London, UK

OK, lots to write about. Got to LAX and used self check-in, which required me to swipe my passport. It did however prompt an attendant to thoroughly review my passport for a visa, which I didn't have. Since their software said I could buy one on arrival, no problem. Then the machine only gave me boarding passes as far as London, but I was able to get them all the way to Cairo upon request. Then I accidentaly got into the security screening line for business class passengers and was thoroughly told off. Oh well, at least I TRY to be less annoying than the average passenger. TSA has gotten a little more hardcore. They now scan your passport with some weird green light then stamp your boarding pass with a big stamp reading "Department of Homeland Security." Once at the gate they had a flight leaving to New York in about an hour, so I managed to easily change my boarding pass to this flight, which was great because I got to spend more time in the Big Apple. It was FREEZING. I mean, I didn't even go outside the airport but I could feel the cold through any open door. To entertain myself I checked out the people departing for various destinations, seeking out high quality travelers. Turns out Helsinki might be a good place to visit, but Barcelona, surprisingly, is not. Got on the flight to London, which was a hellride but with great entertainment. I watched a few episodes of "The Office" and listened to American Airlines new demo of Japanese pop music. I am now a huge fan of J Pop - it's totally badass. It's incredibly foggy in London and there is snow on the ground. Cold beyond belief outside, but the keep it nice and toasty inside the terminal, almost too warm. The original parts of Heathrow are still a shithole, but the new terminal 5 is awesome. To get there you take a bus, and it's like a ten minute ride away. The airport is massive. Terminal 5 is just ridiculously well organized. You walk in and somebody from British Airways inspects your boarding pass and immediately directs you to the correct line for you in a large serious of efficient "queues." Then a British Airways transfer agent scans your passport and issues you a brand new boarding pass - I guess they regard American Airlines as incompetent to issue boarding passes. To my dismay I did have to go through security again. First you file past a friendly agent with a desk who advises passengers to remove all beverages and unauthorized liquids from their luggage, and has a collection of discarded liquids on his desk. In the US, they just yell at people who can't figure out the sign (though I don't blame them). Then you get to the X-rays, manned by hot young British ladies. They actually tell people to but their passports and boarding passes in their luggage, since they have already been inspected by the British Airways transfer agent. You do have to remove your shoes. They detained my luggage because they were a little suspicious about my liquids bag. Although I did see that it was required to place them in a 3 oz ziploc bag, as in the States, maybe it's not required here to remove it from the rest of your luggage, so it looked weird. Or maybe I'm completely wrong. I don't really care. So in other words, Terminal 5 is great, rest of Heathrow sucks. I think this terminal does have a special place in my heart because of the guard rails placed at the escalators, supposedly to prevent people from entering the escalators with "trolleys," but it really frustrates people with excess baggage. Hahaha, God Save the Queen. Terminal 5 feels like a snotty South County mall except the only thing for sale is alcohol - lots and lots of alcohol. Oh I guess there are some other things for sale, like handbags and iPods, but who cares when this is like lush central of the jetset world? Every wall is stocked with every alcohol known to man, and there are free samples. Then everywhere there are these ultra-hip euro bars, where you can get a cocktail for 9.50 pounds. I don't even want to know how many dollars that is. Speaking of sinful products, I had bacon for breakfast today for the third day in a row. Got to stock up before the Middle East.