Complimentary Viewing of Amsterdam

After a somewhat harried family dinner at Nifty Fifties (Philly cheese steaks, because who knows when I’ll have opportunity for those again) I found myself the laughing stock of international departures as my parental units and sibling insisted upon documenting my slow progress through security with cell phone photography.

That accomplished and several tearful phone call goodbyes later I found myself squished onto US Airways Flight 728, served icky barbeque chicken and elderly salad, acquainted with several fellow London-bound Pitt students via my sweatshirt’s helpful advertisement of my university affiliation, and presented with the option of several Bones reruns to peruse. When I exhausted them I turned to the GPS channel, which provides passengers with helpful information like the temperature outside the cabin, an animated representation of the flight’s global progress, and the exact sites and dates of several epic shipwrecks (Titanic 1912, Lusitania 1915). WHY WOULD I WANT TO KNOW THAT!?

Suddenly I notice that my destination is no longer listed as London, no. It is now Amsterdam.

This worries me as my shuttle reservation, flat, indeed my entire program, are not in Amsterdam.

Given the stark facts of an hour and a half wait in holding pattern above Heathrow and a mere forty-five minutes of gas left it was the only option, but still, the four hour delay entailed by the sojourn to the Netherlands was less than welcome. Still it afforded me the opportunity to meet several other students from my program, including Mystery Roommate (i.e. FaceBook-less) Alex.

Finally finally I arrived, exhausted but otherwise safe, at number 5 Praed Street, greeted by Umlat who had given me up for dead and four other flat mates who I confess I’ve yet to learn the names of.

My flat is gorgeous. Spacious and superbly located.

Tomorrow, we take the city.