I'm back

ok, so since i got back from Lebanon, I have been a delinquent blogger, but things seem to be in order again and i am ready to continue my life here in the states. so, i have been back in the states for about a week now and i am finally feeling like i am ready to get back to the routine. my laundry is all done, cleaned up the apartment a bit, saw some people i hadnt seen in a while, payed some bills, finished registering for classes, and spent much quality time with Michael. :) it is good to be home, but i really miss my family in Lebanon. I took a lot of pics while we were there and everytime i look at them, it reminds me of all the good times we had. Anyway, i guess this is life. you cant be with everyone you care for at one time.

anyway, a little bit about our flight to the states. so, we took middle east airlines from beirut to paris. we left lebanon at 2 in the am and arrived in paris at 8 in the am. We were supposed to get on a 10:30 am American Airlines flight from paris to dallas. Well, when we arrived at the gate in paris, they had to search us, which we expected since we were coming from lebanon. well, they took us into this freezing cold hallway and opened every single one of our carry on items. They took everything out piece by piece. they even opened each of my sis's markers and pens. we were each frisked. Anyway, that took about an hour and half and all the time we were standing in this freezing hallway. anyway, i was pretty upset by this point. i guess i understand that they have to search us, but i wish the searching was more random and not just people who come from the middle east. anyway, it was quite humiliating, i felt like a criminal, just becuase i was coming home from the place i am from. Anyway, had we gotten on our 10:30 flight, i would have been fine, but it seems that american airlines had misplaced one of our bags and their policy is that you can fly unless all your bags are on the flight with you. So, they told us that middle east airlines had not send two of our bags and we could not get on the flight until our bags arrived. So, we went back to the ticketing line and they tried to get us on a later flight to the states. we waited for about another hour while they were trying to get us another flight, all the while standing up. Anyway, they wanted to put us on a 2:30 flight to chicago and then onto dallas. They said that if our bag got in, we could take that flight, but they would have to search our stuff again. by this point, we are all very exhausted and very pissed off. my father said that we would only be searched again if they find our bag and can guarantee that we get on the 2:30 flight. anyway, needless to say, they did not find our bag and we did not get on that flight. so, this is the point where we find out that middle east did not lose our bags, they went through american airlines x-rays at 9 in the am and they misplaced them. so, we go back to the ticket counter and after much arguing, they put us on a British Airways flight to london in the morning and then onto dallas. british airways does not have the policy where you can only fly if all your bags are with you. anyway, american airlines paid for our hotel, dinner and they upgraded two of our tickets to first class. i believe i was frisked 10 times that day. it was ridiculous. it all worked out in the end, but by the time i got to the hotel in paris, i was as angry as i have been in quite a while. anyway, it is all over now. it really irks me how other travelers could arrive at the gate 5 minutes before take off and get on the plane, yet we had to spend 1.5 hours getting searched. anyway, i guess that is how it goes.

well, all is well now. i am getting back into the groove. this weekend was quite nice. michael actually took the weekend off, so we were able to spend a lot of time together. it was very nice. we saw lord of the rings: return of the king on the IMAX. it was quite wonderful. we also say Big Fish, another good movie. we smoked a bit out of our new narghiles (hookahs). they are top of the line straight from the homeland. anyway, life is pretty good. this weekend, michael and i are heading to austin for a night and then onto fredericksburg for a few nights. we need some relaxing quality time before classes and internships start again next week. well, i hope you are all well.