Summary

A mother and daughter save money by taking a red-eye flight, leading to a humorous and challenging journey as they navigate fatigue and set up a new apartment.

Abstract

In an effort to save $500 on airfare, the author and her daughter choose a red-eye flight, sacrificing sleep and embarking on a comical adventure. They face the exhausting consequences of sleep deprivation, likening themselves to zombies as they retrieve their luggage, drive to the daughter's new apartment, and shop for essentials. Despite the challenges, they find joy in setting up the apartment and create memorable experiences, though the author ultimately decides against taking red-eye flights in the future due to the toll on their health and well-being.

Opinions

The author initially underestimates the impact of a red-eye flight on their ability to function.
Sleep deprivation is compared to feeling like a zombie, emphasizing the exhaustion experienced.
The author expresses that the struggle of not sleeping is not worth the monetary savings.
There is a positive sentiment towards Trader Joe's products, particularly the face wash, which is seen as a cost-effective and non-toxic alternative to other options.
The author values the time spent with her daughter and the bonding experience despite the exhaustion.
The article ends with a humorous tone, questioning the quality of writing while in a zombie-like state and inviting readers to subscribe for more stories.

Walking Around As a Zombie Will Save You a Buck

The tale of a red eye

Disclaimer- Zombies don’t write as well as rested humans, so read at your own risk!

Flying across the country is expensive right now. I mean, come on, flying or driving anywhere costs a fortune.

So, when I noticed the price difference of $250 a ticket for day travel versus a red eye, I opted to save the $500 on plane flights for my daughter and me.

It’s just one day out of my life. We can deal with no sleep, I thought.

I remind myself that I would go several nights without much sleep when I was drinking. Alcohol started affecting me in weird ways.

We left Los Angeles at 9 pm and landed in Hartford at 5 am.

2 am our time.

What the hell were we going to do until things opened? I didn’t really think this through.

After a restless 5-hour flight of trying to sleep and never succeeding, we manage to get our limbs down to the baggage claim where we need to shlep 6 bags on a cart to the rental car facility.

It was a challenge.

Usually, I am strong and feel great, unless I don’t sleep. I think this is why I obsess about sleep so much.

The feeling of not sleeping sucks.

You want to shake it off but you are stuck with it until you can eventually fall asleep.

Off in the rental car we went, my daughter and I, two women that were on their way to being real live zombies. Our breed of zombies needed some caffeine, stat.

We had an hour’s drive ahead of us to my daughter’s new apartment.

We realized that we could hang out there, in a bare apartment, until Target opened at 8 am. Excitement set in as we drove through the lush landscape of New England.

A peace swept through the car and we didn’t think about being tired in anticipation of seeing where she will be living for the next year.

Being amongst all the greenery helped, too.

I tripped when we got out of the car, but caught myself before really messing my face up like a zombie. She unlocks the lockbox and wallah!

A cute, fresh, and empty apartment.

She ran through it like a kind in a candy store. My little adult still seems so small sometimes.

We muster up some strength and empty some boxes into the apartment. I unpack the bed in a box, which is a genius idea by the way, so that it can puff all the way up for her to sleep soundly tomorrow.

After the heavy exertion of energy, we are hit like a brick. It is only 7:30 am.

4:30 am our time with not an ounce of sleep. Good times.

I take a deep breath. We can do this!

She locks up the apartment and we head off to Target. We arrive a few minutes too early and wait to be let in.

Is it black Friday without the people? Zombie mode was starting to rear its ugly head.

It takes us about 40 minutes to load up the cart with the apartment essentials, we forgot things of course, and decide that we need to hit up Trader Joe’s, as well.

While in Trader Joe's, we hit a wall.

We couldn’t even speak to each other. We might as well have been walking with one eye open and our arms stretched out in front of us.

As we look into each other's red bloodshot eyes, we forget what we were going to buy in Trader Joe's. We didn’t have a list either.

With no list, no memory, and a few zombies walking mindlessly around Trader Joe's, we managed to throw some snacks into the cart.

Oh yes, Trader Joe’s face wash. We passed by it and threw that in the cart.

Side note: Trader Joe’s facewash works great and it’s only $5.99 compared to all the toxic facewash options at Target that are $13+.

Now, the time is 8:30 am and what the hell were we going to do until we could check into our hotel?

Is it safe to drive if you are a zombie?

We decided to head back to the empty apartment to rest until we got the call that our hotel room was ready.

We crossed our fingers that we’d get the early check-in that I begged for!

Did you know that a red-eye flight can be bad for your health if you don’t sleep? That’s what a zombie googles at 9 am after a red eye.

Obviously, it’s not great for your health to miss a night of sleep. Hopefully, we didn’t do too much damage being zombies.

At 10 am our hotel was ready, we were yearning for naps, and barely made it up to the bed before flopping straight down to get some much-needed sleep.

I saved $500, made some fun zombie memories with my daughter, but vow not to take a red-eye flight again.

Zombies don’t write as well as rested humans, but how did I do?

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Thanks for reading!

Much love, Michele