I’ve experienced such state a few times already. Doing circles in my hotel room like a goldfish in bowl. As it might sound funny from the outside, it isn’t for the one living it. Living this fast paced life can lead to all sorts of different behaviors and moods you never thought you’d go through. That happened to me when I was in Nice, last week. I practically stayed in the room the entire layover, only getting out for a breath of fresh salty air, as opposed to nicotine and club sandwich leftovers.
This “Layover Blues” – didn’t find any other words to describe it sorry – can happen anytime anywhere. Having been through it a couple times I can now share the ordeal. Multiple factors come into play. Fatigue plays a huge part, jetlag and low motivation are two other undeniable factors. All three combined with some little minor downsides to your personal life can lead to a very weird attitude. You’re wondering why you’re in that place, for what reason and suddenly you’re struck by this huge force which drives you to your bed, no matter what you had planned for the day, whether you had arranged a meeting with the other crew or planned a nice relaxing afternoon on the pebbled beach (which, in Nice, was 30 metres away). You just so overly tired you fall asleep, pronto. After a few hours… you wake up at unholy hours, craving for food and get genuinely lost in the hotel lobby. Bringing smiles to the concierge and the front desk staff with your hair in a mess, wrinkles all over your clothes, the pillow mark still highly visible across your cheeks and pulling a sweet face that shouts “PISS OFF!!”. I’m sure hotel staff that cater for Cabin Crew have seen such behavior before and are accustomed. But what happens when you wonder on the streets of an unknown city, getting stares from the locals ? The answer is, well not much, because you have your beloved iPod playing your favourite music. The music that means something to you and no one else. Tracks that have, at one moment in your life, been tied with a specific event. An event you cannot forget. A good one, a bad one. Doesn’t really matter.
Once that tune starts playing, your face just softens up and you pull a smile/or a grin. Still people look at you wondering what on earth is this freak doing in my darn city. You ignore. Pleasantly zigzagging the sidewalk completely immersed in your own little cynical world.
If you’re a complete iPod geek like myself, you’ll – no doubts about that – have a special “F*** THE WORLD TWICE OVER & STARE AT IT WHILE IT AGONISES” kinda playlist. Yes, I admit, this is one of my playlist titles. And the tracks inside are all carefully picked to assist in a suicide, if ever the desire to commit one arose, you could do it in style. Now, you’re gonna ask, “what are the songs inside that playlist I wonder?”. Here’s a few of them, in no particular order but YOU MUST GRAB THEM ONE WAY OR ANOTHER because these are classic tunes not to miss, Airboy said so !
- Morcheeba – The Sea
- Portishead – Glorybox (a ‘Layover Blues’ must have !)
- Ryan Adams – Wonderwall (Oasis Cover)
- Lykke Li – I’m Good, I’m Gone
- MGMT – Time To Pretend
- Bonnie Raitt – Love Letter
- Led Zeppelin – Tangerine (a live version works best)
- The Arctic Monkeys – 505 (best song ever BTW, it tops my most listened list on Last.FM…)
- Adele – Chasing Pavements
- Corinne Bailey Rae – Like a Star
- The White Stripes – Catch Hell Blues
- The White Stripes – 300mph Torrential Outpour Blues
- The White Stripes – I Fought Pirhannas
- The White Stripes – Cold, Cold Night
- Bonnie Raitt & John Lee Hooker – I’m In The Mood
- Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators – If This Ain’t Love
- Missy Elliot & Nicole Ray – All In My Grill
- De La Soul – It Ain’t All Good
- [Insert any Leona Lewis track here]
- Amy Winehouse (of course, how could I forget!) – Stronger Than Me (Live with Jools Holland)
- Amy Winehouse – You Know I’m No Good
- Amy Winehouse – Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
- Friendly Fires – Paris (Aeroplane remix with Au Revoir Simone)
- Amadou & Mariam – Sabali
- Team9 vs Stereogum – Good After Time
- Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight
- Marvin Gaye – I Heard Through The Grapevine
- Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – 100 Days, 100 Nights
- The Last Shadow Puppets – Standing Next To Me
- Kanye West ft. Dwele & The Clipse – Flashing Lights
- Kanye West – Welcome To Heartbreak
- Friendly Fires – White Diamonds
So after listening to all those tracks you aren’t dead yet, you can read on. We’re going the complete opposite. Some of us love to play around, fool around on layovers. Some of us never heard about “Layover Blues” and one of them would, no questions about that, be Jupiter. One of my readers, who I flew over on his first Emirates flight into Dubai, before he became a Flight Attendant. He likes to call himself HRH Jupiterius on Facebook but we won’t follow trends here and just call him by his real name. Which is JUPITER. He spends is time in the air. Literally. Whether he’s on the plane or down on earth. What’s really interesting with this chap is the capacity he has to make me laugh everytime he comes back from a layover. He never misses an opportunity to take cool pictures. And the most well known pictures he takes are the ones he jumps in. Mister jumped all over the world. Here are a few of those photos. He also likes to wonder around The Forbidden City with a Bart Simpson mask but I won’t post those just yet. Please enjoy ! (As for you Jupiter, sorry for stealing your pictures, but they’re too good to be shared only with your friends. Please forgive me !)
