I am finally back from China! The last day I spent in Shanghai was calm and collected. We had da jia xie (hairy crab) again - mom and uncle's favorite. It was too much work for me. My stomach wasn't feeling well, so I only ate a little. We packed and packed. There was a lot of stuff. I ended up with all my baggage full. I rested for a few minutes then we were on our way to the bus stop. The ride to the airport was quiet too. Mom and I didn't say much, we were both tired. I checked in, mom walked me to the departure entrance, we hugged, and said our goodbyes.
The flight coming back was comfortable, unfortunately I couldn't fall into sleep comfortably. I drifted in and out of sleep. It was never more than 30 minutes of peaceful rest. When I arrived in Atlanta it was Monday night 5:30 PM. I texted my friends and hoped I could catch the 9:15 PM plane home. The custom officer was a very serious lady. She asked me where I went, what I did, and if I had relatives in China - No smiles whatsoever. I thought she was very cold. When I went through the baggage examination my apples were confiscated. I was pissed - I should've had them on the plane. There were very good apples too :( I passed the gate and let go of my luggage again. I went up to the gate where my next flight would take off and started to wait for its dispatch time.
I didn't get on the flight. The standby list was way long and the flight was completely overbooked. I had to wait 'til the next morning, 7:30 AM to be exact, to see if I might get on that one. I had a couple of choices, I could either leave the airport and find myself a motel room, then come back the next morning to check on the flight. Or I could just stay at the airport. I chose the latter. It was going to be a LONG night. I had never stayed overnight in an airport before and I was about to do it. There were a few other people like me, and we found ourselves in this new gate trying to get some rest. I was exhausted from the flight coming in from China, and I really could use some sleep. The chairs in the airport weren't the best type for laying down. I changed positions, moved around, shifted up and down + left and right, it took me a couple of hours of trying to finally settle into an acceptable combination of utilizing my bag, a very specific laying angle and posture to allow myself a short nap. Around 3:40 AM I was unable to lay there anymore, so I got up and found myself suddenly alone in the area. I thought the people who were also staying there went to have breakfast. I was wrong. The gate had moved to a different concourse and all of them went to that one when I was trying to sleep. Those bastards!
I was tired. So tired. I got lost a little and found my way again to the new gate. My stomach was ill. It was not a happy time. I saw the same people who were at the old gate and took in another breath - It's time to sit and wait again. I was hungry and so tired. I couldn't sleep anymore, so I called Sophya, who fortunately had time to chat with me. We talked for about half an hour, and I felt less weary. After a muffin from Starbucks I was back on, it was just after 6 AM, and the standby list had begun again. I didn't find my name on the list, and went to the counter to not just "relist" myself, but to "activate" my listing. Here we go - another round of chance and possibility.
I got on the 7:30 AM flight! I was so relieved. Too bad I still couldn't sleep on the plane. I couldn't even count how much time I had stayed up or tried to sleep but couldn't. I was worried about my luggage also. They had gone with the plane previous evening and I was just on my way to catch up. Luckily when I got in at 9 AM in LA, they were by the baggage claim room. Dave had a meeting in the morning so he suggested that I took a shuttle bus to Union Station where he could pick me up afterwards. I had no problem with that. Of course, he couldn't get out of his meeting when I got into the station, and he asked me to get on the Metro Gold so he could pick me up at the location by his place. I was, well I was annoyed. I understood he had committments but I was exhausted. I wanted to go home. I didn't want to travel anymore. But what choice did I have?
I carried my luggage and myself to the Gold line and rode it to his station. I was tired. TIRED. When Dave found me I was both annoyed and happy. He didn't get it - I told him I knew he was right, still I had the right to be pissed. After I said what I had to say I was fine. Dave cooked some soup because I told him my stomach was not well. I came home before 2 PM, took a shower, and slept. I didn't think it would, but I slept through 5 hours straight. It was truly what I needed.
Today I went to the gym. Talked to friends. Saw TC with Dave and Jose. Things are slowly back to normal. It's good to be home.
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