Leaving for Planet Normal

Goodbye East End Cottage. Goodbye Pinner tube station. Goodbye living out of a backpack. Goodbye London. I’m leaving for normal again.

Emirates Flight from London to Dubai (en route to Perth) leaves at 2.15pm. I leave early, but unforeseen delays results in me literally rushing for the plane. Fortunately, the flight is also delayed and departing 50 minutes after its scheduled time. Bloody hell, that was a close one. Someone is looking out for me from up there. I think they’ve been doing it since the day I arrived in London a month ago.

I am sitting next to two brunette models on the Dubai-to-Perth leg. One of them keeps yelling out “DIE!” at the screen (clearly she’s not watching Bridge to Terabithia). Then she keeps cheering every time a goal is scored on one of the sports channels. Someone should tell her that it is the soccer highlights, and that there will be a goal scored every half minute.

Some memorable (or rather unmemorable) conversations onboard:

MODEL 1 (when filling out the Entry Into Australia Form): Excuse me, but what is tuberculosis?
CHRISTINA: It’s a disease of the lungs.
MODEL 1: I’ve had a cough. Could I have tuberculosis?
CHRISTINA: Unlikely. You’d probably be half-dead and coughing blood right about now.
MODEL 1: Oh. Okay.
CHRISTINA: Are you visiting Australia for the first time?
MODEL 1: No. I’m from Adelaide.

Huh?

CHRISTINA: So, where did you guys come from?
MODEL 2: Milan. There’s heaps of Australians there.
CHRISTINA: Oh right. What sort of profession are they in?
MODEL 2: All our friends are models.
CHRISTINA: Well, all my friends are intelligent. And fabulous.

Actually, I didn’t say that last bit. I just thought it. Instead, I smile politely at her comment.