GABIT attendees thread

[ames]

Good luck with the jet lag. It took me a week to get adjusted so that I wasn't falling asleep at work. Luckily I share an office and my office mate likes to throw things at the back of my head.

LOL - I got home Thursday evening, and was at work for a 12-hour shift on Friday followed by a 13-hour shift on Saturday.
By the end I was still on my feet ... although as the Finchley crew will attest to, I can sleep on my feet while in a moving tube car

[NZNeep]

Fiiiiiiinchley! I want to go back to there.

(Don't eat anything at O'Neill's pub, North Finchley. Drinking is fine. The food is not.)

[starsong101]

Jet lag cures always one of my favorite topics.

I have to ask you Neep when you flew to the States did you feel it. When I flew home from a trip to New Zealand, funny I got to LA and hour or so after I left New Zealand on the same day; you've got to love the International Date line. Anyway, it was like 12-14 hours difference or so off for me and I adjusted right away. Fly to England not too bad about three days. Coming back, like Mocha I didn't think I would ever get back on a real schedule. Going to bed at 3:00AM and not waking up until after 11:00AM was fine on weekends but I have a boss who really thinks I should be at work by 8:00AM. It was all worth it though.

As to pictures I wasn't able to go to AT5 but I'm still trying to deal with pics from AT3, AT4, TSE and MTM. Maybe it was a good thing I wasn't there

[lame moose (mocha)]

just googled "jet lag" i did everything wrong...

Here's a short list of jet lag tips that can work in concert to alleviate many of the symptoms:

Do stretching exercises in your seat to avoid cramped muscles.
Walk around the cabin during your flight.
Yawn or chew gum to avoid pressure build-up in the ears.
Avoid alcohol and coffee before and during your flight.
Carry drinking water with you and drink an 8 ounce glass each hour.
Wear comfortable travel clothes, especially shoes.
Be well rested before you leave.
Make sure your pre-flight diet contains plenty of starch, carbohydrates and greens.
You might check out melatonin. While not officially approved in the US, the British Medical Journal was favorably impressed.
Set your watch to the time of your destination before you board.
Arrange in-flight meals to reflect the time-of-day at your destination.
Eliminate stress and anxiety as much as possible from your journey.
A last piece of advice which may seem terribly simple but is seldom observed is to plan your post-flight schedule with the understanding that some jet lag will occur. If you can control the timing of a meeting, try to schedule it as close as possible to a time when your body's feeling wide awake

i did yawn a lot, but i had a big starbucks before i flew and didn't drink anything during the flight because i hate using those tiny bathrooms. i get claustraphobic. 10 hours is too long for me to be on a plane. i get restless leg syndrome and couldn't wait to get off that plane. for AT4 i flew chgo. to boston. had 2 1/2 hours there then boston to iceland-another 2 hours then to heathrow. it was a long day, but broken up with time to relax and move around. going home, which is 6 hours earlier, i went to iceland for 3 nights(1 hour earlier than the UK) then to boston(5 hours earlier than UK) and spent the night in boston. then to chgo the next day. i had no jet lag either way. for AT6 i plan to break up my flight. maybe stay the night in boston again, both ways. my legs would probably be happier that way. i'll have to check into that melatonin thing too. but ya know...even tho i hate feeling jet laggy, the trip was worth it.

[lame moose (mocha)]

Jet lag cures always one of my favorite topics.

I have to ask you Neep when you flew to the States did you feel it. When I flew home from a trip to New Zealand, funny I got to LA and hour or so after I left New Zealand on the same day; you've got to love the International Date line. Anyway, it was like 12-14 hours difference or so off for me and I adjusted right away. Fly to England not too bad about three days. Coming back, like Mocha I didn't think I would ever get back on a real schedule. Going to bed at 3:00AM and not waking up until after 11:00AM was fine on weekends but I have a boss who really thinks I should be at work by 8:00AM. It was all worth it though.

