Is it jet lag or do I hear Christmas music?

Honey bun and I just returned from a trip to the US. As expected, August was hot in the southern US. Between Texas heat, South Carolina heat and humidity, and a less than 24 hours respite from the temperatures in North Carolina, we were cookin'! It was hard to imagine that it was as hot, and many times even hotter, than life here six degrees below the equator.

We have returned from the steam cleaning to the land of sambal, soto ayam, smoking bajajs and six million+ registered motorcycles. The timing of our trip returned us to a post-Ramadan Jakarta. The traffic was blissfully light from Wednesday to Sunday. This morning it was back to the regular running of the motorized gauntlet. It was nice while it lasted.

On Sunday, sweetums and I took my adorable little Scoopy and the macho Ninja machine out for breakfast. Post breakfast, we ventured to the grocery store. As I was pushing the grocery cart around, I heard a pop Christmas tune playing. At first I thought it was a fluke or that my jet lag was making me misinterpret the song I was hearing. But at check out, they were playing another Christmas song. Holy cow!! It is not even the end of August and we have jumped to Christmas music in this far-away land. I thought only the ever free-enterprising US jumped from summer to Christmas that fast. I think this has to be a world record.

Speaking of world records. Upon our return, we had mail awaiting us at honey buns office. I may have mentioned that sometimes we go weeks with no mail. It is a bit disturbing when you know there should be at least one or two pieces a week coming our way. Nestled in the small stack of waiting mail was a bill that was post-marked in early March 2012. Now before you blame the USPS, understand that our mail is sent to a company PO Box. From there, people are supposed to forward it, via a mail pouch with a private carrier, to us here in Indonesia. I don't know which, or how many, expat locations this bill got forwarded to and how many times it got sent back to Houston, but a six month trip could cover an awful lot of territory. Just sayin'

I am discovering that jet lag is still a massive issue for me. I have looked high and low for some kind of remedy to make it less painful. None are to be found. Well, I did come across one cure that I am considering. When you type in "Jet Lag cures" on your computer, you will find "The Spiral of Tranquility Pendant." This impressive piece of jewelry will supposedly re-align all the things that get out of alignment when you make these kinds of long journeys. For a reasonable price, plus shipping and handling, you can purchase this pendant, fly all over the world, land, and never feel a thing while it graces your neck. I am seriously considering buying two.

One piece of info that I gathered said that you should expect one day per time zone to return to your "normal" state of sleeping and other bodily functions. If that is the case, that means I need 12 days. EEEKKK!!!

The day of arrival to my location I am usually doing pretty well. The second day, is not too bad but certainly not "normal." The third day is when you hit the wall. With that said, I wonder if it is kind of like asking someone who has had "Tee many martunis" to self-evaluate their ability to make sense when they speak. I think I do pretty well the first two days but perhaps my friends and family are way too polite to tell me I sound like an idiot.

Whatever the case, that jet lag hole is deep. You shovel hard for three or four days, after that third day, to gain ground. I also find that it is much harder going one direction than the other. Also dealing with the longer amounts of daylight during the summer months in the US vs. the "It's always a 12 hour day" here so close to the equator makes it hard to judge when it is time for dinner and bed time.

I had hoped I would get better at it. Sadly enough, I am not.

On this trip we had the added pleasure of flying on our wedding anniversary. To mark the occasion, we had a lunch of chicken strips and Texas toast at a What-A-Burger before leaving for the airport. Yeehaw! Don't get me wrong. I love WAB's chicken strips and peppery gravy. However, once on board, later that evening, we had a glass of champagne to mark numerous years of being a Mr. and Mrs. I must mention that since we knew we would be in transit on the actual day, we had a lovely dinner out with much more suitable anniversary chow. Yummy crab cakes and other delectable foods were consumed in a place where they don't walk around with a tray bearing ketchup in small packets and take a number off your table and give you a box of food.

Since this post is partly about jet lag, let me make a few recommendations to you. If you are making long journeys across multiple time zones, drink plenty of water. Yes, it is inconvenient to have to make multiple visits to the airplane toilet, but you need to stay hydrated. Carry a small bottle of saline nasal spray in your little zipper bag of the "show me your liquids" persuasion. Use it regularly during the flight. Bloody noses are not fun. Sleep when you can. Yes, if you are lucky enough to have a daytime flight and you land early evening this doesn't apply. But my flights almost always begin at night and land in the middle of the night way past time when it should be the middle of the night. Then the next leg takes off at stupid o'clock and lands late afternoon at my final destination. By that point, you are so messed up time wise you realize how important it is to try to accumulate some snooze time whenever you can. Unfortunately, for some of us who are rotten sleepers on the plane, if you can get five or six hours of sleep during 30 hours of transit you feel lucky. Eat lightly on the plane. You'll feel better for it. Trying to digest a heavy meal at 35,000 feet is not overly successful.

Here I am giving this advice, which I do follow, and I still suffer greatly. But I do think it helps with some of the long distance travel issues. I envy the people who seem to be able to conch out as soon as the plane takes off, never have to go to the bathroom during transit, and upon arrival can plow through the jet lag. Mine is just never that pretty. The only up side is that I do get to catch up on lots of movies I have missed or re-watch movies I have enjoyed in the past.

Fortunately, our circadian rhythms will slowly re-adjust and we will be back on Indonesian time. Unfortunately, sweetie and I will just be confused as to what month it is as we listen to Christmas music while buying our mangoes.