Monday, September 29, 2008

In Malta

I thought I'd update my friends on my current exciting Adventure! I am off for a few weeks in Malta, then for a couple of days in Paris!

Flying is always a bit of a challenge for me, as I tend to suffer from motion sickness. To treat my motion sickness, I take 2 Gravol tablets. Unfortunately, Gravol tends to knock me out. Mix that with the adjusted cabin pressure and I'm out like a light. Even when I take the non-drowsy version, I still go lights-out for the next few hours. Any attempt at staying awake only causes me to go into a deep trance-like sleep early on in the evening.

My Saturday flight was no different from the rest. I took my Gravol pills an hour before my flight as I usually do, and got ready to board the plane. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the clerk at the check-in counter gave me a window seat in the exit aisle. The extra leg room afforded for passengers in the exit aisle is a special treat for me. The Gravol tends to give me the jimmy legs, and I frequently deboard the train with bruised shins, caused by mt spastic leg movements as I sleep. Another pleasant surprise was the nice french couple sitting beside me. They reminded me of skinny versions of Danny DeVito and Reah Pearlman, if only Reah Pearlman had a horrible bout of halitosis. Aside from the issue that Reah would frequently talk in my direction, spewing halitosis gas in my vicinity and in turn waking me from my flight slumber, it wasn't too bad. Although this flight to Europe was longer than I was use to, it wasn't too bad. I was probably awake for a total of 2.5 hours. 1.5 hours to watch Indiana Jones, 0.5 hours to eat my meal, and 10 x 3 minute mini wake ups due to the yellow fog emanating from my row-mate.

From that point on, the transit between France and Malta was uneventful, which from a guy who frequently profiled when travelling, is quite pleasant. In past travelling adventures, I've been asked to strip to my underwear, asked to go through the explosives detection machine twice in one security check, had my car taken apart twice and have been pulled aside by security and searched while waiting for my plane to arrive in the post-security section of an airport. All in all, having an uneventful transit to Malta is good news for me.

Today, I'm going to head down to the beach and relax

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