It begins.
I fear that this blog would lack drama if drama was lacking in Jackie's and my life, however perhaps we could have at least made it a little further before things decided to get so costly and "interesting." This post will have to be done in two parts, because sitting at Gate 17 of United Airlines Terminal 1 I had already started to jot down some ideas and reflections about the trip.
Sleep deprivation will get you. In O'Hare during our layover after my third solid nap today (the first having been in the car and the second on the plane to O'Hare) I can feel the way my mind's approach to problems is changing. With parties, packing, and friends Jackie and I have been running on the a minimal amount of sleep the last few days. We snuck in about four hours of sleep after Friday's party, which had ended in a top notch dance party with Pants of Paul DJing and little skinny-dipping at an apartment complex not too far from the Old Mitchell House. Towel dried, with the sun coming up, we could have gotten a little extra sleep, but Jackie and I had brunch plans and had to prep-cook Marcia Ballard's famous pecan rolls. With an early departure for Indy on Sunday morning and plenty of packing and cleaning left to do Jackie and I had decided to pull an all-nighter Saturday night. A couple of our friends, William and Maggie, came over late and we polished off our last Argentine malbec as we watched Sunset Boulevard , a classic black and white film noir.
The sleeplessness had started to put a hurt on us. You could feel the tension between Jackie and I when I'd lay down her laptop on its side or she wouldn't help me figure out why the internet wasn't working for me as I looked up the name of the hostel we were going to stay at in Phuket. It was that snapping tension that is so characteristic of petty things.
Ladden with our carry-on, which was pushing fifty pounds of stuff for me and nothing but uncomfortable to carry for Jackie, my mind would slowly plow the fields of our potential problems, like searching the country side of Cambodia for mines. My mind not functioning smoothly enough to disarm the potential issues blindly searched and when it felt the click of a depressed button it panic.
"What if they wont let us into Thailand? I mean we don't have two-way tickets. Yes, Jackie has a job on the up and up, but what about me? Is $1,200 enough cash to make them think I can be self-sustaining and wont' be over staying my visa and/or working illegally?"
When you're by yourself and you get kicked out of twenty-seven countries, which happens when you overstay your visa in the EU, it's not a big deal, because you only have to modify your plans. You don't have to worry about anyone else.
And your mind keeps stumbling through all of this with perpetual momentum, but no direction - then you sleep. When you wake up on the tight knit grey carpet of O'Hare International suddenly your jaw isn't as tight, your tongue isn't pressed against the roof of your mouth, yes, you are still tired, but some of that confidence returns. That confidence is a good thing when you're trying to slide by.
It's late. You'd think I'd learn. The TV in our Hilton hotel room is softly playing alternative rock as I look down on the O'Hare airport form the eighth floor. It's an unfortunate when things don't work out and it's mostly your own fault. Jackie's asleep and I think I should join her. Part Two will come soon enough, unless we can get standby on Monday's flight to Seoul, but I don't really see that happening.
I fear that this blog would lack drama if drama was lacking in Jackie's and my life, however perhaps we could have at least made it a little further before things decided to get so costly and "interesting." This post will have to be done in two parts, because sitting at Gate 17 of United Airlines Terminal 1 I had already started to jot down some ideas and reflections about the trip.
Sleep deprivation will get you. In O'Hare during our layover after my third solid nap today (the first having been in the car and the second on the plane to O'Hare) I can feel the way my mind's approach to problems is changing. With parties, packing, and friends Jackie and I have been running on the a minimal amount of sleep the last few days. We snuck in about four hours of sleep after Friday's party, which had ended in a top notch dance party with Pants of Paul DJing and little skinny-dipping at an apartment complex not too far from the Old Mitchell House. Towel dried, with the sun coming up, we could have gotten a little extra sleep, but Jackie and I had brunch plans and had to prep-cook Marcia Ballard's famous pecan rolls. With an early departure for Indy on Sunday morning and plenty of packing and cleaning left to do Jackie and I had decided to pull an all-nighter Saturday night. A couple of our friends, William and Maggie, came over late and we polished off our last Argentine malbec as we watched Sunset Boulevard , a classic black and white film noir.
The sleeplessness had started to put a hurt on us. You could feel the tension between Jackie and I when I'd lay down her laptop on its side or she wouldn't help me figure out why the internet wasn't working for me as I looked up the name of the hostel we were going to stay at in Phuket. It was that snapping tension that is so characteristic of petty things.
Ladden with our carry-on, which was pushing fifty pounds of stuff for me and nothing but uncomfortable to carry for Jackie, my mind would slowly plow the fields of our potential problems, like searching the country side of Cambodia for mines. My mind not functioning smoothly enough to disarm the potential issues blindly searched and when it felt the click of a depressed button it panic.
"What if they wont let us into Thailand? I mean we don't have two-way tickets. Yes, Jackie has a job on the up and up, but what about me? Is $1,200 enough cash to make them think I can be self-sustaining and wont' be over staying my visa and/or working illegally?"
When you're by yourself and you get kicked out of twenty-seven countries, which happens when you overstay your visa in the EU, it's not a big deal, because you only have to modify your plans. You don't have to worry about anyone else.
And your mind keeps stumbling through all of this with perpetual momentum, but no direction - then you sleep. When you wake up on the tight knit grey carpet of O'Hare International suddenly your jaw isn't as tight, your tongue isn't pressed against the roof of your mouth, yes, you are still tired, but some of that confidence returns. That confidence is a good thing when you're trying to slide by.
It's late. You'd think I'd learn. The TV in our Hilton hotel room is softly playing alternative rock as I look down on the O'Hare airport form the eighth floor. It's an unfortunate when things don't work out and it's mostly your own fault. Jackie's asleep and I think I should join her. Part Two will come soon enough, unless we can get standby on Monday's flight to Seoul, but I don't really see that happening.
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