The next challenge was pain from the mask. I think I put it on too tightly, and also I think I wasn’t used to it so the muscles in my face were tensing weirdly. I spent a bunch of the flight sort of meditating and relaxing my face muscles. This eventually became tolerable.
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I learned during this time that as cabin pressure changes, the airtight seal from the mask leads to changes in pressure inside the mask. I solved this by occasionally lifting the mask a few millimeters from my face to equalize the pressure. I did this during takeoff and landing.
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I had a brief layover halfway through. I found an isolated spot and adjusted the mask for a few sec to have it be looser while still having the airtight seal. This was much better. All told, I had the mask lifted in some way for less than 30 sec for the entire 8 hour trip.
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While waiting to re-board, I tried to see how people were reacting to my crazy getup. A little staring, but not much. In fact, people seemed very positive and supportive. When we got back on the plane, the flight attendants recognized me and one happily exclaimed “Hazmat!!”
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Overall, the sense I got is that people actually cared about being safe, but a lot of the rules didn't make sense to them and they weren't happy about having to follow them. But when they saw me, they were like “this guy is DOING IT” and were pretty happy about that.
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After we took off again, I started to worry about whether I had been in the gas mask too long. I wondered, am I becoming lightheaded? Or do I just *think* I’m becoming lightheaded? The instructions didn’t *say* there was a problem wearing this for 8 hours…
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Ultimately that was fine too. The trip passed uneventfully, we landed, I disembarked, and then I got to my favorite part of the trip which was *taking off the mask*…pic.twitter.com/Xln6KgrbGy
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I walked to a hotel where I had rented a room. I changed, bagged my gear, showered, and then got picked up by aunt. Here's some evidence the mask was too tight:pic.twitter.com/WZyM2tTfgz
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We made it to my mom’s house, and she was really happy to see me and has been really happy I’ve been here. So it’s great. Here’s a picture of me with my nephew at my mom’s house.pic.twitter.com/MuAo7j3KoA
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Total trip score: 5/5, would recommend to a friend. Definitely got half of my Bioshock life experience points or something.
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thank you so much for sharing Geoff! I had a half face mask and felt weird in January / February. still did it. I think you did the right thing
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