28th January 2015

Here I am sitting at the departure gates for New York after a pleasant flight from Sydney.   There were a hundred empty seats on the plane.  But in the seat beside me, my travelling companion was a young man going to Vaile to ski with two mates from Sydney.   He moved to an empty seat and I was able to lie down and sleep for a couple of hours.  Even the food was OK, and the staff, all Asian, very professional.  

Doing exercises at the back of plane, I met a young man, Paul Trent, who was a principal dancer with the Australian Ballet, and now lives in New York.  He asked me “Are you a dancer?” - which was flattering, and I answered, yes, from a loooong time ago.  Which company, he asks?   No, just amateur theatre I say.   I can tell, he says.   I am often asked this question, people say it shows in the way I ‘hold myself’.  Paul was not satisfied with being a PA to a wealthy ballet company owner, and now he wants to be a professional photographer working in the arts and ballet - and architecture.  We had a long talk and I was able to help him create some goals for the year (the coach in me never stops working!). He hurried to his seat to get his card to give me, and when I saw him at the baggage collection, he kissed me and thanked me for my generosity.  How sweet was that?

The offload and baggage collection and customs clearance was painless, with pleasant people, and very few people, happily.  Each of the staff said something along the lines of "New York?   Crazy!   You got snow boots?  Weather there is terrible!"  The accent is straight out of an Eddie Murphy movie and I have to refrain from laughing as if I just heard the funniest joke. 

I realise how much my Beloved does for me when we travel, all the details, all the hefting, the organising, he smooths the way, and never gets flustered.  I, however, removing the lap top from my roll on bag, removing my jacket, shoes, drinking the last of of water, placing my 'plastic' bags on the tray, taking off my jewellery, pushing it all through, going through the ‘thing’, hands in the air - and then reversing the whole procedure, whilst others are impatiently waiting - tests me to the limits. 

I am in the United States of America!!  New York here I come!