DominicHamon.com

Life is like a grapefruit

Leaving on a jetplane

“Today” has been going on now for something like 35 hours, but I’m too numb in the brain to figure it out exactly. It started on Tuesday morning in Singapore with the chaps who were meant to pick up the last of our boxes not showing up, and the co-ordinator explaining that they’d get there some time after we’d left the country. Which was less than helpful. Some expectation-realignment later, and that minor hitch was sorted out.

I’m going to skip the packing and repacking and the final handover of keys, and get to the fun bit. The bit where we had to get to the airport with a dog and shiny new US visas. The first stop was the US embassy, where it became clear we hadn’t been given the coupon we needed to pick up our passports. We were still allowed in and went through the metal detectors and scanners and finally to the inner sanctum, where we were told that our passports were available, and were in a basket by the front door. Back we went, and picked up the passports. It took about 10 minutes, which was fantastic as I was expecting at least an hour there.

Next up was the pickup of the puppy, which was smooth sailing, and then on to the airport. I was impressed yet again at the efficiency of the check-in team at Changi Airport. They handled all of the paperwork requirements easily and arranged for Oliver to be taken off to the holding area. We’d been told horror stories of holding areas being out on the tarmac in the full glare of the sun, but were assured that their holding area was inside.

We had to put him in his crate for weighing, then take him out, then try to put him back in again. Putting him back in was a scene from a cartoon: He splayed his legs as far as possible to try to stop the inevitable. It was a battle of wills, and the irresistable force of me finally overcame the immovable object of Oliver, and in he went. He was carted off on a trolley and all we could see were his big brown eyes the size of dinner plates through the bars of his crate.

If you are reading this as a dog owner, and have ever relocated a dog, you know how stressful this moment can be. If not, I will do my best to explain. At the moment they are taken away, you start imagining the worst. Will he be put on the right plane? Will they remember to switch on the climate control? Will he be taken off during the transit stop and not put back on? Will all of his water spill before he gets there? When we get him off at the other end, will he be in one piece? Will he have dirtied his crate and be feeling humiliated and stressed? I took comfort in how professional Changi Airport were with him, and that we had ensured every piece of paperwork was in place for him.

So it was time for us to go to the lounge (we were flying business class, courtesy of Uncle George) and get a cucumber sandwich. For those who don’t know, the cucumber sandwich, made well, is the finest sandwich ever made. It must be made with white bread, cut small, with real butter and layers of thinly sliced cucumber with just a little salt and pepper. The crusts must, of course, be cut off.

Settling into the lounge, and briefly checking early election results, I went to grab a plateful of the sandwiches. I saw them in the food area and decided to browse around a bit to see what else I could get. When I returned, the entire plate had been taken away! It did not return, and I was sad. So I grabbed a couple of small Tiger beers and went back to our very comfy chairs. Please note that at this point, myself and the wife had not sat in a chair for a week; I can’t tell you the relief of a really comfy armchair after that.

We’d been told at the reception of the lounge that we were to board about fifteen minutes later. Given that, it was time to go down to the gate to board. Imagine our surprise when the screens were showing the gate was closing already! Also, imagine the stress levels rising when we find out that the gates are 18 minutes away! A mad dash through the airport later, we get to the hand luggage scanner. I dread these; not because of the scrutiny, the personal space intrusion or any notion of privacy being eroded, but because I’m a geek and carry two laptops, plus gaming machines, plus miscellaneous gadgets, in my hand luggage. My wife also carries a laptop, pda and a smattering of gadgets. Every time we go through the scanner, we have to unpack it all into the trays, get scanned, then repack it all. Add to this the pressure of “last call for flight SQ002” booming of the tannoy, and things got a little frantic.

I’m too tired to keep up the tension, and it is probably clear from the fact that I’m writing this post, but we did make it on to the plane on time, and were greeted by drinks and food galore, as is the way with Singapore Air.

Another post will be along in a few hours when I’ve had some sleep to complete the story of the journey to the Brave New World.

Posted on 2008/11/05 by dominic in personal | Tagged moving | Leave a comment

DominicHamon.com

Life is like a grapefruit

Leaving on a jetplane

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