A couple of days ago I realised that with this trip I'd finish my (first) full circle around the world … weird conclusions of an idle mind :-)
21:30 NZ Local time
I dutifully show up at the airport, go through the check in and sit in front of the gate … as it turns out, that will be a common sight during this trip
~22:00 NZ Local time
The plane finally takes off and I watch 4 films (only 1 of them barely passable) and a few comedy episodes … slept a few hours and read through about 20 pages of Basit's thesis … I think that's quite an accomplishment!
~9:00 NZ Local time
The plane lands at Los Angeles and I'm welcomed to the USA by queuing for 40minutes, then herded to Passport check. Here the customs official says that I have to fill a "white form" and points to a desk where there are plenty of blue, yellow and green … the whites must be out of stock. Eventually someone finds a white form but asks me why should I fill one if I'm just transiting. Apparently AirNZ hadn't thought that people with passports other than from NZ were transiting the US (I have to give credit to the customs official … he was quite friendly and despite my "facial hair" didn't think I was an illegal alien) … anyway. Now, after about 2 hours of queuing/waiting/filling forms I'm sitting in front of the gate and there is a sign in quite large print that says:
WARNING
This area contains
chemicals known to
the State of California
to cause cancer and
birth defects or other
reproductive harm
This area contains
chemicals known to
the State of California
to cause cancer and
birth defects or other
reproductive harm
I suddenly feel a very strong urge to leave this country!
