LAX

This past week, I have been in California with my family, doing the Chorney family thing… that is, Disneyland. This time, for a little extra flavour, we threw in the Canucks games against the L.A. Kings and the Anaheim Ducks as well (which was a genius addition, I have to say).

On our way down, Jenn and I had a couple of hours to wait in the L.A. Airport before the Calgary crew’s flight landed, so we chilled out in the International Departure Lounge (the only place we could find to get some food). In addition to feeding our hungry tummys, we also had a grand ol’ time observing the world around us. A few highlights are listed below:

- At McDonald’s, you can order the “two cheeseburger” meal, or you can just get the burgers for $3.02. Or… you can buy cheeseburgers individually for $1.46 each. um… what?


- There are Exit signs in all the usual places… and also the UNusual. Like this one, bolted to the wall near the ground. How is that useful??


- Best Shirt of the Day Award goes to… The guy wearing this one: “So far this is the oldest I’ve ever been”  (Okay, to be fair, we couldn’t actually see all of the letters on the shirt. But this is the most logical conclusion based on the parts we COULD see.)


- Best Announcement of the Day Award goes to… British Airways: “Youseff Madri*, please report to the British Airways counter. Youseff Madri, arriving from Las Vegas and en route to Cairo, please report to the British Airways counter.” Why was all of that information necessary? In case there were multiple people in the airport with that very specific name?

After visiting the airport, I’ve decided that if I were going to design one, I’d do it very differently. First off, the ARRIVALS section would be the nicest. I would want people visiting my fictitious city to marvel at how great it was as soon as they stepped off the plane. And I would make it a lot easier to have a snack while people were waiting for their family members to arrive on later flights by having restaurants in more convenient locations. The DEPARTURES area would be less flashy. Who cares what people think about your city while they’re on their way OUT of it?


* Name has been changed to protect the innocent… and because I can’t remember exactly what it was but I KNOW it was something atypical for the setting.