westbound: eleven things in eleven hours

I lost my newly-bought fierce sun glasses at the Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan. And we ate chicken nuggets at the local McDonald's (how thrilling). Those were pretty much the highlights of my three-hour stop over at their not-so-fabolous airport. I was expecting something better but I guess it just wouldn't match that of Hong Kong's. Anyway, we're headed to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Minnesota - our port of entry to the United States Of America.

I'm still seated along the exit row so I had a lot of room to move about. However, eleven hours is still eleven hours. My iPod, PSP, mobile phone and laptop all ran out of battery mid-flight so you can just imagine how bored I was. Very, very bored. Exclamation marks. To the nth power.

Sleep won't even come to me so I decided to just write down my would-be entries instead. But as my mind was floating, I could only come up with the following thoughts:

01. Airplane food smells the same - like freshly-baked hot pan de sal. Also, they taste bland. For a $2,000 flight, I was hoping for a caviar. Not that I eat caviar. I was just hoping to get food worth my ticket.

02. Everything looks better in good lighting. Found out that the lavatory of the plane has got the fiercest lighting. For several times, I've stayed there far longer than I should have just to take head shots. Cam whore.

03. Exit row seats are as good as the business class seats. What's better though are window-side, exit row seats. Oh yeah!

04. That is until the isle and galley become a park-of-sorts for the passengers after the first meal. It's annoying how they would hang out and talk loudly and do some stretches. Except for that Jason Castro look-alike who did all sorts of stretching in front of me.

05. Jonathan Rhys Meyer won't be annoying too if he did that. Thought his latest movie, August Rush was a bit too sappy though.

06. Irish accent sounds sexy and hot. I think its so masculine. And so does Scottish accent just like how the characters in The Water Horse sound.

07. A water horse makes for a good pet. I want one for Christmas.

08. Denzel Washington is a director. Something I didn't know, I didn't know.

09. I noticed that the requirement of having flight attendants with fierce beauty is only locally adhered to. Not that I'm complaining but maybe all airlines should have like a standard to follow. Other attendants are somewhat scarier than an angry water horse.

10. Any book that attempts to answer life's biggest questions like "how can I be truly happy" should be burned. The same should be done to books that advise against the intake of pork, finless fishes and tap water.

11. The air in Japan, United States and the Philippines feels the same. Or was I just too high when I landed? Hmm.

Disjointed much? Try flying non-stop for eleven hours.

Backtracking, when I had to pass through the metal detectors in Japan, I was asked to walk through the arch for four times because it kept on beeping. And I had to remove something metallic in my body each time I go through - my bracelet, keys, change from McDonald's, and my belt.

It wasn't as embarrassing as I thought it would be. Para na akong may sariling commercial eh.

*******

You never quit on your music. No matter what happens. Cause anytime something bad happens to you, that's the one place you can escape to and just let it go.
- Louis Connelly, August Rush