En Route

Well, I could have planned this a bit better. As I sit here in the Vancouver airport at gate 55 waiting for my flight to board I wonder how I managed to glance over the 6 hour layover time when I booked the flight a few months ago.

I arrived in Vancouver at about 5:30pm Pacific time after an eventful flight over. I didn't make it to the Toronto airport in time to weasel my way into an emergency exit seat, so I ended up in row 36 seat H right next to a young girl who appeared to be flying alone. All was going well for the first few hours - she was shy and played with her Ipod and I read my trashy magazines and a book that my girlfriend Nicole thought necessary to pass down to me before I left called, "The Long-Distance Relationship Guide: Advice for the Geographically Challenged." Thanks...I think? (Love you Nicole).

Anyways when I had my fill of relationship advice I turned to watch the movie, "Law Abiding Citizen" on the mini TV in front of me. You know the one - it's got that charismatic actor with the accent. What's his name? Gerard Butler. It looked like my kind of movie - a little bit of action, mystery and deceit. For those of you that have seen it you know it's not exactly a movie the whole family can enjoy - especially young innocent girls who have Hello Kitty backpacks and organize their smarties so that they can eat the red ones last. So all of a sudden, Gerard Butler - who at this point was in jail for seeking revenge on his families' killers - pulls a knife on his cell mate and starts brutally stabbing him repeatedly in the throat. Little did I know the little girl sitting beside had been watching over my shoulder the whole time . Well (long pause), at that point she let out an unnaturally loud wail and started crying hysterically for her mommy. Imagine my reaction when I looked over at her and she was glaring at me like I had just killed her dog. I didn't know what was wrong so I sat there in shock as the rest of the plane looked my way and the flight attendent came to the girls resuce. It happened so fast I didn't even get to say goodbye. Apparently she didn't want to sit next to me anymore because I didn't see her for the remainder of the flight. That was an experience I could have done without.

After that little ordeal I regained composure, stretched out to enjoy my enlarged seating space, and continued the movie from where I left off.

Like I said I am now waiting in the Vancouver airport for my flight to board. I arrived at 5:30pm, it is now 8:30 and I don't leave for another 4 hours. Minus the fact the pubs in the terminal are on strike and that I'm sitting next to a very obnoxious middle-aged man who continues to talk dirty on the phone in a very loud voice to who I assume to be his wife, I am actually having a very pleasent time.

Right now I'm sitting on a comfy couch watching the Olympics on a big screen and catching up on odds and ends before I take off for good. I just spoke with my mom and she asked some obvious questions: "How are you feeling? Are you excited? What happens when you arrive tomorrow morning?" To be honest I really didn't have much to say. I'm feeling quite normal - no nervousness, sadess, or feelings of excitement above my natural level. I don't really know what's happening tomorrow. I know I arrive at 5:45am on Sunday morning (that's 4:45pm Saturday evening Ontario time). I know I will be tired and grumpy. I know that I have two "buddies" from Chengchi (NCCU) that will be there at 6am to pick me up and take me back to the campus. I also know that I will have to shop for a pillow, mattress and blanket when I get there. The rest is all a mystery and I am quite content with that.