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  • Rena's "fun" adventure

    Hi! I come bringing tales of Rena's wonderful day of adventures. Two tales of suck from some of the "wonderful" people she met. This is an extremely long story, I hope you enjoy it.

    Due to a recent family issue, Rena took three planes to get from Portland, OR, to Louisville, Kentucky( I can't remember the abbreviation). The first flight, from Portland to San Francisco, wasn't that bad except for a slight bought of air sickness. When I arrived in San Francisco, I was slightly dehydrated, due to drinking everything but water that morning, and slightly ill. I figured I'd get some medicine and water at a store in the airport but first, I wanted to know where the terminal for my flight was. After getting lost twice and wandering around for twenty minutes, I found my terminal and quickly went to the store.

    The never-ending transaction

    As you know I'm dehydrated and not feeling well. I was also overheating too for some real weird reason and apparently looked like I was about to pass out. When I went to the store, I grabbed the cheapest bottle of water from the cooler, and then I grabbed some dramamine for the air sickness. There was one register open, so I got in line. From behind me I hear this "huff" noise and wearily turn around to see a woman of African American descent (mentioned because it's relevant) with her arms full of souvenirs and glaring at me. I motion that she can go in front of me and she retorts to this by saying, "Oh, you're just doing that because I'm black. No, I'll stay right here. Wouldn't want to "boost" your ego with you helpin' a black woman." She rants a little but I feel like I'm about to pass out so I just ignore her.

    Suddenly, the cash register next to me opens up and the woman is right there, ready to be served. I just shamble behind her, I'm now second in the line, and a few more people go behind me. I'm holding the water bottle to my neck in an attempt to cool down a bit and leaning on the counter because I'm really not okay. The cashier scans all the items the woman has, shows her the amount, and the woman decides that she doesn't want an item. This means she removes the item, and the cashier does another transaction. This happens five times in a row with her removing or adding items. I kid you not. I was sorely tempted to pop the bottle open and take the dramamine and water in line because I knew I was going to have to run to catch my flight after such a long wait. I was sorely tempted to join many of the people who left the line for the longer line that seemed to have a shorter wait. Near transaction three of the woman, a really nice older man was behind me and tapped me on the shoulder to ask if I was okay (apparently I was really white). I'm pretty submissive and quiet among people I do not know, or people I encounter at any other situation other than an anime convention, so I tried to pretend I was just fine. This is a short excerpt of what happened.

    NG=Nice guy
    SC=Who else
    RM= The world traveller herself

    NG: (towards SC) Ma'am, could you hurry it up. This little lady ( I like being called this for some reason) needs to get some liquids in her right quick.

    SC: (turns and glares at me, than glares at the NG) Well, that little girl can wait. I got here first.

    NG: Well, I'm not trying to be rude. (he motions to me as I'm trying to duck and hide while still leaning on the counter) She just doesn't look too good, that's all.

    SC: (looks at me again) She's white, they always look like that. You're just doing this because I'm black.

    The Nice Guy gives up and later leaves the line after giving me a nice sympathetic pat on the back. He still gets served before I do. Still, I get my stuff and, after explaining that I am okay to a concerned cashier, I run to my gate and make my flight. Now, onto the second part of my journey.

    Four and a half hours of screaming and kicking

    This second flight was the longest one. From San Francisco to Cleveland it was around 41/2 hours, give or take ten minutes. After taking my dramamine and drinking as much water as my body could handle, the uckiness I felt was gone and I was now really exhausted. However, behind me was a small child, around four or five years old, whose slightly unkept long black hair gave me flashbacks to Sadoka from Ringu and was apparently very upset at being on a plane. I only mention the Sadako thing because when the dramamine kicked in and I was slightly drugged, looking behind to see what I thought was the little girl who killed people in Ringu was slightly unnerving, but thinking back this could have been a premonition for the mayhem yet to come. When I was first boarding Sadako (her name now) was screaming. This wasn't too bad, I had brought my ipod and I've gotten used to screaming and yelling from kids from volunteering in daycares. However, after about ten seconds in the air, Sadako began kicking my chair. It was like she was playing soccer, and the chair was her ball.

