September 1st, 2016
The longest day of my life…
4:30am — Bangkok, Thailand
I’m up before the sun, peeling myself from the warm fluffy sheets of the airport hotel. It was the last night…my last night in Thailand, my last night in South East Asia, my last night passing through the crazy city of Bangkok, my last night of a lot of things…
5:00am — Bangkok, Thailand
The shuttle to the airport is short…much shorter than expected. There could have been a little more sleep in those comfy cloud like beds…3 of them to be exact. Why a room has three miniature beds is still a mystery to me…
5:35am — Bangkok, Thailand
Goodbye…
8:30am — Bangkok, Thailand
I board the first plane…this ones the doozy. The 12 hour flight…the one I should probably sleep on…but after 3 hours I’m awake again. No better time to watch the entire Hobbit trilogy…
In the air, time means nothing anymore. The clocks are changing, but there’s no wifi to connect and update during this 12 hours of time travel. I;m chasing the day west…
4:00pm — Oslo, Norway
Its been 12 hours, but it’s only 4:00pm, September 1st, 2016. The plane has landed and I have exactly 45 minutes before the boarding of my next flight.
4:20pm — Oslo, Norway
The plane is just docking…I’m in row #29…25 minutes to boarding…
4:35pm — Oslo, Norway
There is a short line for international transfers to get through immigration…thank god, I fly by everyone. I ask the officer for the local time…she points to the back of the waiting room to a clock on the wall…
4:40pm — Oslo, Norway
Great…there is a security scanner to go into the transfer wing. I have no idea where my gate is, how big the airport is etc…
The girl in front of me looks American, I ask if she’s going to Florida too. She replies with New York. The family in front is taking forever, they keep forgetting they have a bottle of water even when the guy asks them a hundred times…we’re both looking at each other like, “is this for real right now??”
I shrug and show her my boarding pass, showing I’m supposed to be boarding now…
4:45pm — Oslo, Norway
Awesome lady works it out that everyone in front of me is heading to New York and not boarding for another hour, so they all let me cut in front. I blow through security line like a seasoned wide receiver, waving thanks to everyone as I dash down the stairs to find my gate.
4:50pm — Oslo, Norway
The gate is right at the foot of the stairs, people are boarding… as I run by sandwich stands and fresh coffee, I realize I didn’t eat anything for the entire 12 hours on the last flight…no time, gotta fly.
5:30pm — Oslo, Norway
Praise the gods, I’ve somehow got placed in an extra space seat in the front of the section. As soon as we reach altitude I order a bottle of wine and a sandwich — $14.
It’s not enough. I have not consumed anything since 8am Bangkok time…which was a whole 14 hours ago.
I order another sandwich…and another bottle of wine…
7:00pm(I think) — Iceland
I’m seated next to two sisters. They could be early 20's, but are giving each other light discos with the overhead reading lights and poking each other like 5 yr olds…
I glance out the window and see clear skies and the most breathtaking frozen tundra. I can literally see where the snow has broken away and slipped between the barren mountains…magical views for the next 15 min.
9:30pm — Orlando, Florida
The last flight was 9 hours…and it’s still only 9pm, September 1st, 2016.
I spent 21 hours in the air, performing time travel. September 1st feels inescapable at this point…
10:00pm — Orlando, Florida
A local acquaintance is not coming through, so I find a charger and jump on a business call. I guess I’m camping out at the airport.
My mom calls, insists I get some good sleep, and books me a night at the Hyatt in the airport.
11:30pm — Orlando, Florida
This day is finally almost over. I check into a large room overlooking the main airport waiting area.
I shower like there is no tomorrow and pass out butt naked in the giant white fluff that is a bed. I’ve got to be up in 7 hrs to get to work…Then my final flight to Bogotá at 7:00pm…
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