heathrow terminal 3

hi. i'm in heathrow.  my bum feels flat and hard like a panini (i just ate a panini from starbucks so...), and my feet are puffy water cushions.  it's soooo chilly here!  it's like the ac is on, and it really shouldn't be.  i really wish i had a hoody because my arms are cold.  and my nose, until recently partaking of a hot beverage (hot choc, s.bucks again) was cold.  one cannot abide a cold nose.  it is not to be born.  or just for h, bourne.  the weiwd thing about this airport is that they don't announce what gate you go to until an hour before boarding.  this forces you to stay in the lounge/shopping areas.  i see nowhere to plug in and you only get free wifi for 45 minutes and then you have to pay. not impressed heathrow, not impressed.

it is time for....(drum roll please) .....a discussion on the pros and cons of a window seat:
pros:
1. you can see out the window.  while this is obvious, it is a very strong plus.  last night when we took off the world was sunshiney and gorgeous.  and just as i hoped we took off towards vancouver island, over the water.  that is just one of the most beautiful things to see.  then we were flying north over breathtaking mountain range after mountain range.  everything was so clear.  it was amazing to see.  the most amazing was when we were flying over baffin island just before dawn.  as the light eased in, it lit up the most spectacular sights.  i watched, entranced with my neck craned at weiwd angles, as we flew over.  i cannot describe it attiquately.  side lit from the rising sun, it made it even more dramatic and beautiful.  it was a cold strange beauty of a land that doesn't look real.  snow and mountains that seemed to never end.  then suddenly the black edge of the arctic sea.  and in the sea, huge and small circles and shards of ice that went on forever.  at one point i was sure i had seen a whale.  the ice circles were both vast and minuscule and cracks of black -blue water in between.  and then that suddenly gave way to open sea.  it was a sea of ice burg freckles scattered everywhere.

cons:
1. you are a prisoner in your seat.  if you don't want to give free and wildly innapropriate lap dances to your neighbours, you can't get out unless they get out.  and besides all the water they gave me, i had a water bottle of my own, so by the end of the flight i sneezed and thought it might all be over.  it was the greatest relief when i got off the plane and found that blessed room marked "toilet".  and i was pushed to my limits too.  first the plane circled the airport for 10 minutes before being allowed to land.  then it sat in front of it's gate for 10 minutes before it could pull in, and then it was 15 or more minutes before the line up started moving forward.
2. which brings me to another con.  you are the last to get out and if you have to pee like a race horse, this is a big deal.

so security check was going well until the bin with my purse and laptop in it took a turn to the left on the conveyor belt.  this is bad.  this means extar security.  this means standing in a super long line up until someone deals with this stuff.  there were a lot of middle eastern people in front of me.  one lady, a mom, had her whole bag emptied and it took her forever just to have to pack it again.  i felt for her. there was an older middle eastern couple standing by me.  the man started a convo with me and i found out they were from lebanon and he found out i was going to ejjjgypt.  he saidi should come to lebanon.  we did some idle friendly chit chat.  soon a lady as brisk as she was squat, called out who's is this?  i waved my arm cheerfully. she skipped me ahead of the line and took me to a different table and started taking stuff out of my purse. basically the whole deal was, that i still had water in my water bottle.  "drink this all now, or i will have to throw the whole thing away", she directed.  i chugged it easily and then i was on my way.  and now i am here in heathrow terminal 3 no man's land.  i already slept for a while on some benches, tried to read, and paid for wifi..

i've only had 2 hours wretched sleep at the most.  i watched 12 years a slave on the flight.  much was disturbing, sickening and wretched.  i cried hard at the end.  there were parts i couldn't bear/bare to watch.  i cried so hard at the end.  after that i needed some light happy innocence so i watched frozen.

i am actually going to be in ejjjgypt by the end of this day.  how awesome, weirwd, amazing, scary, cool, wonderful is that?  and i will hug a canar!  i cannot wait to hug a canary.