I am an alien.... I am a legal alien....

After a long flight delay in London, I made it into NYC after 9 p.m. yesterday. Right now I am at Ferrara in Little Italy. It has been over 20 years since I have been here last time.
 I LOVE NEW YORK!

Ready!

Luggage? Check!

Money? Check!
Passport? Check!

Carry-On? Check!

Medicine? Check!

Online Check-in? Check!

Boarding Pass? Check!

Pheww!

I hope to continue posting while on vacation. 

Goal for Tonight

My goal for tonight is to be done with packing and close my suitcase! Then I need to put some things back to where they belong.

I need to purchase a couple of medicines I take regularly. I thought, I had bought enough. Good thing that I decided to pack them yesterday night. If I had realized that I were running short on some medicine on Friday night, that would not be good.

Tomorrow night, I will be working on personal care and making some notes before hitting the sack. I will probably have to get up around 5 a.m. in the morning.

Yesterday, I had my period. I am glad because, it will be somewhat manageable on the day of my flight. Usually Day 2 is the worst and I hate being stuck on a plane for a long time with that. Believe me it happened more than once.

I need to purchase a couple more gifts tonight and then I am done.

I have decided to take my hard cover suitcase instead of the soft one which is a bit smaller. I still haven't decided on the duffel bag yet. I must take appropriate measurements of it. I think, it is oversized and a bit heavy even when empty. If I do not take the duffel bag, I may have to purchase another suitcase which I truly do not need. There used to be very inexpensive but gigantic suitcases in Chinatown NY. We could never use them more than three times at most since they fell apart quickly but, they were like 20-30 USD so, that was not a big issue.

It looks like I am very short on casual summer clothing. I have only one pair of cropped pants and just a couple of shirts. I think a visit to Dress Barn and Lane Bryant is in order.

Last 3 days!

I cannot believe, I have only 3 days left till my big vacation.

So far I have;

1. Started packing.
2. Found the locks, and belts for the luggage. Tags are not cooperating and are hiding somewhere.
3. Completed my list of the people who asked for things and for whom I will be buying gifts and gift ideas for each.
4. Took measurements of my sis and BIL last weekend.
5. Washed everything that I would need to take with me.

I still need to:

6. Die my hair.
7. Make a list of what I need to buy for myself.
8. Find small gifts for three young ladies between the ages of 18-26. I think I will get authentic silver necklaces for each of them.
9. Complete packing.

Vacation Prep on Full Speed

I am trying to get as much work done as I can before, I leave for my vacation. I still have 10 days to go but, that's not a whole lot of time.

So far,

1. Made my packing list.
2. Got all the medicines I will take with me
3. Found the American plugs for my chargers
4. Wrote an e-mail to my friends in the U.S. and to my sis regarding my itinerary so that, they will know my whereabouts since, I will be doing a lot of driving and staying at hotels.
5. Got most of the cash I might need. Still need to buy a little more next week.
6. Checked out some of the places I want to see online and made notes.
7. reserved the shuttle service from and to the airport.
8. Found the space bags

I need to;

1. Actually take out the luggage and start packing
2. Find the locks, tags and belts for the luggage.
3. Complete my list of the people who asked for things and for whom I will be buying gifts and gift ideas for each.
4. Take measurements of my sis and BIL this weekend since, they have lost a good deal of weight lately due to my sister's illness.
5. Die my hair next week.
6. Make a list of what I need to buy for myself.
7. Find small gifts for three young ladies between the ages of 18-26. I think I will get authentic silver necklaces for each of them.

Excited with Anticipation

I have got only days to my big vacation. My fear of flight is showing his ugly head which I am trying to stomp on.

Butterflies in my stomach and tons to do before I leave... Crazy days ahead...

I need to drop my mom off at her home in Ankara this weekend. I will also spend a day at the Ankara office on Monday so, that basically leaves me less than 4 days to put together my luggage. Since I have the list made for that, I think, I should be just fine.

I must find where I have put the luggage tags and extra belts just in case the suitcase decides to burst. I also do know where my travel pillow is. I found all US plugs that I had accumulated over the years so, I have enough for each charger.

I need to book a shuttle to and from airport early next week via my credit card company. They have a good service provider and also their lounge at the airport is very good.

I have purchased enough US dollars for this trip and can withdraw money from any ATM if I need more cash.

Do I sound excited? Yes I bet! Just wishing that everything will be just fine and I have a great vacation. I am hoping the flights will be nice too.

