“How was the flight?” Is the most common way to break the
silence when a traveler arrives into the open arms of a friend,
family member, business connection, and every other various
association mentionable. Talk about the flight breaks the ice, the
jitters, the excitement and anticipation, and is a universal method
of bitching. Sitting here at SeaTac, surrounded by old Asian men and
women who are speaking a language I cannot comprehend, foreshadows the
awaiting adventure. Occasionally, understandable English words from
white Americans spring through the chatter of what I can only
presume, through some inductive reasoning, is Taiwanese, based on
flight destination, a Chinese language type of pattern, and yet it is
utterly unrecognizable to me. I also hear Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese in the mix as well. Around me, emotion and activity ensue and while typing this brief post, I watch and smile. So much human life surrounds me at the moment, people moving through time and space on their own journeys.
Stress of departure and leaving the country kept me on edge while
sitting in PDX with my family. Visited by my wonderful past
housemates, and bullshitting with the family helped sedate my
anticipation and jitters. The emotion of excitement finally hit and I
knew that after this long voyage I would start the adventure I
dreamed of and worked towards. After a nice goodbye I walked through
the non-existent line in the queue like a super star. No delays. It
was me and a few others but no wait. Amazing. Similar to the check-in
I just went through, the two and half hour early arrival was not
needed. In fact, it would have taken less then 10 minutes from
check-in to boarding if I could have foreseen the future and the red
carpet superstar treatment I received. To occupy my time waiting for my plane to arrive, I looked at
pretty girls and contemplated the hanging paintings and photography. Some of the art actually struck a resonating chord with me which I wouldn't anticipate from airport artwork. A cool photography
book was on display and there were some really cool shots of Oregon.
Even though everything had worked out great so far, a flight subbed
out by EVA Air to Alaska Airways, who then subbed it out to be operated by
Horizon Airways made me suspicious as to the quality of flight I was
in for. Finally, waiting area speckled with people to board, and I
do mean sparsely speckled, the time to board arrived I walked out
onto the tarmac and boarded the first propeller-based plane
of my life. It was tiny and I felt like a giant inside with my head
almost scraping the ceiling while walked through the aisle to my
seat.
Still stressed and so not clearly thinking, I crammed my bag in an open compartment above my seat, although the compartment was tiny. This spot
is mine my mind demanded.
Sitting at the back of the plane, I looked around to see nine other
people scattered towards the front, no person within seven rows of
me. Realizing the haste and stress that clouded my mind was
artificial I reflected upon my mindset and haste to shove my bag into
the compartment above. If only I would have taken a breath, I would
have realized that effort was unnecessary. I was on an almost empty
flight, only a fifth full. Awesome. Relaxation made me feel like a stud because of
the ease of getting aboard, an almost empty flight, and knowing that
I made it this far in my journey. The doors closed and I chatted with
the flight attendants. As the Ferrari of planes spooled its
propellers, we took off with a sensation similar to my Metro. It felt
like we were ripping it up. Were we? Perhaps research will tell me
differently; however, the plane felt like a bullet. We ripped skyward
in no time, propellers buzzing away, and climbed quickly.
“Today we are offering a
beverage service including water and apple juice and if you are over
21 we offer complimentary Ninkasi beer and a local wine.” This is a
paraphrase, the description of the beer and wine was too detailed for
me to remember fully. What! Complimentary local beer. Fuck yeah! I
didn't take any alcohol with me because I usually don't combine any pills with alcohol. A few hours previous i took some decongestants.
Pressure changes really mess with me and so far, the chemicals have
done great, making the landing easy on my ears. For someone who
doesn't take pharmaceuticals often, it/they really do the job on a
clean system. Anyway, back to the beer. Of course I had to take
advantage of the situation. How would I not? It is the first time in
America (in my life experience) that free beer was offered. Well free
is relative. I did pay a significant amount of money for the plane
flight. So when the pretty flight attendant came over and asked if I
wanted to a beer I emphatically exclaimed, “Yes!” and drank the
red ale with pleasure. It was really good. Beer is usually a crap-shoot for
me, so I was delightfully surprised. As I finished my first cup, she
came and filled it again. Assuming the flight hadn't been descending,
I have the distinct feeling she would have continued filling the cup
indefinitely. I'll never know, but it was even greater confirmation
that this is going to be a good trip. Everything had gone beyond well at this point. After landing in Seattle, a TSA agent
informed me where to go with a smile on his face, and I found my way
to the EVA Air check-in and am subsequently sitting here telling the
fortuitous events that took place to get me here. I am excited,
nervous, and filled with hope. I cannot express the love I felt over
a weekend filled with friends and family. Surrounding me, filling me
with laughter and confidence to explore this adventure fully, the
last week in Oregon gave me cause to reflect upon the wonderful
people I've met over the years. I hope to not disappoint myself with
an unproductive trip, but will take what life brings to me the
knowledge that I worked hard to afford this departure from reality,
to truly experience retirement at the ripe old age of 25, to pursue a
hobby and dream of mine, and to live a year fully for my own
enjoyment. I am told a lot of people do not have this opportunity.
Both luck and vision made this possible and I am grateful for it. I give my best wishes and love to all of those who
energetically offer me respect, encouragement, and love.
