

I arrived in Rochester early and safely and sweaty.