Killer Headache and High Blood Pressure...

I had a nightmare so, I woke up with high blood pressure and a terrible headache attached to it today.

I was able to control the BP but the headache is persistent. Every time I went downstairs at the office, it felt like my brain was floating in my skull and bumping against it.

The day is almost over with very little stuff that I have accomplished. I finally caved in and swallowed a painkiller. We'll see if it will work.

The weather is also horrible with extreme humidity. I think we shall end up growing giant gills to get oxygen. I just want to go home and go to bed. Poor me...

Was a nice day...

Yesterday was a nice day. I had a meeting at a Customer at 4 p.m. and after the meeting I decided to head home instead of going back to the office.

I called my mom and took her out for an excellent dinner we both enjoyed. I also enjoyed a nice cold beer.

After dinner we strolled around a little bit at a mall and headed back home. It is too hot these days, so, I avoid going outside. After we came back home, we watched an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles as I did a load of laundry and went to bed early for a change especially because, I needed to get up early to finish up a contract.

Eccentric (read Weird) Bank Teller!

I shall be spending about 20 days in the US in less than three weeks so, I got to have some cash on hand. I do not plan to carry a wad of cash on myself, therefore, I am bringing a cash card that I will be able to use with a small fee for withdrawals. My bank charges USD 1.5 each time I use an ATM abroad regardless of the amount I take out. The down side is that they do not allow me to withdraw the USD sitting in my USD account but rather take out TL from my regular checking account, convert it to USD and sell me that money. This way the fee seems small but they make money over the exchange rate. Whatever... We are not talking about huge amounts here.

So, yesterday I went to a bank close to my office and told the teller that I wanted to purchase some US Dollars and since I prefer to have small bills such as 20s and 10s rather than 100s, I asked them nicely if I can have the total amount in 50s or smaller bills.

The teller took out a huıge bundle of various types of bills and told me he could only give me 50s while I clearly saw that, there were lots of 10s and 20s hanging from the bundle. I said: "Well, can you at least give some 20s and 10s, may be about 150 USD worth or so?" He said "No. You see, if I give them to you I will not have much left." Huh? Well, HELLOOOO? What is a bank's job? Why do they provide you all those bills in the first place? To sell it to people who need it. Right? Apparently that is not what this guy thought.

As I figured it would be meaningless to argue, I grabbed the 50s and went back to work.

I purchase the currency solely from banks because, I certainly do not want to come accross counterfeit money. The safest thing is to go to banks but, they do not like to carry small bills.... or sell them in my situation. Sigh....

Sam was right! .....The End of Toilet Paper Saga

Remember this post from last year? I congratulate Sam from It's me Sam for guessing it right. All those toilet paper rolls lasted me exactly 18 months. This weekend I realized that, I was opening the last 24-roll pack.

Now, I am on the lookout for good deals. However, I do not think, I will buy as many as I did last time:) Wonder why?

I do have a big stash of paper towels though. Don't know when that happened. Those should last me a year. if not more. Sigh...

Vacation Check-List!

I am very excited about my upcoming vacation in the US. It is going to be a 20-day trip so, I must make sure that I will take what I will need; no more no less. I am planning to shop in the U.S. therefore, I should be able to have ample space in my two pieces of luggage. I will have opportunities to do laundry so, I really do not need too many things.

I am planing to take a giant duffel bag along with a large suitcase. I am assuming the suitcase will fit in the duffel bag so, on the way to the U.S., I will not have to pay for extra luggage.  I do not have a carry-on. I may end up buying one from the U.S.

Here is my Check-List:

To wear on the plane:
Shirt
Sweat pants
Athletic Shoes


Purse/Handbag
Passport
Money
Credit Cards (2)
Cash Card (1)
Presciption Medicine to last for 20 days plus extras just in case
Toothbrush and Toothpaste
Hair Brush
Deodorant
Wet Tissue Pack
Travel size Hair Spray
Tablet PC and charger
Two phones and charger
Outlet connector for US
A Shawl
Small notebook and a pen

Luggage
Gifts
Sunglasses and a hat
Bath sponge
Q-Tips
Moisturizer
Couple of emery boards
Tweezers
2 pairs of pants
2-3 Shirts
Lightweight cardigan
Flip-flops
Bathing Suits (2)
Peshtemals (Hamam Towels to use as towels or at the beach)
Beach Dress
Underwear and socks (old ones will be tossed)
Nightgown
A roll of small baggies and two plastic containers to pack liquid purchases.