My favorite thing about flying SWA is the flexibility in changing your flight. About 50 percent of the times I have flown with them, I’ve changed my travel plans. No fees, no gimmicks. Just pay for any increase in the fare, if there is one. It’s also nice to be able to choose a seat once you are on the plane. As petite as I am, I’m perfectly sized to OWN that middle seat 90 percent of the time, and since most people aren’t, that means I can beeline it to sit next to the most attractive, least smelly passenger on the plane. Getting a free checked bag is nice, because I can over pack and have options when travel.” Oh what’s that you say? You want to leave wine country and go on a quick two hour drive to a snowy mountain for the day to check it out? I just so happened to have brought my boots, let’s go!’ Yes, the free checked bags, both of them are such a luxury, but I do believe the flight reservation flexibility takes the cake. I am afraid of commitment. It makes me feel good to say yes to new opportunities, but holding myself accountable to the terms, has never been a big forte of mine.
Yesterday, on flight home from wine country I was fortunate enough to score a middle seat in the exit row, next to two attractive gentlemen. These were the laidback SoCal type of gentlemen, with some cool tattoos and carry on skateboards. They smelled nice and seemed friendly, and within fifteen minutes the guy on my left, who had the aisle seat offered to help me with crossword puzzle I was completing. I might add that it was the second crossword puzzle I had attempted in the short 15 min I had been in my seat; I had given up on the first one. He introduced himself as Brady, a 29 year old skate professional and former social worker for juvenile delinquents. As a former history and political science major, he still remembers every single US President in order, and was able to offer Harry S Truman as one of the answers to the puzzle. I was extremely delighted and equally impressed at his knowledge. Aside from doing the puzzle together we talked about our careers and touched on random topics such as hangover cures and diets. He noticed the picture of a perfectly sculpted bikini body on my IPhone home screen and I grinned mischievously when he asked if it was a “body-selfie”. “Absolutely not”, I replied, completely unashamed that the beautiful body was not my own. I did provide the disclaimer, that the reason it was my on my home screen was for inspiration to eat healthier and work out more. For me, there is a flaw in my method. Looking at a sexy picture, while it may inspire me to be healthier and sexier, is not going to give me rock hard abs at the end of the day. I could look at the picture for the rest of my life, but that body will NEVER be me. The ugly truth is that I failed to stick to a meal plan that I committed to, verbally and financially the month before. Thinking about where and why I failed is somewhat depressing so I won’t go into detail, but at the same time I want to make very clear that I do desire to improve my efforts and ultimately be able to accomplish the goals that I set for myself.
Brady brought up an interesting point. He stated that studies have shown that, on average, it takes 21 days for a habit to develop and have a lasting effect. For a woman who is not very good at commitment, the word habit, is not very inspiring or attractive. I am not sure why this is. If I did, I wouldn’t be writing this down and would be busy pursuing other “things”. Lately, I’ve been pretty hung up on the fact that I can’t seem to stick to anything and feel disconnected, even from myself. So regardless of how foreign the idea of creating, or changing a habit in my life seemed at the time Brady and I met, I am challenging myself to an experiment. Let’s call this the Brady experiment. For 21 days I will do one thing consciously every day that makes me happy and free to express who I am. I am going to write. I could say or commit to more, but the excitement I’m feeling right now that I just NAILED day 1, is enough to get me through today…. And, let’s get real, I have to get back to work. Oh, what the hell…. I should say one more thing, and that that is was a pleasure meeting and getting to know Brady on that flight. Thanks for being so open on that flight Brady, until we meet again.
