How To Pass 14.5 Hours in a Plane

After surviving an excruciatingly long wait at the airport, where I had way too much time to think about what I was about to get myself into, it was finally time to board the plane. The time was 9:45pm in Los Angeles, on Monday, Feb 9th.

The plane was actually too big to pull up directly to the airport, so after checking in at the gate we had to board a shuttle bus. The bus took us out to the largest plane I'd ever seen in my life! Everything started to sink in when I boarded the plane and the flight attendants were speaking "Australian" to me.

Even though I got a window seat, I was hoping that no one would be sitting right next to me. This way I wouldn't suffer a claustrophobia attack. Luckily my wish came true and there was no one sitting in the middle seat. Plus the guy sitting on the aisle seat was cute, had an sweet accent and and he helped me get my bag into the overhead compartment. So far so good...

Here is how I spent the next 14.5 hours:

10:45pm- Plane pulls away from the gate. I am simultaneously trying to clear the lump out of my throat, trying not to let my seatmate see me tear-up, and contemplating whether or not to take Imodium AD and/or Unisom (I took neither).

11:30pm- Dinner time. I choose the chicken meal and for entertainment watched "My Best Friend's Girl". Both we're surprisingly good.

1:15am- My first movie is over and I know I probably should try and get some sleep, but my nerves are keeping me up. So I select my second movie, "The Women".

2:30am (ish)- I fell asleep during the movie, I'm guessing around 2:30am, because I don't remember how it ended, but I know I watched a lot of it.

5:30am- Now I'm awake and a little spooked because the entire cabin seems to be asleep. It is pitch black except for a few scattered TV screens I can see. Even though I knew it would probably creep me out more, I decided to watch a documentary about Madeline McCann (the British girl abducted in Portugal).

6:30am (ish)- Man! I fell asleep again (probably around 6:30) and that's weird because I really wanted to see how the documentary ended, and I wanted to stay awake when we crossed over the International Dateline. But I did neither and now its Feb 11th and I will never know what it feels like to exist on February 10th. That's right I technically never existed on Feb 10, 2009- I just went straight from the 9th to the 11th- Creepy!

9:40am- I don't feel tired anymore so the next movie I choose is "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People". Very funny!

11:00am- Breakfast time. Perfect because I'm really getting hungry. I choose the continental breakfast with coffee, but then as I was in the middle of my coffee I realized that I had not yet used the bathroom and did not want to jinx myself so I stopped.

11:20am- Potty break. I felt guilty bothering my seatmate who has to let me out, but luckily he was awake.

11:45am- I checked the flight map on the TV and it says we will be landing in just over an hour and a half. Should I start a new movie even though I might not finish it? Yea, better that than be left alone with my thoughts. I chose "Nights in Rodanthe".

12:30am- Just when they are about to fall in love... the movie is cut off. I guess I will never know how it ends. We are now making our descent to Sydney and should arrive in 45 minutes!! So, fill out my immigration card, and take out my US Weekly to pass the time.

1:00pm- My seat is partially over the wing and my view is very limited. I'd practically given up hope of seeing Sydney as we landed, but then for some reason I looked out the window and got a quick view of the Opera House. OMG! What am I doing?

1:15pm (or 8:15am on Wednesday February 11th Sydney time)- We touch down at the Sydney airport and I catch myself smiling like a crazy person. My new life has just begun.

After departing the plane, going through customs, and collecting my luggage (which took forever, but at least they arrived) I head off to catch my very first Australian taxi.

Sydney tip #1: You don't have to tip the taxi driver... I did anyway. I'm such a sucker!!