What's the deal with flying?

I'm not talking about the delays or the upcharges or the overcrowding. Everyone hates that.

When I was a teenager I loved to fly. It was amazing. Get in a big metal tube and two to four hours later you were somewhere else. Along the way you got a view of another world up there. The clouds, the ground so far away. Crazy adventure. And then came cheap flights on discount airlines and it was even reasonably priced.

I can remember once flying somewhere and there were maybe 20 people on the flight. The flight attendants spent most of the trip in the back hanging out and talking to me about tattoos. I had about 10 rows to myself because everyone else crammed the front so they could get off quickly. But the flight was so empty that everyone got out quickly.

Now I dread it. Odds are good that I'll get motion sickness during takeoff and landing. Nothing like getting to your destination feeling ill. And with most flights having multiple connections anymore I'm likely to get multiple doses of nausea. Nice. I've tried eating and not eating before flying to try to deal. The only thing I've learned is that if I eat at least that way my stomach churn doesn't have heartburn too. But it does increase the feeling that I have something worth throwing up.

Beyond that I get sinus issues from all the pressure changes. Lucky me. I think I got it from my dad, he's got sinus problems. Something for me to look forward to as I age..

It's to the point now that just a whiff of that recycled airplane air leads to dread. I pray the little air jet will help. Part of me hopes that we deplane somewhere cold so the cool air is soothing for a little while. Last time I flew I went to Colorado which resulted in altitude sickness combined with the flight sickness. It took me a week to recover after I got back home.

Though if I being perfectly honest. The flight back from the job interview where I got my current teaching position was great. Maybe I was just to happy to notice anything else. Plus I had a really big seat right by the front door. So there is something to be said for getting out first.