Hi, I will totally introduce myself later, but I thought I should get this party started as soon as possible. Here's the short story: I am in Edinburgh then I am going to France. The long story is a bit more interesting, but much less well written than the short story. So to kick things off I thought I would transcribe, word for word, my note book entry from Heathrow Airport, written after 24 hours of flight, and during a 6 hour wait until my last flight to Edinburgh.

Friday? Heathrow Terminal 1, 8.45am

Waiting 6 hours for flight to Edinburgh, after flying 24 hours from New Zealand. I am fairly tired, in the sense that I can't keep my eyes open and the things I see I can't be entirely sure are actually there (do they allow cows in airports?). I am in a cafe, having eaten a sausage + bacon sandwich and my 2nd coffee of the last 2 hours. Sitting opposite me is a large Irish family, or perhaps a small Irish family and I am just seeing double. The father is not happy with a daughter because she wants to order the bacon + egg on toast, but without the bacon or the egg. He does not want to pay for what will essentially just be toast. I can see his point.

My 2 large flights (Auck - HK, HK - London) were ok. The first went by easily, as I was sitting beside a nice girl from Te Atatu, and I had my own little screen to watch movies and the like. On my last sojourn to Europe, I managed to watch 5 movies on a single flight. This time I only managed 4 (The Great Buck Howard, In Search Of A Midnight Kiss, Monsters vs Aliens and The Class) but I also watched 4 ep's of 30 Rock and listened to a Noah + The Whale album. So when I say I sat next to a nice girl from Te Atatu, I mean we talked for the 1st 5 minutes, then I turned and stared at a 12 inch screen whilst wearing headphones. We did go through customs and what not together though, so if I ever do go to London (and why would I?), I will have someone to meet up with.

Oh good, the Irish family are getting along just swimmingly now. I want to stare and see what the daughter eventually ordered, but that would be weird. And if there's one people you don't want to piss off, it's the Irish. And probably the Germans. I haven't seen any Germans yet. Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

3 hours till check in, and 5 hours till my actual flight. It's lucky Edinburgh is AMAZING. Damn I love flight socks, well done Cathay Pacific.

That last line about the flight socks was added about 2 hours after the rest of the entry. I do remember the absolute pure joy of realising my love for flight socks though. These are the things you can look forward to if you decide to fly across to the other side of the world.

Ok, next entry I will introduce myself properly. Sorry, and thanks!