Twenty four hours of travel loomed ahead of me, so I did what any 20 something half-crazy New Yorker would, I stayed up all night baking cookies. I’m not a nervous flier, but I’m certainly a restless one. Over my years of world-travel-that-I-can’t-really-afford-but-I-go-on-anyways, I’ve learned that the key to a successful flight is exhaustion, and nothing is more exhausting than baking 48 cookies. Although, if we’re being specific, and we are, I did slap some ice cream between those peanut butter chocolate delights, and voila: chipwiches!
Despite this triumph, packing alluded me and I had to tie up my loose ends from the Turkish Airlines gate: telling my bank where I’m going, downloading a washed up celebrity or 3′s memoirs (Steven – why can’t you stay clean like Rob did??), and ordering 12 bottles of wine from my Wine Insiders “phone special” pamphlet that had just arrived in the post. Oh, and Chris, if you drink my wine I will literally let Meryl in your room for a nice little day of punishments…
The real struggle came on flight. My plan worked, I was nicely zombie-ing into a dead sleep when I saw something I hadn’t counted on – a bazillion free movies. Have you read Bush’s “Decision Points”? Lets just say this choice certainly ranked as a chapter in my life story. I could watch “Inception,” or “Black Swan,” the more likely “Just Wright,” or even “Ramona and Beezus”!
Fortunately, much like Bush deciding to stop drinking and therefore ultimately realizing his destiny as a two-term President of this great nation, the decision was made for me, and I woke up – like after any good nap – in Turkey.
Now I contemplate the safari ahead of me and the coffee I must down to readjust my clock for our early start time. Of course by ‘contemplate’ I mean wonder broadly which animals I’ll see. I haven’t quite gotten to the heavy Kenya book nestled at the bottom of my bag.
Most of all, I’m eying the Turkish Delights at the duty free shop, and thinking “mmmmm… chipwiches!” There will be none of those where I’m going, but I’m confident when I get there I’ll find something new and equally as sweet.
Perhaps, if I’m very lucky, my very own wildebeest! (edited to include intentional and unapologetic foreshadowing – watch my movie damnit)
