First* stop: Manila!

Well, here we are with 6 + hours to kill in Manila airport. The lounge has free wifi, so I thought I'd take advantage! Here is a run down of the last 22 hours. Apologies in advance if it's loopy, but aside from it being 8 something AM local time, I think you'll relate by the end. And keep in mind, there is only so much you can do on a 22 hour flight, especially being a repeat victim of elevation induced insomnia... Heregoes:

Friday 10/24, 6:30 pm: after reading on the e-ticket that it is recommended that all passengers arrive 3hrs prior to departure, dad rallies us an hour early to go to the airport. Good thing I packed that morning!

7:30 pm: arrive at LAX Bradley terminal, to hoards of people waiting to check in. I'm talking worse-than-the-line-for-Supreme-Scream-during-Knotts-Scary-Farm-crowded (lex, andrea and joc know what I'm talkin' 'bout!)... Heart momentarily stops before mom reminds me are flying business class. THANK GOD.

7:45: sipping champagne in "lounge," which is the rough equivalent to an office lobby - with lower ceilings (the one here in Manila is more like a glorified cafeteria). As for the food: I've seen better munchie selections at Chevron minimarts. But in all fairness, those places are extraordinary. Plus, hey- free champagne! We toast.

9:40: get ready to board, til it's announced that the flight is delayed an hour. Literally every review of PAL complained about delays, so I'm more amused than annoyed. Every time! They're late. Every Time. Ha. Must be the free champagne talking.

11:00: seated! Plane is 2 stories, and we're up top! Another first for me. This calls for more champagne. Start to wonder if I could smuggle some onto my next jet blue flight...

2:23 am: post dinner, pre-in flight entertainment, PA speaker: "now paging any passenger who is a doctor or medic. Please contact crew member immediately." See several people rush to front of our section. Great. I had chicken AND fish. Jiveassturkeys. Try to nonchalantly eavesdrop.

3am: ask for earplugs cause *someone* (names withheld) expected to snore.

3:08: Flight Attendant profusely apologizes for taking so long, but "someone else was sick downstairs." She lingers. I casually ask if it was something she ate, to which FA replies, "No. She is just on the verge of a heart attack. But way worse than the other one." She scuttles off. Cause that's what FAs do. Scuttle.

4:00 am: bypassed Hawaii... They must not be dead.

4:15 am: watch a passenger in front of me turn pink to red to purple struggling to get his seat to recline. Momentarily amused.

4:38 am: can still see Hawaii on the livemap, this is the longest flight ever.

4:41am: wonder if maybe earplugs and eye mask are in fact hindering my date with Mr. Sandman, since cloth clamped to my face and rubber shoved in my ears aren't typically conducive to a restful night's sleep, for me anyway.

4:45 am: revelation: airplanes are just time capsules in which it's occupants continually produce more CO2 to the already stale, recycled air, over the course of 22 hours. This thought has always kept me from sleeping comfortably on airplanes. Because, well, let's face it: people don't control their bodily functions when they sleep. Just one of them thangs. Confirmed by the gentleman to my left. Repeatedly.

7am: finally fell asleep, only after sleeping beauty to my left woke up and started talking to the FAs. Loudly. Up after 2.5 hrs.

*9:10: surprise! Before our scheduled stop in Manila, we're stopping in Guam for an "electrical layover" where we get to stay on the plane an hour, THEN to Manila. Sweet.

9:06 - 11:00 am: I see the equator on livemap, cool. Rotate between trashy magazines, Fight Club, and Don DeLilo... like changing channels. Land in Guam. Wonder if the "electrical layover" was more for the weak hearted ladies. Really, really glad we didn't have to turn around. Oh, and that they were ok, and whatnot.

12:10: turns out it's the 26th! October 25th, 2008 was spent entirely in the air. A first for me. Kinds neat. Wake up mom by *accidentally* elbowing her, feign surprise that she's up, then tell her about October 25th. We watch Hancock, where they replace "asshole" with "weirdo" and cut out not the fight scenes, but just the shots of physical contact. Really odd. Eat breakfast. First good meal of trip.

3:00 pm: final descent! Into our second layover, but first stop where we can get out and stretch. See a rainbow on way in, against the sunrise.

3:01 pm: it finally hits me that I'm beginning the trip of a lifetime.