#118 - The Return: Part 2

30/05/2011 (posted 31/05/2011)

I got up early to leave but unfortunately, Ann and Katie had gone elsewhere before I could properly say goodbye.
I had some raisin and nut bran and then headed out with Andrew to get a taxi to the airport.

I got there fine, checked in fine and headed to Dunkin' Donuts but there was only one person working at the time so a massive queue had developed. A combination of a craving for donuts and having some time to waste led me to wait in line. I felt immense sympathy for the woman who had been sold out by her employers having been in a similar position myself at Starbucks - the only person there when a queue starts developing. It's unbelievably stressful, and happens more and more where I work as they are constantly cutting on labour but to the point where we have too few people and our quality of service greatly suffers.

Anyway, I got a coffee and a donut and then paid with a $20 note - I gave it to her and she looked at me like I'd abducted her children. It's money for goodness' sake.

I then got on to the airplane and the Panama football team were also there - in fact, players were sitting either side of me which was cool in a way. That said, being slightly famous doesn't excuse you from being an idiot for not blowing your nose and repeatedly snorting and that is exactly what the tool sitting on my left did.
What was quite funny was listening to an American guy behind me trying to chat up someone a lot younger than him - some of his winning lines included "you're 20 right? no way are you 30!" and "wow you're slim, you're only taking up half the seat". If he wanted good chat-up lines, he should have come to me.

I got to Miami fine, ordered a Cinnamon Dolce Latte from Starbucks which I have never tasted nor had before and it was damn delicious. I hope they introduce it to England.

While I was waiting here for four hours for my next plane, it fully hit me that I will be home very soon indeed. Thoughts of seeing first my family and then all of my friends put something similar to butterflies in my stomach - after so long away, I am finally coming home to where I belong.
I have talked at great, some would say exhausting, length on this blog at certain times where I have felt particularly homesick but I have felt very very much so for these past couple of weeks. I have constantly been thinking of and preparing for home, and now I am on the way there.

I boarded my flight, and got down to watching Friends.

JG