07-VIII-2007.
Packing and leaving. Took the last chance to take a shot of this japanese-style three part bathroom. The door is dividing the basin and crapper from the washing area (behind the glass partition). The washing area is two part - shower floor first, then the bathtub. It's a japanese thing, they don't want to get into the tub while they may still be dirty, so they shower first. Well, that would at least take care of the keratine, which is probably the main reason we don't use our massaging tub - you need to wash first or else it swims around you. Though, I later learned that it's not so traditional in Japan, they introduced bathing as a regular practice not so long ago, by imperial decree, and fuel being costly on the islands, they bathed together, in those jacuzis, hence the custom.
I travel light and pack in ten minutes; David has a bunch of cables and folders full of papers and suit and whatnot, Jan somewhat less, so they agreed I should go and buy breakfast. There's a supermarket across the street, can see it from the terrace. Except there's a pedestrian bridge over a six lane street, but never mind that. On the picture (which was originally about half wider than this), the bridge is behind the pagoda-like tower, and the supermarket in the building with bluish roof on the left.
Coming across this bridge I saw two old hippies just waking up after sleeping under the stairs, in bags. They were still stretching, while the tiny burner was, I guess, making coffee.
Found excellent bread! For the first time in last eight years, a bread that I like. Simple peasant sour dough - not that oversour californian style shit I once bought in Kroger. And bought a few other things I guessed we'd agree upon (did) and that was it.
Again, Jan had to go first, and David and I took a shuttle to the airport. Then he went off and I buzzed around the concourse, taking shots with the new Fujica and nezavisni's webcam, passing time.
It dawned to me that I'm in a public space and I can take shots as I like. Many years later I realized that there are spaces where photographing is not only permitted, it's actually enforced, you're being photographed all the time - just check those dark hemispheres hanging from the ceilings. So I took a series of shots. The SF airport has very good light. Most other airports have a high dark ceiling and huge glass windows on the side, so most of such shots would be against a backlight. This one has regular panoramic windows not much taller than a person, and then it has skylights. Of course, AC runs all the time. So people are quite comfortable, relaxed and good looking on the pictures.
Made more aerial shots of those circular fields, which puzzled me to no end when I was flying to Cueblo before. Meanwhile I googled it out somehow (hard, when you don't know what they call them) - it's the watering system tied at the center and making circles.
By the time I got to Atlanta, it was rather late. I had hard time finding the gate for my flight, because it didn't look like one. It was more like a bus station waiting room, because there were no tunnels. It's just some larger space in the corner, initially meant for food joints but no takers, so they put seats and made it a real waiting room. After a while I saw two doors in the corners, and saw staircases going down to the tarmac when they opened. There were some fifty of us for both flights, for both Williamsburg and Norfolk, and we were supposed to walk it over to the planes. Except that we waited two hours or more. Here and there a rumor would pass around that the flight is delayed, that there's negotiation with the crews, that they're looking for spare crews... and then it was 22:30 when someone came to tell us that we won't fly this evening, as both crews claimed they worked their quota for the day, they were tired and making another flight is beyond safety rules. So I had to leave the AC of the airport and enter the hot and muggy Atlanta night. Barely found the shuttle to the hotels (courtesy of the airline), actually had to sit in the trunk till the first hotel, then moved to a regular seat until our hotel. They gave us rooms soon enough, even got one where I could smoke, which is rare nowadays. Borrowed a cell phone so I called home so she wouldn't worry.
In the morning, used one of the 7$ vouchers to get a tall ice coffee (with shaved ice... just to try it... well, not too bad but I wouldn't slash my wrists over it). When I arrived I found out that 1) the parking fee is 10$ a day because I parked inside, in the shade; 2) the shade is worthless, the car was crazy hot. Got home for lunch.
Worked on that Crystal report which is supposed to show all the dots for each of those follicles on ultrasound. I worked on that a lot and I don't know if it ever got used. OTOH, two little html reports I cooked up on the spot are still in use ten years later.
Mentions: 15-VII-2007., Cueblo, David Berton, Fujica, Jan Brenkelen, nezavisni, in serbian