Oh my goodness. That was crazy! I think Troy may be on to something when he says it’s physically impossible for me to get anywhere on time. Haha.
The last several times (okay, every time) we’ve gone on a trip where he leaves from work and I meet him on the train, I get there right before the train leaves. No, once I got there super early because I was afraid I’d miss the train. Since then, I almost have EVERY TIME.
Today was no different.
It’s not like I had a ton to do and just ran out of time. I actually had plenty of time. I did my hour and a half at the gym, did my physical therapy stretches, washed the dishes, tanned by the pool for two hours, got lunch in Little India and stopped by the grocery store so we’d have juice on Sunday. Oh, and I picked up Troy’s laundry as well as returned some tupperware. That took me up until about 3:30pm. The train didn’t leave until 5:43.
So, why, then, did I have to run to the train and beg two people in the ticket line to let me cut so I wouldn’t miss the train?
Cuz ever since I got to Malaysia I can’t seem to manage my time. Troy says I was bad with time in Oklahoma, too. I was a little. But I was always to work and church on time 95% of the time. I just never seemed to get to Troy’s house when I said I would. I’d say I’d be there in 20 minutes and I’d be there in 40. I think my problem was that I wasn’t taking into account traffic and that I was never leaving ‘right that moment’.
And the problem seems to have amplified since we got here.
I think it’s because I don’t really have any real time commitments. We’re on time to church most weeks (the first few weeks we kept getting lost) and I’ve not been late to my teaching class yet, so I CAN get myself to be on time if it’s important.
Unless it involves the train. Then I have to make a mad dash because I’ve waited until the last possible minute and will miss the train unless I move like a track star. And I guess my brain computes that this is okay because I’ve done it like this for all but the first trip we did this way. I showed up about 10 minutes early for the train that time and every time since I get there just before the doors close and the train takes off.
Today I just about had a heart attack because I was running so late. I’d planned on leaving at 5:20 to catch the 5:43 train. Originally, we’d planned on me taking an earlier train and I was going to leave at 4:30. When 4:30 rolled around, I panicked because I thought I had to leave right then. I rushed around to lock up my laptop, get the cat fed and make sure all the power switches and AC units were off. Then I remembered I didn’t have to leave for another 50 minutes and I went back to writing a blog on my computer.
That was a bad idea. I always lose track of time when I write. I finished the blog I’d been working on and started another one, only to realize at 5:25 that I needed to bold or I’d miss the train. I double-checked everything again, fed Sadie and took off.
THEN, the stupid wheel on my suitcase just completely broke and I had to struggle pulling it down the sidewalk. The wheel has been bent for a while, but it rolls most of the time. This time, it just completely bent sideways and refused to roll. I ended up getting to the train station at 5:40 and was so worried about missing the train that I asked the two people in front of me if I could cut so I didn’t miss the train. They were very kind and let me go ahead of them. They probably thought I was just a totally crazy white person who panics about everything. Boy, did I feel silly when I saw both of those people on the same train later.
I almost had another heart attack when I was going down the escalator to the train. There was a blind guy and a security person escorting him and they were blocking the entire escalator, so I couldn’t continue my dash down it. I mean, really, how rude would it be to knock the blind guy aside as I dart down the stairs? So, I waited behind him and felt my heart drop as the train doors close. I was so thankful when a passenger pushed a button inside the train to open the doors again. People here really are accommodating to the blind population, which is very refreshing.
So, thanks to those people opening the doors back up for the blind guy and those two people letting me cut in line, I was able to make my train, meet up with Troy and get on our way. We’re off to the Perhentian Islands to do some snorkeling and relaxing this weekend and it gives me great relief that, once again, Troy will never know how close I always am to missing the train when I go on my own.
