BACK IN NYC!!!

WHEEEEEE. IM BACK IN NYC! AFTER 8 days, 6 flights and 3 radically different American cities, I'm back in NYC!!! ahhhhhhh. Though it was awesome fun, I'm so glad to be back !!!!

I know I have not posted pictures of the third leg of the trip - Chicago - but I have to blog about my harrowing harrowing disgusting horrible yucky nerve wrecking flight + subway ride back from Chicago O'hare's airport first! Need to rant! rrrrawwwrrrrr!!

Disclaimer: Below is super bitchy talk. If you don't want to be irritated, don't read it!

So maybe it was my fault - I did not know that the ziplock bag for liquids on your carry - ons had to be a quart (Like I use the metric system so dont quart me gallon that hokay!) so when I reached the security, the guy said:

"Do you know what the rules are for the carryon aerosols and liquids? "

"hmm, the liquid bottles have to be less than 100 ml?" I said, with full confidence that what I said was correct.

"any more?"

"erm... not more than one bag?"

"how big must that bag be?"

"I'm not sure !" I said. I was getting impatient cos my flight was departing in 20 mins and I was getting flustered. I had arrived late cos well, I left late for the airport from tengkok's place. NEVER EVER LEAVE LATE FOR THE AIRPORT. EVER. (ok , so maybe my fault, but still! BUT STILL!)

And then, he slowly gestured with my gallon ziplock bag, cutting it in half with his hand : "It has to be around a quart. I'm sorry, but you will have to check your luggage in. "

So I immediately asked the lady in front of me if she had another ziplock bag. She said: "I'm so sorry, I have none, but you should have come prepared!"

you know, WTH. I just felt like wringing her kneck, taking her and dumping her into the X ray machines to get X rayed. Bloody irritating reply can!

So anyways, yes, that was the beginning of my harrowing experience. The stupid guard said I couldn't go through, so I had to exit the security area, rush to the check in counter, and try to check in my bag when my plane was leaving in 10 mins (leaving, not boarding!)

But guess what! when I reached the counter, the lady said
"I'm sorry but it's too late, we can't check in your bag! You have to make the decision of dumping your toiletries to catch your flight, or you might not catch it at all!"

So yes, guess what I did? I went around BEGGING people for ziplock bags! I mean, inside my ziplock bag was easily more than SGD$150 worth of toiletries. I was in NO WAY gonna dump them away.

LUCKILY, this nice lady had a proper sized ziplock bag which she used to house some peanuts - she threw the peanuts away and gave me the bag . I was SO glad she had one , an absolute lifesaver. Whereever she is, she knows she got some good karma!

ANYWAYS.

Yes, so the second horrible thing to happen to me was that when I boarded the plane, there was no place left for carryons in the over head compartments.

That's alright, I mean , the air steward said he would take the cabin bag and I could get it later after I left the plane - they do this all the time for the smaller aircraft - ie, you leave the carry ons on plane side and you collect it from plane side after that. It's not the same as checking in the luggage. You dont need to collect it from baggage claim.

BUT GUESS WHAT! Upon arrival at washington's Dulles (I had a connecting flight from washington to NYC), the air steward said that he had sent my luggage into check in and that I can only get it from baggage claim!

HO . HO. HO.

TO get to baggage claim, I had to take one of their shuttles to get to the main terminal. Ok, so I did that. BUT GUESS WHAT AGAIN!

AFTER GOING TO BAGGAGE CLAIM, I HAD TO GO THROUGH ANOTHER SECURITY CHECK TO GO BACK INTO THE TERMINAL FOR MY BLOODY CONNECTING FLIGHT TO NYC ! AND. THE STUPID TERMINAL WAS ANOTHER SHUTTLE AWAY!

RAWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

So I reached the terminal's security area. Well, I took the ziplock bag of liquids out of my bag, and placed it in another tray to be screened just as how it has to be done.

You know what happened again? My moisturizer had fallen out into my bag and I hadnt noticed, so when my bag went through, the security guard had to go through my bag again. He took it out and said I shouldnt have left my moisturizer in my bag. Then he sent my bag in through for screeining again without the moisturizer.

I was like. WTH. FIRSTLY , I WOULDNT HAVE HAD TO GO THROUGH THE STUPID SCREENING IF THEY HADN'T CHECKED IN MY CARRYON . SECONDLY, CAN THEY STOP CHECKING MY BAG OVER AND OVER AGAIN! IT'S ONLY MOISTURIZER! ARGHHHHHHH.

Ok, so after that, it was a sorta ok flight back to JFK. Nice small aircraft with nice air stewardess.

But well, hohoho, after I got off I took the wrong airtrain which landed me at the wrong subway stop! I have NO idea why so many bad things happen at the same time!

BUT!

THAT WAS NOT ALL!

After getting onto the correct subway, THERE WAS A BLOODY GANG FIGHT ON THE STUPID SUBWAY!

STUPID GANG GIRLS AND THEIR STUPID FEUDS.
EURGH! SO ABSOLUTELY CHILDISH!

Well, so I was in the subway carriage and as the train was still at a trainstop, the door connecting the carraiges suddenly opened (its not the same here as in Singapore, where its like one long tube, the subways here have carriages and linking doors) and people started rushing in from the carriage behind ours. Some came in to sit down, and others went forward to the other carriages.

Soon after, these 2 girls came in swearing at I-dunno-who, and one was red and scratched up and obviously beaten up. They were like "I need my handphone back! We have to get it back!" They were both dressed in some punk attire. They were shouting "F*** F***" all the time.

So I asked the person who sat next to me in a soft voice " What happened?"

"they just started attacking her!"

There was alot of commotion in the other carriage and people were shouting loudly on the platform. I could hear the train master say "Please get off the train now." In a very unpolite sort of voice. Well, half the time I was really worried that some knife wielding young punk would come in and start slashing at me.

Oh well, Whatever.

Harrowing. Urgh.

Bad trip back from an otherwise lovely whirlwind American tour.

Urgh.

Will update photos of chicago soon! Thanks TK for showing me ard! See u in NYC in 24 hrs!