Day One (Which Was Really Kinda 2 Days)
Relax! After staying up all night, I was really ready to leave when go-time finally came around. I spent the hours between Charlies and departure finishing my packing, taking out the recycling, surfing the internet, putting some things into storage , drinking a macchiato at Starbucks while reading Saturday's RedEye, playing Pacman, playing Tetris, and finally, taking my luggage downstairs. (Why did I stay up all night? Well, my sources told me that not eating and not sleeping help the body more quickly adjust to a new time zone. So I skipped dinner on Friday night and didn't eat until Sunday morning Beijing time.) Vinnie, bless his heart, picked me up at home at 9am, swung by my office where I needed to complete some paperwork, and drove me to the airport. There wasn't a spot of traffic, so I was at the airport a full 2.5 hours ahead of my flight. I'd checked in online, so it was quick and easy to drop off my bag and head through security. No line there, so I w...