I have considerable writing to do over the next couple of days to bring y'all up to date. But first of all, A WARNING! A word to the wise, from the stupid.
You know Ambien, the famous sleeping pill? You can't watch the evening network news without seeing their commercials, with their promises that you'll go to sleep and wake up smiling, with retriever puppies licking your face.
If you never (hardly ever) use sleeping medication, don't have the inspiration to try them during a trans-Atlantic flight. It was a red-eye, Kennedy to Heathrow, getting in at 9AM UK (5 hours difference). I have never, without qualification, fallen asleep on a plane. So half an Ambien seemed like a pretty good idea. I had been to the bathroom, felt pretty good, had space to get as comfortable as possible, put in earplugs. Tossed, turned, repositioned. Sat and listened to the engines for a few hours. Took the other half of the pill. Made some notes (now lost -- what could they have said?) for a play I'm writing. Listened to ipod for a while. Re-applied myself to falling asleep. Tried counting snakes. COULD NOT LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS. Saw the sun come up. The cabin bell rang and we were told to collect our wits for landing. Then we were told there was a problem on the ground and we'd have to circle the airport for a while, which is always charming. I forgot to mention that this was THURSDAY, AUGUST 10. My friends Richard (Holmes, from NYGASP) and Miranda, a chorus girl for this Buxton G&S gig, helped unload me from the plane. They were eventually able to make me understand, after much repetition, that terrorists had succeeded in getting all flights suspended, our checked luggage was nowhere, and we'd have to continue our trip up to Manchester by other means.
Thanks be to God for Richard, who found the train we needed, and Miranda, who made sure I didn't wander off somewhere and fall down a flight of stairs. We eventually made it to Buxton, which is more than I can say for our luggage. We're still waiting for it, actually, ten days later.
There are people who use Ambien as a recreational drug! Because it lowers your inhibitions (what kind of inhibitions do you have while you're asleep?) and makes you feel loopy. Well, yippee! What a treat! And then later, after you've finally fallen asleep, you can't remember any of it! Doesn't that just sound great?
I could go on at greater length about Ambien, but you'll have to get me drunk first. NO PILLS.
Some valuable information for you:
VIRGIN ATLANTIC TRULY SUCKS. They are unhelpful, rude, and apparently somewhat retarded. I will elaborate on this in the next post on my England adventure.
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