Home, Sweet Home

June 22, 2010

If you had to guess how to get from Randburg (Gauteng Province) South Africa to Bryan, Texas, would you choose the black route or the red route on this map?

I won't whine that it took 37 hours start to finish to follow the red path home, but I suspect it has more to do with marketing than the earth's curvature, the jet stream, or flight patterns. Except for a couple of hops from Australia to New Zealand, all Emirate flights connect through Dubai (just like at one time all Southwest Airline routes flew through Love Field). The less said about this type of grueling travel the better. Here is my two cents worth: I want to be richer next time I fly over seas, so I can afford Business Class. I watched more movies going to and coming from South Africa than I have in the past five years. Here's the list:

Alice in Wonderland
Avatar
Invictus
It's Complicated
Juno
The Young Victoria
Up in the Air

When I ran out of movies, I started watching episodes of NCIS, Numb3rs, The Mentalist, and Frasier. I also watched the New Zealand/Italy game and the Slovakia/Paraguay game. Also, to file in the category of TMI (too much information): I only left my seat once in the 16 plus hour leg between Dubai and Houston, which ingrained in me a much deeper appreciation of both my bed and my bathroom.

When I catch my breath, I may say a little more about the trip, but right now, I want to let you know that if you haven't yet caught World Cup fever, you still have a chance. Tune into the must win game between USA and Algeria tomorrow (9:00 a.m., ESPN). Wear your fan gear, or not. Yell at the tv, or not. Blow your vuvuzela, or not. Support your team. Support your country. From now on out a win means more play and a loss sends us home.

To celebrate our safe return, let's reconvene the Lanyard Workshop this Friday at 4:00 at my house. See you there!