Thursday May 31st 2012

I woke up around 9 am and tried to do the online check-in, but it still didn’t work. Quite “fed up” yet hungry at the same time, I went upstairs and had some blueberry toaster pastries I had purchased from Whole Foods at the beginning of the week, and then took a quick shower. I hadn’t showered since I didn’t go running. I made the excuse that it was too hot. It felt like China already – hot and humid – but luckily, today was sunny and cool. It was a great day to go running, but I’m going to China so a 12-mile run didn’t seem practical. After taking care of some important emails and leaving contact information, I waited expectantly for my father to pick me up at eleven.

He came at eleven forty. I can’t say it was unexpected but I appreciate him picking me up all the same. We drove to Flushing and ate some freshly made dumplings for lunch. It was great that we found a parking spot so close to Main St. – or even one remotely near that intersection. Despite the fact that we left a little late, there was still quite some time left before we had to head to JFK, so my dad and I walked around trying to look for snacks I could take on the airplane. We ended up getting some  豆 花 (dòu huā) and a papaya milkshake before setting off to the airport. Outside of my trying to block my knees and thighs from the hot sun, it was a relatively smooth ride to JFK. Air China was the second to last section of Terminal 1.

After checking in my red luggage bag, I quickly passed through security and notified Kevin (my brother) and Dad. My cell phone still works today, but it will be deactivated starting from tomorrow until August 8th when I get back. I went to the bathroom and now I’m sitting by Gate 6 for flight CA982 at 4:50 pm. Boarding begins at 4 pm. Looking at a poster about swallowing robots –  something about nanobot medicine. Cool, but a little creepy. It looks like my flight will be pretty full.

~ end of entry 2:55 pm, JFK Airport