Laura’s Blog

Today is my first full day in Australia. I arrived at 6:30 AM after a six-hour flight from Singapore, and my main agenda for today is staying awake until it gets dark. To that end, I’ve found it’s good to keep busy. Every time I stop my momentum, a wave of exhaustion sweeps over me. […]

After an all night flight, I stumbled out of the cramped coach compartment at 11 AM local time into the shiny megacity that is Singapore’s Changi Airport. The size and scale of the place is staggering. Think of the biggest mall you’ve ever been in and inflate it ten times in size. This sprawling shopping

When I woke up on Singapore Air Flight #001 out of a drugged sleep, it was 10 AM by my watch, but pitch black outside the window. After a very cramped night’s “sleep” (if you can call it that) in economy class (any semblance of sleep made possible with the help of two Valium, two

When I got to the airport in San Francisco at 9:30 PM, ready to check in (and wait) for a 1:15 AM departure, I made my way up to the ticket counter and was immediately relieved that my bags were not overweight. The agent took my passport and my ticket but then she kept typing

Many of you are already familiar with my 85-year-old mother, Temme, who I moved out to California four years ago. She lives in Sunshine Villa, an assisted living facility about ten minutes from our house. Yesterday the last thing I did after all my errands and the final check of my bags was to go

There is something very satisfying and freeing about all the last minute things that need to be done before a trip: Now all I have to do is go for one last visit with my mother and get a really, really short no-muss, no-fuss hair cut. And have dinner with my family—and then off to

My favorite part of getting ready for this trip (aside from picking up a very thick wad of brightly colored Balinese rupiah at the bank) has been saying “no.” For the past few weeks, I’ve been divesting myself of obligations and saying no to new work, new projects, new requests, and new ideas: “No, I’m