Rio Brazil - the wait
Its October 5th and after a 14 hours of flying and an additional 3 hour layover in Miami, I finally make it to Rio de Janeiro. I arrived before Kate and Andy and the arrangements were that I would wait for them at the airport. I arrived just after 9am and it was only a four hour wait and I could pass the time by reading my book and having lunch in the food court. The first three hours passed pretty quickly but that last one seemed to drag out. I think it was the excitement of seeing them again as it had been four months since we parted ways in San Francisco. The time arrived for their plane to land and then the Arrivals board updated itself......their flight had been delayed by an hour and a half. DAMN! Oh well back to my book and a few more beers in the food court. Mind you that was an experience in itself since I don't speak a word of Spanish or Portuguese and the waiter didn't speak a word of English. The beers went down nicely and the time passed so back to Arrivals I trotted. Right on the time that their plane was now due to arrive the Arrivals board did this familiar thing, it updated itself to say that their flight was now delayed another hour. At the same time three other airlines had canceled flights and Im starting to think that I am stuck here on my own as surely the next update would show their flight as being cancelled. I stood their and hesitated thinking 'SHIT', and then went back for another beer.
In the end their flight arrived and I had spent seven hours sitting in the food court reading and drinking. Kate said she was sure that she would find me legless in a airport bar, but that I wasn't.
posted by Adam & Jason @ 10/14/2006 04:37:00 am
2 comments
2 Comments:
Gee that's a beautiful story, very boring, but beautiful all the same....
Everybody knows a cheap person, and probably hates them. But I think we often mislabel frugal people cheap. These are just my opinions, but here's what I think differentiates the two:
Cheap people care about the cost of something.
Frugal people care about the value of something.
Cheap people try to get the lowest price on everything.
Frugal people try to get the lowest price on most things, but spend a lot on items they really care about.
Cheap people are inconsiderate. For example, when getting a meal with other people, if their food costs $7.95, they'll put in $8.00, knowing very well that tax and tip mean it's closer to $11.
Frugal people won't order a Coke if they're on a budget, so that when the bill comes, they don't look cheap.
Yes, being cheap and/or frugal can be a cultural quality. I won't spend much more time on this one.
Cheap people keep a running tally with their friends, family, and co-workers. Some frugal people do this, too, but certainly not all.
Because of the fear of even one person suggesting they spent too much on something, cheap people are not always honest about what they spent on something. Neither are frugal people.
Cheap people are unreasonable and cannot understand why they can't get something for free. Sometimes this is an act, but sometimes it's not.
Frugal people will try as hard as cheap people to get a deal, but they understand that it's a dance and, in the end, they don't intrinsically deserve a special deal.
Cheap people's cheapness affects those around them. Frugal people's frugality affects themselves.
Both cheap and frugal people will be more assertive than most people when trying to get a deal. Over the long term, they'll both save more money. But one has a cost, while the other pays dividends.
Cheap people think short term. Frugal people think long term.
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