Airport: my thoughts

Here's a question. Is there some unwritten rule that one must eat if one has the chance to while at the airport or on a plane? Just because it's there, does this mean you HAVE to? Because when I'm sitting on a plane at 11:30pm and I smell burritos and lasagna, I can't help but ask myself, what the crap?? People are so worried-- 'oh, no, i'll be on a plane for 4 hours! I need to eat something!' It's 11:30 PEE EM. Are you really hungry, people? Do you usually eat a meal at this time? Let's think about this.

I love and hate the 11pm red eye from SLC to JFK. love: it's short and the dark nighttime helps others to sleep so they don't bother me. hate: i can never sleep on a plane. I know that if i try, I will just end up hurting myself in some way. Also, particularly this time around, the seats were at such a level that they seemed to cut the circulation off to my lower appendages. Therefore, I was spinning around in my chair trying to find a comfortable position so amputation would be unnecessary after all, when i exited the plane. And since i can't sleep and it's weird and late and i can't see anything out of the windows, I sit uncomfortably, hugging my legs (trying to save them) in this bizarre vortex where time stands still where I'm left to nothing but my own thoughts. It's a time when I actually appreciate some turbulence because it reminds me I'm actually flying in the air and not just on some Disneyland ride. Do you ever feel like that? This ride is smooth...too smooth. ahh, the red eye.

When I disembark at NY JFK International Airport at 5:30am, I feel like I own the place. I get off and I think to all the people I see, you're just getting here to start work or catch an early flight? Well i've been flying for HOURS. This is the END of my JFK experience here, so outta my way so i can get my luggage. I missed NY a lot this trip and as dirty and crappy as the airport is, I was so happy to see it. And happier still to hear "Dancing Queen" while waiting for my luggage, which was a bit surreal. As I stood there straddling my carry-on at baggage claim, I started to sway back and forth because I am one of those weirdos that needs to move if they have to stand still. In other words, I can't stand still. And people may have looked at me. I may have gotten some glances, but you know what, I don't care. I'm in NY and I can be weird now. And then, miracle of miracles, my suitcase was the FIFTH one to arrive. I rubbed my eyes--wha?? and almost cried. This saved me from being pushed to the brink of total paranoia & freaking out at the end when I am certain i have missed it or someone else took it because i can never remember what my chameleon suitcase looks like until it's out. (Read more about this here.)

Lastly, every time I visit Utah, my parents drive me to the airport at the end and on this trip to the airport, my dad tries to convince me to write a book. I am always suspicious of his nice compliments when he encourages me to do something that I a) would love & be terrified to do and b) respect & admire about him since he has written several. I am suspicious because he is my dad and maybe he's just being nice because of that. But we talk about it and I always say, what the hey would i write about. I would have to be able to write about nonsense. I could never write a novel or anything with a plot. And it would really have to be something I care a lot about. It went the same way on this trip until we talked about NY and i said, yes. I could write about my NY experiences. Because i could seriously write a 700-page book on the subway alone. I mean, about the subway. I guess i could write it on the subway too. Might be a good place for that actually.

So what do you think? Should I write a book? I'd probably use stuff I put on the blog so you could feel cool that you read it before it was in a book. Here is where you say, "yes, Jen. You are the wittiest, most brilliant writer of all. If you wrote a book i would buy 10 copies and read them all at the same time."