Definitely worse "from" than "to"

I can definitively tell you that the jet lag is worse coming from the US than to it. When you leave the US to go to Europe you are guaranteed a loss of a night's sleep. When you go to the US, it's just a really long day.

Anyhow, I left my parents at 11am US time and got to ST Louis by 2pm. Returned the rent car (and boy were those folks at Avis NICE. I was not expecting that, but everyone was really NICE.) Got to the airport and waited in the stupid American Airlines line. St Louis is alos apparently a hub for the military and there were army guys everywhere, all so young. SO YOUNG.

The flights from St Louis to Chicago and from Chicago to Heathrow were fine. The Chicago to London leg was PACKED. There was not one free seat. Luckily I had an aisle seat, but unluckily the lady sitting next to me had some sort of bladder problem so every time I even began to drift off for a nap, she'd tap my shoulder so she could get out. I started to hate her.....

The flight attendant for my area had neon pink dragon lady nails, a big blonde hairsprayed bun on her head and the attitude you would expect from someone who had such things. Lots of eye rolling and fake sweetness, but you just knew she'd like to poke those nails into most of our eyes.

Got to Heathrow in plenty of time, with a couple of hours to shop, even, but that was all taken away by the LONGEST FUCKING SECURITY LINE IN THE UNIVERSE. I had to transfer from Terminal Three to Terminal Four, and some genius obviously underbudgeted for security there, because there were about 1000 people in line for security and there was...ONE...yes ONE...security machine working. And the line was like one of those lines at Disney Land/World, where it keeeps snaking around but you never see the end of it? Each time I thought I was there....nope, another false end. GOD it was annoying. And we had no water, no nothing. I was dehydrated like crazy. There were these tables all along that circuitous route where we were supposed to deposit any lotions, etc, we had because they weren't allowed through security? So at each table I would use someone's left behind hand lotion or whatever, and moisturized whatever part of me was dry and cracking. The folks around me caught on and so we all had soft hands and un-ragged cuticles.

Finally got through that and told them (after I got my stuff, of ocurse) that they really needed to open a second line. They apologized in the inimitable Britsh way....

Got back to oslo at 6pm (11am US time, so 24 hours straight, once again), was in bed by 7:30 and got up today at 2pm. To say I was tired was an understatement.

I still am.

Will everyone please say a little prayer/send good thoughts to my dear friend Karla May? She's having a helluva time at the hospital and could use the karmic good feeling right about now.......