My last day in San Francisco was a lot harder than I had expected. I planned everything so that I would be moved into my storage locker a week before I had to leave. I wanted to spend time with people and not have to rush leaving. The side effect though, is that it gave me time to experience the excitement, the rush, the fear, and the wonder of heading off into a new land.
Like any trip there were a few last-minute details that I was worried about before hopping on the plane.
- Would my wire transfer go through in time to pay the rent?
- Does free international roaming from T-Mobile really mean free international roaming?
- Would my insulin remain cool and effective through 24 hours of traveling
Larry took me to the airport and it was great to connect with him before flying out. Again, I wanted a little bit of margin to soak in my life here in San Francisco before rushing off to Sydney. We had fun eating my boxed Indian lunch and then running to Walgreens to find electric toothbrush that took batteries. My toothbrush here would not work over in Australia.
The flight down to Los Angeles was super uneventful. The 4 PM departure out of San Francisco made for a plane that was not even a third full. Delta’s meal service on the shuttle flight was actually really good. I’m used to cookies and other sugary confections. They changed their food lineup completely. Now it’s fresh vegetables, sunflower seeds, a few crackers, and some type of mayonnaise-based sauce I didn’t like. It’s good to see corporations taking steps to do the right thing.
By the time I got down to LAX, all of the same emotions were growing stronger. I wondered if my insulin would make it. Google seem to indicate a wide variety of opinions. If anything, I rationalized that it would take $1500 to replace and life would move on. The plane was one of the big 777s configured as a three, three, and three. I had the window seat all the way to the right. I sat next to a couple from Wisconsin where the husband was working for a couple of weeks and the wife was there for vacation.
This flight runs through some of the loneliest areas of the planet. We took off about 9pm and it’s dark the whole way over. We’re flying across the world’s largest desert: the Pacific Ocean. I never really thought about the oceans as deserts until I saw a TV show about how Steven Callahan survived 76 days floating around the Atlantic Ocean.
The flight was bumpy as hell. Both times I’ve been to Sydney it’s been a very chill flight over from the United States. The fasten seatbelt sign must’ve been on 80% of the way over and the flight attendants were aggressive in enforcing people staying in their seats. I think I slept about every other hour on the way over.
It was a beautiful sunrise. The plane filled with the orange glow of a new life ahead. After 14 hours in the air, I was ready to see the Australian shoreline. Fortunately, once on the ground getting through customs and immigration couldn’t have been easier. I think the whole process took me about 20 minutes. Go Australia!
I remember Bryan, our business unit manager saying that every flight seem short after you get used to San Francisco to Sydney. He couldn’t be more right.
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