George Clooney

Antonio y Rocinante’s Long haul flight and jet lag hacks

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Getting on an airplane

At this point in my life, I cannot tell you how many times I have crossed “the pond”. My first time was in 1976, I remember because the US was celebrating their bicentennial, so I was 11. Since then, we moved to NY for my 6th grade, then I went to college in Boston, and stayed in NY and Boston for a few years after that, then I traveled for work and vacations all over the US, Caribbean and South America, then I moved back to Boston in ’05, and you know the story since then (if you don’t, you can backtrack in this blog). So, for a conservative number let’s say over a hundred times.

Here are some of my travel and jet lag hacks:

Pre-flight:

Your body has three main built in clocks: stomach, sleep, and light. We need to prep those at least the day before the flight:

Start eating easy to digest meals this will “prep” and confuse you stomach, getting it adjusted for your new meal schedule.

Same with sleep: try getting some naps in the days before the flight. Again, you are trying to “trick” your sleep pattern.

Flight day:

Look good. Do you really want to meet someone important in your life, maybe your next boss, your future spouse, a potential client, or a celebrity, wearing oversize sweats and Crocs. Is it really that difficult for you to look good and be comfortable at the same time? Work on it; for me it means a button-down shirt, blazer, chinos, and comfortable loafers – just like George Clooney in Up in the Air (see clip below). Ground staff and cabin crew are going to like you more if you look nice than if you look like you are going to a pajama party.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Cabin air is super filtered and super dry, so on a long haul you are going to notice. Most of your tiredness after a long flight is more dehydration than tiredness.

Night flights: try to sleep! Take a heavy-duty Melatonin, eye mask, ear plugs, blanket and sleep, sleep, sleep, or at least try to.

No alcohol, coffee, tea, sodas, all those drinks are going to make you pee, or make you thirsty, or dehydrate you or whatever, stick to water. I also put on moisturizer every time I go to the bathroom and wash my hands, it feels nice.

Adjust your watch if you are an old fool like me.

After landing:

Do not have a big meal, stick to easy to digest meals for a day, to continue adjusting.

Try to adapt to the local schedule ASAP, no going to bed in the morning, no big meals at odd times. Be a local.

Try to go outside, if there is sun, take in the sun, remember light is one of your body clocks.

You are welcome.

Any thoughts? Additions? Suggestions? I would love to read them in the comments below.

Washer and dryer. Or how every cloud has a silver lining.

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The washer and drier on their way out

The washer and dryer on their way out

 

Everybody I tell this story to tells me to write about it. So here it is:

When I first moved to my little cottage in Chapel Hill it lacked a washer and a dryer, although there is a perfect nook for them in the kitchen, there are no electric, water or drain installations for them. After watching Craigslist like a hawk I found both units from an older lady who was moving to Florida. Helmut could only carry one machine at a time, but eventually, they were both home.  Updating and hooking up the electrics, water and drain and air exhaust was going to cost well over a thousand dollars, which of course was much more than I wanted to spend. As was to be expected, the landlord wanted nothing to do with all this.

Smoking a cigar with the boys that were my neighbors, I mentioned this. Lo and behold they had all the necessary hookups in their basement but without the machines! and the basement had an outside door. We quickly realized that if I put my machines in their basement, and put a lock on the outside door we could all do our laundry, it was a win/win for all, and so we did.

This set up continued my second year here. The new neighbors were a great group of girls, including the daughter of one of my department’s professors!

But this year, the house changed ownership, management company and tenants, with the new girls being a group of sorority princesses. They wanted nothing to do with our standing set-up, nor with the machines! They had the landlord install new ones. Pleading with the management company led to nothing, I had to take my units out of their basement and sell them.

Fortunately I found a good home for them in the house of a friend’s newly married son.

So now I have to go to the laundromat.

Recently, a new home “stuff” shop  opened next door to the laundromat. The other day I stopped in to kill some time. Sally, the owner, is the funniest lady! Within minutes of walking in she was playing Andrés Segovia in the shop and we were sipping an extraordinary tequila, apparently made by George Clooney! A friend of Sally’s then walked in… and he is interested in Spanish tutoring. Next thing you know I have a new tutoring customer. Which goes to prove that every cloud has a silver lining.