gunrunners104’s Neighborhood

While waiting for my luggage last night...

I lay in bed wide awake, glancing at the time every now and then.

Then there's a loud scrape on the floor above me. Like someone was moving the table across the room.

I was so tired, angry and frustrated I could not shed tears anymore. I was trying to sleep and there was this sound coming from above. At past midnight. Who would be happy?

I had called the airport earlier and was told that my luggage had been dispatched at 11pm.

Then why the hell has it not arrived yet at 1am?

Another loud scrape. Is it a table? Or a chair? Or the bed?

It was nearing 2am already.

Jesus, what's he/she doing over there? One more time... and I'm going to call that bloody room.

LOUD SCRAPE.

That's it!

I dialed the room number and a soft male voice answers, I could hear music in the background.

"Hi, sorry to bother you. I'm staying in the room below you. I'm just wondering... are you moving things around your room?"

"...not really." I could sense from his voice that he was puzzled over this call.

"But I can hear the floor scraping."

"People screaming?"

"No... just some loud scraping on the floor. Nevermind, sorry to bother you."

At least after that call, the sound ceased. Maybe he got the message finally.

But my luggage has not arrived yet (it arrived at bloody 3am).

Anyway, fast forward to lunch today.

I was seated across German AH. We met in Beijing last year, which he also coordinated and he was even nice enough to fetch me from the airport then since I was arriving a day earlier than the others.

We started talking about my lost luggage and I was telling him I barely had sleep. All of a sudden, he asked: "(Yupki), which floor are you on?"

I told him my floor and we looked at each other and burst out laughing.

I didn't know whether to be embarrassed or what. "Oh my god, you were the one who got that call last night?"

"I knew it was you... I thought the voice sounded familiar," he said.

"Sorry but I was really annoyed with the luggage and all last night."

"I know... I was moving around on my chair a lot while chatting on MSN and I realised it does really make a loud sound."

"So now you know who stays below you, can you keep quiet?" Nope, I didn't say that. It was just a thought bubble.

I don't know what the moral of this story is aside from not staying in an Indonesian hotel where the walls and floors are apparently thinner (the argument is it has lesser chances of being bombed if we stay in a local hotel than at a Western one).

I badly need sleep.

With all due respect to my Malaysian friends... your flag carrier sucks BIG TIME.
Okay, it's not entirely their fault that instead of going to Jakarta direct from Bangkok, I had to pass through KL.
That is the doing of this very stingy foundation that's sending me here in Jakarta.
But MH owes me a three other passengers big time.
First, the flight was delayed for three hours. At check-in, we were informed it would be delayed for 45 minutes. Minutes have passed since the re-scheduled take-off and there was no one, not a single soul from MH, at the gate to inform the passengers there were new changes.
This time, the flight would be delayed for another two hours +, or a total of three hours.
Sure, they provided lunch vouchers and immediately moved my connecting flight to the next available one.
I had to change time zones twice since leaving Bangkok and by the time I was en route to Jakarta, I was confused. I barely had five minutes to transfer to the gate for Jakarta and by the time the plane was taking off, I was still in the loo (I have to include this detail to show it was really a trip from hell) thanks to two glasses of water I downed. It barely even registered to me if I was on the right flight, worrying I might end up in Bali, instead of Jakarta.
And just as I was being rushed through the gate for my Jakarta flight, I asked the MH staff if my luggage was transferred.
"It's no problem ma'am since the planes are just next to each other."
A businessman from Germany with the same predicament as me said he just hoped we won't have a problem with the luggage by the time we reach Jakarta.
He could not have been further from the truth.
Finally, arriving in Jakarta 10 hours later, I stand at the carousel waiting for my luggage to pop out. And then here comes this ominous sign that says "LAST LUGGAGE". My luggage, as well as those of three other connecting passengers including the German businessman, was nowhere in sight.
We were ushered into the lost and found office and the staff located our luggage.
"It's still in Kuala Lumpur... it will be coming in on the 10pm flight," the staff said.
By this time, I was drained of energy I couldn't even get angry. It was a good thing the Indonesian staff were patient and really helpful (it remains to be seen though if they're effective as I still await my luggage).
They filled the forms and took out addresses so they can deliver it to our hotels once the luggage arrives.
I am still waiting for the arrival of my beloved luggage. The plane from KL was scheduled to arrive half an hour ago--that is, if MH was not bloody delayed again--and is expected to be delivered by midnight.
I am tired and I couldn't even do anything, much more bathe, since my stuff are in the luggage.
And to top it all, the service at this hotel was so slow and they were fully booked I got to have a shower stall room instead of a bath. The last thing I needed when I was really looking forward to soak all my troubles in a warm bath.
But no, not gonna happen.
I wanted to trash the room just to vent out all my frustration and anger at MH.
But then I'm no rock star to do that.

Ganbatte!
You can make it!

And it would prolly make more sense if I do it myself; but sometimes, writing something about yourself is harder than writing something about others. Big dilemma here.

(Oh...and incase you were wondering what's that all about --- I'm currently doing a mini-project. Which by the way, I'm hoping to be of big help in the long run.)

Sigh. I love weekends. In that note, I leave you one my my favorite songs:

Well ... Gay marriage lost in New York, but this is still worth a watch ... and maybe a second or third watching, too ...

