This morning I walked in a fog to the grocery store, to buy medicine you can't get over the counter in the US, and spices.
A literal fog, not the brain kind.
We've visited our favorite restaurants, had drinks with our friends who are left here, our visas are officially cancelled, and everything is packed.
After a grueling game of "Will it fit?"
I've said goodbye to several people here, and they always seem to be a little sad to be leaving. There's a melancholy associated with leaving this place. I don't seem to have that.
Although I will miss this.
Instead, I've been in kind of suspended animation, just waiting. There's only ten hours left to wait until it's time to leave for the airport. I guess I could sleep some of those hours, but I wouldn't want to spoil sleep-appetite before the flight. I keep trying to look ahead at what I'll be doing when I'm back home, but there's only so much planning one can do, and there are some things one shouldn't buy over the internet.
"FOR SALE, GOOD CONDITION!!"
So this is my last post from Abu Dhabi. I'll still keep blogging, and since we're going back to Arizona I don't even have to change the name. If we were going to North Dakota or Colorado, I'd have had to change it to "It's F*cking Freezing!" and that doesn't have the fun double entendre, and Cole Porter never wrote that song.
Nope, doesn't make me want to sing. OK, maybe a little bit of White Christmas, but that's it, I swear.
Every time there is an article or blog post about airline travel there are a few topics that always come up. People seem to get really worked up about these topics, so I thought I'd write down a few of my thoughts on the subjects.
"People don't dress up for travel anymore. Our society is crumbling because people refuse to put on real pants for a flight!"
I am one of those people who doesn't put on real pants for a flight. There are a couple of reasons I dress in yoga pants and a loose (sometimes sleeveless) shirt.
1. No metal
I have never had to go through a metal detector twice or been singled out for secondary screening. I just don't have anything on my body that sets off any alarms. Literally, the only metal on my body when I walk through there is the hook and eye on my brassiere, and only because I am not going to wear a sports bra when I don't have to.
2. It's no longer the 1960s
Flying is terrible. I mean, it's amazing that one can travel so far in such a short period of time and is a pretty amazing scientific feat. But it's also terrible: small spaces, weird smells, it's always the wrong temperature, and everyone is annoyed they had to take off their shoes or wait for the people who are trying to haul everything as a carry-on to save time or money.
Flying is also really hard on my body and can cause me severe pain (I'll address this further in a moment) so I need to be wearing something that I can constantly adjust my position, especially on long international flights.
So to those people who think I ought to be "properly" dressed up for a flight: forget it. You're out-numbered. Now get back in line and quit your bitchin'.
The good ole days, amirite?
"Only terrible people recline their seats! If you recline your seat in front of me, I will spend the rest of the flight with my knees pressed against your back so we both won't be comfortable!"
I have encountered this comment on the internet and the behavior in real life. It's annoying. I know, having a seat reclined in front of you isn't great, but seriously, getting worked up about it is pointless. You don't get to decide if those extra inches of recline make me more comfortable or not, and comfort on a flight is, in my opinion, more important than the person behind me having the optimum viewing position for their laptop or be able to pull the bag out from under their seat 20 times an hour. So, when I get on my flight back to the States in a couple weeks, I'm going to recline that seat all the way back after dinner is served, and keep it that way until breakfast is served. And nothing is going to stop me, except a broken seat. See, I have tailbone problems.
A literal pain in the ass
Sitting on that plane seat is torture for me. I will get up and walk around, I will do stretches in the bulkhead, I will walk up and down the aisles for as long as possible, but I will still be in so much pain when I get off that flight I might be crying. It's awful, and I try to minimize it by piling pillows in the crook of the seat and putting my feet up on my under the seat luggage. So, to all the people out there who think people who recline their seats are douchebags, terrible, jerks, etc., and deserve a knee in the back, remember: everyone is different, you suck, and if you hate it so much, perhaps you should ask the person in front of you not to recline instead of being passive-aggressive and ruining the flight for both of us. A young woman kneed me in the back for a few hours on a 10 hour flight once, and then she had to readjust her position or something, and she stopped. I believe she realized she was hurting herself more than anyone. Not me, I can use the extra lumbar support. Thanks angry person!
"I don't fly at all anymore unless I have to because of the TSA!"
I do kind of agree with this, in theory. Domestic American air-travel is pretty bad and the extra security just makes it worse. The TSA treats you like an animal, the airline considers people living cargo, and OH HELL THE FLIGHT FROM CHICAGO TO PHOENIX IS GOING TO BE TERRIBLE!
Maybe I should hitchhike
Sorry for the outburst, but four hours on a flight with no food, old seats, no movie, and last time they didn't even have a drink service because the toilet in cattle class was broken and they wanted to keep the intrusions into the first class cabin to a minimum.
The security theater provided by the TSA needs to stop, yes. It's a waste of resources and doesn't work. But no politician is going to commit career suicide by saying so at this point in time. Maybe in 50 years or so, we can think about letting people bring bottled water through security again. But until then, boycotting air travel isn't going to change anything, so I'm going to keep flying, mostly because it saves time, although driving can be a nice adventure. You might even meet Kai, the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker!
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