And we're off!

October 11-12, 2007 (Thursday and Friday)

8pm. Two hours before I need to leave for the airport. I am sitting atop my rolling duffle (well, actually, sprawled not-so-gracefully on it) grunting (again, not so gracefully, more like gutturally) as I try to flatten it just enough so that the zipper will close. I congratulate myself on managing to pack all my things into one nifty rolling duffle (thank you dear pals from Berkeley for the gift cards that paid for this duffle). The duffle isn’t huge, so it’s manageable. I compressed two weeks worth of clothes with those wondrous space bags, and brought a mini library of stuff to read, along with various other necessities. I will have two carry-on pieces: a backpack stuffed with my laptop and reading material, and my traveling mascots, Kevin Bacon the Predator Pig, and Peking Rubber Duckie; and a tote with an awesome “flight survival kit” courtesy of my pal Sau Lai (she thought of everything – from Oreos to ginger pills, from Airborne to facial cleansing cloths), a change of clothes, and more reading material. (Sidebar: I have an irrational fear of being stranded with nothing to entertain me.) See, if you plan well in advance (all hail my master packing list), it’s ok to procrastinate execution until the day you leave.

9pm. Dammit. Did I pack my vitamins? Did I bring extra sunscreen? An umbrella? Why the hell did I procrastinate packing? Stoopid list.

10:45pm. Checked in aok. (Cathay Pacific has wonderful service…they emerge from behind their check in counters to graciously invite you to their counter…then they emerge again after you’re done checking in and present you your boarding pass with two hands, bowing ever-so-slightly, very respectfully. How nice. They would get A+ for service if not for the fact that they couldn’t finagle an aisle or widow seat for me.

11pm. Passed security aok. At this point, I am cursing the two carry-on idea, especially since the laptop needs to be in its own bin, toiletries need to be pulled out in their ziplock bag, shoes and jacket need to be removed, etc. All in all, I monopolize three bins, in addition to the two freestanding bags. I do a mad scramble after everything goes through the machine. Shoes, laptop, and all my other crap. Check.

11:15pm. And now we wait. I am going through Daily Show and Colbert Report withdrawal. Need. Snarky. Comedy. Desperate, I pull out my brand new copy of Stephen Colbert’s “I Am America (And So Can You)” and try to get a Colbert fix. While funny, it’s just not the same…I pull out the iPod next, which is loaded with an audio version of the book, read by the wonderful Mr. Colbert himself. Better, but still not the same…oh Stephen, I miss you so.