Ultranormal

Category: travel

  • Recovery times may vary

    I flew home from a work trip yesterday, which required setting an alarm for 2:30AM to make sure I got to the airport before a 5:15AM flight.

    I knew I needed to sleep, but I didn’t want to sleep through my alarm so I skipped my usualy melatonin and then… didn’t sleep. I can’t remember the last time I stayed up all night, but it’s been years.

    I was a mess all day, but I didn’t miss my flights! I went to bed at 7PM, was asleep before 8PM and then woke up around 9AM. That’s 13 hours of sleep, and I’m still tired and sore and generally uncomfortable.

    I used to be able to stay up all night, go to work, be productive, get some sleep and be absolutely fine.

    That’s the thing about aging. It’s not that I can’t do things; it’s that doing them requires a lot more recovery than it used to.

    If you need me, I’ll be snoozing on the couch.

  • Stupid sleep

    My alarm is set for 2:30AM, which is in less than an hour. I’m supposed to be asleep so it can wake me up. That is not going to happen, as I never actually got to sleep.

    I have to get in a car at 3AM so I can get to the airport so I can get on a plane set to leave at 5:15AM so I can go home.

    I didn’t take melatonin at 7:30PM because I was afraid I wouldn’t wake up. It turns out, my body doesn’t know how to get to sleep on its own anymore, so, here I am, at 1:43AM, typing this on my laptop, sitting here in my underpants, cursing the fact that I have about 18 hours until I’m home, and I didn’t get any sleep.

    So, how’s your day going?

  • Travel Tired

    I used to travel for work a lot. I just started really traveling for work again, and… it’s exhausting. I’m not in travel shape anymore, and my back screams at me after every flight. Adjusting to time zone changes is harder.

    I love seeing people in person, but getting there sucks and I’d like it to be more comfortable, more humane and overall less of a literal pain in my backside.

    Forget going to Mars. Get me from Savannah to anywhere else and let me feel like a human being during and after.

    Please and thank you.

  • Observing Humans Under Stress in the Airport

    Being stuck in the airport is a great chance to watch people deal with disappointment and things outside of their control. Observed today:

    • The Grumbler: Vents aimlessly to anyone in earshot but not loudly or with any attempt to do anything to fix it.
    • The Busybody: Has to find something to do that’s demonstrably “doing something” about the situation because there’s nothing they can really do. Can usually be seen leaning againsr a column, gesturing wildly to someone on the other end of a phone call… who of course can’t see them. But we can. We can.
    • The Demander: must go up to the gate desk every ten minutes for an update. The more trips to the desk, the more red they are in the face and the longer their stride.
    • The Cheerleader: They’re just happy to be there and will loudly proclaim how wonderful everyone is being. Constantly fetching things for other members of their party. I have a feeling the cheerleader is the busybody when traveling solo.
    • The Relaxer/Fatalist: this is me. Weighs the situation. Decides they can’t do anything. Sits there reading and waiting for updates and silently wishing the grumbler had a better conspiracy theory and the busybody would express their distaste a little quieter.

    And then there are the shell-shocked parents trying to wrangle angry toddlers who’ve had their routines even more disrupted than they would have been without a delay. These are really the only group I feel bad for. They all look so desperate for relief. Hang in there, parents. It gets easier.

    Did I miss any? Who are you?

  • Domestic Falling Down Old Stuff

    [hang2column width=”500″]Old Sheldon Church, near Yamassee, SC[/hang2column]

    I took a little drive this morning to go see Old Sheldon Church. I highly recommend it! It’s a beautiful site, and the ruins are gorgeous. It reminded me of the old church ruins I saw in Ireland. There are more photos from the trip here. Enjoy!

  • Taking the Boys to Atlanta

    Max’s Blue Man Group Audition from Kevin Lawver on Vimeo.

    The boys and I went to Atlanta last weekend to hang out with my pal David and go to the Georgia Aquarium. We stayed in a hotel right downtown, went to the Children’s Museum, ate at Legal Seafood, went swimming, watched a movie and had a lot of fun. The pictures are here and there are some more videos to come.

  • My Second Trip to The British Museum

    The lion from the main entrance of The British Musem

    This was my second trip to The British Museum. My first was in October of 2007 with a friend from AOL, but we could only stay for about an hour. That’s not nearly enough time. We only got to see the Rosetta Stone, some mummies and a little bit of the Assyrian collection.\
    My only touristy goal on this trip was to really dive in and see a lot more of the museum. And boy, did I. Ann and Tobey met me, and we spent a great almost four hours wandering through history. I won’t go in to how the museum came to possess its collection, but it is amazing. If you get the chance to go to London, give yourself a good half-day to wander through it. It’s truly unbelievable.\
    I took almost three hundred pictures, so it’s going to take me some time to upload them. They’ll all end up in the set on flickr eventually.\
    I was particularly fascinated by the statues from India and Asia, especially the ones depicting Hindu deities. If anyone has recommendations for a “beginners guide to the history of Hinduism”, I’m all ears.

