Williamsburg Bridge from Brooklyn

I’m in a taxi on my way to Bahrain International Airport on a Tuesday afternoon. The seatbelt doesn’t work, and the driver is on a call. Once there, I get to update my “expired” visa so I can go through passport control. Some masks have been released upon takeoff, and I can hear someone recycling food into a bag. Food service is immediate upon ascent, but no options, so I’ll be eating chicken. We land in Dubai.

I find a bunch of lounge chairs up the stairs and through security, but one lady is bent on enforcing the every-other-chair rule while people try to find a place to rest until their 3am flights. I’m reading and listening to “Rain Rain Go Away” and other songs so a mom can entertain her toddler and older sister. I have a silly thought about paying for a room, but I’m not spending $184 for three hours.

I’ll sleep uncomfortably in different chairs until the Emirates boarding process starts on Wednesday morning. I am printed a new boarding pass and wonder why the staff seem so concerned with passengers taking their phones out – they mean the plurality that some are carrying – as I see a person with three phones and two iPads. I get an hour nap in the row to myself and awaken to drinks and breakfast in the cabin, and snowy mountains out below.

I’ll stretch while waiting for the loo and ask a crew member for a croissant. I get three with some more fruit, too. I go back to sleep for a couple of hours and upon waking, plan on repeating the steps above. I forgot that my mask had come loose, so I’d taken it off (I’ve never slept in one before), so I didn’t think to put it on to get up until the awkward looks sent me back to my seat. I ask for another sparkling water to go with my tasty tofu and hard chickpeas and receive two.

I’ll take another nap, play some new plane games, and though my eyes burn, I’m done sleeping. I brushed my teeth as the residue was disturbing. I want the type of mirror in the loo as it allows spots to be wiped away with ease. I go for a coffee and find the chocolate stash, along with other snacks and drinks, left out to limit contact between crew and customers. I watch the skycam as it offers peeks through the clouds that would otherwise go unnoticed. We land in NYC.

I waited about thirty minutes for my luggage, which seems to be the average. There are reusable plastic bags available for protection. I fill out another form and then go to the Skytrain. At Howard Beach Station, I pay $11.50 and am confused about how to continue once through the turnstile doors until a security guard tells me to go through the gate. It’s windy on my two-minute wait on the A-line that will connect me at Broadway Junction to Hewes St., where I’ll meet Farid.

“Of all that breathes and crawls across the earth, nothing is feebler than man.”

I haven’t been in New York in years and don’t think I’ve ever been without Caleb. This ride is a little bumpy with rough starts. I’m feeling spoiled after the smooth landing and great services on the plane. There’s nothing like rushing to get to the proper platform (way faster here than in London) and being greeted by the smell of weed and a man begging on the train. We’ll walk to the water and get wine and tacos to eat at home for WWW (Wine and Weed on Wednesday).

We are joined by Shanta and her husband from Romania, and another friend, Shahanna, who will stay about two hours. I’m getting ready for bed about twenty minutes after they leave so I can be asleep before tomorrow.