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OK, here's my first my first posting to SpongeFish... My jobs are usually international in scope, meaning I fly a lot. Hours on end on planes and airports. Lots of dead time in hotels. But I never get bored. People have asked me why. The answer is one that is used a lot in sports. In tennis, it's often said that 80% of the game is mental. I tend to agree with that. And my mind is how I kill time. Here are the things I do...
1. I imagine.
This is far and away the biggie. What are the people around me like? What do I think they do? Are those two people traveling together a couple or co-workers? Airports are great for this because there are zillions of people... groups of people, couples, individuals, people on cell phones (which I hate), kids looking bored with their parents, flight attendants traveling in packs. Where did they come from? Where are they going? What are they like? What if I could read their minds? What if they could read mine? It's always fascinated me that there could be two people who don't know each other, no shared memories, no familiarity to common things, two meandering lives that just happen to cross-cross physically at a particular moment. Never to see one another again, if they even noticed the other to begin with.
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 What's that lady with the white hair looking at? Why is that woman in front yawning? |
 Who's that person in the green? What is he going? Why? Where's Waldo? |
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2. I read.
OK, nothing new here. Everyone reads. Books can be very handy if you every saw the movie "Accidental Tourist". On a round-the-world trip, I'll usually bring 4 books with me. Nothing of redeeming value. As I explained to my more literary friends, I don't read "matte-cover" books, I read "glossy" paperbacks. Like Nelson DeMille, James Patterson, Harlan Coben. Books that let me lose myself in visualizing the world that the author is trying to create, imagining what the characters look like, and so on. OK, I'm back to imagining things.
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3. I watch movies.
Nothing new here either. The problem with this is that the airplane version of a movie is not the same as the theater or DVD version. They cut things out. The other problem is that I watch a ton of movies during flights, then, when I get home, I don't feel the need to watch anything. That doesn't do my social life any wonders.
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4. I sleep (a lot).
Two years ago, I discovered Ambien. If you travel a lot, or have crossed major time zones, you know you are always fighting to catchup on sleep. A neighbor of mine does research on insomnia. He told me you can always suffer from sleep deficit, but you can never buildup a credit on sleep. So I take a lot of cat naps. On long haul flights, I use Ambien to get a full night's sleep. So flying from San Francisco to Sydney, I get on the plane, grab a bite, maybe watch a movie, read or watch people, then take the Ambien. Next time I open my eyes it's breakfast time and a few of hours till landing. I don't believe in things like adjusting my daily routine before I go, or taking melatonin. I figured sleep deficit is not that bad because, if you begin to have hallucinations or delusions, at least they keep you company.
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5. I talk to people.
Not anyone. Some people don't want to talk to anyone. Maybe they'd rather sit there and quietly imagine things, who knows. Everyone has something interesting in their lives to talk about. So I chat with flight attendants. Joke with my neighbor. But these are never long conversations. Once in a long while, I'm lucky enough to sit next to someone that's really fun to talk with. But otherwise it's some jetlagged whacked out soul twitching in his or her sleep with eye shades and ear plugs on.
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 See the nice flight attendant? There are NEVER crew members who are bored at their jobs! |
 Clearly, I didn't have any meaningful or thought-provoking conversations with these guys. |
Sometimes the flight crew can make a long flight an exciting one for you. Someone sent me this video a while ago and I was just able to find it again. This is definitely a flight without any need to kill time... |
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And that's what I do. How about you? See also: |
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Leave a Comment
enatividad87 at 11:49pm on Mar. 27, 2008
8 months ago
I also like to imagine the same things when I go to the airport. But I think it's because I have kids with me so I can't do much else. Great post. Reply...
pepmod at 12:37pm on Mar. 26, 2008
8 months ago
these are all funny including the video nice Reply...
loufifteen at 7:17pm on Feb. 13, 2008
9 months ago
Yeah, tell me about the free time. My soccer team travels ALL the time...lots of Airports/Hotels and free time to go with it. Everythign you just said I do...but I've got teammates to pass the time with as well. so it isn't AS bad but still...good article. Reply...
Bill Benzon at 10:01am on Feb. 13, 2008
9 months ago
Another high5 for the concluding video. Reply...
floria at 1:31pm on Feb. 12, 2008
9 months ago
Why Ambien but no approval for Melatonin? I've tried both, just curious.
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&I download Podcasts in advance and listen to them. NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is a funny one. Science Friday can be interesting too. If you're extra cool and have a video iPod (mine is from the stone age), you can watch videos/movies. But sometimes it's nice just listening and resting your eyes. Careful with the funny podcasts though, because you may just end up bursting out laughing (or trying to hold it in with a smile while accidentally meeting eyes with someone else) for what others see as no apparent reason. Has happened to me before. Can also buy those foreign language CD's and upload it to your iPod, as prep for going to a different country.
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&I always bring several books, but end up zoning out or imagining the lives of people around me as well. Sudoku and cross-words are also good.
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&Talking to people around you is also great, but then what if you want to stop talking (and go to sleep for example) but either one of you feels obligated to continue the conversation to not seem rude? Or you begin to feel motion sickness and don't know how to tell the other person to stop talking? If there was a nice way to say "shut up" without it being mean or awkward, I'd start conversations with my neighbors every time I went on a flight!
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&I'd say sleep is the best time killer. Reply...
SquarePants at 5:15pm on Feb. 12, 2008
Regarding Melatonin, I had spoken to a few pharmacists, each of whom had mentioned at the time that there was no clinical evidence to support Melatonin's effect on sleep. I tried it, it didn't work. I believe subsequent studies had shown that it was really the nervous system that affects the circadean cycle. Ambien is a hypnotic that typically takes no more than an hour to kick in (for me) and then I sleep for 6-8 hours with no side effects, waking up fully alert.
BTW, I don't know what the anecdotal rate (the % of people who claim it helps them) is for Melatonin, but I know people who say it works for them. I've often wondered if the act of taking Melatonin simply puts them in a more relaxed state. I do play a game with my mind by always setting my watch forward to a destination time and then begin mentally adjusting to that time zone. So whatever works! Reply...
SquarePants at 5:20pm on Feb. 12, 2008
Oh, your other question, I never let myself feel obligated in such situations. I'd just say "excuse me but I need to nap for a while" or "excuse me I need to read for a bit to get myself sleepy". or you can excuse yourself to go to the restroom (b/c you're not feeling well) and then get your book out when you return. Most people I meet have their own routine they do. The hyper people seem to sit around me but not next to me. Haha, if I sit next to a woman who uses one of these lines, I'll know it's you! Reply...
JD Ross at 5:48pm on Jan. 29, 2008
10 months ago
That video clip at the end was absolutely hilarious Reply...
Michael Neril at 10:48am on Jan. 27, 2008
10 months ago
Virgin American now offers (though not yet enabled) seat to seat chatting as well! Reply...
SquarePants at 1:18pm on Jan. 27, 2008
Internet-enabled flights worry me a bit if voice is allowed. I read more of an issue with Americans than Europeans. No problem with IM. Boeing's Conexxion attempted in-flight internet years ago. I was IMing a colleague, said, aren't you supposed to be in flight, he said he was in flight to Taipei via EvaAir which had the internet service. Very cool.
But this gives me an idea for another article about a pet peeve of mine. Reply...
Michael Neril at 4:42pm on Jan. 27, 2008
It's actually only email/text based. Agreed on the voice part. Look forward to your next piece. Reply...
bucho_ky at 12:49am on Jan. 26, 2008
10 months ago
Brilliant video...cracked me up! :) Reply...