Just a quick note from LA to say several things:
(a) 24 hours of flight time + 12-hour time difference + meetings starting at 7 AM tomorrow = ouch. Also, I have realized that long-haul flights are the great equalizer: no matter how much more senior some of my colleagues on this trip are within the company, we ALL looked equally cracked-out as we waited, bleary-eyed, in US customs after hopping the pond(s).
(b) There might be something on earth that's closer to heaven than flying business class on Emirates, but I would be hard-pressed to find it (maybe... flying first on Emirates?). During the 14-hour flight from DXB to JFK, I managed to eat 3 entire multiple-course gourmet meals (fresh fruit, pancakes with caramelized apple sauce, pastries... tikka prawn bake, spicy chili beef quesadilla, petits fours... canapes, roast duck, seasonal salad, chicken with zaatar crust, walnut and coffee tart), drink a variety of quality booze (Taittinger champagne, really good Sancerre), completely fry my brain with on-demand video ("License to Wed," "Blades of Glory," 5 episodes of "Heroes," probably a dozen episodes of "Friends"), and enjoy the "massage" function on my flat-bed seat almost continuously. Sigh...
(c) I love America. Let's be honest, I really do. I loved getting told "welcome home" in the US Citizens line at JFK immigration, I loved the Christmas music they were blaring when we got off the plane at LAX, I loved driving past a Target in the LA suburbs on the way to our hotel, I loved that the check-in staff were all honest-to-goodness proficient speakers of the English language. It's the small things, I suppose.
And with that I'm off to bed!