  • Why I’ll Be Tired Later

    a police car races down the street

    I have a very long day of cab – train – airport – airplane – airport – airplane – airport – car ahead of me. The hotel fire alarm going off around 3AM and my inability to get back to sleep so far is not going to help the situation.\
    I have a lot of photos from my trip to The British Museum to post, but they’ll have to wait until I get home.

  • Talk about burying the lead

    I want to blog, except I don’t really have anything to say. So, mundane details it is!!\
    Max received his first quarter report card. He got all A’s and E’s (exceeds expectations) except in music where he got a ‘meet expectations.’ He has school until almost 4, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for more than homework, dinner, and a bit of down time. I want to get him into sports or music, but most of them start too late and keeping everyone healthy for more than 2 weeks in a row has been a challenge.\
    Brian has school three days a week and really enjoys it. He gets a little bit of Spanish, music, and art. Considering how inexpensive it is and the fact that they had openings, I am surprised of the quality of care. He had a check up last week where he was pronounced mostly healthy. He has slight allergies and eczema, which we are treating with OTC allergy meds and fish oil. He was really well behaved for the almost 2 hours we were there. Several of the staff commented on it. :)\
    Kevin works a lot. He also grills a lot and listens to music. I think that is all I have to say about him.\
    The doctor upped my dosage of anti-crazy medicine. YAY! I love not being crazy. I’m not sure if it is working yet. Kevin could probably tell you though.\
    We went to a bbq over the weekend that was set here: iconic Savannah. It was really beautiful, like a movie setting.\
    Since we have family just outside of DC, I am thinking of taking the boys up for Obama’s inauguration. It’s the day after MLK Day. Imagine all of the fun parades and festivities! The 10-hour drive is kind of daunting though since it will be just 3 weeks after our last 10-hour drive and Kevin won’t be coming with us.\
    On Saturday, Nov 15, there is a national protest against Prop 8 in almost a hundred cities across the country. Check for a location near you here. We’re taking the kids down to Jacksonville to participate since it is closer than Atlanta. It also seems like a better choice since Florida just passed a similar measure.\
    Last Friday I took the boys to the beach because I thought it would be the last nice day. But nope! The boys have today off for Veteran’s Day and the weather isn’t bad, so we are going to the beach again. YAY for living so close to the beach.

  • This and that

    • I’ve misplaced my iPod. I am bad enough at cleaning the house with it, I can’t imagine what I’ll be like now. Booo. I need my crutch! I am going to dig out our 80s-inspired iPod that is the size of my head and see if I can duct tape it to my body. That should get me through the day, I hope.
    • The kids didn’t have school yesterday so we went down to Kevin’s office for lunch. The boys were happy when practically the whole office went with us. They just looooooove Kevin’s coworkers. Brian especially enjoys spending time with the office manager, Juliet. He makes sure to sit with her and walk with her and give her hugs. He got mad at me once and said, “I don’t love you anymore. I just love Daddy and Juliet.” A couple of weeks ago a bunch of us went out to dinner, including Juliet’s parents. Brian was really excited to meet them. I joked that he was meeting the in-laws. It’s so cute to watch and Juliet is so nice to him.
    • I had a (bad) dream last night that we were moving to Utah, where we would be isolated in our liberal, hippie views AND we’d have to deal with constant four-foot snow. Kevin was thoughtful enough to buy lots of Christmas decorations so our new neighbors would like us, though. Hmm.
    • As far as I can recall, I have never voted for a winning presidential candidate before. (I honestly can’t recall which candidate I voted for when Clinton was reelected, which wasn’t my first election.) It’s nice for that streak to be over.
    • We’re going to the in-laws for Thanksgiving and I am really looking forward to seeing everybody. Kevin’s brother and his family, including a baby, will be there. YAY. And an aunt, cousin, and and a grandma are coming too. Lots of family time! I love it when the boys get to see their extended family. The downside is that we are staying in a hotel, which is my least favorite thing to do with kids. Worse than 4 hours at the Health Department without a lunch break, even. But that is what happens when your family quadruples in size, yes? So, nice problem to have, all things considering.