Category Archives: Ramblings and Rants
In Search of: Surviving the Flight, Even When You’re Scared
For those that don’t know, allow me to let you in on the worst kept secret in the history of secrets: I’m afraid of flying! Yes. I travel the world, yet the mere thought of getting on a plane gives me nightmares. I have visions of plummeting to my fiery death. I fight anxiety for at least two days prior to take-off.
This is no run of the mill, it bothers me to fly kind of phobia. This is the kind of phobia that requires me to make peace with my untimely death prior to each and every flight. And if there are multiple layovers? Forget it. Each new flight brings with it more terrifying thoughts. In my history of flying, I have pretty much conjured up every possible horrible event that could occur.
But seeing as how I love to travel, my wanderlust overcomes my fear of flights each and every time. Thank goodness! Over the years, I have developed a few strategies that help me cope. And if you’re also afraid to fly, one or two of these rituals might help. Here goes:
- Drugs. I told my doctor about my issues, and she prescribed me an anti-anxiety medication. It relieves anxiety (at least as best it can when gallons of adrenaline are also coursing through my veins). Top the anti-anxiety pill off with a melatonin tablet, and I pretty much have a lovely cocktail ready to send me to dreamland. (Double bonus with melatonin: it’s an over the counter, natural sleep aid and works wonders for jet lag and time zone changes. If I arrive in a location where the time zone is entirely different than mine, a melatonin the first night helps me get on track with the sleep schedule of my current locale.) If you’re as terrified of flying as me, I highly suggest you talk to your doctor about getting a medication that might help the situation.
- Ear plugs. This might be my new favorite trick. One thing that scares me on flights is all the engine noise (and landing gear noise and wind noise and whatever other noise you can imagine). In particular, when these noises change throughout the flight as flight gear is adjusted, I am immediately on high alert. Ear plugs help block those particular noises, especially the changes in noise levels. Bonus: they also help with changes in air pressure. I have a terrible time with popping my ears, and earplugs make it so I don’t have to pop them as often.
- Sleep mask. I do all I can to sleep throughout my flights (even short ones). I don’t care if I’m flying in the middle of the day or the middle of the night. It’s hard to be anxious when you’re asleep. A sleep mask will block the light from the window or the reading light of your neighbor. Also, the mask helps you to imagine you’re not actually on a plane. Pretend you’re on a bus, and it’s windy (turbulence). As silly as it sounds, these things can help. I once slept through an entire 24 hours worth of flights, with the occasional wake-up to use the restroom or have a drink. Additional plus: I did NOT arrive at my destination jet-lagged.
- Reminders. Prior to my flight, I give myself a few reminders. First, and foremost, remember that the pilot did not come to work today to die. He does this every single day (or at least on workdays), and this particular pilot has made it through every single flight he’s ever taken, which likely counts in the thousands. Another important reminder? Kay syrah syrah. Whatever will be will be, people. Whatever happens, you’re no longer in control, so regardless of how much anxiety you send into the world, it will do you no good. If the plane goes down, there’s nothing you can do about it, and worrying and feeling anxious and giving yourself a near heart attack will not help. In fact, it will likely shorten your life (in ways that have absolutely nothing to do with planes yet everything to do with stress wearing out your body).
So there you have it — my pre-flight rituals. I wouldn’t call them fool proof in any way. There are times I do every single one of these things, yet I end up spooked and scared the entire flight. But most of the time, they help a lot. After all, I’ve never run off a plane prior to closing the cabin doors, screaming, “NOOOOOOO!!!!” In my book, that’s pretty damn good.
How about you? Do you have any tips that get you through your own phobia of flying?
In Search of: An Actual Post on ISOS
Wow. My writing lately has been appalling. Particularly because there hasn’t been any. How do I begin to catch up? I suppose the obvious way — just write. So here I am, sitting in bed, computer on lap, punching the keys. I feel a little squeaky and out of practice. Likely because I am.
