To Infinity And Beyond!

Starting my journey at 5 30 am Sunday, I can only assume that they reason why I then ended my journey at 2am Tuesday was due to my Buzz Lightyear powers - “To Infinity and Beyond” as he says. Instead, our RDU based crew of 19 members traveled to JFK then Hong Kong then Singapore. Most of us thought we would be flying over Europe instead over the US, which the Charlotte crew was routed. Oh No! We were sent on a better flight path – To the North Pole! Yes, that’s right. From Sunday to Tuesday, I traveled to the North Pole then down to the Equator on the other side of the world. Not having to change my watch with the time change, we ended a whopping 12 hours away from sweet Eastern Time. I took some pictures from our personal TV monitors on Cathay Pacific to prove my “Santa Claus” status with a snapshot of the North Pole from the plane’s outside camera.

Some of the pluses of the journey included the smoked salmon salad, the chocolate mousse, the reclining seats, oh and even some Melbac to sip with our beef and potatoes meal though it was served at the temperature of the cabin (14 degrees Celsius). It was an extravagant economy class – so Patrick (my row 55 buddy) and I decided that the icy Melbac was too difficult to swallow chilled, so we opted to change it to split a Carlsburg. Yes, they had Carlsburg on flight, Grandsam, I thought of you. Don’t fear, the amounts we were sipping were standard airline cups barely enough for Coco to realize the difference if it replaced her water bowl. Anyways, it was a delightful 16-hour flight after having 5 hours lay over at JFK aka free massages at the Brookstone Store for four of the hours.

There were some funny miss communications on board the predominantly Asian plane. I was seated at the front of the economy class with little legroom and stowage, but Patrick had a seat next to him when the plane was exiting the ramp so I sat there. However, a quarter of the way through the flight a woman came up to the man seated next to me and began a conversation with him. After she left, I asked if that was his wife and if she wanted to sit in my place as if I had taken her seat. Instead of my expected reply (Oh Yes that would be great or Oh No she is fine) he stood up 5 minutes later and went to another area of the plane. Seconds later, the woman I had assumed his wife came and sat in his place. She remained there for the rest of the flight. Patrick and I couldn’t figure out if the man thought I was saying “I want your wife to sit here” or if he had another plan in mind. Anyways, the entertainment on the plane was overwhelming and I never finished a movie while on board (kind of typical). I did catch portions of P.S. I love you and Sweeney Todd, which I finished on the Hong Kong to Singapore flight. The only problem was it that I didn’t recognize the difference in the channels and listened to the majority of the musical in German with Chinese subtitles.

Nevertheless, after our bus ride passed the Singapore Flyer (the London Eye equivalent) I found my keys to my modest abode in the Prince George’s Park Residences. On the 6^th floor of the middle tower, I over look the basketball courts, a fountain display, a Supermarket, and the port in the distance. So far so good despite the crazy time change. I look forward to getting my Monday back after skipping over it – but I can’t complain because there are always instances when skipping a Monday is ideal. Today we are orienting ourselves and going to the Jurong Bird Park. Should be wonderful!