Now I know how the other half lives...

2:28PM CDT

I’ve probably flown close to 500 flights in my life, most for business purposes, and most have been in coach. I have been fortunate enough to sit in business class many times. However, I’ve have never sat in First Class on a plane that had three classes of service. Today that changed, unfortunately for me, it was on a flight that was on 800 miles long.

I’m sitting in seat 4J on a Boeing 777 (Triple-7, for those in the know), My seating area is bigger than the guest bathroom in my house. I have an ottoman – yes, an ottoman. I have a desk with a chair that swivels 90 degrees. Most importantly (especially for a longer flight), my chair opens flat into a bed for sleeping. It is really the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. Now my brain is working to see how I can get into first class where I could really use it – that long flight to Delhi. American calls it Flagship Suite, and it is unreal.

Interestingly enough, the pilot just gave us some interesting numbers. The plane will be traveling at 670 miles per hour at 49,000 feet and our takeoff weight was over 430,000 pounds (I think that is what he said).

3:16PM CDT

I worked on e-mail during this flight, and eliminated about 450. Unfortunately, most of these did not require any action on my part. Obviously, the remainder will require more work. My battery has 69% power left, which is over 2 hours. I have another battery, but I think by the time I land in Delhi, they’ll both be dead.

4:35PM CDT

Sitting in the Admirals Club at O'Hare. Since I'm platinum level on American Airlines, I'm entitled to get into the club when I travel internationally. They have relatively inexpensive Wf-Fi here, so I'm connected. Gonna send my e-mail, finds some gnosh to pick on, and call home. My head is pounding (think it's sinuses, since I woke up like that), and already wish I was home.

SL