Nothing is better than some play-by-play action of my flights back to New York, not that my Twitter feed isn’t interesting or anything, right?
Have Suitcase, Will Travel
3:33 PM – So I’m already 3 minutes later than I would like to be on my journey back to the Big Apple, but hey, it happens. Just said goodbye to Sibel, Jesse, Jenni, John, Kenta, Shelby, Nani, Petey, and the family and am now off to the airport.
4:05 PM – Just checked into the commuter terminal to LAX and GUESS WHAT? MY BAGS ARE UNDER 50LBS! I really do think this goes down in the record books as an achievement as Meg the Packing Princess usually is over by 25 pounds.
4:17 PM – Bags are checked, just said goodbye to mom, and now through security. Love the commuter terminal – no lines, no hassle and the sweetest people ever. I got my seat moved up to the Bulkhead on my next flight and am pretty stoked about that, as well.
4:58 PM– Commence texting everybody in my phone about how much I miss them. Yikes, this is what happens when you put your emotions out there?
5:11 PM – Time to board the plane. We are flying a tiny 30-seater plane and we take off in about 20 minutes. It was actually pretty cool to walk out on the tarmac to the plane and I just sort of twirled around and took in the beauty of everything around me for the last time: the radiating sun, the fresh smell of the salt-water bay, the picturesque palm trees bouncing in the light wind, the booming noises of the airplanes around me. So this is what living in paradise is like.
5:52 PM – Just landed in LA. Well, that was quick! Can’t really argue with a 27-minute flight, can you? Have to go pick up my bag off the tarmac and transfer to the main terminal and chill out for the next couple of hours. YIPEE.
6:19 PM – Picked up Anthony and Cleopatra. I think I was supposed to read that for soccer, but does buying it count for anything?
6:38 PM – Time for dinner and the only thing in this terminal is a Sammy’s Wood Fired Grill? Guess I will have to settle, so I grab a seat at the bar because lord knows ordering a table for one is just incredibly depressing and reminds me that I am all alone again.
6:41 PM – Commence creepy server guy commenting on my “Legs of Steel” and how they would be awesome at skull crushing. SAY WHAT? I’m all for making new friends but, eww, get away from me.
6:43 PM – I order a grilled chicken with kalamata olive and grilled pepper pesto wrap. Yum (I hope).
6:52 PM – I scarf down my wrap because for some strange reason I am hungry beyond belief.
7:10 PM – Pay for my food and head to the magazine rack. Flip through some issues of Shape and Men’s Health and reminisce of my times at FQ10. Begin to get emotional, slap myself with a slice of pizza (just kidding) and head over to the seating area. TWO HOURS UNTIL BOARDING. UGHH.
7:19 PM – Begin to fill out paperwork for soccer, register for health insurance for London, and as my old boss used to say, GSD.
7:31 PM – Walk around the terminal to find a working outlet. None to be found. What is wrong with this place?
7:51 PM – Grab a Veinte iced coffee from Starbucks because lord knows I need one before getting on a red eye. NOT.
8:00 PM – Plop down on a chair, open my laptop and begin to put thoughts on paper because that is the only thing that seems relieving at the moment. I still can’t believe I won’t be back until December. Am I ready for this right now?
8:58 PM – Pack my bag up as they begin to call first class for AA Flight 10 from LAX to JFK.
9:01 PM – Board the plane and find out that I’m sitting next to this awesome girl and her dog named Rupert.
9:04 PM – Begin to chat with aforementioned seat-mate and begin to fall in love with Rupert.
9:11 PM – Rupert farts. No joke. WOULD I LIE TO YOU?
9:30 PM – Flight begins to taxi away from the terminal. Goodbye California.
9:44 PM – Pull out laptop again and commence writing my life away. Typical right?
12:14AM (PST) – Computer has 7% battery and I begin to realize I might want to sleep before getting to New York. Damn it I shouldn’t have had that huge coffee.
4:58 AM(EST) – Wake up as the plane begins to descend over Long Island. A rolling fog clouds my view but I don’t seem to care because I’m finally back.
5:14 AM – AA flight 10 lands safely and taxis to terminal 8.
5:52 AM – My bag is the last to come out of the belly of the plane but the thought of not knowing where to go makes it all okay. I contemplate telling the taxi driver where to go.
6:08 AM – Hop in a cab and stutter for a quick sec where to go. The 8 months I spent away from my city is obvious. I can’t seem to remember my cross streets or which bridge I prefer to go over or even my favorite radio station. Is it Mercer and Bleeker or Mercer and Houston? Welp. This is embarrassing.
6:31 AM – Arrive at 181 Mercer Street. Realize the gym doesn’t open for another hour. Plopped myself down outside the door.
7:03 AM – Realize that it is in fact Sunday and the gym doesn’t open until 9AM. Contemplate getting THINK COFFEE and then realize that they don’t open for another hour either.
7:15 AM – Two awesome NYU security guards let me into Coles and carry my stuff to the couches. Oh the perks of making friends with the guards.
And with that Meg is back in Manhattan!
Chilling Outside Coles
