Pearson
I haven’t been to the US since Aug 2001, so I didn’t know what to expect at the airport check-in and the US customs. I do know that I am supposed to present my electronic devices for inspection, including having to turn on each and every piece of equipment to prove that they are in working order, and not something else in disguise. This time around I manage to get a company laptop loaned to me for the duration of the trip. I’ll tell the story of the laptop later.

So, I got to the terminal, and headed to the Express Check-in. This is the first time I bought an e-ticket from Air Canada so I didn’t know what to expect. I fed my Aeroplan card into the machine, and it then asked for more identifications. Hmm – one of the options for “additional identification” was a credit card so that is what I fed the machine next. It thought for a while and asked for more identification. What?! That was the visa I bought the tickets with! The only option presented to me was the booking confirmation number. I took out my itinerary, and discovered (of course) that none of the numbers is called “booking confirmation”. Finally I discovered the right one, and the rest of the process of automated check-in went without a hitch. Sigh. I thought, “This is going to a fun day”.

As I proceeded to the restricted area, a lady seated at the door asked if I have got a pink form. Turns out that was the form that I should fill out to prove that I have non of the SARS symptoms. The US custom agent was friendly enough – but I think they are required not to smile and speak with a deadpan tone.

Now comes the dreaded part – the x-ray machine. I mentally rehearsed my plan for turning on the machines I have on me: my laptop, my digital camera, my PDA, etc. I told them that my shoulder bag contains the equipment, and they told me to take them out and pass them through the x-ray machine separately. Sure. Past the x-ray machines they go. Operator #1 signals to operator #2 and #3; conveyer belt that feeds the x-ray beast stops. Fingers extends and points to the screen. “Oh no,” I thought, “That’s great. What did I pack that’s not to their liking?” Then, nothing, the belt restarts and all my stuff passes through.

Next came my turn to go through the metal-detecting doorframe. Today I was wearing my North Face convertible camping pants, equipped with a nylon belt that featured a plastic belt buckle. Hence, this is one of the very few times that I go through the doorframe without causing a beep. Excellent. Henceforth this pair of pants will be the pants of choice when I have to go on a trip! Ha Ha.

Now comes the turn-on-machines part. The lady asks for my permission to take a look at my laptop shoulder bag. Sure – as if I had a choice. No! You may not look at my bag at all. Ha. Hmm. So she dons latex gloves and proceeds to feel around in all the compartments of the bag. The other lady opens my laptop, but instead of turning it on, she takes this “wand” with a fabric tip, and proceeds to wipe it on the insides of the laptop. It donned on me that this is probably some sort of chemical sniffer, looking for chemical residue on the laptop. Cool. After the wiping is done, the computer purred its satisfaction, and the ladies let me go. At this point it is 4:30pm, about 1.5 hours from my flight, which means there are tonnes of time left. I get to sit at Gate P until the boarding call.

Shortly after boarding the plane, I got to my seat and was reading the En Route magazine (link?) when someone called out my name. Turned out it was Steve Mann, a professor back at the CGL at Waterloo. Wow. I really didn’t expect to meet anyone I knew at this conference, and here I am, not even in Seattle yet, and already found one! We chatted about things, and found out a few more things about the conference, and how I can get from the SEA-TAC airport to the hotel. But I think I’ll still take the shuttle, since it goes directly to my hotel, and the company’s paying for it. :)

The Laptop
I got the idea to borrow a company laptop when Tyatt and I were discussing choices of bed-and-breakfast places in Vancouver. Back then we were sure we are able to get a place that has a computer for us to use – thought almost all the places we’ve found offered free use of high-speed internet access. Finally last Monday I called up the company’s department responsible for such things and requested the loaner laptop, and on Friday I got it. However, they let me have an older model (a PII 266), which wasn’t a problem, but it has no network card, which is a big problem. How the heck am I supposed to use my free high speed internet access at the B&B and my hotel room? I was so psyched about my free in-room internet access at the hotel (link) that this turn of events was quite deflating. But at least they set the laptop up so that I can dial back to the company via a modem and check work email that way. Then again, would they pay me back for the long distance calls when I dial in? I guess I’ll find out next week. :)

Back in my house, I was chatting with Tyatt and lamenting on the laptop when she, ever resourceful, suggested that I check out Future Shop (link) to see if I can buy some PCMCIA card for the laptop, at least for the duration of the trip (ok I am evil). She then forwarded a link to a wonderful, tiny device, the Linksys USB network “card” (link). It’s not really a card – it looked more like the now-commonplace USB Flash drives (or the so-called key-chain hard drives). So today I went and bought one. Tried it, and (after a few snafus with the driver installation) the network thingy worked like a charm. Wonderful. So now the circle is complete. :)

Then I also discovered that there is only one battery (out of two), that the battery drains REAL fast, and there are at least 3 things that are already broken on the laptop – such as the latch that keeps the screen secured when the laptop is closed. I guess the laptop had seen better days. Oh well, as long as I can use it (like I am now, on the plane, writing this long blog), I am a happy guy. Welcome to my first business trip!