I have spent a bit of time in airports in the last year and a half and I actually kind of enjoy it. There are so many different people, different reactions to things, different ways of doing things, and lots of time to sit and watch it all happen.
I like to people watch in airports. Today’s people watching was mainly spent in the food area. Some people make ordering food more painful than my appendix attack I had. I would honestly rather have my appendix attack than order food the way some people do, for the rest of my life. They make it so hard. It is an airport restaurant not a gourmet restaurant with every ingredient you can think of. Just make it easy on yourself, and the staff that deal with literally thousands of people every day, and order something off the menu. Do not ask for a chicken deli sandwich but ask for the chicken to be beef, or turkey. If you want turkey on your sandwich get the one on the menu that has turkey on it. If you think they are charging you a couple dollars more than they should, okay maybe ask them once. But do not proceed to tell them how to calculate tax on your meal or how much the items you are buying cost and how to add them up. Also if you get your wrap and it has BBQ sauce on it instead of ranch, unless you are highly allergic to BBQ sauce, just eat the damn thing. Trust me it will not kill you. Some people just make their own life difficult by being the difficulty.
Aside from watching people interact with airport staff of various job descriptions I also like to sit back, relax, and listen. Listen for the different accents and languages. If it’s anything aside from English all I will be able to tell you is “that’s not English”. And even if it is English you still might sneak it by me. None the less, it is a lot of fun listening to accents and different languages. No, I do not listen to the conversation and WHAT they are saying. I’m just listening to HOW they say it.
I also find that time spent in the airport is a great time to walk around and/or get some reading done. I look forward to getting through the customs check so I can sit and relax, even if it is for a whole two hours. I would way rather have “too long” a layover than have to run from plane to plane. There are not many times in my life I get to just sit and read and not worry about where I have to be or what I should be doing. I’m in an airport, at my gate, waiting for them to call my section. What else am I going to do but read or maybe go for a little walk?
I find airports oddly relaxing. Some people are stressed about all sorts of crazy things that, yeah sure, could happen. I try to focus on the good stuff. I’m sitting. I have a book. I’m going somewhere different. I made it through customs without too much of an issue. There are pretty ladies walking around. I just got some M&M’s. It may be little things that don’t really mean much but they are still good things. A good thing is a good thing, no matter its size.
So Stay Positive, Be Better, Go Get It, and read (my blog about my trip to LA) in the airport next time.
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