So that picture post never happened; have a a big block of text instead

Hi! I’ve been here for more than a week now, and I wish I could say that it’s been an easy transition—you know, “no sweat” …………………………….:P but I can’t.

So much has happened - but before I go on about anything I ought to start from the beginning.

I landed at Changi Airport at 12:45PM SG time on Friday the 26th, after having sat on my butt for over 17 hours. (So, not so different from my average weekends). I was in a daze. I wandered around like a fool for about 30 minutes before I finally found the immigration gate, where I fell in line to “get in.” I hadn’t really broken out of my reverie at that point--I was exhausted, stinky, in Asia, and my hair looked absolutely horrible. It was hard for me to comprehend that I was so far from home—all I could think of was getting past this strange and magical barrier (flashing lights and everything) that was the only thing between me and getting into a car that would take me to Lying Down Horizontally on a Mattress.

And so I waited.

I’ve always been fascinated by airports… they are the crossroads of the world, after all. They can be incredibly sad places or places full of happiness and anticipation. You know how it is. The place to embrace loved ones after so long… they’ve grown fatter or thinner, older; maybe their hairstyle is different, and yet it’s the person you know, and you love them. But it’s also that awful place where you get that sick feeling in your gut and a frog in your throat because you have to say goodbye. And to others it’s nothing more than a temporary purgatory—a segue to the “other-world.” But not to me. Airports are full of all sorts of people; but not just ‘people’... because people are worlds all on their own. Just think: each person in that airport is on his/her own individual mission, each with his/her own story to tell—one that you’ll never know—but a story nonetheless. And none can complete his mission or story without first catching a few moments on this rotating carousel of people worlds apart…and yet inches close. It’s incredible! It blows my mind--the idea of being right next to someone (several people; hundreds) with a completely different childhood, language, history and culture from you. I like to think of it like this: walking briskly towards a door with your name on it at the end of a long corridor (the gate and flight to your final destination), and brushing right past hundreds of unlocked doors that lead to entire universes along the way. But you don’t dare to (nor have the time to) look into any of these doors, even if they are all unlocked, and right within your reach… (In short, no one wants to be CREEPY). (Sadly for me there is nothing I can do to avoid this which is why I have no qualms about talking to people at airports, and also in dangerous neighborhoods.) So there. Some people think that airports are a springboard to new places and time zones; but I think those worlds are already there. At the baggage claim; in that long line to get coffee at the Starbucks…

Speaking of coffee—

I wanted one.

And some decent food too. Standing in that immigration line felt kind of like waiting in a queue to get into heaven, or a big park attraction (same thing? HAHA jk). Just picture a bunch of yapping happy people waiting excitedly to be cleared for entry by uniformed, stern-looking Asian St. Peters, guarding the entryway to the sparkling clean tropical haven that is Singapore, where everyone speaks English and is particularly savvy with cell phones.

I finally got through at about 1:20. And all I have to say is that I am so glad that answering simple questions and being confused is my strong suit, because they let me in after about 15 seconds.

Hooray! (WHAT WERE THEY THINKING)

I stepped outside with my luggage 20 minutes later realizing rather quickly that this was not heaven at all because heaven is certainly not this hot. (!)

Hooray! (WHAT WAS I THINKING)

It was the pink sign that read “KATRINA” in all caps that finally brought me back to reality.


The journey was over. My plane ticket was now just a meaningless piece of paper, and there was an old Chinese lady with a neon sign with my name on it for goodness sakes, waiting to take me towards something that could very well be my doom.

As I went to open the passenger door on the wrong side of the car, I laughed.

I'm here

I feel like a regular zombie but I AM HERE!!!

Shakes on a Plane

Accomplishing “sleep” in the economy section of an aircraft requires a great deal of neck-bendiness and good ole’ circus-style contortionism. Thanks be to God I have neither, or else you wouldn’t be getting this “long-awaited” (jokes, jokes) update! Anyway, who needs shut-eye when you can… ramble at length to your friends over the internet? At least SOMEONE will be getting some sleep! ;)

That aside, I’m decidedly impressed by the offerings of this airline! (And yes, I’m typing this in a Word document after having been in here for nine hours. What you’re reading is something I’ve simply copied and pasted to the internet much later.) Anyway, as I was saying - free headphones and movies, maps and 3-D diagrams of our flight progress at my fingertips, and I even have my own electrical outlet for cryin’ out loud. SPOILED!

My dad, Mark and Richie dropped me off at LAX tonight (Last night? Yesterday? This morning? I don’t even know anymore!) and pretty much left me for dead at about 10 ‘o clock. It was a strange feeling, being alone. I was all smiles at the security gate (and just to make me laugh, the guard took a look at my passport and said “Is this YOU!? What happened? Did you grow up?” to which I replied, “not yet!”) but, as the figures of my dad and brothers grew smaller and smaller, finally disappearing into the chaos of the airport, I found myself feeling slightly sick to my stomach.

I boarded the plane at 1:10 and immediately tried to wrap my head around what was happening to me. All sorts of thoughts came to mind. I’M MOVING TO ASIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! AND I’M ALL BY MYSELF AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I MAY POSSIBLY RUN OUT OF MONEY and then I calmly sat down and buckled my seatbelt.

It’s a 14ish hour flight from LA to Hong Kong, and a 3 and a half hour flight from there to Singapore. My poor little brain is so confused by it! It’s 10:25AM on my watch and outside my window is complete and utter blackness. It’s trippy.

How HUGE this world is, and yet, how small! The Pacific Ocean is so vast… I can’t believe people used to try to cross this thing with wooden ships and only moldy bread and salted meat to sustain themselves. Sick!

So what have I been doing all this time? Well, apart from developing (and then discovering, ughh) my first zit in years on my forehead, I’ve managed to get in a little bit of sleep, meet this awesome Columbian girl seated next to me, eat dinner at 3 AM for the first time ever, watch “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and then proceed to become impressed by it (except for the French narrator who rips off of other artists and neglects his family errgh), read, pray, and contemplate the blackness outside my window. This, my friends, is what I call the ACTION PACKED itinerary for the seated traveler.

At any rate, it seems that I’ve accumulated a long backlog of stories, news, and other bits of nonsense from last week to share with you and the world wide web!

But where do I start? If it were up to me I would have documented things as they happened, but alas … I spent way too much time this past week trying to avoid anything resembling productivity! (This is also where I conveniently insert my famous “I work better under pressure” line.)

I think I’ll just do a massive picture post next, and throw in some spontaneous commentary to clue you in. It can be the Katrina Tabloid.

Can you believe it? The next time I write, I’ll be in Singapore, 8,700 miles away from everything I’ve ever known. (Stop sounding so dramatic, Katrina.) Maybe what the guard said earlier is going to come true after all. More than just an exciting adventure, this will be a time for me to do just as he suggested – grow up.

And if I don’t, then … well, looking 16 has its perks… ;)