As to pictures I wasn't able to go to AT5 but I'm still trying to deal with pics from AT3, AT4, TSE and MTM. Maybe it was a good thing I wasn't there

i edited some more pix tonight. i'll post a link to my photos when i complete the task. i'll put the AT5 pix separate from the rest of my pix, in case anyone cares to see them. they're from ireland ,scotland and england. it will be a while yet.
i feel like the people in the "Claritin "commercial with the fog. and the weird thing is i keep taking my glasses off and try to clean them hoping it will help. fortunately i don't have any obligations that i have to be wide awake for fright now.

[kthomassg]

LOL - I got home Thursday evening, and was at work for a 12-hour shift on Friday followed by a 13-hour shift on Saturday.
By the end I was still on my feet ... although as the Finchley crew will attest to, I can sleep on my feet while in a moving tube car

Well now that is just amazing. Question is... When did you get slap happy? For me it is around hour 24 or so. I start to get goofy and everything, and I do me everything takes on a funny slant.

[Skydiver]

what i do when i fly to london from the US, well I never sleep on the plane. and once I get to england, might take a little nap (depends on when your flight arrives) but not a long one...if you get to the uK after about 4pm or so, just stay up a few hours and go to bed around 9pm, sleepin a bit.

if you get in in the early am, take a nap for a couple of hours, then stay awake and go to bed at hte normal time, trying to keep to as normal of a sleep cycle as possible.

and i agree with drinking plenty.

and, if you have trouble sleeping, sleeping pills are your friend. after a week's sleep deprivation at a gatecon, I don't travel without them. these are the little over the counter ones, basically benadryl. You're not drugged as much as zoned out. although benadryl (diphenhydromine) effects everyone differently. some people it zones out, others it wires....so take some at home so you know how it effects you.

chamomile tea also works.

[Celandine]

just googled "jet lag" i did everything wrong...

Here's a short list of jet lag tips that can work in concert to alleviate many of the symptoms:



1. Yawn or chew gum to avoid pressure build-up in the ears.

2. Carry drinking water with you and drink an 8 ounce glass each hour.

1. Reminds me of when Neep and I fell asleep on our early morning (up at 5am ) flight back to Heathrow. On the plane we both fell asleep and, upon landing, woke up. Had *the* worst pressure pain in our ears. Owie!

2. Not on some of the flights we were on. The lavatories were like, OMG. Guys really need to learn to pee straight. I avoided them after one visit and made a mad dash for the airport bathrooms upon arrival.

[NZNeep]

I didn't feel it much in L.A. actually... I mean I was a bit tired, but I was doing a lot. Maybe that's it, you're doing so much on holiday you hardly notice I actually arrived in L.A. an hour before I left Wellington, even with a few hours stop over in Brisbane

[lame moose (mocha)]

i didn't have a problem going to the uk, it was the trip home that made me "laggy". and no problem sleeping ... the problem is staying awake. i dozed off putting gas in my car this afternoon. pretty pathetic.

[NZNeep]

1. Reminds me of when Neep and I fell asleep on our early morning (up at 5am ) flight back to Heathrow. On the plane we both fell asleep and, upon landing, woke up. Had *the* worst pressure pain in our ears. Owie!

Yup... non of the swallowing and other pressure equalising tactics that you do without even noticing when you're awake It was just from Cork to London, so she isn't exaggerating when saying we slept the entire way.

2. Not on some of the flights we were on. The lavatories were like, OMG. Guys really need to learn to pee straight. I avoided them after one visit and made a mad dash for the airport bathrooms upon arrival.

