Tuscany, Day 0

I worked for the entire day today and only slept 3 hours at night – looking up cheap accommodations in Tuscany (so many choices!), doing RA work for Professor RB (didn’t finish before I left, sadly, so will have to do stuff while on vacation. Sigh. At least I will be doing it in a beautiful setting… beats being at home any day I guess.)

I got up this morning at 9:30, had planned to go to corps, but then just… didn’t. I actually missed my corps class for the entire week! Should I be worried about my lack of motivation? I just have so many last-minute things to do!

I had already begun packing the night before, and was in fact about 80% finished. But I also needed to wash dishes, clean up and tidy my apartment a bit, and organize books to take with me on my trip (yes, I’m bringing law books! Don’t bother telling me that I won’t have time to read anything on my trip! :P) My parents are coming up to B-Town to meet some friends over the weekend and wanted to stay in my apartment. Too bad I won’t be there. I had warned them that my place will be a bit messier and dirtier than usual, due to having no time. My mom promised that she wouldn’t mind, and also said she would clean up for me. He he.

Then of course there was the stress of making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, which makes me rather listless and completely useless for a couple of hours right before leaving (constantly checking and rechecking that I had all my travel essentials… Passport? Wallet? Laptop? (Can’t leave home without my beloved laptop!) Atkins snack bars? (this is in case I get stranded in the middle of nowhere without any food, then I will just whip out my Atkins meal replacement bars and rest contented knowing that it has 17 grams of protein and only 1 gram of sugar!)

I’ve developed a few travel quirks over the years. I like to think of them as “tricks”, but they are tricks that probably only works for me. For one thing, I always pack a few bottled water in my shipped luggage, because I want to make sure that when I get to the destination I wouldn’t have to run around trying to find water when I’m thirsty, or be forced to drink tap water . Another is that I like to bring some food, in case I get stranded somewhere and feel hungry. Another is that I like to bring some ziplock bags. The ones that holds a gallon (or was it a quart? Whatever. It’s the large ones). They are very versatile and one never knows when one needs them. I put shampoo bottles that are likely to spill, or small items that are easily lost if not grouped together, or dirty clothes in them. They are so useful.

Anyway, left my apartment around 5:30, almost half an hour behind schedule. Took the subway to the airport; got there about an hour before my flight takes off, and made it through security with no problem. Had just enough time to shoot off an email to Professor B before I boarded the plane, and called my parents before taking off to let them know that I was on my way to Italy.

SwissAir was everything that I remembered about SwissAir. Efficient, generous, but cold and business-like. The flight attendants do not smile when they look at you. They speak stiffly and precisely. But, there is a little TV on the back of every seat with like 5 movies showing and 7 games you can play, they give you as much wine as you want, their travel itinary actually maeks sense (as opposed to Air France, whose itineraries are made by a deranged person who thinks it’s perfectly fine to have passengers race with their bags down the runway of Charles de Gaulle chasing after their planes), and in the morning they serve up hot croissants that you can eat to your heart’s content, so I’m happy. See, it doesn’t take a lot. Airlines of the world, take note!

So I read my corps study aid, tried to sleep (couldn't), and watched this awful movie called Deja Vu with Denzel Washington off and on. The guy sitting next to me, who spoke German to the flight attendant with a weird accent that was probably Swiss (he he), kept on smiling at me, clearly wanting to talk. But I hate talking strangers when I'm on a plane - it's already so uncomfortable that I just want to be alone. So I tried not to look at him, and I think he got the message, and soon went to sleep. Phew.