    Being someone whose extremely tolerant when it comes to kids, I put up with this for about something in the vicinity of forty minutes. This kid apparently was far more persistent than I thought any child could be. Forty continuous minutes, I timed her. After this, my drug addled brain thought that maybe she would be willing to stop if I asked her politely.

    RM=your now tired narrator
    S= Sadako
    SM= Sadako's mother, who I would consider the real SC

    RM: (turning around to face the little girl and after a slight surprise from the resemblance of the child behind her looking like a certain horror movie character) Um, honey, could you please stop kicking my chair. I'm tired and I want to take a nap.

    S: NO! (resumes kicking)

    RM: Please honey. I'm tired and I really want to sleep. I could trade you some pencils and paper (I always carry these) to draw on for awhile if you're bored.

    S: NO!

    RM: (sees she is getting nowhere with this and is just about ready to start crying with how tired/frustrated she is) (turns to SM whose listening to music) Ma'am?

    SM: (no response)

    RM: (reaching through the chairs to tap SM) Ma'am?

    SM: (takes off headphones) What? (this is said in what I like to call the "you have inconvenienced me, piss off tone)

    RM: I'm sorry ma'am, but your daughter's been kicking my chair for the last half hour or so. I'm really tired and would like to sleep. Could you please ask her to stop?

    SM: Mind your own business, she can do what she wants! (puts headphones back on, daughter continues kicking my chair)

    RM:

    Sadako kicked my chair for most of the four and a half hour flight. I think the hour of peace she gave me was actually because she was sleeping, which happens to be a coincidence cause that's when I fell asleep (or passed out). What really pissed me off the most was the parent not trying to control her kid. I could understand if Sadako was bored and that's why she was kicking my chair, and I could understand why she didn;t really want to listen to me (I remembered later when I was more awake that our parents do teach us not to talk to strangers which could have been the reason why she yelled at me, the crazy art supply peddling dramamine dope), but I think the fact that her child was kicking the back of another passengers chair for over thirty minutes should have meant something to the mother. Maybe I'm overreacting, I was really stressed out so I could just be blowing things way out of proportion.

    The cloud did have a silver lining though, the couple next to me was really nice and gave me some of the cookies they brought along with them. It was nice after all the stress.

    And that is the end. I hope you enjoyed. I am currently writing this from my Grampa's house, eating cookies and relaxing.

  • #2
    yeah.... you should have drank the water in line you where really sick you risked bad things by waiting. I know some people think its suck to drink something before paying for it but seriously the cashier would have understood.

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    • #3
      Why am I not surprised that woman didn't do anything? Maybe you could have complained to the stewardess but that probably wouldn't have done much either. I am beginning to hate flying more and more and if I could would take the advice of the Portland Train Station....

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      • #4
        You are absolutely NOT overreacting. Forty minutes is far too long anyway, and then 3 more hours??? Um, NO. I am livid. That "mother" needs to have her chair kicked for about 6 hours. If that had been my kid there would've been a warning and then a consequence.
        "Is it hot in here to you? It's very warm, isn't it?"--Nero, probably

        Comment


        • #5
          Yeah. I'd have called a flight attendant over ASAP. Either they get stopped, they get moved, or you get moved. Period. Plane tickets cost too effin much to go through that crap.

          Comment


          • #6
            Quoth Draco View Post
            Yeah. I'd have called a flight attendant over ASAP. Either they get stopped, they get moved, or you get moved. Period. Plane tickets cost too effin much to go through that crap.
            I second that. We see a lot of kids here that have a "freee education"(Aka, the parents dont bother raising them) and thats about the only thing legal you can do.

            Hope you feel better now.

            Comment


            • #7
              Probably because I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I have stopped being quiet about stuff like this. The woman at the shop would have gotten an earful from me, and I would NEVER have offered to let her go ahead of me, especially with armfuls of unnecessary crap. Then I would have complained to the mother immediately on the plane, and then to the flight attendant.

              I also would have taken the pills and water while in line. If you're sick and in line with the items, the cashier can see that, and have the option to call security if you walk away without paying.

