On my flight from hawaii to LA, someone finally noticed my tiny bottle of eyedrops and two mini lube packets. They’ve been in there since before I left for europe. That means I’ve flown to & from baltimore, as well as to oakland and hawaii with those in there and TSA never noticed. I mean, they’re small and all, but still I was breaking the rules (I honestly hadn’t remembered). 4 flights. But as the TSA guy was putting them in a ziploc baggie he made some inane comment about how they were all eye care products, and I responded that 1 of them was. To which he verbally plugged his ears and said “nyah, nyah, I’m not listening”: “Yup, they were all eye care products.”
You know, if you’re going to be digging through people’s bags for a living, a couple lube packets seems like something you should get used to real fast.
Also, on the supershuttle from ken’s place, I happened to share a ride to LAX with the CTO for the ubuntu linux people. He gave me a promo cd and encouraged me to check it out. I may just. I’ll have to get an lcd screen first, though…
PS, I left before the earthquake, and none of my family got hurt in the earthquake. Just in case anyone was worried.
Maybe he would have had to confiscate the lube, but could allow eye care products through.
Maybe you just have REALLY DRY eyes…
The TSA regulations seem to have the same “I’m not listening” attitude. Search for “personal lubricant”. Note that it is different from “eye drops”.
That is hilarious, and yet so, so wrong.
I looked it up to confirm a rumor that personal lubricant was on there. The blurb about eye drops was just a bonus.
1. I didn’t realize your family was in Hawaii. Glad to hear they’re okay.
2. I read your story about the TSA guy differently. I read: He’s gay too, he spotted you as such as well, and it was a kind of “wink” among family.
I should start bringing items that might make TSA people uncomfortable, especially if they have to handle them.
I’d really feel then that their extra effort was getting me my money’s worth.
Prior to the security hysteria, I remember one time when I left my backpack to get a drink of water. Mom wasn’t traveling with me, but was in the gate area at the time. And she started loudly proclaiming that I couldn’t possibly leave my bags unattended, because it’s so dangerous. Sotto voce, I said that I did it all the time. I suspect the attendant was attracted by my mother’s unquiet rumblings, and apologetically demanded to see what was in my backpack. I unzipped the bag, she glanced inside and said that she didn’t need to see anymore. I didn’t think about that detail until the trip was over and I unpacked the backpack that I had a large dildo inside, on the top of the main compartment. =)
Admit it, you brought a lethal combination of lube that would combine into a bomb of sexy, sexy terror.
packet #1 + packet #2 = aerosol aphrodisiac, dammit, I learned it by watching you.
*snort* The guy I talked to from the TSA was going to make me leave behind a .5 oz. roll on of essential oil that helps when I’m migraining because I didn’t have a plastic bag for it. Yep. Nothing that could possibly do anything to anybody except make me feel better and leave a bit of lavender/peppermint smell in the air. Nothing else with it, either. A quart bag that would be empty save for a blasted half an ounce of migraine remedy. Luckily, I hadn’t packed another bag where I thought I had, and the migraine remedy joined a small container of lip gloss/spf whatever/moisturizer.
Next time I find myself travelling by air, I intend to head for Dupont Circle for a couple of 3 oz containers of warming lube or something, so my migraine stuff won’t be lonely.
And Mom had to deal with a guy in CA lecturing her loudly about how she had done her quart baggie incorrectly, and hadn’t separated her meds from her moisturizer, or something.