The preflight gitters

I haven't traveled very much in my lifetime. When I was in grade school I'd hear stories about traveling on airplanes, the seats, the view from above, and painful popping of ears upon take off and landing. I was always interested and had a strong desire to fly but it wasn't until years later that I would step foot on a Boeing 757 for the first time and feel slightly underwhelmed, it was fun but essentially just another means of getting from one place to another. Four years after my first flight, I was back in another airliner only this time the flight was about ten hours longer and half way across the world.

Long flights feel like a limbo or purgatory in a metal flying tube. You do everything to pass the time. You read until your eyes become sore. You go to sleep to rest your weary eyes. You watch their horrible selection of in flight movies. Eat a meal or two, and sleep some more. In your mind it feels like a lifetime of being up in the air. You get up to use the bathroom, sometimes not even to actually use the bathroom but rather just stretch your legs from sitting down and letting the blood come back to your feet. The prickly feeling of a thousand needles poking the bottom of your foot slowly begins to wear off and replaced by the feeling of blissful release and the unconstriction of the muscles.

You sit back down and the horrible screen of limbo stares back at you. In your mind over 9 hours have gone by and only a few are left until your arrival. The screen says differently. There are still over 6 hours before your arrival and your heart sinks, how are will you pass the remainder of the time?

You go to sleep or rather try to go to sleep but when you're sitting upright and cold air is constantly blowing on you sleep is more common in short bursts rather than long time eating periods.

Finally, finally after what seems like a lifetime you arrive. On time, on schedule, on good old terra firma. All of the anxiety and anxiousness is instantly gone and all is right with the world.

Then the jet lag sets in...