Of flying and the comfort zone

Half of this post is delayed by a week:-

I am in KLIA at the moment, waiting for my flight back to JB. Flew to KL this morning at 8.50. Tonight’s flight has just been delayed from 9.15 to 9.40. OK, that’s not an interesting bit of information.

The last time I flew was probably a year ago. And what a difference a year makes in terms of taking a plane ride! This morning I boarded the plane for my flight to KL feeling indifferent about the ride. I’ve obviously been on a plane many times before, so how different could it be? I have never been so wrong in my life. As soon as the plane took off, my head was spinning. When it made a turn, I felt like the turn will never stop and the plane would somehow be belly up. I tried to close my eyes and take a nap. That didn’t work either. It was the longest 45 minutes of my life.

To be honest I cannot point to the cause of the problem. I drank a cup of coffee before the flight (without eating anything). That could’ve been the reason. I slept at 1.30 am the night before. That too, could’ve been the cause. In any case, I just closed my eyes and frantically hope that the flight would be over as soon as possible. Which obviously was the case eventually. After disembarking, I felt sick to my stomach. Luckily I didn’t barf anything out.

During the two meetings I attended, I wasn’t in the best of moods. Suffice to say my contribution was infinitesimal. Having my flight back to JB delayed didn’t help matters. The thing is, I used to travel quite a bit last time. I was no alien to flying. But probably flying for the first time after a few years has its side effects. Well, it’s probably time to rack up the miles and get further accustomed to flying (again).

I try to minimise going back to KL during weekdays. If possible, I’d just like to limit it to the weekend traveling only. But sometimes work demands attention at the other side of the Peninsula too. This just confirms that most of the action happens on the other side. So whenever I’m needed there, I’ll have to be available, irrespective of the time and physical constraints. They say your life comes first and work second. Well, I think those are words of idealists, maybe ultra idealists. As far as I am concerned, work comes first. Why you ask? Firstly, in order to have a good life, you must be good at your work (and reasonably high up the ladder too). Secondly, when you are up there in your work, a good life follows naturally.

I’m 37 this year and while I was at my former workplace, I sometimes complaint of being in my comfort zone. Somebody whom I have the utmost respect for asked me why am I in my bloody comfort zone at 37? This is the period in one’s life where one has to slog no end and strive towards excellence and the good life referred to above. So at this moment in time I have to place work ahead of life. Sad and some may say pathetic, but that’s just how it is. In work, things may not go your way. There will be complaints. Missed deadlines, your boss doesn’t appreciate you, other people carry balls, that kind of thing. What I can do is do my part and do it well and keep my mind off the aforementioned concerns.

That’s why following the trivial concerns mentioned above, my motto now is shit happens, and there’s nothing (well, almost nothing) I can do about it but bite the bullet and carry on. Thinking too much about it would only be detrimental to the larger scheme of things, performance wise.