Morning arrived earlier than usual as I crossed into the CST time zone (UTC+08:00). Through it, on one side I endured a woman in the aisle who stood up and stretched for an hour, and on the other side I endured a man who wouldn't speak to me but expected me to understand the look in his eyes for when he needed to use the lavatory, at which I was peeled away from the movies I was watching (Love, Rosie and Into the Woods) so that I could make space for him to pass. Flying alone is no fun. (Since then I've also watched The Imitation Game, Admission, The Spectacular Now, Palo Alto, The Duff, Two Night Stand, Paranoia, A Bug's Life, Free!, The Lifeguard, and more. What can I say? I've been busy.)
My second Sunday morning of the day arrived at 2:00PM CST (2:00AM EDT), and this one went a lot better. Coming out of customs with my oversized suitcase in tow (for which I had to pay an additional $75), I ignored the strangers' posters and flashing cameras as familiar faces sped-walked toward me. Let's be real, nobody's about to run.
My stomach is growling as it always is after a flight (I'm adamantly against airplane food), so our first stop is to a restaurant. My eyes devour the menu. I do my best to keep my order to a minimum, but I've been deprived of good Chinese food for too long and I just want to eat it all! My parents tell me to go for it and remind me that leftovers can be packed to be eaten later, and that's all the convincing it takes.
It's good to be home, where you can order all the food you want because you know others will be helping you finish it, where you don't have to worry about tipping, where you don't have to worry about paying for things in general, where you can cook up midnight snacks with siblings, where you can take a car to where you need to be, where you have your own seat, where you have your own mug, where you can be real with each other, where you are surrounded by people you love and who love you back.
PS: Halfway there! 20. 19. 18. 17. 16. 15. 14. 13. 12. 11. 10. 09. 08. 07. 06. 05. 04. 03. 02. 01.Labels: 52