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
PS : Before I go, let me please remind you that whenever you post a comment in the coming days, you enter the contest to win a surprise gift from me. We’re about to celebrate our 1oo0th comment on Airboy and would like to thank you guys for keeping coming in. Daily. Happy reading !
Finally, I can now rest in peace as I’ve made it on www.gadling.com through Heather Poole’s column about people taking pictures of themselves in the aircraft lavatories. You’ll see my picture there, after you click wisely…
PSS : I’m not depressed !
Funny, funny, funny pics!
It’s a interesting way of taking photos.
I’ve heard that Emirates will start to fly to Luanda (Angola, which is my country), and I was wondering if you know when I can book a flight…
You can probably book your flight from now ! Check over at http://www.emirates.com
I just realised one of the pictures states SINGAPORE when it should be KUALA LUMPUR. Call me dumb !
White Stripes, Marving Gaye and De La Soul are staples on my iPod too!
Although, if you wanna let the world go f**k itself, I’d suggest some Rollins Band tunes
They make you wanna blow stuff up!
Good post, I’ll be probably developing Layover Blues myself next year, as Emirate’s recruiting again, let’s hope I get to join now…
Cheers mate! Keep writing! Good Stuff!
I can relate, wholeheartedly! The usually upbeat and relatively adventurous side of me says ‘get out there and explore’ but sometimes, it just gets the better of you. I remember being in Malta, 3 days before Christmas 2007, walking around in the rain, iPod in ear, thinking this should have been a wonderful memory in a new country, but I was miserable, ho-hum and melancholy. I wasnt depressed, but I was certainly suffering from the layover blues…
As always, a very accurate and well written post Mr Sodwee!!
Mat
nice pics,lol.keep posting
Your layover blues are done in a day or two…You need to experience the Canadian Winter blues, when you can practically spend the whole weekend home!
Ahah “M”, don’t start or I’ll send you to Paris from November to April…. Force you to take the tube every morning and you’ll love your Canadian winters…
Mat, thanks. I felt the same in Nice, minus the rain. It was beautiful weather actually. But I had other stuff in mind…
nine comments left including this one!
You really want that surprise gift Darylle don’t ya !
that would be real nice.
Mr.Sodwee, Airbusboy, Ben, your own comments should not be included. Hopefully you have filtered those out, and that count of 994 right now might not reflect the actual comments left by readers!!
lolololol I think I should send this gift to myself ! Would save a lot on shipping. Especially if it were to go all the way to Canadia. No I’m not counting my own comments. And how the hell dare you call me Airbusboy !!!! Blasphemy !
you see, I think that guy’s unworthy of receiving that gift for calling Airboy Airbusboy. C’est dommage! hahaha, I was just thinking about that too, if in the case you sent out the 1000th comment, what would you do? I guess sending the gift to yourself can’t hurt. XD
Master…I have no idea how that happened…I was playing with my Airbus planes here, looked up and called you that. LOL LOL
No worries about the 1000th post and me getting it…FedEX is a problem for me to get stuff from them as they only deliver Mon-Fri when I am at work!! So even if this is the 1000th post, ignore it. When I come to Dubai, I”ll be happy to take some freebie EK gifts!!
Ha,ha…you have removed the comment count I noticed LOL
ahahahaha….”master”. Yes young padawan, you have noticed well. May the commenting force be with you !
How shocking that you called it Canadia….It’s Canada..Blasphemy!!! LOL
Okay I don’t want to be termed as a desperado for the gift, I just happened to be posting so much this evening!!
wow, how many comments now??
I hope this is the 1000st post! hahaha
from the last time I recall, there were 3 comments left to go (that is including yours, I think) and looks like you’re the 1000 poster! good job Sodwee! you’ve won a surprise gift from Ben! XD
Ok, just let me double check all this, make sure I have a winner, and I’ll announce the happy one in the next post !
BTW “M” I said ‘canadia’ because I knew you would jump out of your seat ! ahahah.
Hehe, who knew, beneath that exterior of funny face pics in clubs and clowning around, Airboy is a human being with feelings after all.. This post may be one of the more revealing ones about you!
Well, who won the comments round LOL
I knew another post would happen while I was asleep… serves me right for going to bed early once! I noticed the comment counter disappeared…. alas I am not just a blogging Padawan, for I also know how to find out withoutt that… heh heh heh…
I once had layover blues in Singapore… I sat in the hotel room nearly all of my free day in the bathrobe watching tv I couldn’t even understand and ordering room servicce…! Now I kick myself for wasting such valuable time!
Traytable, how do you count the posts without a counter hee,hee
You’ll understand very soon Tray ! Wordpress as a lot more gizmos Backstage ! You’ll have a sneak peek in about 5 seconds !
haha, I never get lucky at these things, but whoever won it, congratulations! The suspense is certainly up there when waiting for Sodwee’s next post! XD
Aha, Airboy is on to me. M, there is more than the almighty Statcounter… >:)
I have noticed another one when singapore should have been melbourne
Good stuff! Goes goes, i have some songs like you Mister Sod _
interesting.. wish i win!!
Nice post! Very appropriate. Fatigue definitely contributes to the ‘Layover Blues’ and that is a professional hazard in our lives. Nice that you acknowledged it here!