Day 9 Of 7 - Return Of The Phil

Woke up to the sound of my phone alarm in a dark room with no idea where I was. In that way, it was just like the previous eight days. I stumbled (and since Jonathan and crew live in a loft that's poorly-lit even when there is electricity, I mean stumbled) down the Aztec pyramid-steep stairs and took a cold shower in the dark. In that way, it was just like the previous eight days. I'm telling you, if you can't afford to go to Egypt, hit N.Y. It's the same thing. Struck out on foot to find the Jefferson Street station, which the night before had been a right and then a left.

Half an hour later, I was not at Jefferson Street station. Nor was I, I think, even in New York anymore. And since I was supposed to be getting on a plane at seven that morning, this was a problem. Enter the new GPS-capable phone I had gotten maybe a week and a half before, to replace the phone I had destroyed in anger. When I was looking for new phones, I saw that this particular model could do GPS, and almost passed it by, thinking, "Aw, come on... when am I ever going to need this?" Well, boy was I glad I splurged this morning. As I was walking the unfamiliar streets, following my own progress via an overhead map on a thin electronic device, it occurred to me that maybe it took twenty years, but the future the 80s TV shows had promised us had finally arrived.
If you've read the blog this far, you already know how my life works. I don't even need to tell you that I made it to the airport, but was exactly two minutes late for the SLC flight that would have had plenty of open seats.
So, JFK airport, and for twelve hours. Four trips to Wendy's, three almost-made-its onto flights that turned out full, and several hours of phone calls to people I hadn't caught up with in a while. And then at seven that PM, I landed a flight home.
Four hours later, I walked in the door to my apartment, dropped my luggage, and took a real live and hour long shower. Glorious.
Egypt, my first real foreign country, and my first trip off the continent... done.