Heh. Gross. I drank a trenta (31 oz) of iced coffee before/as I was boarding the flight to London. I peed once, then slept the entire way. I did the same thing with a trenta of iced tea (my sister wanted the cup) as I boarded my 14 hour flight from L.A. to Brisbane and needed to pee every half hour. It was crazy and disgusting. Considered sneaking through the curtain to the first class toilets to see if they are more civilised, but didn't want to be taken down by an air marshal. o_0

[rderoch]

what i do when i fly to london from the US, well I never sleep on the plane. and once I get to england, might take a little nap (depends on when your flight arrives) but not a long one...if you get to the uK after about 4pm or so, just stay up a few hours and go to bed around 9pm, sleepin a bit.

if you get in in the early am, take a nap for a couple of hours, then stay awake and go to bed at hte normal time, trying to keep to as normal of a sleep cycle as possible.

and i agree with drinking plenty.

and, if you have trouble sleeping, sleeping pills are your friend. after a week's sleep deprivation at a gatecon, I don't travel without them. these are the little over the counter ones, basically benadryl. You're not drugged as much as zoned out. although benadryl (diphenhydromine) effects everyone differently. some people it zones out, others it wires....so take some at home so you know how it effects you.

chamomile tea also works.

Apparently, we've never done anything right.

For AT3, we arrived at the hotel at about 3 or 4 and had to get ready for the cocktail party. AT4, we arrived in London at around 9 in the morning at stayed up all day sightseeing before going to bed. Both times, we were up for about 40 hours before sleeping (except for little cat naps on the planes). Both trips were a whirlwind of activity for a week and then the flight home. Out of sorts for about a day after getting home, which makes all that unpacking and doing laundry lots of fun. Luckily, I'm good at functioning pretty well with half a brain.

[Chelle DB]

what i do when i fly to london from the US, well I never sleep on the plane. and once I get to england, might take a little nap (depends on when your flight arrives) but not a long one...if you get to the uK after about 4pm or so, just stay up a few hours and go to bed around 9pm, sleepin a bit.
if you get in in the early am, take a nap for a couple of hours, then stay awake and go to bed at hte normal time, trying to keep to as normal of a sleep cycle as possible.
and i agree with drinking plenty.
and, if you have trouble sleeping, sleeping pills are your friend. after a week's sleep deprivation at a gatecon, I don't travel without them. these are the little over the counter ones, basically benadryl. You're not drugged as much as zoned out. although benadryl (diphenhydromine) effects everyone differently. some people it zones out, others it wires....so take some at home so you know how it effects you.
chamomile tea also works.

i didn't have a problem going to the uk, it was the trip home that made me "laggy". and no problem sleeping ... the problem is staying awake. i dozed off putting gas in my car this afternoon. pretty pathetic.

I found going to the destination didn't affect me but coming home was hard.
We left around midnight from Melbourne and landed in the morning in Germany. I did squeeze in a few nanna naps along the way however so felt quite good when we finally arrived.
Coming home, I left Germany around 9pm and landed in Melbourne around 10am...3 days later...2 stop overs on the way home but I didn't sleep at all. So when I got home the intention was to not sleep but my eyes closed on their own..I couldn't stop it if I wanted to. I got a few hours in then slept all night and was up at the crack of dawn the next morning. Jet lag wasn't too bad after that.
I also think that a lot of the tiredness was due to all the fun had while away and how eventually that fun adrenaline wore off and the body just said sleep.

[mthet]

Weekend of Many Hugs

Auction for S4K: http://forums.gabitevents.com/viewtopic.php?t=1336

If it's already been posted then I'm sorry.
But you should be away bidding and not here to see it twice;-)

[antoa]

I do most of those tips or tricks and still have a hell of a time with jet lag. Going to London I can fall asleep at night just fine (at 11 or midnight which is my usual time at home), but then I am wide awake in 2-4 hours because my body thinks it was an afternoon nap. I am then up all day at the con or sightseeing (hooray for tea!).

Coming home I struggle for days staying up past 8pm no matter when I wake up in the morning.

I usually take an advil PM on my flight there (10 hours direct red-eye from LA - take off at 7pm and land at 1pm) and sleep a bit, though I do stay awake for the meals. I drink plenty of water and do some ankle exercises and such and get up out of my seat a couple times. I also take another advil PM when I go to sleep the first night in London, but I still wake up after just a 'nap.'

I think I have just accepted the fact that I am not one to adjust easily. I know I had a hell of a time when I was working third shift. Even after a year of that, I never felt fully rested.