Xanax and Wine

Greetings from the future. My today is your tomorrow. Also, I am in Spring!

I would like to thank U2 for giving me the excuse to travel halfway across the world to a country I probably wouldn't have visited due to the distance, which is no good for someone who fears flying.

Or what used to be fear 

Before my trip, I visited my doctor because the fear was such that I could hardly think about traveling anymore. It's my favorite thing...well, second favorite thing to do. Thinking about flying made me physically sick, barely able to keep food down. Even passing by an airport made me sick to my stomach.

But this flight was a breeze because he gave me Xanax to help.

A breeze, no thanks to United, Air New Zealand, and Expedia (dot cooooooom.) They had given me an hour and twenty minute layover in San Francisco, which everyone who has ever flown knows is not enough. I spent an hour on the phone the day before trying to get an earlier flight out of Washington. They wanted $500.

Funny, as I was sitting in a Dulles bar, extremely early for my flight to San Francisco, I got a text.

My flight was delayed.

Of course it was. I'd get in with 25 minutes to spare, if everything worked out, and I had to switch terminals. I left half a beer, ran over to the United counter, and said, there's no way I will make my connecting flight to New Zealand. The woman heard New Zealand, and without a word, picked up the phone, said, "still here?", typed furiously into her computer, handed me a ticket, and told me to run.

My new earlier flight, which I had requested but had been denied, got me to San Fran with a two hour layover, plenty of time for dinner and a beer.

I watched a movie, drank some wine, and slept for six of the thirteen hours to Auckland. I never sleep on planes. 

I ubered from the airport to the airbnb where I'd stay with several U2 fans, dropped off my bags, took a train to Auckland, wandered around the water, got sunburnt, and met up with them for drinks later. The New Zealand adventure had begun.