The Stale Taste of Recycled Air

( From Tuesday, July 24)

Currently listening to: The Postal Service, "Recycled Air"

I’ve been in Almaty, Kazakhstan, for about 15 hours. The trip was uneventful; just long flights, layovers, and bad food. Here are a few thoughts I had over the 36 hours of traveling:

• Even if you get lucky and have an empty seat next to you, there is no way you can sleep comfortably on a plane in economy class.
• In the Land of Women tries much too hard to be like Garden State. Having said that, it was an okay movie, thanks mostly to Meg Ryan and Adam Brody (the only actor that ever made The O.C worth watching).
• When the flight attendant asks you, “chicken or vegetarian?” realize that “vegetarian” is really just another term for “Indian,” something you really don’t want to put in your body at the beginning of a trip around the world.
• Death Cab for Cutie/The Postal Service can help sing you to semi-sleep.
• If you are a Rocky virgin, you probably shouldn’t enter into the relationship with Rocky Balboa.
• Don’t drink too much tomato juice. Also, go to the bathroom at the beginning of the flight when the bathrooms are still clean.
• Remember to eat the Fig Newtons you packed in your carry-on before they make their way to the bottom of your bag and are crushed.
• Bring more than one book.
• It’s okay to cry in the airport over Harry Potter. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.
• Bring toothpaste and/or mouthwash. It helps both you and the people around you.
• If your hair is long, bring something to tie it up. Otherwise, you’re going to look like the lovechild of Professor Snape and D.J. Tanner.
• I don’t know why but it’s so easy to recognize people from the former Soviet Union. I think it has something to do with their clothes and with the way they carry themselves. You arrive at the gate, ready to get on the flight to Kaz, and everyone waiting with you looks completely different from those walking past your gate. It’s like when you compare matte printed pictures to glossy ones: When you look at one picture, it looks fine, but when you compare it to the other there is a difference. Its slight, but its there. Has anyone else noticed this?
• When you finally arrive in Kazakhstan, keep your mouth shut so you don’t embarrass yourself in front of your sister’s boyfriend by constant chattering stemming from sleep deprivation.

I made it through customs, met my sister’s boyfriend and his friend, drove home, unpacked my suitcases so that my sister could have her presents, ate breakfast, took a shower, and then promptly fell asleep on the couch for five hours. I woke up to Channel V and Fall Out Boy’s music video of "This Ain’t a Scene,” and my mother musing over just how ugly Patrick Stump is. I’ve also already had one fight with my sister! Ah, it’s good to be home.

My dad and brother are away at soccer camp until tomorrow afternoon (apparently, my dad’s the new coach), so it’s just us girls and Alias. My brother did come home for about 4 hours to see me (and get his presents; that’s just how much he loves me).

Well that’s enough for this update.