Greetings earthlings,
Howdy from a very sweaty cafe with tenuous WiFi connectivity in Luang Prabang, Laos! Why, you may ask, did Your Dear Pal Joe choose to write the newest Digesta from Laos instead of from Thailand, where the WiFi was better and the air conditioning more forceful? Mistakes were made. And why, you may also wonder, is this week’s Digesta coming out on a Monday, when Joe’s readers are likely hastily catching up after the weekend and less ready for a relaxing read through Joe’s silly mind? Well folks…..mistakes were made.
A Monday Digesta it is folks…..I apologize for the delay or I apologize for the early release, however you look at it. But the Digesta needed to get written, and I just had to get to the Thai Lion Air take!
Five Things Joe Enjoys This Week
1) COVID-19 aka the Coronavirus is freaking everyone out, so why not share some jokes about it?
We can still tell jokes right?
Let’s keep telling jokes.
2) Early 2000’s alternative/indie rock music
I just finished reading Lizzy Goodman’s oral history Meet Me in the Bathroom, which examines the New York City rock music scene in the early 2000’s. Through interviews with the scene’s major players, Goodman chronicles the rise and explosion of bands that revitalized rock music - which had been struggling to maintain a relevant identity in the aftermath of Nirvana.
I haven’t been able to stop listening to these bands in the last two weeks. I live for the guitar-driven power of the Strokes. I air drum along to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” like I’m still playing it in my college cover band. I remember how stoked I was when I first discovered TV on the Radio. I don’t quite think I ever appreciated how iconic (“Rosemaryyyy”) some of Interpol’s lyrics actually are (“HOW ARE THINGS ON THE WEST COAST”).
Prior to reading the book, I’m not sure I realized just how much I loved this particular time in music and how strongly it has influenced my musical taste and appreciation for tunes in general.
So yeah, I like early 2000’s rock always, but particularly this week!
3) Wholesome Happy Birthday Fun
At the time of posting the tweet above, Adam Goldberg was an obscure Canadian (shout out Canada) hoping for a dose of birthday joy courtesy of some folks on the internet.
Adam is still a relatively obscure Canadian, but he’s a relatively obscure Canadian whose birthday post garnered over 28,000 retweets and 173,000 likes. He caught replies from James Corden and Jack Dorsey (Trojan Brand condoms even got in on the fun!). At the time of originally posting, he had 382 followers; he now has over 13,000! Most importantly, Adam has utilized his virality to raise over $2500 to combat Multiple Sclerosis.
I love heartwarming stories!
4) Tom Steyer’s wife getting down to “Back that Azz Up”
5) Pad Thai and a beer for $3
Have you ever been feasting on some Pad Thai (or your Thai dish of choice) and wondered, “You know, this Pad Thai is great, but I really wish I could eat it and wash it down with a delicious beer for 3 dollars.” Have you?
Visit Thailand! Pull up to basically any restaurant! It’s so easy! It’s so glorious!
Two Things Joe Dislikes This Week
1) THAI LION AIR
Alright y’all, let’s get right into it. I hate this airline so much. Storytime with Joe. Grab a blankie and cozy up by the fire.
10 days ago, Becca and I finished up our travels in Indonesia and readied ourselves to catch a flight to Bangkok for the Thailand portion of our trip. Becca booked the flight on Thai Lion Air and told me that we had checked in but still had to pay for our checked bags.
We arrived to the Bali Airport International terminal quite early, as we had a connecting flight into Bali that landed 5 hours before our next departure. When we got to the terminal, we were told that we were unable to finish checking in for our flight until 3 hours prior to our departure time. No harm, no foul - we posted up at an airport cafe for a little bit before we were allowed to check in.
When we were allowed to proceed through to check-in, the problems immediately started. We got to the desk and were told that we had missed the deadline to check baggage at an affordable rate. Our representative told us that we were supposed to have booked our bags online, or that we should have checked our bags at the airport up to 4 hours before departure. So, she relayed to us that our bags, at 14 Kilos each, were going to cost us…….wait for it…….$560 at a rate of $20 per Kilo. That’s $280 per bag. FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY DOLLARS FOR TWO BAGS!!!! For a flight that cost $82 per person.
Here are the issues with the pickle we found ourselves in: 1) Becca tried to book our bags online. All of our credit cards were declined on their janky-ass website. We had no way to book our bags online. 2) We were at the airport more than 4 hours before our departure. We were told we couldn’t proceed to the check-in counter until 3 hours before our departure, so we were unable to book our baggage when they instructed us to. 3) $560 for two normally-sized bags is absolutely outrageous!!
The woman we were speaking with was unfortunately not very helpful, and she told us their managers were all located in Bangkok (lol). She called over a coworker of hers who spoke better English, but he was even worse - he was unhelpful AND a dick about our situation. They wouldn’t even show us what our baggage would have cost with their online prices (their website makes it very hard to figure it out. It turns out that it would have cost about $40 total. Again, they were now trying to foist $560 upon us. Lol). Things were not going well.
We persisted in throwing a (respectful) hissy fit, and soon enough a helpful representative walked over to start chatting with us. We asked him if there was anything we could do. After at first saying there wasn’t, he asked us to prove that we had tried to check our bags according to their procedures. Becca had to go through the process on their website again to show that her credit card would be rejected, and we had to procure a receipt proving we were at the airport when we said we were. Because we were not in any world going to pay FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY DOLLARS for two bags, we went through the charade.
One hour and 40 minutes later, we had vanquished the beast known as Thai Lion Air. Our homeboy hooked us up with the very arbitrary rate of $50 per bag - at $100, this was still expensive, but much less than $560! We won the battle but it still feels like we lost the battle. Thank G we had showed up to the terminal so early. We got to our gate right as the flight was boarding.
To add insult to injury, the flight from Bali to Bangkok was 4 hours and 20 minutes. Were there entertainment screens? Nah. Were our seats comfortable? God no. Did we at least get complimentary water for the international journey? Nope!
Think of Thai Lion Air as Spirit Airlines but worse. Much worse. Do not fly Thai Lion Air. Please.
Everyone has had an experience with a Thai Lion Air. In every country, there is a “budget” airline promising low fares but chomping at the bit to nickel and dime your dumb ass. When you see a low fare, it’s easy to think about the benefits. But here on the MezzaDigesta it’s truly important to wonder….what about the costs? Does anybody think about the costs??! Think about the costs!!!!
2) Tom Steyer getting down to “Back that Azz Up”
Actually, you know what, this is a “Like.” I like this.
Thanks for the memories, Tom. It was a good run.
One Musing from your Friend, with an assist from memes
Three Songs Joe Likes this Week
1) Grimes - Delete Forever
Grimes just released a new album. I really like Grimes. She makes music that is accessible enough to be deemed “pop” but creative enough to be kinda weird and interesting. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who’s quite like her. I love this single off of the new record.
2) The White Stripes - We’re Going to be Friends
Another band mentioned quite a bit in the book I just read? The White Stripes. Not technically a New York band but a rock band that heavily defined the early 2000’s rock scene, the White Stripes were my introduction to my “more mature” phase of music exploration. I left Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit behind for the White Stripes. Here’s a good one from the album that first drew me in way back in 2001, White Blood Cells.
3) The Wood Brothers - Little Bit Sweet
Tasty guitar plucking, earnest vocals, and a beat that doesn’t suck? A surefire way to earn Joe’s respect and love. The Wood Broskis nail it on this new tune.
If you made it to the bottom, drop ya boi a line and let him know one thing you like this week.
Cheers all!
Joey