Glorious Vacation! I have officially started sixteen days off. Sixteen days of catching up on reading, writing, and of course my DVR is calling out my name. I’m almost afraid to see how much of the next two weeks will be spent staring at the TV!
It is interesting to note that for me, vacations have absolutely nothing to do with actually going on a vacation. My vacation time is spent devising ways to avoid the airports. As soon as friends and family who live in far away places catch wind of my having any sort of time off, it is automatically assumed that I will jump at the chance to get on yet another airplane (this time as a passenger) to go see them just because I can. Now, I do love them all dearly, but right about now I am cherishing the time I have at home, sleeping in my own bed, no suitcases, no hotels…………ahhhhhhh, bliss! I even plan to actually do some cooking-something I never have time for but do enjoy. If I’m really lucky, I will also reacquaint myself with the gym membership I have which, as of late, has not been used.
Oh yes, and we musn’t forget Disneyland. Of course I will have to make an appearance or two there!
Today is a good day so far. I am flying back to Phoenix from Boston, and aside from the 1am (Pacific Time) wake up call this morning (or is that still considered “night”?), things have gone relatively smooth.
Regretfully, I still was not able to contribute to the Starbucks “economy” this morning. Thankfully though, Dunkin Donuts came to my rescue! (I feel like I cheated on Starbucks!) Three hours twenty two minutes into my flight, and I am one iced coffee (mmmmmm…), and two jelly filled donut holes deep into my sugar rush. Life IS good!
Just a little over an hour and a half to go in the flight. I sit here, fingers crossed hoping that the Dunkin Donuts coffee and oh-so-yummy donut holes will get me through.
Where IS my coffee? It is a well know fact (at least to me anyway) that I refuse to drink airplane coffee. If you happen to run into me while I am at work, nine times out of ten you will see me dragging my suitcase behind me with one hand (usually the left), and holding my Starbucks in my other hand. I was in complete shock the day that Starbucks announced it was closing 600 stores. Oh my God….600 stores! I still can’t believe it. I certainly have been doing my part over the years to make sure that Starbucks is a healthy, viable company. Am I the only one?
As I sit here in my airplane anguishing over the close of these particular coffee shops (are they called coffee shops anymore?), I realize that I was not able to do my part this time. I am one hour fifteen minutes into my four hour eighteen minute flight from Phoenix to Boston- the red eye, no less, and I have no Starbucks to keep me company or, more importantly, keep me awake.
At two hours, fifty three minutes into the flight, my eyelids start to have a mind of their own. Open. Close. One open. Nope, now we’re closed. Where is my precious, frothy Starbucks double frou frou?
Who am I kidding? I can’t really blame my eyelid problem on my lack of Starbucks. My precious beverage would have been long gone by now, in fact, I probably would have finished it even before we got off the ground. However, in my delirium that can only be attributed to flying the all night flights, I have convinced myself that Starbucks is the only thing that will get me through.