Surprise At 30,000 Feet

Let me begin by saying that I travel a lot. I'm a firm believer that you see what a person is really made of when they travel. You either see the best in people or the worst. What I saw of the man next to me on my last flight was not quite what I had expected. Here is my most recent airplane story:

About a week ago, I was boarding a flight from Nashville to LA. Luckily, the flight was only half full so the middle seat was open, leaving me by the window and a guy in the aisle seat. Perfect! I really don't like making small talk with people on planes so I've sort of trained myself to fall asleep before the flight takes off. By the time I wake up, we are past 10,000 feet and I can either use my Ipod or watch a DVD on my laptop. Great plan, huh?

It's about two and half hours into the flight and I still haven't talked to Mr. Aisle Seat. I sort of have to go to the bathroom and all of the sudden Mr. Aisle Seat gets up so I decide to follow. This is where it gets funny. I failed to see which way he went so I assumed he went to the restroom in the back. After all, the restroom sign in the front of the plane said it was open so I head in that direction. I grab the door and jerk it open only to see Mr. Aisle Seat relieving himself. What are the chances?! I quickly shut the door and walk to the rear of the plane to use to use the other bathroom. Unfortunately, some fella was taking a really long time so I had to stand there for about 10 minutes (no lie) and wait patiently. The stewardess offered me a free magazine to pass time so I took it and began reading. The guy finally comes out and I wearily head in, go number 1 and quickly leave. It was not until I was about half way back to my seat when I realized how bad this looked. I am returning from the bathroom after 15 minutes - carrying a magazine! Mr. Aisle Seat had to think that I was doing more than just 'number 1'. Embarrassing....

Now begins the awkward conversation:
Mr. Aisle Seat: "Were you the one who walked in on me?"
Me: "Yup."
Mr. Aisle Seat: "I'm sorry. I thought I locked the door."
Me: "No worries. Happens to the best of us." (trying to make him feel better)

This turns into 5 minutes of awkward conversation that neither of us cares about. He obviously did not get the "I don't want to talk" vibe I was throwing out - even though I have one headphone in my ear and the other suspended about two inches away from the other. He noticed that I was watching Office Space and begins talking about that and his office and his boss and yada, yada, yada - I don't care! After awhile I ended the conversation quickly by nodding in agreement and putting in my other headphone. Rude? Maybe. But it was totally worth it to escape the half-hearted conversation. I didn't talk to him for the rest of the flight.

One other thing that I found particularly amusing (yet incredibly repulsive) was that Mr. Aisle Seat had been throwing the mac down on the new flight attendant for 4 & 1/2 hours. When we landed he immediately called his wife and began gushing about how much he missed her and loved her, etc! What in the heck!? I certainly hope that all married/spoken for me don't act that way or I am in a world of trouble....

Drive By Pick-Ups

Is there a new dating phenomenon that I am unaware of? I am speaking of what I'll refer to as "drive by pick ups". Let me explain...

About three weeks ago I was driving on the interstate (or freeway as Californians call it) when I saw this white Mustang pass me. All of the sudden, I see the car slow down and begin to drive at the exact same speed that I was going. Most of you know this drill, you slow down and they slow down. You speed up and then they speed up to stay right beside you. I HATE it when people do that! I finally look over at the car, ready to shoot them the "what the hell are you doing" look when I see what is going on. It's a car with two guys in it, probably in their early 20's, holding a sign up to the window that says "You're hot". Of course, this makes me laugh but I drive on and try to avoid looking at them. A couple of miles later, I glance over to see what is going on and they have put up a new note that says "Call me". Then, he flips the page over and writes his phone number on it. I shake my head "no" and point to my headset to show that I am on the phone. They flip the page and write "Please". Again, I point to the headset and shake my head no. They make the 'hang up the phone and call me' motions and I mouth "sorry" hoping this would be the end of it. The guy writes me one last note that simply states "Damn". Realizing that I was not going to call, they wave goodbye and speed up. I thought it was hilarious.

Now, judging from the area code of the phone number, these guys were from about 5 hours North of where we were. I'm guessing they were bored so they started to make a game of getting girls to call them. At any rate, it got me wondering how many women do you suppose called them? Do you think they had a high success ratio? Would you have called them?

My next run in happened just yesterday when I was stopped at a red light. The guy in the car next to me honked several times to get my attention and when I looked over he waved. I waved back just to be nice and then he makes the "roll down your window" gesture. I, of course, did not and when the light turned to green I sped away.

Is is just me or does all of this seem a bit strange? I'm curious to know, how would you react to the "drive by pick-up"?

A World Of Possibilities

Whenever I start a new journal it creates within me a sense of wonder. I realize that there is a world of possibilities before me and a plethora of blank pages waiting to hold my life stories. Before I move onto the new I always have to look back at where I came from. As I flip through my old, worn journal it reads like a top selling novel; excitement, adventure, heartache, despair and finally hope.

So tonight, as I begin this new blog and look towards the future, I raise my glass of red wine and propose a toast. Here's to the many stories that are to come, the new year ahead, and life in general. May you all live life to the fullest and never take it for granted.

Cheers!