Over February break, I was lucky enough to take a 10-day trip to Europe with four friends. I'm not an experienced flyer, and the slightest turbulence can set me into a hyperventilating state of panic. Needless to say, sleep doesn't come easily to me, which can pose a problem on seven-hour flight over the Atlantic, especially when your travel partners are sound asleep for the majority of it. I was left to my own devices for the long and tenuous journey. Even the man who selected me for a random luggage search before boarding the plane commented on how I bored I would be on such a long flight. I reassured him that I was flying with an arsenal of friends, who would surely provide ample entertainment. Cut to an hour later, when I'm counting the amount of zigzags on the seat in front of me. Here are a few other suggestions on how to keep yourself from shaking your neighbors awake in a plea for conversation.

One fun activity is to write short stories about awkward interactions between strangers you observe and feel weird watching but can't stop. An excerpt from one of mine: "The boy stood in the narrow passage leading from first class to coach. The lavatory was occupied and so he waited, mouth slightly agape, upper lit jutting out over his nearly bucked teeth. His resemblance to the young boy in Bad Santa was uncanny. A flight attendant, male, stood with a beverage cart around the corner of the doorway, looking slightly perturbed at the completely oblivious child, who had taken to swaying slightly from foot to foot, perhaps in an effort to keep from urinating on himself. The flight attendant didn't say a thing, but his expression spoke volumes."

Another fun game is to read all of the ingredients on the measly snack packs that are given out, and make up definitions for the ones you've never heard of. This activity is very easy and time-consuming on foods such as yogurt-covered "raisins." Or you can make puppets out of the vomit bags and put on puppet shows for small children sitting behind you. A foolproof activity is to take unattractive pictures of your friends sleeping. Or, depending your level of skill, draw portraits and sign each one. Place them on the tables in front of each friend to see when they wake up.

Read the SkyMall magazine and make up identities of people who would want the items. Seriously, what kind of person would order a handcrafted oak media cabinet for $279? Or a "Life Is a Journey" bracelet for $36.95? It's up to you to decide. A mother with short, highlighted brown hair, wearing tapered khakis and a pastel pink sweater set who is flying home with her scrap book group from a convention in South Carolina? Yes.

Peg flight attendants' personalities based on their ostentatious watches and facial hair before they even ask you what sort of beverage you want. Watch: Bulky, oversized, black leather watch band complete with silver studs and gothic crosses. Facial hair: Severe, narrow bleached goatee beard and thin moustache. Personality: The kind who screams "Beverage? Beverage?" in a nasally voice two inches away from your face when you are attempting to sleep, or who pauses a mere half a second with the rubbish bag, barely giving you time to stuff your can in your cup.

If you are feeling especially desperate, you can always struggle with a Sudoku in one of the airline magazines for 25 minutes before realizing you don't even know how to pronounce the name, let alone add numbers in some wackadoo fashion. After giving up on the brain teaser, you can try a slightly easier game, which involves staring at the people on either side of you and seeing how long it takes them to sense your gaze and wake up. Or time how long you can bare to watch the same episode of Everybody Loves Raymond or Two and a Half Men before tearing the tiny television screen out of the seat in front of you and throwing it out the emergency exit, even if it means taking the plane down with it.

Day dream about what first class must be like.

Whisper sweet nothings in your seatmate's ears and see if they respond in a dreamlike trance. Glare jealously at the person sitting diagonally from you with a video iPod propped up on its own little stand.

Try to figure out how wearing a seat belt would serve any purpose in the event of a crash. Or how having your seat in the upright position is important, for that matter, when you take off or land.

By the time you've tried all of the suggestions, it should be time to land. Slap your travel mates awake, throw your seat in its upright position, and share with them the stationary adventure you enjoyed without them.