reality bites ... and makes you look like a damn fool

(disclaimer: this is a boring entry. don't say i didn't warn you. no dinner = no glucose = hungry brain.)

i should've informed a network about this trip: i am, i now realize, an unpaid reality show star.

(if you'll just let that sink in a bit, you'll realize how stupid that phrase was. because really, i'm just an unpaid reality show lead.)

just how many embarrassing moments can one have in a day? apparently, there is no clumsiness limit in other countries. it doesn't matter that in your country, you are a respectable, poised, calm professional. as soon as you step out of your comfort zone, you turn into a bumbling idiot.

to illustrate:

i made sure the luggage i packed was lighter than the last time i went to hong kong. it was the same bag for a trip that is more than twice the length of the first stay. and YET i wanted it to be lighter this time. i tried, i really did.

apparently, the bag itself is heavy, so no matter how 'lightly' i packed (if you consider bringing 5 shoes 'packing lightly') (in my defense, i'll be here for 5 weeks!), it was still bound to give me problems. and by 'problems', i mean it was out to get me (look up 'resistentialism.' now.).

(anyone bothered by the periods before and after the parenthesis? anyone? anyone?) (name that movie.)

where was i??? oh.

airport: in an awkward attempt to quickly roll the bag across the (and you'll have to help me here because i don't know what those things are called ... the things you put the ticket into and it lets you pass by opening up the jaws of death) ... thing, i managed to fall over the balance-challenged luggage because my hand was clutching its handle while the bag fell on its side. fortunately, hong kong is the land of 'i-don't-care-about-you' so no one gave a rat's ass.

hotel (eherm, serviced apartment) entrance: i had checked in. innocently, i waited by the door, expecting someone to bring the bag to my room. instead, the receptionist said "you can go up now" ... and that was that. i had to drag the monster of a bag into the elevator, which, to my dismay, was carpeted. ergo, it was not roller-friendly. i tripped my way into the lift, which, incidentally, had just enough space for the bag and one of my thighs.

there. i've successfully bored myself with my story. time to shut down.