The waiting is longer than the flights...

Once again, I am excitable like a puppy who has just found he is going a walk before having steak and a nap.  The reason for that is it’s the time of year again when I begin my five day countdown before taking two flights over 4600 miles, travelling for around 24 hours to arrive home tired but hyper to be met by my parents at Glasgow Airport (home to an expensive Wetherspoons).  This is then inevitably followed by being pounced on by a surprised beagle and finished with a week of activities where I meet all my friends, eat a lot of food, drink a lot of beer and have an amazing time.  

Yes, in case you hadn’t guessed it, I’m flying back to Glasgow on Friday and I cannot wait!  It will be glorious.  However, there is one potential downside to this: my blog.  I’ll be honest and say that it’s unlikely that there will be a blog post this week or maybe even the week after as well (I’m sure they’ll live - Ed).  That said, I may try to type something during either my flight from Kathmandu to Dubai (my flight to Glasgow is reserved for films) or as I sit for nine hours waiting for my next flight.  That or I will curl up in a corner in the airport and sleep after several muffins and coffees…it is an overnight wait after all!  Regardless, there may be a break during my posting, so I apologise for that.

As for this week, I’ve once again been cursed with food poisoning which is somewhat of an inconvenience for me.  I’m desperately trying to get rid of it right now, so it doesn’t affect my flight back…which I am sure would be unpleasant for everyone involved.  This means lots of plain rice, plain toast and drinking ridiculous amounts of water.  It’s going to be fun week for eating! 

On a cheerier note, I was able to have three-way call with Matt and Michael on Saturday night.  Whilst I do get to chat to Michael a lot, I haven’t actually spoken to Matt since November, so it was really nice to chat to him and find out what he has been up to.  Even better to find out that he has been doing, for the most part, really well.  An evening spent reminiscing about the old days with your friends and the fact that there could be possibility of meeting up in Canada really helps you forget about a bad stomach and enjoy your Saturday night.  So thank you Brandi for arranging it.  I think it brightened up everyones weekend.  

Anyway, that’s pretty much it for this week, as my time has been mostly spent working, being ill and drinking lots of water.  Not very exciting to write about…so here is a list of things you can do whilst I am waiting for my next flight.

• Watch most of Lord of the Rings Trilogy

• Taking the shortest route, fly from Glasgow to Frankfurt 5.1 times 

• Count 32,400 Mississippi

• Wait in line for a Disney ride during summer

• Visit the duty free shop 324 times to stave off bored…and fail

• Watch all three seasons of The Inbetweeners

• Travel to Glasgow and back from New Cumnock 4.5 times

• Get a full night’s sleep

• Write 45 thank you notes

• Lose the will to live, have a coffee, regain it and then lose it again 4 times

• Prank phone call EVERYONE in your phonebook 

• Eat 38 muffins

• Get a full days wage

• Complete two Marathons (based on amateur averages)

I would not recommend many of these.  For me, it’s going to be a combination of: napping on uncomfortable seats; having several coffees and muffins; eating at one of the many food places in the airport (caviar bar next to a McDonalds?  Talk about choices); changing my money; and visiting all the duty free shops too many times.      

Pick of the Week 

Questing Achievement - This week I am recommending Michaels' new website based on Gamification.  For those who don't know, gamification is the application of game mechanics to everyday situations (Definition from his page).  To take a simple example, you buy 10 coffees and you get one free: this is gamification.  You're encouraged to work towards something, you eventually achieve it and then you're rewarded.  In Michael's case, he applies it to his teaching to help encourage his pupils to learn and succeed.  If you're interested in finding out more, check out his site for information or get in touch with him! 

Music of the Week

Well, I actually had to think about who I was going to choose this week, as I've been listening to the same band for ages now.  It then hit me...perhaps not my favourite band but certainly one of my favourite song: Deathstars - Death Dies Hard.  Yes, this is one of the most cliche titles possible and the lyrics are hardly pushing the boundaries but the song has never failed to motivate me.

Wow, it's been a while since I've had a post without having a picture in it.  MUST.  RESIST.  URGE.  Ok, I should be able to resist for a minute or so which is just enough time.  Hopefully, I will have a post for you next week but if not, I'll see you all in a couple of weeks!  Oh, and feel free to like the One-way Ticket facebook page!  It will be greatly appreciated. 

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