We flew into Tokyo this morning, 5am local time. The flight was uneventful, unless you count being comfortable in economy an event.
First off, it was less than half-full, so Yuanyuan and I got three seats for the two of us and spent the flight doing acroyoga, trying to find all the comfortable sleeping positions.
Then the stewardesses took their oaths of service to the next level. At some point I got up to go to the bathroom and found it occupied. I parked myself near the door and got out my phone so I wouldn’t have to spend a second alone with my thoughts. But before I could unlock it, two stewardesses swooped in like air traffic controllers or kindergarten chaperones, waving their arms and smiling and “Please this way”-ing me to the vacant bathroom on the other side of the aisle. It was nice. Surreal but nice, as Hugh Grant would say. In Israel I once saw a kid fall off a bike and three strangers — also women, probably not the same ones — rushed to his aid while I stood, paralyzed by the bystander effect. As I peed 3 minutes earlier than the universe expected, I flashed back to that moment.