week 41_back & forth

Back & forth, as in - I am back, I would like to go forth!

I find that most international travelers have their 'usual routine'. Mine: I stay awake on the plane for the first meal and order one alcoholic beverage to drink (beer or wine). I take 2 Tylenol PM's and allow myself to watch one movie during or after my meal. I always sit in the window seat so that I have the plane to lean up against. Then, it's lights out and I make every attempt to fall back asleep each time I wake up. This system seems to work well for me, but I've heard others. It also helps once you begin travelling more regularly that the adrenaline and excitement about what awaits you at the other end of the journey may no longer keep you awake in anticipation.

This trip, I actually had a slightly different schedule than usual. I know this may sound crazy to some of you all - I landed at 5:50am back in Taipei, rode the hour long taxi ride into the city, dropped off my luggage at home, took a shower, and made it to work by 8:45am as usual! YES I was pretty intimidated when I looked at the schedule ahead of time, but once it all played out I think that was the key to my quick adjustment. Being forced to stay awake that entire first day at the office was just what I needed to get me back on track (and I slept on the plane mostly, so it was sort of like waking up on a typical morning... ish... )

Week 41 was uneventful, mostly due to my jet-lag. The hubby and I are finally settling into a more permanent routine - with him at his full time place of employment, and still me at mine. Although I miss seeing him when I get home from work (his hours run late into the evening), this past week it was all I could do just to get home and collapse on the bed! Not to say that I didn't adjust well to the Taipei time zone, or that it was sooo difficult to get over the jet lag, because in my opinion it was more than bearable. I simply had the urge to crawl into bed earlier each evening that I typically would... And in my opinion, coming back to a time zone 13 hours different than what I became accustomed to on my vacation and being able to immediately stay awake all day every day - Well, that is a win-win situation. Great vacation, bearable transition back to my everyday routine.

Thankfully this week I am finally back on track!