The noise of busy airport terminal always sounds soothing to me. That female voice announcing flights flying off to cosmopolitan cities like Frankfurt and Prague or exotic destinations like Morocco and Bali is like an open invitation to escape the current dreaded reality of my life. The transit terminal that morning smells of freshly brewed coffee from the coffee shops that just opened their doors to the global commuters from all around the world. By now I have a little less than an hour before it’s time to board the plane again continuing the flight to my final destination. I sit there in my usual corner table in one of the coffee shop with a cup of hot coffee in front of me. No, I never set foot in this place before but there was once upon a time that I declared every corner table all over the world to be mine.
As expected this corner table in this busy transit terminal has my name on it. I watched people come and go around me. The rush of business travelers hurried to meet their plane as if missing the next board meeting in some cities will proof to be deadly to their corporate careers. In deep contrast to the business travelers earlier I saw a couple of backpackers with their laid back attitude with all the time in the world on their side. My eyes caught the sight of several stewardesses in different color uniforms with their compact hand carrier walked by in fast paced ignoring all the signage around them as if their beautiful long legs know exactly where to go. There is something comforting and intimate about stewardesses in the way they speak to you in a friendly and polite tone attending to your every need. I wonder how these women can manage to look so smart and attractive this early in the morning. Well, maybe I’m just crazy about women in uniform.I stared at a piece of white form in front of me wondering if I should fill it out now or later when I am already on board the plane.
I looked at my watch and saw that I still have enough time to leisurely finish my coffee and fill out the form if I wanted to. Secretly I have this longing desire to hear them announce that my flight would be delay therefore prolonging the time I can sit at my corner table. This could well be the reflection of my life at this moment which could use some transit time of its own from its everyday routines. Suddenly, I can just see my life sit at my corner table drinking my coffee in a busy international terminal without a care in the world while deciding which flight it choose to take to be the next destination, may that be an exotic or cosmopolitan ones. I looked again at the white disembarkation form distributed on board earlier by a sweet looking oriental stewardess in a high split body hugging Qipao dress.
I decided to just go ahead filling out the form. I filled out all the required information like name, passport number and flight number. After filling out the spaces stating my boring destination I see the boxes to check for Male or Female. This part always amuses me and I wonder why they use Sex as a heading instead of Gender. I felt like adding additional two boxes to choose for, Occasionally and Self Inflicting Pleasure.
Shattering my wish for the delay, I heard the announcement of my next flight. Grabbing my stuff I start heading towards my gate. Choosing to walk instead of taking the automatic walkway I passed by the immigration counters with several lines of people queuing. I noticed separate counters for Foreigners and Resident Passport Holders. They should have made one counter for me that marked Alien as I just didn’t feel like belonging to this universe right now.
Thinking along that line as I entered and smells that familiar scent of an airline cabin staring at the sweet smiles and greetings of the stewardess I wondered maybe I should’ve chose Female in that form before and that might turn my life around a little bit. Emerging in my next boring destination re-born as a new person could be well what I needed now.