First Leg

I spent the morning pulling the last of my stuff together for the trip, seeing an old friend one last time (I'm looking at you, Katie), and trying to calm the nerves of my neurotic parents. Only two of those were successful, and you can guess which ones.

Stopped by a gas station after breakfast and, much to the amusement of the cashier, bought 6 packs of Marlboro cigarettes and 14 packs of Juicyfruit gum, as per my friend Alik's suggestion that they and my blue jeans are the best bribery materials in Eastern Europe for corrupt officials giving you a hard time.

I got a flu shot at 11, fixed up some banking issues at Chase, and called Duke to figure out how to ship the stuff I'm not carrying to Istanbul to Bogazici University there.

We left for the airport a little after 2, not too far behind schedule. My parents of course drove me, since they won't be seeing me for a few months.

JFK Terminal 8 is an AA terminal, so it was a minor inconvenience to find the hidden Air Berlin desk, but there was no line. Security was packed but moved quickly. I got a pretty thorough patdown from the TSA though, because I refused the full body X-ray machine (why would one elect to put radiation through themselves?). I got a whole speech that went something like this:

"sir, I'm going to pat you down, from the top of your head to your toes, do you have anything in your pockets? I am going to wear gloves, and when I reach sensitive areas I will be using the back of my hands. I will need to insert my hands into the waistband of your pants both in front and back. I will be using the back of my fingers for this task. I will also need to use my hands to pat down your thighs.. Is there any particular part of your body that's sensitive?"

I didn't give him the obvious answer, but let him go about his business, seeing as he tried so hard to avoid a lawsuit.

Gate 14. My 5:25 flight was delayed due to late arrival until 6:00. We took off shortly after that.

Seat 26G, on the aisle of those 4-seater rows. I fell asleep right after takeoff. Missed dinner, which is great because I read that if you skip a meal before a red eye flight, when you eat in the morning your body resets its clock to make you less jet lagged. Maybe it'll work.

Sleep sleep sleep.