Waking Up
Wakeup time was 6:30am. I'd borrow Gregory's bedroom and he's bunk with his parents. The arrangement worked out very well. I'm lucky to have friends like Mike and his family. I got about 4 hours of sleep and hardly unpacked the night before. Since I picked up a custom suit and 6 shirts I'd have to check a bag. Mike had a spare bag, so I packed that up with some cloths that I didn't mind getting wrinkled. The one thing that was unpacked were my electronics - I had to ensure everything was fully charged because my flight was *long*. It was about an hour and a half shy of the flight to Hong Kong, but it's still a 14.5 hour flight.
I woke up to the smell of bacon - yum! After a fantastic breakfast and saying goodbye to everyone I was off with Mike to check my bag in central and head to the airport.
Checking In
My flight left at 11:50am, the plan was to be on the shuttle bus 90 minutes prior. I didn't have much time between getting into Central and leaving for the airport.
The Flight
The Flight
I picked up a bottle of Bombay Sapphire East as a gift and wanted a bottle for myself. I stopped by the duty free shop and picked up my bottle. At checkout I was asked where I was heading. Once I disclosed Chicago I was told I wouldn't be able to carry on my purchase. The US apparently applies the 3 oz/100ml rule to all carry-on liquids coming in to the US, even past security check-in. The gate for my flight was roped off. A woman with a clipboard checked off each passengers name as they came through. People were randomly selected for 'enhanced security screening' and I was one of them. I filled my bottle of water from a water fountain earlier, only to have the staff empty it. After emptying my carry-on bags completely I was set to go. I checked in my garment bag with a flight attendant, set an alarm so I wouldn't forget to collect it once in Chicago, and made my way to the seat.
I boarded the flight and arrived at my seat. The middle and aisle seat were occupied by a couple of Chinese guys. The guy in the middle seat was almost as tall as me. I took my seat and made myself comfortable. The guy in the middle seemed nice enough, but spoke no English. He was tall, and tried several times throughout the flight to encroach on my space. A few times I was awaken to find his entire upper torso an inch or two away from my face as he took in the view out the window.
I got some good rest on the flight and awoke to realize my entertainment console was broken. The touch screen didn't work at all. I and the flight attendant reset it, but that did no good. I caught up on some reading, more sleep, and eventually we arrived in Chicago.
Clearing customs was easy with Global Entry. Since I had to check a single bag, the wait cancelled out any savings gained from Global Entry. My bags took about 45 minutes to arrive. I arrived around noon and really wasn't jet lagged at all. I felt good. Good enough to get a haircut and catchup with some friends over dinner.
Wakeup time was 6:30am. I'd borrow Gregory's bedroom and he's bunk with his parents. The arrangement worked out very well. I'm lucky to have friends like Mike and his family. I got about 4 hours of sleep and hardly unpacked the night before. Since I picked up a custom suit and 6 shirts I'd have to check a bag. Mike had a spare bag, so I packed that up with some cloths that I didn't mind getting wrinkled. The one thing that was unpacked were my electronics - I had to ensure everything was fully charged because my flight was *long*. It was about an hour and a half shy of the flight to Hong Kong, but it's still a 14.5 hour flight.
I woke up to the smell of bacon - yum! After a fantastic breakfast and saying goodbye to everyone I was off with Mike to check my bag in central and head to the airport.
Saying goodbye is tuff!
My flight left at 11:50am, the plan was to be on the shuttle bus 90 minutes prior. I didn't have much time between getting into Central and leaving for the airport.
Getting ready
The Flight
I picked up a bottle of Bombay Sapphire East as a gift and wanted a bottle for myself. I stopped by the duty free shop and picked up my bottle. At checkout I was asked where I was heading. Once I disclosed Chicago I was told I wouldn't be able to carry on my purchase. The US apparently applies the 3 oz/100ml rule to all carry-on liquids coming in to the US, even past security check-in. The gate for my flight was roped off. A woman with a clipboard checked off each passengers name as they came through. People were randomly selected for 'enhanced security screening' and I was one of them. I filled my bottle of water from a water fountain earlier, only to have the staff empty it. After emptying my carry-on bags completely I was set to go. I checked in my garment bag with a flight attendant, set an alarm so I wouldn't forget to collect it once in Chicago, and made my way to the seat.
I boarded the flight and arrived at my seat. The middle and aisle seat were occupied by a couple of Chinese guys. The guy in the middle seat was almost as tall as me. I took my seat and made myself comfortable. The guy in the middle seemed nice enough, but spoke no English. He was tall, and tried several times throughout the flight to encroach on my space. A few times I was awaken to find his entire upper torso an inch or two away from my face as he took in the view out the window.
I got some good rest on the flight and awoke to realize my entertainment console was broken. The touch screen didn't work at all. I and the flight attendant reset it, but that did no good. I caught up on some reading, more sleep, and eventually we arrived in Chicago.
Clearing customs was easy with Global Entry. Since I had to check a single bag, the wait cancelled out any savings gained from Global Entry. My bags took about 45 minutes to arrive. I arrived around noon and really wasn't jet lagged at all. I felt good. Good enough to get a haircut and catchup with some friends over dinner.
First Class
Almost a cubical...but not quite
Economy - this is more my style
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