Enroute (back) to the Philippines

I write to you from 55,000 feet in the air, in the cabin of a Boeing 747, which seems to be experiencing some wild turbulence, but nothing to deploy the FAA about, feels like we might have sucked up a flock of seagulls along the way. Although, all things considered, this has been a wonderful trip, really. I left Columbus yesterday evening, saying Goodbye to Leah, Mom, Ryan, Kyle, and Becca (--I said goodbye to Dad much earlier in the day, before he left for work). After the warm precession of hugs and final-looks before parting ways, I turned about to find a rather baron airport. TSA officials, looked bored, the the people behind the gate seemed to be stifling a few yawns, all in all, the day before the fourth seems to be the ideal time to fly.

The flights through Chicago, and continuing to LA went off without a hitch, however, my tooth (which is sadly in desperate need of a root-canal) didn't seem to appreciate the the high altitudes and resulting changes in air pressure. For the four and a half hour flight from Chicago to LA I found myself crammed in a window seat with restless legs, a throbbing tooth, and a woman that stood (or sat, rather) between me and the free world (or isle, rather). I did what I could, massaged my legs, sat on my legs, propped one up for a while, danced them about on the floor beneath my seat ( which seemed to be very effective in creating a wonderful atmosphere of awkward-ness between me and the woman next to me). Amid these mind-numbing frustrations, there were some awesome moments of flying over the America's Midwest, the night be her birthday, getting to see the sparkling of the thousands of people across the nation celebrating the fourth doing their American duty of Barbecuing and sending up as many shimmering explosives as their wallets would allow.

Arriving in Los Angeles, I met up with my friend, Ben Boquist, who had just moved into the LA area (literally, he had arrived that day from the four-day road trip from Ohio). Ben had offered me a place to stay that night, so I went to his newly found apartment, rested up and got some IHOP the next morning in Santa Monica, before heading back to the airport to continue my long journey.

A few things absolutely astound me about LA. It is the City that many people have never been to, but yet its the city that, once you get there, you feel like you know it all to well. I say this, because, it's only after going to LA, and then watching just about any American movie, that you realize that every-time you visit the silver screen, you've really been to LA, as well- if only vicariously. Honestly, you can test me on this one... try to drive anywhere in LA, playing the soundtrack to "Ocean's 11" and tell me that it doesn't entire embody the whole experience perfectly. Crazy, it is.

Anyway... that brings us up to the present (or, at least the point at which I wrote this blog) I've got a deliciously airline meal in my stomach, a pillow behind my head, my headphones in... and I've even managed to snag myself a seat in the exit row! It's t-minus 7 hours to Tokyo, the "Alieve" for my tooth seems to be working wonderfully... so I'm going to settle in, and I'll see you when my boredom once again drives me to write another post.

Until then,

Jarrett