For some we loved, the loveliest and the best
That from his Vintage rolling Time hath prest,
Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before,
And one by one crept silently to rest.
And we, that now make merry in the Room
They left, and Summer dresses in new bloom
Ourselves must we beneath the Couch of Earth
Descend--ourselves to make a Couch--for whom?
Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into the Dust descend;
Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie
Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and--sans End!
Thursday 29 May 2008
Friday 23 May 2008
How I didn't go to Berlin today...
It comes a day in life when... you miss your flight!
It starts like any other day. You wake up on time, the luggage is ready since the day before, you take some time to wash your hair and shave your legs, but everything is calculated to the minute. You know exactly how much time you need for everything and how much it will take to get to the airport, you've already been there many times before.
You were planning to go to Berlin for months now. You even mentioned to a couple of friends and then a whole bunch of them decided to take the trip on Bank Holiday week-end to Berlin, the uber cool place to be!
You didn't forget to slip in your hand bag the German manual and the Berlin guide, thinking that you'd read them through on the plane. You put your make-up on and you leave on time.
You catch the bus to the nearest tube station, you get there and the tube comes spot on. Nothing left to do, but dream about the trip...
Then you're in Kings Cross station just on time to hop on the train to the airport. Then something stupid happens, you go to the wrong side of the station. But you are still on time and if you could only buy a ticket quickly enough, there's no more to worry about. But the next train leaves in two minutes and you try to get in thinking you'll buy the extension on the train. Then this overly zealous guy stops you and asks you were are you going. Then he sends you back to the ticket office and you reckon you're still on time. The queue is not long, but there's this guy at the cashier's asking all kinds of stupid questions and the guy behind is checking some map for him for about 10 minutes. You're starting to lose your composure. You finally get to buy a ticket and you run for the train, while the language gets in your way and you almost brake your neck on the stairs. This can't be good omen, you think. But you still have time to get there. You wait for the train, when, fatality, the train is delayed. You really start to worry. This French guys comes over and asks you if you are going to the airport. You say yes and then he asks you what train to take. You advise him on the best possible option: the fast train, as they are both delayed, at least the fast train will be, err..., faster! He says his check in closes at 12.50 and you relax thinking that at least you're not the only one worrying about being late for the flight. The train finally comes and you pray that it will go as fast as the speed of light. Of courses it goes as fast as it normally does, and, should you not have been worried about every minute passing by by now, you'd realize that it is actually very fast.
You arrive at the airport station. Oh, if only you could fly. To take a rapid pace and hope to find a taxi in front of the train station exit to take you quickly to departures. Normally there's a bus for everyone to take but it seems that it would take forever. The French guy appears again and is also looking for a taxi. He spots one and hails it. You ask if you could go with them. They agree. You joke a bit in the taxi, trying to remain calm. They ask you what time is your flight and you say 1 o'clock. They say that you are even later then them, as their flight is at 1.20. You start panicking quietly. You finally arrive at departures, go to the check-in points and realize that the check-in for Berlin closed two minutes before!...
You look around thinking that it might be a bad joke, not believing that this has actually happened to you. But it did. You feel tears in the corner of your eyes. But no, you are determined to fight and find a solution. All those expectations of the trip going down the drain...
You go back to Easy Jet desk and ask for a seat on another flight. They haven't got any. You try Ryanair, the same story. You feel hungry after having smoked two cigarettes in a hurry trying to calm yourself down. Nobody believes that this has happened to you, they are all trying to help, but there is no solution. You buy a pot of noodles and eat them at the airport thinking about how you're eating microwaved noodles in a place where you shouldn't be...
Bye bye, Berlin!
Now you have to change the stupid desktop picture of the Branderburg Gate...
It starts like any other day. You wake up on time, the luggage is ready since the day before, you take some time to wash your hair and shave your legs, but everything is calculated to the minute. You know exactly how much time you need for everything and how much it will take to get to the airport, you've already been there many times before.
You were planning to go to Berlin for months now. You even mentioned to a couple of friends and then a whole bunch of them decided to take the trip on Bank Holiday week-end to Berlin, the uber cool place to be!
You didn't forget to slip in your hand bag the German manual and the Berlin guide, thinking that you'd read them through on the plane. You put your make-up on and you leave on time.
You catch the bus to the nearest tube station, you get there and the tube comes spot on. Nothing left to do, but dream about the trip...
Then you're in Kings Cross station just on time to hop on the train to the airport. Then something stupid happens, you go to the wrong side of the station. But you are still on time and if you could only buy a ticket quickly enough, there's no more to worry about. But the next train leaves in two minutes and you try to get in thinking you'll buy the extension on the train. Then this overly zealous guy stops you and asks you were are you going. Then he sends you back to the ticket office and you reckon you're still on time. The queue is not long, but there's this guy at the cashier's asking all kinds of stupid questions and the guy behind is checking some map for him for about 10 minutes. You're starting to lose your composure. You finally get to buy a ticket and you run for the train, while the language gets in your way and you almost brake your neck on the stairs. This can't be good omen, you think. But you still have time to get there. You wait for the train, when, fatality, the train is delayed. You really start to worry. This French guys comes over and asks you if you are going to the airport. You say yes and then he asks you what train to take. You advise him on the best possible option: the fast train, as they are both delayed, at least the fast train will be, err..., faster! He says his check in closes at 12.50 and you relax thinking that at least you're not the only one worrying about being late for the flight. The train finally comes and you pray that it will go as fast as the speed of light. Of courses it goes as fast as it normally does, and, should you not have been worried about every minute passing by by now, you'd realize that it is actually very fast.
You arrive at the airport station. Oh, if only you could fly. To take a rapid pace and hope to find a taxi in front of the train station exit to take you quickly to departures. Normally there's a bus for everyone to take but it seems that it would take forever. The French guy appears again and is also looking for a taxi. He spots one and hails it. You ask if you could go with them. They agree. You joke a bit in the taxi, trying to remain calm. They ask you what time is your flight and you say 1 o'clock. They say that you are even later then them, as their flight is at 1.20. You start panicking quietly. You finally arrive at departures, go to the check-in points and realize that the check-in for Berlin closed two minutes before!...
You look around thinking that it might be a bad joke, not believing that this has actually happened to you. But it did. You feel tears in the corner of your eyes. But no, you are determined to fight and find a solution. All those expectations of the trip going down the drain...
You go back to Easy Jet desk and ask for a seat on another flight. They haven't got any. You try Ryanair, the same story. You feel hungry after having smoked two cigarettes in a hurry trying to calm yourself down. Nobody believes that this has happened to you, they are all trying to help, but there is no solution. You buy a pot of noodles and eat them at the airport thinking about how you're eating microwaved noodles in a place where you shouldn't be...
Bye bye, Berlin!
Now you have to change the stupid desktop picture of the Branderburg Gate...
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