I’m running myself a bit ragged at the moment. It doesn’t help that since I returned from Peru, I’ve learned a valuable lesson about the downside of travel — sickness. Be it the accidental drinking of parasite infested water, the bite of a nasty mosquito or the germs hobnobbing with your nose on the airplane, it’s easy to get sick when away from home. I’ve been fighting a feisty bug the last few weeks. I think it’s finally gone, but I say that with discretion. I thought it was gone after the first week, and then the week after. I have now reverted to cautious optimism.
But, anyhow, back to running myself ragged. At present, we’re in the home stretch at school. I’m not exactly sure how the end of the school year crept up on me, but it’s here with a vengeance, and I’ve got about 13,000 topics still to cover. Obviously I’ll only be able to cover 9, 899 of them. I’m also attempting to figure out how to develop lectures and videos to include in my curriculum next year. I already maintain blogs for each of my classes, and I often use other instructors’ videos to supplement class discussions and lecture. But I’d really like to create my own. The students know my teaching style, and they like learning directly from me. I think it would improve my lesson plans. Of course, I had to choose one of the most time consuming projects possible. But then that’s me. I like to keep things interesting.
What else, you ask? Well, I’m feverishly editing Peru pictures. I use the word “feverishly” rather loosely. Mostly because I’m moving at a snail’s pace. Initially, I blamed this on being sick. Now, I blame it on the fact that being sick makes one rather used to NOT editing pictures. I’m not sick anymore, yet I still didn’t get any pictures edited today. Granted, I edited hiking pictures yesterday and baby shower pictures a few days before and Indiana pictures the day before that. So. I’m not lazy. Just distracted by pictures other than those from Peru.
This weekend I’m about to head out for a work related trip. I’m going to New York City! This would be the cause of exceptional excitement, except, I daresay, I’m a little tired of traveling at the moment. OMG. Don’t tell anyone I said that! Me? Tired of travel? It can’t be. Except it kind of is. Not so much tired of travel as just…tired. And I’m busy planning my big trip to Guatemala and Honduras this summer. And a handful of fantabulous hiking trips. Honestly, I’d rather focus on those than a “work related trip.”
Ah, hell. Now I just sound like I’m complaining. I don’t mean to. I feel so incredibly fortunate this year. Things have gone so well. I’ve been lucky to travel and learn and enjoy my teaching. I’m happy and semi-healthy (soon to be totally and completely healthy!). What more could a girl ask for? Not much, I tell you. Not much.
In Search of: A New Direction
I’m so very excited! The new blog design is finally up! If you’re reading this from your feedreader or an email, come over and check it out: insearchofsquid.com. I still have some details to finalize, but I’m really happy with the result thus far. It’s been a labor of love (and, at times, a labor of pure frustration).
As you can see, I’m taking the blog in a bit of a new direction. Well. Not all that new. I’ve been playing around with a focus on travel for a while now. I just didn’t have in my head exactly how that would look. Recently, I figured it out. I’m focusing on travel, travel writing and travel photography. I’m working super, super hard to bring you seriously awesome travel photos and quirky adventures. And it all comes with a twist because my travel is centered around completing the Ultimate Scavenger Hunt. Yep, I’ve upgraded the bucket list and made it more interesting. Forget trying to finish everything before I die — this list will be done by the time I hit 40 (with pictures to boot)! There’ll be points and prizes all kinds of awesomesauce involved. Keep your eyes peeled — more details to come.
For today, I leave you with something lovely one of my students said recently. You see, I was sitting in my classroom, chatting with one of the most awesome teenagers I’ve ever met. She asks, “Do you think you’ll ever have kids?” I respond, “I’m not sure, maybe someday.” Her response? “I hope you do. Only because I think it would be a shame if at least one kid didn’t get to have you for a mom. I think you’d be an awesome mother.”
Sweetest thing ever. Um. Can I adopt her?
