Flying Equals Waiting

Things have gone off to a good start. I’ve got a window seat and the 2 seats adjacent to mine are vacant, a luxury that I have not encountered in years!

Didn’t get much sleep despite the extra space. I was however rather comfy regardless. I had to catch a connecting flight to San Francisco from Los Angeles. LAX was absolute bedlam. Maybe it was because they were trying to serve to many flights in the terminal, but the entire layout was unintuitive. Access ways were blocked off in a seemingly random fashion, a general lack of signage to direct travelers through security, winding paths made from tape barriers, etc., etc. I eventually got to the departure gate and zoned out due to sleep deprivation.

It’s always weird flying. I can never shake off the feeling that I haven’t gone anywhere. Although I know the science and principles of flight, it still feels weird. You walk into a sealed tube, doors closing behind you. The tube rumbles, rocks & shakes for what feels like an arbitrary length of time (which often feels much too long). Then it shakes some more, often rattling too. Ocassionaly, the shrill wail of an infant in thrown in just to break up the monotony of the drone of the engines. Then at long last the doors open and you “arrive”. There lacks the feeling of actively seeking your destination, you just spend your time waiting.