Mr. Starey

Just when I thought my weird airport people adventures were over, we
boarded the flight to Chile...

Now, I'll preface this story by saying that, as I write this, I'm
actually ON the Flight to Chile, Take 2. I'm seated next to Rob, a
student in my program, and we're both quietly enjoying the experience
of acting like cattle in the midst of being turned into sausage.
But, yesterday, on Flight to Chile, Take 1, I had a different seat.

I got super lucky on Flight to Chile, Take 1, and was placed in the
window seat of the exit row at the bulkhead. This is the ideal seat
for an overnight flight, as I planned to put my pillow against the
window and go to sleep. In the terminal, just before boarding, I
took a Rozerem, so when I found my seat 15 minutes later, I was ready
for a nap. I'm sorry, folks, but Rozerem really DOES work! But,
this is not a sales blog, so you'll just have to try it on your own
and see. (Sheila, did I close there? Or does it need to be in the
form of a question?)

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right, naptime. So, I sit down, grab my
pillow, throw in my earplugs, and am ready to go. Just then, my
seatmate shows up. In his late 40s, he was obviously hispanic,
though he lived in Florida. He stared at me for a few minutes, then
began asking me questions-- where was I from? Why was I going to
Santiago? Etc. After answering these questions as briefly as
possible, I mentioned that I'd taken a pill and planned to sleep. In
other words, SHUSH!!

Well, dude was creepy. First, he went on and on about how pills, any
pills, stay in your system, in the fatty tissue, forever. Yes,
folks, in this dude's opinion, the half life of any product was
infinity. I was too tired to argue, and just said "okay" and went to
sleep. But, of course, the plane was still boarding and the flight
attendants kept making announcements, so sleep was not entirely
possible. Every time I shifted my pillow and opened my eyes, dude
was STARING at me. Now I'm very lucky in that I have a WONDERFUL
boyfriend who loves me and tells me I'm beautiful. But, I'm not
crazy enough to think that random men on planes agree with him! Mr.
Starey was just a creepy guy. Staring, attempting to being a
conversation whenever my eyes fluttered open, and giving off weird
vibes that even my groupmates noticed, Mr. Starey was yucky.

So, two hours later, when the pilot came on the loud speaker to say
that, actually, the plane would NOT be taking off today, I'll be
completely honest, as frustrated as I was with not being at my
destination, I was also kind of relieved. No more Mr. Starey. Thank
God!

We'll discuss the flight issues later. Right now, it's time for a
movie!! Fun!!