The struggle is real

Long waits, impersonal staff, delays, cancellations, video screens that are not maintained, and more make flying commercial exhausting and frequently frustrating. I arrive tired and annoyed, which is not the best state of being to give the best performance. It has been my experience that many airports, like Miami International Airport in Florida, have a lot of art. It’s weird but cool when you look at them in the airport as if you’re at a gallery or museum. I’ve often thought it might be interesting to schedule popup speed painting performances at the airports.

What can anyone do?

Getting back to making travel more enjoyable, I download movies on an iPad (in case the airplane’s video isn’t working) and bring snacks —it helps… even better, I enjoy purchasing a hot tasty meal at the airport terminal and bringing it on the plane. Traveling is a little more enjoyable with these two simple changes in my routine. I also bring a sketch pad or iPad to design new works and review the images I will perform! Even if you are not a professional artist, bringing a sketch pad or iPad with a drawing or painting app can make time pass more enjoyable.

My first overseas gig was in Monte Carlo. I’ll never forget the feeling of flying in an actual First Class —First Class domestically isn’t First Class it’s more like economy plus, and it is lame! You get to board first, and the seat is 2-inches bigger than the economy. Oh, and free drinks. It was excellent flying overseas and being asked what type of hors d’oeuvres and wine I wanted in a seat that fully reclined so I could sleep on the trip… they even gave me slippers and a bathrobe. If only they would make domestic flights the same. Nowadays, all you see are people wearing headsets and watching movies. In my opinion, the only good thing about flight these days are… Nope, I got nuthing! I like walking through the airport and looking at the artwork… they always have artwork. The last display I saw was of school kids’ works, and they were spectacular.

I plan and pack things for work, entertainment, and snacks. I use Packr app and TripIt on my iPhone to keep organized.

Once on the way home from an event, I had a connecting flight in Chicago. The flight was canceled… Ok, it wasn’t canceled, I was on time, or at least I thought I was! It turns out you are supposed to be there 15-minutes before take off…LOL. I learned my lesson and had to get a hotel to stay overnight and fly out the next morning. Lucky for me, I met a new friend, and she took me out to visit the honkytonks in downtown Chicago. It was fun and exciting, but after a few hours, I was getting tired and went back to the hotel… my new friend came with me, and that’s another story.

Travel is MESSY.