Down Under
I hate long flights. It’s even worse when you’re flying coach. I’m currently headed to Sydney for a four day workshop my team is hosting. I used to love traveling to far away places for work. When I started at PeopleSoft back in 1997, my first consulting assignment was a six month gig in Melbourne. It was a great gig with great people. I could have stayed longer, but just couldn’t commit myself to a two year stay.
We just crossed the international dateline. The problem with these long flights is that I can never get a decent wink of sleep. Being fairly tall doesn’t help when cramped into a coach seat. Business class is not really an option these days. I don’t travel enough now to have dispensable airline points to upgrade. Luckily, I’m in an isle seat and the seat next to me is empty. The bad part is across the isle is a family with two small children. The kid next to me keeps throwing up. Just a few hours ago, I noticed him gaging and so I quickly got the barf bag in my seat pocket and held it out for him. However, I was a few seconds too late. He ended up hurling his dinner into his hands. I feel sorry for the guy. He just can’t seem to keep anything down. Every once in a while, his little sister screams at the top of her lungs, “MOMMY!!! MOMMY!!!” I’m not really bothered by all of this commotion since I’m awake and currently not trying to get any sleep. I just feel sorry for the family. Traveling on a vacation should not be that difficult.
Another reason I probably can’t get any sleep on these flights is that I just don’t like the idea of sleeping amongst strangers. When I was little, I never took to the idea of group naps. Although I think naps are great and should be a part of the everyday routine, sleeping with a group of people was just never my thing.
Oh no. He’s yakking again. His mom is now asking others for their barf bags… he’s already gone through all the barf bags in the center row. Poor guy. I wish I could help them.
Five hours to go. Time in the Bay Area: 9:32 AM. Time in Sydney: 2:32 AM. It’s going to be a long day.