Avoiding jet lag.

In answering a myspace survery, it asked if I had ever been awake 48 hours.

I have not (that I recall), but I've been awake 40 hours. It was when I flew to Switzerland to visit my sister in May 1999. I left Chicago in the early evening hours (6pm?) and arrived in Switzerland around 11 am (4am CDT?).

I really though I was going to die from tired, but Meg wouldn't let me sleep. She dragged me around Geneve and also the little town she lived in (can't remember the name right now), on the train and off the train, over hill and dale, sightseeing, avoiding squishing the snails that inhabit the Swiss sidewalks like acorns.

There's a picture of me at about 36 hours. It's dreadful. I'll post it if I can find it.

Finally, we ate Swiss fondue for dinner and she let me go to sleep. I slept 12 hours, woke up in the morning and never though about jet lag a single minute more my whole trip.

So, apparently (and as trip advisors concur) the trick is to get yourself on the local schedule as soon as possible. Don't take a nap, no matter how wretched you look in your first-day, haven't-showered, vacation pictures.

Because, ahhh, there's nothing like having your picture taken on a lovely Swiss town hill with sailboats out on the lake...looking like hell...