i’m back in the land of the cowboy now. lauren rocks my world twice over today; first, just cause she’s lauren and secondly because she got up at four am to drive me to SFO.

i have this weird strain of airplane-specific narcolepsy in which it is nearly impossible for me to stay awake during take-off. i’ve had it for years, and it only seems to be getting stronger. at this point, i can feel the drowsiness start to settle down on me as i walk down the isle looking for my seat. i stow my luggage, fasten my seatbelt and my eyes begin to get heavy. next thing i know, we’re in the air. usually i wake up 5-10 minutes after take-off and i’m perfectly alert for the rest of the flight. this might make more sense to me if i was a nervous flyer and the sleeping was some sort of self-defense against the fear, but the truth is that i’ve always been thrilled by roar and the force that presses your head back against the seat while the plane tips up at a what seems like an impossible angle. back when i could stay awake, i used to try to pinpoint the moment when the wheels would leave the ground and all those tons of steel and people and luggage would become airborne, and every time i would marvel that such a thing could be possible.