Sky high

I'm home. New York is awesome. And jet lag is hitting already, since I woke up at 4:30 am. But I woke up in my very own bed. Which was very lovely.

Pretty views from my seat.

Now, let me elaborate on the hell that went on yesterday. And hell being a snowstorm over JFK.

Although my flight from Amsterdam went smoothly and the plane was in New York on time, snow had already hit and caused delays on other flights. Which meant that the control tower wouldn't let us land due to increased traffic. So we were cruising above the city for about one hour before finally getting the green light to land. 

Landing. Oh, shit.

Then, due to all the snow, taxiing to the gate and deplaning took forever. I was being patient, but secretly annoyed at all the mess, because I just wanted to get home ASAP, jump into the shower, go for a walk and later to the lab. Pretty simple requests, no?

Taxiing to the gate. Oh, double shit. 

Moreover, I got my hopes up on the getting-home-asap front when there was no line at border control. Yay!  Well, those hopes got shattered when, again due to the weather and problems with the unloading ramp, our luggage was being held hostage in the belly of our Airbus. For another hour.

After finally getting out of customs with my two ginormous suitcases, I found that, again due to the weather, AirTrain was not running, taxis were shut down, shuttles to the city had an approximate wait hour of 2 hours and the airport shuttle bus services were disturbed. And all I asked for was to get to a subway stop, any subway stop - just like the hundreds of people like me. Fantastic opportunity to bond with fellow airport-stranded travelers. Or just sit in a corner and feel sorry for yourself. After a few seconds of internally debating which option to take, I went for the first one. Duh! 

All in all, we were ALL tired, annoyed, smelly, exasperated, but eventually happy to be in New York. 

Luckily, the airport staff was trying their best and that felt really comforting. After another hour and two overcrowded shuttle buses, I and a very sweet Danish girl (and many other people) made it to Jamaica station. I've never been so happy to spot a "Subway" sign in my entire life. The ride to my neighbourhood went smoothly and took the usual time, so no delays here. Well, I figured that after 4 hours of delays et cetera, we've earned at least a little smooth sailing. 

SOTD: Enya - On my way home. Because she makes it sound

so much better than I ever could.

I surfaced to a snow-covered (about 5 cm), silent UES. The walk from the Subway to home took longer than it normally would, because, you see, snow kind of hinders the smooth moving of suitcase wheels. But at least I was moving, so the whole experience, amazing upper body strength exercise included, was enjoyable. 

And finally, about 4 hours later than originally expected, I was home. Safe and sound, tired, of course, but not too cold. And very happy. 

My street.

Now the sun is out, the sky is a sparkling blue and yesterday's weather hell is pretty much forgotten.

Now, let's get to that other hell that is unpacking. 

But first, coffee.

Jules