“Gear up, three greens”
I know that really it’s “gear down” but the misphrase has stuck in my head for so long it just stays there, unwilling to change. I still hate flying, but I still love take-offs, perhaps because they remind me that I’m actually going somewhere…airports and long haul flights have lost that luster over the years, but take-offs still have a bit of a glimmer.
Debark day was, is, and always will be, a blur. One moment you’re half asleep at 5:30 in the morning waiting to be herded through immigration, and what seems like the next you’re hauling yourself through airport security, and then poof, you’re on a plane.
I never sleep the night before debark. Not on purpose, there’s just always something I think I’ve forgotten or that I need to redo. Last night checking in took an hour and a half thanks to our slow shipboard internet connection, but the upside of that is that for what worked out to be a very small amount extra I was able to upgrade to first class…
So. Totally. Worth it.
Enough space to work in, enough leg room that my flight claustrophobia doesn’t kick in, and free snacks! And free drinks! And a flight attendant who actually knows how to make tea right! And a seat allllll to myself. Plus Strange is safely stowed up in an overhead bin, which takes a huge amount of weight off my mind. Also, I somehow managed to not have to pay for my overweight bag, I do not know how this happened but I am refusing to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Going home still feels strange…and flying is still…not exactly my favourite thing, but the flight is short and I’ve most definitely had worse…