My laptop clock currently reads 6:13 p.m. My flight doesn’t land until 9:30 p.m.
It’s Thursday. At least, I think it’s Thursday.
Once, it was Sunday; I worked all day.
Insane Monday in the office, ceramics class reprieve at 6:00 pm (the last one).
Tuesday 4:45 a.m. alarm
Airport is bustling by 8:30 a.m., security line is short
Prepackaged turkey sandwich and an orange juice in my bag
Five hour flight + 3 hour time change deposits me on the ground at 4:30 p.m.
Hotel check in
Nibble on cheese plate – Welcome!
7 p.m. nugget of pleasure wrapped in a spa treatment
Bad room service food, too much chocolate and sleep by 9:30 pm.
Best sleep in weeks
Wake up call at 6:30 a.m.
Cup of coffee, hunk of day-old bread left over from the cheese plate
Meeting at 8 a.m.
Meeting at 9:30 a.m.
Run to my room; 5-minute luggage packing
New hotel check in
10:15 a.m. meeting
11:45 a.m. meeting until 5:15 p.m.; no food
Scurry to my room, lipstick and powder, grab a mini ham sandwich on white from the concierge display
Shove it in my mouth waiting for the elevator
5:30 Meeting, I have to eat. chickpea fritters appetizers, a glass of wine and a bit of cheese
6:30, lie about a 7 p.m. conference call to get away. I am fading. Can’t smile and make small talk anymore.
Spongy white cupcake with sickening sweet frosting and sprinkles whisked from the concierge display
Bite one, yuck. Bite two, gulp and gone before I’ve reached my room
Warm bath, ahhhhh, just 10 or 15 minutes
Unpack/repack
Answer emails
Room service cheeseburger , Makes me sick
Fall asleep, TV and light still on
Wake up an hour later – wide away, unable to fall back to sleep.
Benadryl doesn’t help, remote control timer doesn’t help, lying in the dark doesn’t help
Fall asleep, 2 a.m.
6 a.m. wake up call blasts my room.
Decaf coffee, packaged white powder creamer
Airport shuttle at 7:30 a.m.
Catch up on email over a Pain du Chocolate while sitting in a sticky, plastic chair
10:00 a.m. flight, nod off to sleep, head bob wakes me up
Arrive at 11:00 a.m., new city, more meetings
12:00 meeting until 3:45 p.m.
4:00 p.m. shuttle for a 6:10 p.m flight
Dry Chinese chicken wrap and OJ for the flight
Too tired to think of work.
Delayed plane, one hour
Pray for 5 hours of sleep on plane
Can’t sleep, do work
My laptop clock currently reads 6:35 pm. My flight doesn’t land until 9:30 p.m.
Sigh.