Its Saturday morning. I am off on my wild, month long adventure to Jordan and Lebanon. The first leg of that adventure being of course the flights over. I feel like I am going to throw up because of the anticipation of having to fly. Rationally, I know this is incredibly stupid. I grew up flying. I used to love to fly. My father is a retired airline pilot for chrissakes! Its just now, the thought of so many thousands of tons of machinery and people being 35,000 feet in the air, is just not LOGICAL to me. Its not natural. I don't do window seats because I don't like looking out the window, well, unless there is something really cool to see. But, I don't want to be that close to the outside of the plane.

I don't remember when I developed this irrational fear of flying. When I was in college, I preferred to fly back and forth between Houston and Austin because it was quicker and it was actually cheaper than buying gas. I would just show up about 15 minutes before the flight left and I would be on my way. Now, its two hours or more for pre-departure arrival and very non-casual. I actually don't mind the extra security checks. It gives me a bit of reassurance. I usually get pulled aside at the first check point (with the xrays) and get "hand scanned." I think my lasat name appears on a watch list. Again, I honestly don't mind. Its not that I am afraid some nut job is going to try to do anything to the plane, I am afraid of TWO 800 type of scenarios. That plpane blew up in mid air the night before Traik went to Lebanon in 1996. Needless to say, he did not sleep very well that night and neither did I.

I had to repack my bags because there is a 50 pound limit per bag and I had everything in one bag. I put it on my digital scale and it was 8 pounds over. So now I have to take 2 bags, the stroller, a backpack, the baby... I am a bit stressed right now.

*Sigh* - I know I need to get over it. Flying is safer than driving. Everyone knows that. What I DO realize is that there is a control factor involved, as far as I am concerned, meaning, I have no control over the plane, whereas in a car, I do. Well, I just need to suck it up and get on with it. I am usually OK after about 15 minutes into every flight and actually begin to relax and forget my fears. Until the turbulence starts. But I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

Cheers everyone!

Song Virus du Jour:  "Its Not Unusual" ~ Tom Jones

Useless Trivia du Jour:  Maybe I ought not to be drinking all this coffee before I leave.