I just finished a book entitled "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book, especially for us punctuation sticklers.
If you'd like to brush up on your punctuation, this is a painless way to do it and get a few laughs. This will be particularly amusing to those who can appreciate British humor. Americans beware! You may find out you've been punctuating incorrectly - this author is spot on!
I'll be reading and reporting on similar books in the near future.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Ukraine International Airlines vs. Big US Airlines
If you had to pit Ukraine International Airlines against Big US Airlines, which do you think would be the winner, hands down? By the way, the name of Big US Airlines has been changed because, hey - maybe I can work for them someday and help them with their Goofs.
Before my trip to Ukraine, (and so you know - it's not "The Ukraine"; that's like saying "The England") my tummy was doing flip flops wondering what kind of flight it was going to be on my trip from Odessato Vienna. Would it be safe? Was the plane, like, 50 years old? How silly I was to even begin to worry. Of the 40 hours of travel on my trip, the 5 1/2 hour leg from Portland, OR to Washington DC was the worst. Apart from the turbulence which kept us buckled up in our seats, don't-you-dare-get-up-and-use-the-toilet kind of turbulence which lasted for 85% of the flight, we cattle class passengers suffered even further humility. 5 1/2 hours and the best Big US Airlines could offer was a free non-alcoholic drink, the tiniest bag of mystery crunchies, and the opportunity to purchase a boxful of food samples (aka: snack box).
Oh, but what about the movie on board? That should help you pass the time - in theory. That is, if their equipment was working. Halfway through "Hairspray" they decided to pack in their effort to get sound. And the staff - not the most pleasant bunch. They were, however, very talented at eye rolls and "pee at your own risk" type comments.
So why bring up Ukraine International? Because on that flight, passengers were treated like people. It was a 2 1/2 hour flight to Vienna and on this flight, we were fed very fresh complimentary sandwich rolls which were served very graciously by the flight crew.
Why the difference in service? I wonder if the price of a few sandwiches and attention to technical details (movies, for instance) would more than cover the cost of turnover rate of flight staff, the strikes that occur from time to time and the endless stream of complaints from passengers. What does the price of a sandwich really cost?
The future of air travel doesn't look great. We may already be living our future. It's worse than riding in a bus, except for the privilege few who can afford the upper classes (although I hear that service has been downgraded as well). International travel is especially excruciating and I found myself wondering if passengers wouldn't be looking for alternative methods of travel - like a ship, or a train. Oh wait - isn't that what we used to use? Before planes? Maybe that's just what we need - travel which makes us slow down, look out the window and see what we're missing...
Before my trip to Ukraine, (and so you know - it's not "The Ukraine"; that's like saying "The England") my tummy was doing flip flops wondering what kind of flight it was going to be on my trip from Odessato Vienna. Would it be safe? Was the plane, like, 50 years old? How silly I was to even begin to worry. Of the 40 hours of travel on my trip, the 5 1/2 hour leg from Portland, OR to Washington DC was the worst. Apart from the turbulence which kept us buckled up in our seats, don't-you-dare-get-up-and-use-the-toilet kind of turbulence which lasted for 85% of the flight, we cattle class passengers suffered even further humility. 5 1/2 hours and the best Big US Airlines could offer was a free non-alcoholic drink, the tiniest bag of mystery crunchies, and the opportunity to purchase a boxful of food samples (aka: snack box).
Oh, but what about the movie on board? That should help you pass the time - in theory. That is, if their equipment was working. Halfway through "Hairspray" they decided to pack in their effort to get sound. And the staff - not the most pleasant bunch. They were, however, very talented at eye rolls and "pee at your own risk" type comments.
So why bring up Ukraine International? Because on that flight, passengers were treated like people. It was a 2 1/2 hour flight to Vienna and on this flight, we were fed very fresh complimentary sandwich rolls which were served very graciously by the flight crew.
Why the difference in service? I wonder if the price of a few sandwiches and attention to technical details (movies, for instance) would more than cover the cost of turnover rate of flight staff, the strikes that occur from time to time and the endless stream of complaints from passengers. What does the price of a sandwich really cost?
The future of air travel doesn't look great. We may already be living our future. It's worse than riding in a bus, except for the privilege few who can afford the upper classes (although I hear that service has been downgraded as well). International travel is especially excruciating and I found myself wondering if passengers wouldn't be looking for alternative methods of travel - like a ship, or a train. Oh wait - isn't that what we used to use? Before planes? Maybe that's just what we need - travel which makes us slow down, look out the window and see what we're missing...
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