Shaken Not Stirred

Monday, February 06, 2006

Time Travel

I recently picked up a friend of mine from the airport. She was coming back from Asia. The funny thing was, she left on Tuesday and arrived on Tuesday. I thought it was the coolest thing. It was like H.G. Well's dreams had come true!!! She went back in time, only she couldn't undo the the things that she had done the night before--or fix any mistakes that she made. She only traveled back about 14 hours. The very concept! Wow!

It's so cool how that worked. Her itinerary stated she was leaving the international airport at 11 p.m. on January 31st and then arriving in Los Angeles at 6:10 p.m. January 31st! Tada!!

Since I went to medical school in the Philippines, I always did this time travel trick. It always amazed me. And I always pondered, since I made the trip several times a year---during semestral breaks, Christmas breaks and summer breaks--did I somehow get younger during the course of med school? I'm actually looking to Phoenix to answer this question. He's really good at finding scientific answers.

However, I know I didn't feel any younger after the flight. I actually felt nauseated. The airline food SUCKED! I had no idea what it was made of, but I can tell you what it smelled like. I never actually tasted it because of the aroma that filled the plane's cabin during meal time. Plus I've been terrified of flying--that "Airplane" movie with Robert Hays and Leslie Nielson did me in. And the cabin itself also filled with body smells after several hours. There is no bottle of Febreeze big enough to drown out 11 hours of passing gas and halitosis. So maybe what I gained in hours, I lost in discomfort.

posted by JM at 10:52 AM

26 Comments:

  • The only thing I hate about flying is that I am contributing to the aviation emission pollutants. A flight to Athens from London emits 2,336 kilogram of CO2 per passenger!

    But I do love travelling and how can I go to do an African safari if not by plane?

    Also, since I've become vegetarian, I found out that the veggie food is much better and you get your "special" meal ahead of everyone else's :-)

    By Blogger Unknown, at 12:51 PM  

  • I always loved the movies Airplane, but it's that new ariplane movie with Jodie Foster that did me in on not ever wanting to fly again(her daughter mysteriously disappears mid-flight)
    I amn in agreance with missy--requesting the vegetarian meals at elast gives you a fighting chance that your food may be edible.

    By Blogger Chipper, at 4:53 PM  

  • I think that is so cool too! Whenever I fly from Atlanta to Birmingham, I always arrive the same time I leave. Isn't that cool? (It is about an hour trip and I go from Eastern to Central).

    By Blogger Lee Ann, at 5:41 PM  

  • flying...blech. I travelled to Asia and had the same time zone craziness; forget about the hour; what day is it?...

    Also, just a question; how do you get the bloglist with the little "updates" indicators on it???

    By Blogger Cathy, at 7:36 PM  

  • sorry guys, I love to fly. I love the whole time zone thing too.

    By Blogger mkecurler, at 9:51 PM  

  • If I could go back in time, i would have put honey mustard on my sandwich this morning.

    By Blogger Big Ben, at 9:56 PM  

  • Airline food sucks I agree ! - really sucks besides having to eat in a freakin cramped space :-)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:54 PM  

  • I feel your pain..i fly about 3 times a month....

    and i always get sat next to someone with dragon breath or a lactating mother with a baby with gnarly milk breath all getting in my face...

    By Blogger LBseahag, at 12:08 AM  

  • yeah i've pondered that time travel thing a lot whenever i visit south korea. airline food does suck for the most part, except for asiana airlines. they serve surprisingly decent korean food.

    By Blogger j, at 12:21 AM  

  • If you want discomfort spend some time on a Greyhound bus.

    By Blogger Mr. Shife, at 12:37 AM  

  • Yuck...the thought of it...ugh...

    By Blogger Chick, at 8:11 AM  

  • Flying is always a gas. Literally! It's fun if you have company--the time flies! Hehehe.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:59 AM  

  • Good morning Angel! :)

    By Blogger Skye, at 12:21 PM  

  • Airplane is hilarious! You can't be taking that seriously.

    Now, that movie about the Brazilian soccer players stranded on a mountain, where only one survived because he ate the others... now that's a reason to dislike flying.

    I don't actually. I love flying because it means I'm going somewhere, whether it's back home to visit family and friends or someplace to new to either meet old friends or go make new ones. Flying = travel, travel = opportunity, opportunity = adventure!

    Quick, pack my bags! I'm going... somewhere!

    By Blogger blackcrag, at 1:03 PM  

  • I have a friend that moved to Tokyo a couple of years ago...when he arrived, he sent an email in which he said "Its the future here, Will send winning lottery numbers."

    Your post reminded me of that... =)

    By Blogger Princess Pessimism, at 2:50 PM  

  • well the longest flight I have ever been on was about 3 hours..and by then the body oder and hailtosis is coming on strong..

    and thankfully I have not been on a plane long enough to require a meal..other than your standard pretzels and soda;)

    but if this trip makes you younger..i may take a jont..

    By Blogger eyes_only4him, at 3:18 PM  

  • gosh i always wanna puke when the smel of airline food starts filling the plane.... ugh! i try to sleep so i won't hurl- but someone always wakes me up dammit.

    By Blogger Leila, at 6:17 PM  

  • I'm not a big fan of flying, especially since September 11 ... that has totally freaked me out.
    However, the Flying High movies are fabulous ... nothing like a good Leslie Nielson movie !!
    Great post. Have a great week, Meow

    By Blogger Meow (aka Connie), at 6:30 PM  

  • I like to drink when I am flying backwards through time. You can get blitzed in no time at all.

    By Blogger :P fuzzbox, at 6:53 PM  

  • I'd hate to feel the jet-lag from ACTUAL time travel.

    There's not enough coffee in the world sometimes after a long flight.

    By Blogger Spider Girl, at 9:42 PM  

  • So glad that other people are scared of flying.
    I hate it beyond reason.
    I do it semi-frequently and still cry the entire flight.

    That food sounds heinous.

    By Blogger meghansdiscontent, at 10:47 PM  

  • which reminds me of a question posed on Gremlins 2...

    If a Mugwi eats something on an airplane and crosses a time zone at 11 pm do they turn into a gremlin ?

    By Blogger j merlino, at 12:30 AM  

  • i agree with Missy. Veggie airline food is much better. And somehow, it looks more. It's as if they are trying to compensate for luck of meat. Hehe.
    Travelling back in time, is great. You can have two diary entries for the same day.

    By Blogger x, at 5:05 AM  

  • My best friend travels all the time with her job and she just got back from Asia too. I wish my job sent me places... :0(

    By Blogger Lindsey, at 5:49 AM  

  • The movie Airplane! would scare me out of flying, too--aren't there nuns on that flight? They are almost as creepy as clowns ...

    -- david

    By Blogger David Amulet, at 7:10 AM  

  • Unfortunately, you did not get younger. You didn't go faster than the speed of light. "Going back in time" on an airplane is really a matter of geography. You just happened to be flying to a place that is in a certain latitude/longitude with relation to how the sun hits it.

    If anything, you've aged:
    #1 The body doesn't know the difference between CST or EST

    #2 Travelling can be stressful, and the airplane is a haven for free radicals which damage your cells - at the DNA level, which causes aging.

    By Blogger Jay Noel, at 1:56 PM  

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