Asian Adventure: Day 1

So you know how I told you The BF moved to Singapore?  Well, he did. He’s still there. And now I’m going to visit! I’ve been planning this visit pretty much since before he left, so I’ve been looking forward to it for a while. We’ve planned side trips to Indonesia (awesome little beach resort on an Indonesian island) and Cambodia (touring around Siem Reap and the temple ruins at Angkor Wat) and Malaysia (Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. KL has some REALLY tall buildings. Like the hotel double tower thing that used to be the tallest building in the world until they built the Burj Dubai…or whatever they’re calling it these days.  But yeah, that’s pretty much why I want to go there. I like tall things. Eiffel Tower, Space Needle, window seats on airplanes: I like looking down on things from up high. It’s fun!)

I’m literally en route, writing this from the Tokyo Airport (which is lovely).  With the time difference, it’s just about midnight in Seattle, so as a first post of my Asian adventure, I’ll start by giving you the highlights of today. To make it easier, I’ll break it up into things I did and things I didn’t do.

Things I did today:

• -          Got up at 5am to finish packing and getting my apartment ready to leave.
• -          Washed some dishes that have been sitting in my sink/on my counter for LITERALLY weeks, waiting to be washed. (Go ahead, judge away. I judge myself for that.)
• -          Went to The BF’s storage unit to get his flip flops and bathing suits (for said island beach resort trip). Somehow, despite talking about it several times –and visiting the storage unit several times (ahem, tent) I managed to not remember to do that until TODAY.
• -          Got a tetanus shot. Technically, I got the full DTAP booster, for tetanus and diphtheria and pertussis. Been meaning to do that for a while. Figure I should really make it happen before leaving the country.
• -          Took a shower. (This may sound unworthy of mention, but when looking at the rest of these lists, I think you’ll understand the feat this was.)
• -          Packed a ridiculous amount of stuff into 2 suitcases and a carry-on tote. Managed to keep one of the suitcases under the 50 lb weight limit. Speaking of, when did they change the international baggage weight limit to 50 lbs?!
• -          Watched the cab I called to go to the airport drive off without me. I was wrestling the aforementioned heavy suitcases out my apartment door and the cab driver apparently got tired of waiting and drove away. I watched him drive away.
• -          Talked to my mom, The BF, Queenie and texted with Julie Vegas, Fritha and KJ.
• -          Drove to my office and picked up two large boxes of Christmas china. Took them home.
• -          Interacted with co-workers assisting me in this endeavor without earrings, make-up or combed hair. I also had not showered or brushed my teeth. They helped me anyway.
• -          Bought vitamins. Fit them into the aforementioned suitcases.
• -          Attended a conference call for work.
• -          Met a Gamecocks fan in the Tokyo airport. He’s from SC and his brother is a linebacker on the football team at Carolina. He was impressed to meet an alumni from SC in the Tokyo airport. Or maybe he was just scared cuz I’m so old. Either way.
• -          Read a whole book.
• -          Watched The Avengers. It was good….kinda wish I’d seen it in the theater though.
• -          Watched The Hunger Games. Twice. Even though I have seen it. In the theater. At IMAX.
• Made it onto my 1pm PT flight, with bags checked and carry-on stowed and even had time to get an iced coffee at the airport SBUX.

Things I didn’t do today:

• -          Watch tv or use the internet. Cuz I canceled cable while I’m gone and it shut off at midnight.
• -     Remember that I had no tv or internet. Until I tried several times to access both of those things , including Netflix via XBOX 360, several times.
• -          Brush my teeth. I know. Gross. I felt gross all day. I was basically naked when my cab driver called to tell me he’d arrived, so in the rush to throw clothes on and wrestle my suitcases out the door, tooth-brushing didn’t happen. Of course, if I had known that my cab driver was leaving me and I’d have to wait 10 mins for another one, I could have brushed my teeth. And put on face cream. And maybe even make-up. Because those are things I also did not do.
• -          Sleep on my first flight like I’d planned.
• -          Work out. (ha!)
• -          Wash my hair. I meant to do that, but….well……you know.
• -          Remember to put deodorant on BEFORE I packed it. Fortunately I was able to quickly pull out some deodorant from my travel toiletries bag and did wear deodorant today.

So that’s the first day of my Asian adventure. More to come. 

Douchebag of the Week

On the way back from Gen Con last week, I was seated in seat 9A, per my usual. I always try to sit in a window seat in a row 10 or lower. I don't like the bulkhead or exit rows. I LOVE the free upgrade to first class, but I can't count on that.

So I was sitting in 9A, on my way back to Seattle after a short layover in Houston, when my row-mates joined me. The lady on the aisle sat down and pulled out a book and headphones and got situated. I like her style.

The dude in the middle seat. Yeah...about that. He sits down wearing jeans, a long-sleeved button-down shirt and a shearling-lined jacket. And a frayed straw cowboy-style hat. And a pair of "diamond" earrings. Keep in mind, we're flying from Houston, TEXAS to Seattle, in the middle of AUGUST. There is no need for the shearling-lined jacket.

He proceeded to fall asleep and slump onto the lady on the aisle. She leans over to get out from under him and is hanging out into the aisle when the flight attendant walks by. The flight attendant then says "Excuse me, do y'all know him?" (Houston-based flight crew, clearly) We respond that we don't know him and the flight attendant shakes him awake and tells him he's not allowed to fall asleep on strangers. Here's to you, miss flight attendant lady!

The guy re-adjusts himself in his seat and falls back asleep for a bit, while I pulled out my notebook PC and proceeded to catch up on email. I have my headphones in, watching the in-flight movie (My Life in Ruins, starring Nia Vardalos. It was cute, but not awesome) and doing work. It's pretty obvious I don't want to make small talk with my seatmates.

At this point, the dude wakes up, taps me and says "how much longer til we get there?"

Blink. Blink. Seriously?

So I tell him that we're probably half way through our 4-hour flight and therefore have about 2 more hours. He goes back to sleep for half an hour, then wakes up and taps me again.

Dude: "Where did we stop?"
Me: "Um...we stop in Seattle??"
Dude: "No, where are we now. Didn't we stop?"
Me: "Uh...no. We're still in the air."
Dude: "Oh. How much longer til we get there?"
Me: "Well, we land at 2:30pm and it's 1pm now, so about another hour and a half."
Dude: "Ugh. This is a long flight"

Half-hour later....

tap tap tap
Dude (while looking at my computer screen): "What time is it?"
Me (turning computer away from him): "It's 1:30pm"
Dude: "So are we almost there?"
(SERIOUSLY)
Me: "About another hour"
Dude: "When do we start heading down?"
Me: "Soon. Very soon."

People who are old enough to travel unaccompanied without special attention from the flight crew are not allowed to ask questions like that. Period.

I usually have such good luck with airplane seatmates....I guess I was due.