Up in the Air

I’m thousands of miles above the ground and all I can think of is that I wish I bought mints before getting on the plane. Yes, I like to partake in fresh breath and oral hygiene. But what I’d really like to do is slip one in the mouth of the passenger sitting next to me. I know how incredibly ignorant and racist this may sound, but why do certain nationalities have ABSOLUTEZLY HORRIBLE BREATH?  And yes, this is coming from my experience will all of three people with this background, but each of them could have used an unlimited subscription to Altoids.

I’m one to talk though. I’m not exactly the spokes model for fresh and clean right now with my ridiculously unwashed hair and non shaved legs. I’m not sure when I decided that throwing baby powder in my hair and some Victoria’s Secret splash was washing my hair and body, but I’d like to go back to that time and kick my ass! Lately this has become the norm for me. I’m not a lazy person, and I definitely wash my body after exercising (wait, what’s that?), but it’s just not practical sometimes! Why would I wash my body of the simple syrup, beer and Buffalo sauce when I work 40 hours between four days? That’s just silly! Though, today I fully intended on showering and washing my hair, I just so happened to wake up two hours late! Stupid vibrate mode on my phone. I legit heard something vibrating, yet my response was “why is my roommate’s phone in here?” Is that not absolutely ridiculous? I blame my roommate for waking me up, yet I didn’t search out to find where the phone was (next to my bed) and return it to her. It was MY phone, with MY alarm going off, that was supposed to wake MY ass up so I could finish packing and then get to work.

Though I’m not surprised that I overslept. A part of me knew I was heading in the direction of self sabotage when I went to bed at two am and figured it would just be easier to get up at 7am to finish packing instead of just doing it then. This has become a pattern when I travel, it doesn’t matter if my flight is at 6 o’clock in the morning, or 6 pm at night, I always, with out fail, miss my alarm sending my heart racing and my mind running at a ridiculous pace calculating all the ways I fucked up the stream of events for my trip and how I am now bound to miss my flight.

I haven’t seen the new George Clooney movie yet, but I’m intrigued to see how someone responds to flying literally ALL the time. I make myself nacious for the entire day until I am on the ground at my destination. There is always so much to factor in when traveling, especially when you are flying in and out of Manhattan.

*First there is the financial factor. Do I spend the $20-45 and take a cab to get to the airport? Sometimes yes! Too much to carry, or not enough time. This can be a fine option if you need it, but not when traveling to Newark. I love my father for booking me a direct flight to Texas, but there is added stress when flying out of Newark. *So now, there is factoring in the trains. There is the subway to get you to Penn Station (hopefully everything is running on time), then there is the getting of the ticket and finding the right track to get your train at. I always look up the train times before I get to Penn Station and search on those little screens for the time, not the destination first. Usually JFK and EWR are listed on the screens, but they are not the final destination for the train, so I always get confused, and therefore have heart palpitations that I will get on the wrong train, or get off at the wrong stop. You have to leave plenty of time for the LIRR and the NJ Transit. Usually it’s about 40 minutes to get from Penn to the Airport, but you never know, especially when you then have to factor in the AirTran. As stressful as this can be, it’s worth the $8-15 it costs one way…I’m cheap and poor, and Daddy ain’t paying for everything.

The best thing I did though was plan on only carrying on my luggage. Luggage fees are astronomical, not to mention this time of year leaves a lot to be imagined when checking luggage. Who knows who's going through your bags and what little things they may be needing for their own Christmas shopping? When I went to Cabo with my family in June, our flights were canceled, yet our bags still ended up in Mexico.  when we got there we were so excited to see our bags were at the airport we didn't even think about the fact that they had been sitting unattended for 48hours.  Needless to say, when unpacking our things at the resort we were missing everything from Q-tips, to flat irons, to shoes and new clothes.  So I have since learned my lesson when traveling at peek times of the year, and always factor in the destination.  Not to mention, waiting in line to get to the check-in counter is a pain in the ass and I much prefer the kiosk screens and self-printing tickets!

When all is said and done, I know it’s not worth stressing over. But when it comes to going home, or on vacation, my time is important and I can’t afford to miss a flight, or pay hundreds of dollars on transportation and fees. I’d far rather spend that money on shoes! So, for the next 2hours and 45minutes I will continue to educate myself on the Raw food Detox Diet, while holding my breath and looking out the window in avoidance of my neighbor to the right of me!

(P.S. Did you know that some fligths still serve meals?  I couldn't believe it.  They were handing out trays of hot sandwiches and I assumed they were for purchase.  NOPE.  She offered one to me, and of course I was starved, but couldn't eat it- BBQ Turkey on white, will watered down salad and a Twix bar, but still I was amazed.  It worked out anyways, they gave me my little wine bottle for free!  I would much rather drink on my flight than eat anyways!)

The picture op top is of me sleeping at the Airport in the way to Cabo, my sister though I needed a mint!