I am back from my break. During this time, I was in Sri Lanka with my wife, older daughter, and her husband to attend a big family reunion. I grew up with a large and close-knit group of cousins. Sri Lanka being a small country, even though we lived in different parts of it, it was easy for us to all get together regularly. School holidays would see many of us spend extended periods of time in one another’s homes where our aunts and uncles treated us like their own children, and the bonds that we forged when young are strong.
Unfortunately, we are now scattered to all points on the globe and do not see each other so much and this occasion, organized by one particularly energetic cousin based in London, enabled most of us to get together. And what a get-together it was! It began with an initial party for over 150 people (Sri Lankans like to party) and was followed by a four-day trip by about 75 of us to various parts of the country that included a wildlife safari, visits to the ruins of ancient cities, and the ocean beaches for which Sri Lanka is rightfully famous and draw many tourists. The extended time together on the bus and in the hotels enabled us to renew all those old ties and it was a wonderful experience. The large group was more than my immediate cousins and consisted of cousins of cousins, other relatives, and friends.
Of course, since I was away from my computer all this time, on my return I had nearly 500 emails to wade through, not to mention all the snail mail, though that was mostly junk. Yesterday was spent mainly clearing my desk of all the stuff that had accumulated.
A word about jet lag. The average travel time each way (including layovers) was about 32 hours, Sri Lanka has about a 10-hour time difference with Cleveland and you would expect massive jet lag but I have noticed that I do not suffer from it. I tend to adjust to the new time in less than a day but I have friends who make the similar trip and it takes them about a week to adjust. In fact by the time they adjust, it is time to return and be disoriented again. I have heard people say that it takes a day to adjust to each hour time difference.
Why do I not experience jet lag? I don’t know. It may be something biological. But it may also be due to my belief that jet lag is partly due to exhaustion. My strategy is to get as much rest and sleep as possible while traveling. For example, in the 14-hour leg from Boston to Dubai, I read until the meal is brought about 2 hours into it, and then immediately sleep for about 9 hours until the next meal that arrives a couple of hours before the end of the flight, and then just rest with my eyes closed until the flight ends. I avoid the over-stimulating atmosphere that is practically thrust on you on these trips. I do not watch any of the in-flight films or other shows on the displays and during the long layovers in airports, I stay in one place and read or sleep so that the over-stimulation of the airport atmosphere is minimized. As a result, when I get to my destination, I feel really refreshed and rested, and this may explain why I do not crash immediately upon arrival, which is what I feel disrupts the sleep pattern and causes jet lag.
Of course, this may not work for everyone. Also, adopting my strategy requires one to be able to sleep seated and in strange places and not everyone is able to do that.
Anyway, I am back and rested.
PrimeJunta says
I’ve used the Argonne jet lag diet with some success. Not entirely sure it isn’t placebo, but hey, it works for me so I’m not complaining!
Rob Grigjanis says
Welcome back, Mano! You’ve been missed.
Dunc says
Welcome back!
chigau (違う) says
Welcome back.
atheistblog says
I am suffering from jet lag every sunday night and monday. If you can understand !!
raven says
Weelcome back. You were missed. And missed a huge amount of political and religious madness.
moarscienceplz says
Welcome back, Mano!
Sounds like you Sri Lanka holiday was very fun and interesting.
Did you bring us any sapphires or rubies?
😉
Mano Singham says
raven @#6,
Unfortunately the supply of political and religious madness does not show any sign of running out.
DonDueed says
Glad you’re back, Mano. You are certainly missed when you’re not around.
Also glad you didn’t decide to take a side trip to Russia via Sharm-al-sheik.
Tabby Lavalamp says
Hurray! Welcome back!
Holms says
Sounds like an excellent trip, although 150 family contacts, even if many of them are more contacts-of-contacts, sounds daunting!
Dunc says
Well, you know the old joke: “Only two things are infinite: the universe, and human stupidity. And I’m not certain about the universe…”
flex says
Welcome back. It sounds like it was a great trip.
Rob Grigjanis says
Speaking of relatives, General Relativity is a hundred years old (give or take a few days)! Any plans for a celebration hereabouts?
Storms says
Welcome back Mano. You were missed.
Reginald Selkirk says
Yo.
mnb0 says
Het is leuk om je weer terug te hebben.
StevoR says
Welcome back Mano Singham. Glad to find you happy, refreshed and well and blogging again.