Wednesday, November 2, 2016

...and then my head exploded!

Well, I'm back at work, and as it's 4am, that means we have cargo. We (by which I mean I) just finished loading and have been released, which means that we can leave when we please, which we are pleased to do at the turn of the next tide.

        I just finished John C. Wright's Somewhither and, while I didn't log on to write a book report, IT WAS AMAZING. It's a beautiful story about an ugly boy. At times tragic and lovely, and occasionally I laughed out loud, too. It involves science, religion, faith, combat, love, the occult and explores multiverse theory and the rewards and cost of doing the right thing... or not. Myths, biblical events and the power and need for morality get covered, too. 
 I'm not doing the story justice. While I really like Wright's work in general, his earlier books are at times too detail-oriented in giving names to myths as part of the background in his allegorical works, without fully fleshing them out, which can be frustrating. This time, no. Somewhither is a masterwork, and I can't wait for part 2. 


In other news, it's cold, stinks like oil and I wish I was home, but I also kinda am at home. After a couple of months of flying Jetblue, I flew American to NY the other night. I need to revisit my stance on American Vs. Jetblue. 

     I've been saying bad things about Jetblue for years, but the fact is that flying American Airlines has become far worse than Jetblue. American has jammed yet more seats onto their planes, and while my ass still fits in their seats, my shoulders are way, way outside now. My only real lasting beef with Jetblue is that they monetize having a shitty boarding experience- you pay a premium if you don't want boarding to be an utter shit show, and that's just common, you know? American is more organized and polite about it, but at the cost of having no legroom, so even a stubby-legged guy like me (I have only 29" legs, even though I'm 6' tall) ends up with his knees jammed up at ear height in the 8" between my seat and the one in front of me. No one, no matter how tidy, smells nice after 3 hours on a plane, and having one's balls being just inches under your nose because there's shit for legroon is not a way to inspire customer loyalty. 

 So, since I've got tons of miles, I'm drawing them down and flying for free on American for now. After the miles are done, for the most part I will be too. While I don't love getting onto Jetblue, the seats are certainly more comfortable and I don't have to limp off the plane. 
 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Given the amount you fly I am surprised that you haven't qualified for JetBlue's Mosaic. This would allow you to board early.

Paul D said...

Living in Denver, I used to fly Frontier everywhere. Ever since they were bought out a couple of years ago, they have been in a race to the bottom. Tried United and Virgin, as I fly to San Francisco to catch ships. Virgin wins hands down. I flew 1st class last week for $225. It was very nice.