(Part 1) 19th October 2006 -- Goodbye, Singapore! Hello,13 hour flight!!

The best laid plans...

I planned to go to work to do wrap up and handover to my colleague and make sure she got some stuff to do while I was away. I targeted to leave the office by 2pm. I was there till 4.30pm! Horrors! And i still had some basic stuff i hadn't finalised in my packing. ( The final bits you think you can leave till the last minute, like labelling your bag, writing in emergency contact person details, separating your $$. etc.)

But here's the problem, my flight was at 7.55pm. And that excludes check-in time! But thank God I was calm. haha...But i think it's due to good training under work circumstances!! Well, you see, my work involves ad-hoc seminars, meetings, talks...and after a year of experiencing the one-woman show...I learned that there's never much point to panic. Just keep moving and doing what you need to do. Some things will likely be left/ missed out. Be you just react when they crop up. Meanwhile keep a level head and do what you can. Panicking means you'll probably end up not being able to do everything. As your mind will be racing around.

And as you do the task, stop looking at the time constantly. It never helps! Check periodically, but not every minute! =) I guess another way to look at is -- be steady!

I had almost forgotten to bring a photo of my dog, Red and scrambled for one as the taxi pulled up my front door. Mum took the cab with me...as proof that I would sure forget something was when she asked me..."Have you bought your travel insurance?" ...Opps!

But honestly i wasn't too worried about it. There were still internet stations in the departure area. However, I took the opportunity to get my mum to settle it..hahaha...as i travelled to the airport, i started realising I'd forgotten things...these were not necessary items, but would be nice to have.

E.g. 1) you sure to laugh --- I painstakingly chose to lug my MP3 player charger on the trip and...I FORGOT to bring the PLAYER!!! sigh...and it's not something you can just dump on the trip! i have to bring it back!

2) I wanted to bring a soft toy dog as a mascot/ travel companion. This would help me take photos too...it's not easy taking solo shots. Well,..the dog never left my bed! hahaha...

Well I made it and checked in at 6.50pm. One hour before the flight...decent timing..usually the check-in counter opens 2 hours before correect?... I can't be the last a get a lousy seat right?

WRONG!...As I said...the best laid plans...hahaha...(to be continued...)