Varalotti in the US -3 - Will You Fly With Me?

I am not a globe-trotter and cannot be one even in my wildest dreams. But jetlag is not new to me. When I travelled to Europe I had a five and a half hours jet-lag which sort of put me down for two days, either way. India-Singapore jetlag is just about three and a half hours and can be slept off in one morning.

With the US being twelve and a half hours behind Indian time, people down there had scared me enough. My company had provided a three-day allowance for my sleeping through it.

But typical of myself I naively thought, afterall, it happens to other ordinary mortals and not to Varalotti.

When my plane landed at Seattle, US it was almost 5 in the Evening and my body clock was at 5:30 AM. My friend was there to receive me at the airport.

We went home had a nice south Indian dinner and went to bed. Got up at 7 in the morning feeling refreshed. Around 8 when we were cruising on my friends Volvo in the I-90 Higway, from Issaquah to Bellevue, I lifted my collars up in pride, for had I not won over the jet lag with just a normal night's sleep?

As soon as my work station was set up I sent mails all around proclaiming my victory over jet lag. Only one Ilite, I think it was Vandhana, gently warned me that JL could attack anytime. When I am hale and hearty, working and hyper-active, I thought Jetlag had no place in my system.

But Vandhana's prophecy came true. At around 3 in the afternoon on my first day at work, I suddenly felt extraordinarily sleepy and could not focus on what I was doing.

It was a sunny day. So I took a brisk walk around the office compound. Then did it again. Went to the rest room and splashed my face with gallons and gallons of ice hold water. Wiped my face with a lot of tissues and came back to my seat. I felt even more sleepier.


Nothing helped. I was immobilised for a while before I decided to pack for the day. Back home I felt a little relaxed, had my food and went to bed early. Though there was a mild setback I thought that the eventual victory was mine.

Morning dawned. The same I-90, the same Volvo, and the same proud Varalotti strapped in the passenger seat. Working furiously till 3 in the afternoon.

But around 3:30 jet lag hit me again with the force of a hurricane. Walk and wash routine was of no help. Had to stop work.

On the third day at work it was at its worst. Went home early and by six in the evening went to bed. Woke up around 8 for a dinner and then to bed again by 10.

"Varalotti, you are wasting the time of 10000 plus ladies with your egotistic description of your lousy jet lag. What is so special about that?"

Nothing, ladies, Nothing. Except the powerful lesson hidden inside this ordinary day-to-day experience.

God thinks that I will be never too old to learn Her lessons. And so She sends hard-to-learn lessons my way, every now and then.

My jetlag experience reminded me of many things. I have seen people addicted to alchohol or tobacco. They naively think that the habit is under their control and they can kick off their habit any time. Sadly, it is not so. I have seen some of my friends and acquaintances dying at pretty early age (one guy with two kids died when he was hardly 40, thanks to excessive drinking; he was confident of kicking off the habit when he turned 45. He never turned 40) because they could not come out of the hell.Reason: they underestimate the power of the addictive force as I underestimated the power of jet lag.

Worse still is the case of people who are caught in an affair. These people have a hundred reasons to justify their extra-marital relationship. And boast that they can come out of it any time they want. Some even come out of their affairs for a while. But soon they are depressed and drawn to old ways.

The problem: underestimating the enemy.

I am also used to people who think that they can kick off their anger or road-rage just by a few days of meditation. Poor souls, they don't know that at times it takes a couple of life-times to come out of anger or hatred.

In retrospect after having learnt this lesson, Jetlag appears to be a blessing that God sent my way.

Varalotti Sir,
I think you are learning lessons day-to day from different things and also make us learn and think the same way. Hats off to you!
Sriniketan

dear sridhar,
we need not go all the way to US to know this, all MNC night shift guys will tell you how they love to sleep it off, the minute they can get some time to, though they go there.

yesterday my sis son ajit's birthday and we had gone with a cake to wish him at 12 in the night, and i sat there wondering how india has changed, because the entire buildings busy and so many employees putting in their sleep to back bench and my son has forgotten to take even dinner, wondered what happened to the bell in the stomach, even that has gone for a toss, along with their other commitments, some time while working from home, they leave the laptop on and sleep, when the message comes up calling them immediately they shake up and go about explaining whatever they have been assigned for.

entire india wherever there is a night shift job we have people having problem focusing and walk around like zombies and a plethora of side effects, which reaches to the sterility..sunkan

hello sir,

thank you very much for a brief info about jet lag. it was indeed a great and different experience those who fly miles. i really wonder at the ability of people who fly very often.

regards,

vanaja

Sriniketan,
Thanks for your kind words. We are all born in this world only to learn, to love and to learn to love. For that all of us should love to learn.
regards,

dear sundari,
you have raised another moot point. Yes what you say is true. The circardian rhythms of the call centre guys are quite screwed up. But it is one thing to hear about night-shifts, but it is a totally different thing to experience it for one self.
And there is another subtle difference as well. When Bangalore call centre guys work in the night, it is really night outside and they force themselves to remain awake. But in a jet lag there is a clear contradiction. Your body tells you that it is night, where as outside it is a hot sunny day. You and more than you, your body is confused. That makes jet lag a different and many times a testing experience.

And it is a very nice gesture on your part to have gone with a cake for Ajith's birthday.
regards,

Thanks Vanaja for the kind words.
regards,

Dear Sridhar,
One of my FIL's friend returned from a trip to Germany. He wanted to conquer the jetlag and so went off to work in his scooter the same morning he arrived. He might have travelled only 2 kms from home and his eyes got shut without asking him permission. He drove his vehicle straight on the tamarind tree which was on the right side of the road. He had to undergo multiple surgeries on the head and spend nearly one year convalescing. He is hale and healthy now and travels to US twice annually but always respects the JL now.
I feel it is better own up defeat and surrunder to jetlag! Do take care.

Dear Varloo,
Your Fil's friend's experience is quite sobering. There is no need to own up defeat. But just acknowledge its full strength and give adequate allowance for it.
The lesson to be learnt is that many of us underplay our enemy's strengths and carry much less ammunition to fight. That way we get defeated and crushed even before we know that.
Thanks Varloo for the post. You too take care.
regards,

I am one of those who does not pay much attention to jet lag I am not trying to defy any nature's law nor trying to be a super woman....that I am not! May be the memories of a jet lag is not too strong in my mind. I feel a 7-8 hr time difference can be quickly conquered. When it goes beyond that, that's when the j-lag really kiscks in...my feeling. When I used to visit India from Europe, my enthusiasm to catch up with everything and everyone used to be so strong that I used to fight off the sleep without much effort. But then, may be I did make up for the loss with afternoon naps and deepest of sleeps in the night:)
Another interesting observation from you Sridhar, I am waiting for the next one

L, Kamla