[b]You Have an Inspired First Name[/b]

[img]http://www.blogthingsimages.com/whatkindoffirstnamedoyouhavequiz/inspired.jpg[/img]

You are a highly original and naturally creative person. You are always thinking outside the box.
You are have adventurous spirit, and you are extremely energetic. If you love something, it's easy for you to stay motivated.

You have your own unique take on the world. Your views are both independent and progressive.
You aren't shy about living a bold and interesting life. You are a bit stubborn and headstrong when it comes to what you believe in.

[url=http://blogthings.com/whatkindoffirstnamedoyouhavequiz/]What Kind of First Name Do You Have?[/url]

[url=http://www.blogthings.com]Blogthings: We're Not Shrinks, But We Play Them On the Internet[/url]       

[b]Your Strength: Optimism. Your Weakness: Laziness.[/b]

[img]http://www.blogthingsimages.com/whatareyourstrengthsandweaknessesquiz/optimism.jpg[/img]

You are simply joyful. You take pleasure in the simplest things, and as a result, people love to be around you.
You are a very natural person. You find it easy to express yourself, and you love to entertain people.

You refuse to see the darker side of life, and as a result, you can be a little irresponsible. It's hard for you to face reality.
You love all the beautiful things and people in the world, but you can also be a bit superficial. Sometimes your vanity gets the best of you.

[url=http://blogthings.com/whatareyourstrengthsandweaknessesquiz/]What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?[/url]

[url=http://www.blogthings.com]Blogthings: Our Quizzes Weren't Written By Bored 12 Year Olds[/url]       

[b]You Are Spanish[/b]

[img]http://www.blogthingsimages.com/whatlanguageareyouquiz/spanish.png[/img]

You are fairly popular and well understood. And you're only getting more and more popular as time goes on.
You have an appreciation for history, but you also look toward the future. You are easy going and not uptight at all.

You tend to say things simply and quickly. You like to get your point across without being too flowery about it.
But when you need to, you can bust out some pretty impressive wordplay. You are just as beautiful as all the other languages.

[url=http://blogthings.com/whatlanguageareyouquiz/]What Language Are You?[/url]

[url=http://www.blogthings.com]Blogthings: We'll Tell You The Truth... Someone Has To![/url]       

[b]You Are Target[/b]

[img]http://www.blogthingsimages.com/areyouwalmartortargetquiz/target.jpg[/img]

Like Walmart shoppers, you know how to stretch a dollar when you need to... but you're not exactly stingy.
You shop to have fun, and you can't help but be drawn in by all the whimsical things you find at Target.

Between red cards, gourmet food, and funky home decorations, you're totally hooked.
Plus, you can't help but notice that everyone seems a little happier at Target. You think it's worth a few extra bucks to shop there.

[url=http://blogthings.com/areyouwalmartortargetquiz/]Are You Walmart or Target?[/url]

[url=http://www.blogthings.com]Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself[/url]       

[b]You Are Orange[/b]

[img]http://www.blogthingsimages.com/areyoublackororangequiz/orange.jpg[/img]

You are quirky, hyper, and very enthusiastic. You are a total optimist, and you're always finding something new to be happy about.
You love to be around other people. You're a very social person, and more than anything else, you are a truly playful creature.

You're always off to another adventure, and you love it when others join you in your fun. The more the merrier!
You're too busy following your dreams to let yourself get down. There's so much to celebrate in life. You like to focus on what makes you happy.

[url=http://blogthings.com/areyoublackororangequiz/]Are You Black or Orange?[/url]

[url=http://www.blogthings.com]Blogthings: Waste Time at Work![/url]       

[b]You Are Optimistic and Sweet[/b]

[img]http://www.blogthingsimages.com/thecandyappletest/apple-3.jpg[/img]

You're the type of person who wears a costume representing who you wish you were. You're likely to dress up as a historical figure or a super hero.
You think it's fun to dream and play a little. Halloween really brings out your lighter side.

Your favorite Halloween celebration is with your favorite people. You love to see what costumes your friends end up wearing.
You feel like you can learn a lot from what your friends choose to be this time of the year. It's how they really reveal themselves.

[url=http://blogthings.com/thecandyappletest/]The Candy Apple Test[/url]

[url=http://www.blogthings.com]Blogthings: A Fine Line Between Insight and Stupidity[/url]       

[b]You Are a Mai Tai[/b]

[img]http://www.blogthingsimages.com/whatmixeddrinkareyouquiz/mai-tai.jpg[/img]

You aren't a big drinker, but you'll drink if the atmosphere is festive.
You're much more likely to drink outside the house than inside the house.

You don't drink that often, so you sometimes forget your limits.
And when you're drunk, watch out! You're easily carried away.

[url=http://blogthings.com/whatmixeddrinkareyouquiz/]What Mixed Drink Are You?[/url]

[url=http://www.blogthings.com]Work is Hard. Time for Blogthings![/url]       

[b]You Are Vanilla[/b]

[img]http://www.blogthingsimages.com/areyouchocolateorvanillaquiz/vanilla.jpg[/img]

You are a delightful, friendly person. You are optimistic about life and people.
You are enthusiastic and energetic. You enjoy everything you do.

You are cooperative and flexible. You get along with people from many walks of life.
You're not a show off. Instead, you're more likely to help other people shine.

[url=http://blogthings.com/areyouchocolateorvanillaquiz/]Are You Chocolate or Vanilla?[/url]

[url=http://www.blogthings.com]The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings[/url]