The Best Jet Lag of All Time

A time difference of thirteen hours, I had a feeling, would make for the jet lag from hell.

Flying into the future by that much amounts to day-night reversal, which means my suspicion was—shall we say—verified.

It all started out so well.

After a grueling—and sleepless—flight, my head hit the pillow at 10 pm.

Perfect timing.

Except my brain was feeling 9 am. Apparently, insomnia is no match for habit.

I stared at the ceiling.

At midnight (11 am), I gave up and pulled out the Kindle.

This David Brooks book is pretty good. Dude’s a genius.

Am I on the second mountain? Or just another first one?

I wish I were this smart. No wonder no one reads my blog.

I thought about the tour at 8:45 am (7:45 pm).

Eventually, at 2 am (1 pm), I got back in bed.

I’m pumped to see Seoul.

Did we reserve a room in Nashville for orientation yet? I can’t believe he’s going into the music industry.

This will probably be a slight upgrade over Toledo. 

And Rochester.

And Buffalo.

Well, basically every other city I like to hang out in.

How do I expect to make money off these stupid books?

Did I just fall asleep?

Korean people have no clue about March Madness.

Or the NFL?

I wonder if that new Korean place near us is any good.

Did I fall asleep?

I got out of bed at 3 am (2 pm) and pulled out the Kindle again.

I had bought some novel about young Korean women trying to meet societal beauty standards.

Wow, is this place really so messed up?

Or is it like gun violence in the US—a problem but most people are fine?

This is kind of depressing.

I’m glad my eyelids already have folds.

Tatoo eyeliner?

I wonder if you can do that with lipstick.

Should I start doing locum tenens work?

I need to get my blood work drawn when we get home.

Maybe the kimchi will help me lose weight. Or the ginseng?

Is going to the demilitarized zone even safe?

Is going anywhere safe?

Did I fall asleep?

At 4 am (3 pm), I got back into bed.

If I can just force myself to stay here till 6 am (5 pm), I’ll be fine for the tour.

What are we seeing anyway?

Some palace. Some Buddhist temple. A tower.

The Space Needle in Seattle is cool. What was that place in San Antonio called again? Or the one in Calgary? CN Tower is insane. The restaurant in the Prudential Building was so good.

I wonder if Seoul Tower will be like that.

The Coldplay concert should be fun.

How do we get there?

Who’s Twice?

The Panama City tour was legit.

Traveling to Europe is so much easier.

Europe is overrated.

I hate tourists.

They hate me, I’m sure.

What time is it?

It was 5 am (4 pm).

If I could even get a few more minutes, I can beat this jet lag and plow through tomorrow.

The beeping woke me up.

Oh man, now I’m really tired.

How the heck did these other three sleep so well?

I got out of bed and looked at myself.

Definitely no contacts today.

I sure as hell ain’t meeting any Korean beauty standards.

I woke everyone else up.

The sun seemed way too bright.

Wow, I truly am living the jet lag from hell.

And I smiled.

Because through all the haze, I knew it was beautiful to be alive.