balik kampung

i woke up this morning at 9 AM, but it was dark out, my bed was cramped and uneven and there were people all around me asleep in the dark. this happens to me every few months, i find myself waking up in a strange place with no idea of where in the world i am. i have gotten so used to it that the events have become almost a ritual. they are nearly the same each time, but not quite. the people i wake up with are never the same, even the bed changes. why do i let this happen to me? because i need to go home.

i woke up on a plane headed to paris for a 12 hour transit and then on to the US. when i boarded the plane i was in 1C, but as i was standing and waiting, an attractive indian woman who i have seen in my second favorite KL cafe, asked me to change seats with her. my seat mate was a friend of hers and if i moved they could work together during the flight. the pitch was just believable enough that i agreed before i could think the consequences through. her seat was 5C, which is a row added behind the business galley that shares a wall with economy.

i probably would have moved either way, but i should have taken the time to do the math. if i had not moved i would have been using the full-size head near the cockpit. i realized this while i was using the the chick-coup sized head near my new seat. bathrooms that allow you to change to your pajamas with room left over are a luxury that i have learned to enjoy and search out on long flights.

sitting in front would also have left me isolated from the crying child sitting immediately behind me in the first economy row. i am pretty sure the baby was the reason the woman wanted to move in the first place. she, the baby not the lady, was crying when i took took the new seat, and i figured it out immediately that i had been conned. but babies cry, and being cramped on a flight is almost enough to get me to emotionally flare, so i try to not let the crying bother me. rather than going and asking for my seat back i thought it was better that i was there, rather than someone who would be upset by it the entire flight. who wants the negative vibes of tear induced frustration flowing around the plane.

so here i am sitting in a lounge in paris. it's a rainy day, so the idea of taking the train down to the city has been altered. i am going to read, write, do work email and maybe code for the next few hours. it took me three terminal changes to find my gate, three seat changes to find power points that worked, but i have surprisingly free network access and a mostly comfortable leather seat. i have also just bumped into another pseudo-star on a business trip. i was sitting two seats away from a highly recognizable actor from the bond movies of my youth. i didn't know who it was before he stood up, i was focused on his indian companion, but at 7 feet tall he stood out in the crowd.

why am i spending this much time, money and effort to move myself halfway around the world? why is my back aching, my body clock completely out of alignment and my schedule blown for 2 full days? to attend meetings on planning for next year and kick off projects, of course. also to see my kids, get some music, sleep in my own bed, drive a car i like, go to my favorite chinese/sushi place and have other comforts i miss while on the other side of the world.

this is why anyone would go home isn't it?