              But, as stated before, I am a crotchety bitch.
              Labor boards have info on local laws for free
              HR believes the first person in the door
              Learn how to go over whackamole bosses' heads safely
              Document everything
              CS proves Dunning-Kruger effect

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              • #8
                I would have looked to see if the seat behind the mother was open. If not I would have asked if I could trade with the occupant - maybe even bribing them to the tune of 10-20 dollars. Then I would have proceded to kick the shit out of the seat and see how she liked that. I wouldn't have the stamina of the punk kid but its the thought that counts I guess. I would probably ony fanasize about doing that...

                What I would do instead would be to turn around and start making gagging noises, that usually makes me throw up even when I'm not feeling nauseous. Ask again if she will make the satanic spawn stop - if that fails vomit on them both - they were warned...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quoth Food Lady View Post
                  Um, NO. I am livid. That "mother" needs to have her chair kicked for about 6 hours. If that had been my kid there would've been a warning and then a consequence.
                  Three people have suggested this since I told this story to my family. I think I see a course of action should this occur on the trip back home.

                  Quoth Yarnil
                  Hope you feel better now.
                  I do. I may have gone over the top with hydrating myself on the last two flights but my stomach felt better by the time I was in Kentucky and I was actually really hungry (we were running late getting to Cleveland so when we got there the restaurants were closed). My Dad was nice and got me a tuna sandwich, which lasted about ten seconds before I went feeding frenzy shark on it. My back was sore for about a day after the flight, but I didn't have any bruises or anything so I figure it's probably more from sleeping wrong or traveling for about 12 hours.

                  Quoth MournBlade
                  I would have looked to see if the seat behind the mother was open. If not I would have asked if I could trade with the occupant - maybe even bribing them to the tune of 10-20 dollars. Then I would have proceded to kick the shit out of the seat and see how she liked that. I wouldn't have the stamina of the punk kid but its the thought that counts I guess. I would probably ony fanasize about doing that...

                  What I would do instead would be to turn around and start making gagging noises, that usually makes me throw up even when I'm not feeling nauseous. Ask again if she will make the satanic spawn stop - if that fails vomit on them both - they were warned...
                  I actually used all my money buying my breakfast that morning, the dramamine, and the water. Also, the couple next to me were really nice, I wouldn't have wanted to make gagging noises the whole trip and disturb them. And there was the fact I was still slightly afraid because the little girl looked like Sadako from Ringu/Samara from the Ring (look her up, she's really freaky) wearing like cutesy, disney clothes. I tend to be cautious around horror movie characters come to life.

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                  • #10
                    I would have told the mother: Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy
                    Getting offended is a great way to avoid answering questions that make you sound dumb. - exmocaptainmoroni

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth Mystic View Post
                      I would have told the mother: Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy
                      Screw the kid, I want the puppy!

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                      • #12
                        It's a good thing we rarely fly & the last 2 times the only problem we had was me convincing the flight attendant to give a 3rd Jim Beam Black Label on the rocks.
                        "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you.This is the principal difference between a man and a dog"

                        Mark Twain

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                        • #13
                          That kid sounds like the one next door to me. I can easily imagine her doing that on a plane, while her mother sat there totally oblivious. Mom didn't have fire-engine/raspberry Kool-aid colored hair, did she?
                          When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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                          • #14
                            Quoth MoonCat View Post
                            That kid sounds like the one next door to me. I can easily imagine her doing that on a plane, while her mother sat there totally oblivious. Mom didn't have fire-engine/raspberry Kool-aid colored hair, did she?
                            I can't remember. I think it was a darker hair color, but for all I know it could have been fire-engine raspberry hair. Does the kid look like this?

                            http://www.joblo.com/images_arrownews/trw00.jpg

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                            • #15
                              Quoth Draco View Post
                              Yeah. I'd have called a flight attendant over ASAP. Either they get stopped, they get moved, or you get moved. Period. Plane tickets cost too effin much to go through that crap.
                              Seconded. Mommie Dearest and Psycho Brat had no right to abuse you like that. A flight attendant could've put a stop to it once you asked them to.
                              I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem.
                              My LiveJournal
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