Back in the 'Hai

My flight home confirmed/re-justified all the bitching I did in the past 12 months about United (I plan to do equally as much in 2011 - so lets kick it off right now!). 

I had an aisle seat and the flight attendant came by once and dripped hot water all over my lap - "sorry, that's just condensation from the food trays." Mmm, thanks, now I smell like airplane food, can't you see I packed a lunch to avoid that? (Is what I should've said). Then she came by a second time and spilled ice all over me. "Oh my goodness, I have to be extra nice to you now blah-blah-blah" Me: "Please go get a napkin..." 

Why do they play the same awful movies on both the east- and west-bound flights? Shouldn't they assume most of us are taking round trips?

And then my bags were almost the last ones off the carousel.

I held it together past customs, greeted James, boarded the maglev, got off the maglev (it's after 8pm and I've had very little sleep in the last 24 hours), we get to the subway station. He wants to take the green line, I insist we take the orange line. We get on the orange line and he gently explains why it's going to take 20 minutes longer to get home. I start crying.

When you live far away, it's hard to come 'home.' I had to get up and go to work the next morning. Monday I got my year-end bonus - something I wasn't expecting. Then that night my trivia team took first place (RMB1000 in free drinks!). The following night we had our year-end company dinner and I won an ipod.

If you're looking for a homesick blues cure - money+winning alcohol+winning new technology is about as good as anything. A week later, my jet lag is gone (I think, I slept twelve hours last night...) and I'm feeling much cheerier.