Sunday, May 3, 2009

I wake up at 6:30. 4 hours of sleep. Of course. I have 27 hours of traveling ahead of me and still I choose to stay out until 2 playing pool. But that's okay. I'll sleep on the plane, right? Unless some Japanese guy decides that he cares not that the person sitting behind him may want some room to work with too. We all need to be comfortable on this thing. This is a shared experience. Don't you care? 13 hours! Wait a minute. This is not march madness or the playoffs, or Michael Phelps or Lebron. There is no camaraderie. I am the outcast now. That is fine. I have always wanted to be the foreigner. I have just flown over Canada and am now crossing over the Pacific on my way to Tokyo. I have to fill out a form for the Japanese government that says that I don't have the swine flu. They haven't gotten it yet, and I don't want t be the one to pass this mutated terror germ to the pacific rim. I guess I have been able to sleep some, despite my new favorite person in the world, whose gyrations are killing me. An hour and a half here and there. That is something I can actually do pretty well. My scrambling sleep  ability is unmatched. And I am very low maintenance. There's and empty seat between me and the Japanese young man sitting in the aisle seat. He seems nice, although he hasn't said a word. I wish I had some more leg room though. That's okay. I'll use the blanket they gave me to keep my knees from getting carpet burn from rubbing an turning against the tilted seat that lies pretty much in my lap. 

I have not even mentioned the first flight, the 2 hour leg from Memphis to Tokyo. I made a friend on this plane, a young lady from Canada who was very nice. She was on her way home from Orlando. I told her to come to Bangkok, but she wouldn't listen. 

As I type It is 12:15 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, 1:15 P.M. in Tokyo(Monday), and 11:15 A.M. in Bangkok(Monday). I am losing half a day of my life, but it's worth the sacrifice. As long as they don't keep playing episodes of the New Adventures of Old Christine, I think I will make it.

4 more hours to go on this flight, and then 7 more to Bangkok. Plus 2 Layover. 13 Hours until I arrive. I may or may not update this en route posting. If not, then I will get with you once I reach the Land of Smiles.