We boarded the plane and found our window & isle seats in the 6^th row. Our seats look huge compared to the seats we usually sit in. I particularly enjoy the large armrest between our seats. Awaiting us are two sets of ear plugs for the movie, two bottles of water and blankets neatly folded in specially designed pockets attached to seats in front of us.

Once in the air we are offered complementary beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Since it is New Year’s eve, Deutsch starts of with a glass of Champagne. Since I am unfortunately feeling a little under the weather, my choice of bubbly is ginger ale. Due to the stealth of our flight attendants, each of our glasses always seems to be full. Now the good stuff starts. We are each offered a small bowl of warm mixed salted nuts. I’m afraid that I was so distracted by my warm nuts that I forgot to whip out my camera to document the beginning of the food. The attendants continue to refill the beverages and nuts until dinner. Oh yes, I said dinner. I never knew that in these days of airline cut backs, they are still feeding the lucky bastards seated in the first six rows.

At first when I heard they were serving dinner I was a little worried. Since the upgrade was only issued late yesterday, I was sure that they would not have had time to get us our vegetarian meals in order. My First Class meal opportunity may be missed! However, once I perused the menu (the MENU?!?), my worries were laid to rest. I did remember to take pictures from here on out. Some photos may be a little dark. I avoided using the flash for fear that my fellow First Class companions would mock me…. a lot. I also didn’t want to give anyone a heart attack with a bright flash on an airplane. I figured better to have dark pictures than an undercover airline Marshall jump me. Handcuffs may have ruined the rest of my First Class experience.

Mojito Shrimp served with Somen Noodles and a Combination Salad featuring fresh seasonal Greens and Chili-cucumber with a Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing and a whole wheat roll.

Eggplant Ravioli Pasta filled with a rich Eggplant Puree, topped with Bechamel Sauce and a light Marinara Sauce.

The Ravioli was delicious.

For dessert I had the Breyers Vanilla Ice Cream Sundae with my choice of hot fudge and pecans to top it off. Yum!

Now for the movie portion of the flight. I was happy to find out that they were playing The Illusionist, one that I had recently missed in the theaters. It stars Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell. I was thrilled to get in one more movie to add to my 2006 list. It was an enjoyable movie, but predictable.

After the movie we were offered freshly baked Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies. To accompany the cookies we were given a choice of milk, chocolate milk and/or sparkling water with lemon. I chose the later.

As we make our decent we are treated with good-bye Ghiradadelli chocolates. Dark chocolate with white mint filling, what more could one ask for? I saved mine for later that night after I had chilled it in the fridge.

That concludes my First Class experience. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please keep your fingers crossed for future upgrades. For an interesting flight food read, check out Airlinemeals.net.

It is 2007! Happy New Year! I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous year for you and your loved ones.

]]> http://www.bloggingcrap.com/2007/01/flying-american-airlinesfirst-class/feed/ 1 http://www.bloggingcrap.com/2007/01/2006-summary-of-all-the-crap-i-didnt-blog-about-part-two-concerts-movies/ http://www.bloggingcrap.com/2007/01/2006-summary-of-all-the-crap-i-didnt-blog-about-part-two-concerts-movies/#comments Tue, 02 Jan 2007 22:36:00 +0000 michele http://www.bloggingcrap.com/2007/01/2006-summary-of-all-the-crap-i-didnt-blog-about-part-two-concerts-movies/ Concerts

This was a good year for concerts. The past couple of years I just slacked with music. I made a goal for myself this year to get back into the music scene. Here is a list of the concerts and venues I went to .

Sisters of Mercy – House of Blues in Annaheim
Coachella Festival – Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA (see picture of line-up below)
Ministry & Revolting Cocks – House of Blues in Annaheim
Artic Monkeys & We Are Scientists – Wiltern
She Wants Revenge – Wiltern
Yes, I Killed Him – Lava Lounge
Nouvelle Vague – The Fonda Theatre
Massive Attack – The Hollywood Bowl
Beck – Element
Sonic Youth – Wiltern
Cake – Wiltern (Almost, I was had to miss this concert due to a cold)

Movies

This year I have seen 41 movies. It may be difficult to believe, but this has been a slow movie going year for me. Early 2007 I will have to cram in all of the Golden Globe and Oscar nominated movies. Good times! Here is a list of the movies I have seen. The * symbolizes the movies I particularly enjoyed.

King Kong*
Casanova
Match Point*
The Producers
The Matador*
Munich*
Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story*
Underworld: Evolution
Failure to Launch
V for Vendetta
Thank You For Smoking*
Poseidon
Da Vinci Code
Brick*
An Inconvenient Truth*
The Break-Up*
X-Men: The Last Stand
Lake House*
Click
Superman Returns
The Filth and the Fury
Pirates of the Caribbean II*
A Scanner Darkly*
The Devil Wears Prada
Clerks II * (Q & A with Kevin Smith afterwards)
My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Little Miss Sunshine*
Scoop
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby*
Crank
Idiocracy*
The Last Kiss
Hollywoodland
Fearless*
Little Children*
The Departed*
The Queen*
Casino Royale
Stranger Than Fiction*
The Holiday*
The Illusionist*

Look for Part Three of my 2006 summary in a
couple of days.

As you have undoubtedly figured out, I am a huge movie awards fan. I totally dig those long, boring speeches and the long, beautiful dresses. Luckily, my husband, Deutsch is a fan as well. Actually, he would be ecstatic if the actors didn’t utter a word or if the fashion show was not televised, but he is a true movie buff. January is always a stressful time for us. It is our mission to to see ALL of the movies that are nominated. In reality, we never accomplish the entire mission, but we do give it our best. In order to squeeze in all the movies, we have to predict what movies may be nominated. Excellent resources to help us with our mission are Oscar Watch and Meta Critic.

Here is an example to show how serious we are with this mission. We have already seen four movies in 2006 and we are only nine days into the new year. I know what you are thinking. Yes, it is an expensive hobby. In our defense, we have an addiction. It is an illness (for you South Park fans). It is difficult to kick the habit. Plus, our lives are so damn boring it is one of our only forms of entertainment. This year we have shoveled money out to King Kong, Cassanova, Match Point and The Producers. Our must-see movie list still includes: Munich, Memoirs of a Geisha, and The Squid and the Whale.

I am extremely proud to announce that we are in the best shape ever to completing our mission! Of course, the flip side is that our addiction is spiraling out of control. At least Deutsch & I are in it together. I think some may call that enabling each other. Also, in the city of Rehab Clinics, I am not aware of one dedicated to helping Oscar season junkies. In conclusion, I hope to infect all of you with this entertaining disease. Remember, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. A final note, I am not too proud to accept donations to support our habit.

*Mrs. Henrietta Bloomberg is a fictional character created for the purposes of blogging about crap.