In Search of: The Good Things in Life
It’s been a bit quiet on the blog-front lately. Scratch that. It’s been quiet on the publishing side of things, but in the background, I assure you, a whole heck of a lot is happening. I’m working on some big changes to my little corner of the internet. As I marched into 2012, I was hit with a wave of creativity and inspiration, and I’ve sort of been running with it. I’m redesigning the site, complete with more focus and direction. I know precisely where I’d like this blog to go in the next few years, and I’m pouring my heart and soul into making sure it gets there. I can’t wait to unveil the new creation! Granted, I don’t want to give away the surprise, and it will probably be a few weeks before it’s done. But just know, I’m full of energy thinking about it, and it will be so fun to share with you!
A few other projects have also been percolating. I’m not sure if I mentioned it before, but I finally bought that DSLR camera I’ve been salivating over. It was a Christmas gift to myself. (I’m a big fan of getting yourself gifts. Who better to know precisely what you might like?) The past few weeks I’ve thrown myself into photography — watching videos, reading tutorials, snapping shots at every opportunity. I love it. It’s so much fun and so creative and such a challenge at times. It’s a rush diving head first into a hobby that once intimidated me. Stay tuned, as I will be sharing lots of photos in the near future.
Speaking of hobbies and creativity, I’m signed up for an online painting class, and it starts Monday! My supply list is in hand, and I will be stopping at my favorite art supply store this weekend to grab new paints. I haven’t painted in quite a while, but it’s something I’ve always loved. Not to mention, take a painting class is on the super awesome bucket list. This likely sounds a bit strange, but I am often surprised by how spot-on the bucket list actually is. Perhaps because I once questioned the things I enjoyed doing — as in, I wasn’t quite sure what those things were. But now, I know myself. I mean. I really, really know myself, and I know what I love to spend my time doing. That’s an awesome feeling.
One last thing. I’ve started work on a writing project. I’m really excited. It’s one of the most difficult projects I’ve attempted, as I’ve been struggling to be 100% honest and vulnerable in the writing. That type of vulnerability comes easier to me when I’m writing fiction — no one has to know what comes from personal experience and what comes from my imagination. But this project is a memoir project of sorts, and to do it right, I have to really be honest. I have to let myself be seen in ways that I’m not necessarily comfortable with. My goal is to finish the project within the year, then send it off into the world. I’m nervous. But in a good way, I think. I feel like this project will push me to grow, as a writer and a person.
So there you have it. That’s what I’ve been up to. As the printing presses have quieted over here, the motion hasn’t slowed a bit. I’ll be back to regular posts and travel updates and all the goods quite soon. I’ll be writing and ranting and exploring and inquiring. In the mean time, I’m sending virtual hugs your way.
xoxo
In Search of: What’s Got You Fired Up?
During the past weeks I’ve put a lot of thought into what’s next. Not in the I-have-to-plan-every-detail sort of way, but in the if-I-could-do-anything-what-would-I-do way. And you know what I would do? I would travel the world. Big surprise, I know. As a matter of fact, I’m sure you’re gasping at your astonishment that such a statement came from me. But don’t fret — breathe in, peeps.
You all know I’ve been playing with this idea off and on for a few years. And my life has sort of gotten in the way each time I tried. But since the start of 2012, something new has crept in — a feeling of total and complete calm. A feeling of — this is the right thing for me.
Granted, I’m not independently wealthy, so such a realization doesn’t mean I bought a ticket and am heading out tomorrow. No, rather it means I’ve made a vague plan. And that plan includes a new bank account — one specifically titled “Round the World Trip Fund.” And you better believe that’s what it says when I pull that baby up on my computer screen. It’s going to take a while to save the money and pay off my student loans, but that’s my goal. I actually have a date in mind, but I’m not ready to put it out there quite yet. I’m not a fan of making plans too far in advance.
Truth is, when the time comes, life may change entirely. I may no longer be interested in taking a year-long trip around the world. I don’t know. But here’s what I do know: if I don’t start saving now, it won’t matter what I want when the time comes, because I won’t have the money to do it! Thus, I figure it’s better to be prepared. If all is as it is today, I will go. If it’s not, well, hopefully something even more exciting will have cropped up.
That’s what’s got my blood pumping today. What’s got you fired up?
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