Indonesian version, click here

7:30 am, the alarm rang. I woke up and glanced to it.

Arrrgh, what it is all about? Too early to wake up! I need more sleep!

I came back to sleep and more than an hour later the story of my day began…..

It’s 8:40 in the morning!!!! And where am I? Still in bed. What day is today? Tuesday! Oh, my flight is taking off at 10:23 am and is scheduled to board by 9:53 am. Should I just forget this trip? Perhaps so. Oh, perhaps not.

Achy body. Big headache. Upset stomach. I was staying up until 5am to work on one article the other day. Super procrastinator! I finished the first draft, though the conclusions are still all over the place. Still have to work on it today and tomorrow. Deadline, that line, death-line. Wrong strategy. I should have known that I wasn’t supposed to do it like that. I hadn’t done such thing for such a long time (not since I had that break, definitely). As a consequence, yesterday was spent in bed. I was sick like a dog. Let alone packing. I missed my meals. I even missed my coffee, something that’s so impossible. And I missed Dr House too (any House yesterday?)! Oh!

Slowly trying to get up and in 10 minutes or so I found myself standing in front of the mirror. I didn’t look good. Looking more like a green monster. And the next five-seven minutes later was spent loosing cookies on the white bowl. Yikes.

Rethinking about this trip to Seattle. I didn’t feel good enough to go and most likely, 90% chance, I’d miss the flight. Perhaps I should just cancel the trip. But you all know me, I never cancel the trip before it cancels itself! At least I should try. And this is a big thing in my life. One of those big things. US government’s invitation. Keynote speech. My first keynote in the United States. And I am one of only two most important keynotes in that event. My ego is just too big. Yes, my swollen head wouldn’t let me cancel the trip.

OK, I am going. I must go. I have to. No matter what.

I then started packing. Cannot be categorized as packing, really. It‘s more like throwing stuff to the suitcase. Two blouses, one skirt, one pair of long pants, one pair of short pants, and some underwear. That’s it. Don’t forget one transparent bag of lotion, toothpaste and the gang. I put my laptop and a camera in my backpack. That’s it. Ten minutes later, packing was done.

I still had time to make my coffee. So I did, while calling Taxi Express Ali to come to pick me. Ali’s company is usually good. I asked the receptionist to come really fast.

Like now, right away!

Waiting, waiting, waiting. Twenty minutes later, 9:40 am, and the taxi was still nowhere. Calling the company again and someone told me that the taxi would come in 3 minutes. And yes, it did come. More than 3 minutes, though.

A big guy with a pony tail smiled and opened the door. I got in to the taxi and he started driving right away.

How are you doing today?
Fine, I guess, except that I am late for my flight.
Oh, airport. What time is your flight?
10:23. It’s boarding in 10 minutes.
Oh, I’ll try my best. You don’t have check-in luggage don’t you?
Nope and I have had my boarding pass.
OK, I’ll try to get there before 10.

The next 10 minutes, as you can imagine, I was in a little suspense. Just a little. I guess I get used to suspense that it does do much anymore to me.

It was quite a good trip. No traffic. Nice driver who used to be a jet pilot. He knew his way around. But even if he were the nicest taxi driver in Arizona, or even in the world, that didn’t change the fact that my flight had started boarding!

9:55 am, my heart started beating… Would I make it to fly today?

to be continued……click for part 2