Blogging at 32,000 Feet

Note: The following was written on the last leg of my flight home.

Somewhere below me, New York or probably Pennsylvania sits under a cloudy April sky. I'm not a fan of flying. I'm not. But when I can peek out the window and see a shelf of clouds that looks like a vast chunk of snow-laced Antarctica, it helps. Above us the sky is a pure blue, seemingly unfettered by smog and debris. Planes should have clear ceilings, for I am positive that what I see out this airship's port-hole pales to what hovers above.

The stewards (a term that we shouldn't be so quick to drop in this time of political correctness for something so simplified as 'flight attendant') are heading down the narrow aisle with promises of free drinks and snacks. I waffle as to whether I will partake or if I'll let them pass by. I am just happy to be on board, in the air, and on my way home. It's been a long day of delays. A nice solid 11 hours of traveling when all is said and done. Thank you Skybus for that last kick in the crotch.

For those unaware, Skybus was a radically cheap way to fly. No frills. It was what it claimed to be, a bus in the sky. Tickets were sometimes ridiculously cheap (as low as $10 each way) and the crew wore long-sleeved t-shirts and the pilots when by their first names. So we flew them up to Portland. And for my first trip on Skybus, the first leg was pretty good.

And then they went bankrupt. Yes, while I was on vacation. I'm not going to bore you with the details of how I ended up on another flight home. I can feel this blog falling short of my original goal -- though really, I suspect the only reason I have the laptop open now is because how often do i get a chance to write a post at 32,000 feet.

This would be a first for me.

Snowflake (who deserves a lot of props for being an excellent hostess), has this card on her fridge that says something like "When was the last time you did something for the first time?". I love that. It sums so much up so very neatly for me.

Lately I've been trying to achieve just that and when I saw it, it really did make sense to me. How many things in my life have I let slip by because I thought I could just do it another time? Or I didn't see a reason for it right then and there. Some things I did on this trip for the first time:

Blogged in flight.
Drank steamed milk with hazelnut and chocolate.
Ate clam-cake (it was salty and I wasn't a fan).
Climbed down a rocky bluff to the ocean.
Been stranded by an airline due to the airline no longer existing.
Had a New York bagel.
Been given a dessert on the house.

There are probably more, but off the top of my head I cannot think of them.

We're 40 minutes out from home. I will post this tonight sometime after I land. Perhaps with pictures. For now I need to spend some time with Panda before our vacation comes to a close. He's got another four hours plus, before he gets home to Lady Panda, so he won't be staying in town for very long after touchdown.

I wonder if I could try something new everyday. Nothing huge—just something different. A new drive in to work. A new recipe. Anything. I should list too.