The following post has been sitting in my Drafts folder for many months. I’m finishing it in April 2018 but using the original creation date for posting. Reading through it now, I realize that all of the issues I listed were minor annoyances or inconsequential rudeness, the details of which have long since been lost, but when I’m fatigued and/ or anxious, these sorts of experiences can put me in (or worsen) a foul mood. I’ve come to find that I can use my reaction to these sorts of incidents as a barometer of my mental and physical states, determining whether I need to give myself a time out (e.g., stay in for the night) or alter plans entirely (e.g., escape a bustling city for a quiet locale). Actually, it’s not even my reaction that’s key; instead, it’s whether I even notice such things since it’s only when I’m exceptionally worn out or in an anxious state or already in a dark mood that I’ll begin cataloging the sorts of slights and annoyances and delays that are simply part of any routine day.

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Woke up in Sydney, NSW, Australia this morning feeling so much better than I had the night before. The previous day had been truly rough, and by the evening I was in the foulest of moods. The day started in Kuala Lumpur.

• Got ripped off by the taxi driver who took me to the airport. That was the second time a cabbie had done so during my visit. They’re notorious for it in KL. The cost wasn’t a great amount of money, but it set a bad tone for the day.
• Air Asia sent me to three different counters in different parts of the expansive KLIA2 terminal before they finally got me checked in.
• KLIA immigration had 12 queues open for processing passengers… but then there was only a single queue at the security checkpoint immediately afterward. Bottleneck doesn’t come close to describing the effect. Spent 10 minutes waiting for immigration but closer to 45 minutes waiting for security.
• The 10 minute wait for immigration wasn’t frustrating but it was strange. Entering Malaysia through the same airport five days prior had been the quickest, most rudimentary process I’ve yet encountered: a quick glance at my passport, an immediate visa stamp, no photo, no fingerprints… I’m not certain that the official even looked at me. By contrast, leaving the country involved a thorough check of the passport, scanning of passport, comparison of my face to the passport photo, a photograph, and fingerprinting.
• Could never get waited on at the first breakfast place in the departure area (guys at counter completely ignored me and two other customers wanting to order), so off to Starbucks… where they closed down one of the two registers despite both having long lines. I decided to try my luck closer to the departure gate.
• That’s when I encountered the second long security checkpoint, complete with long lines. And not for the first time did I wonder why so many people wait until they’re at the scanner before they start getting their bags, clothes, and various pocket contents ready: it’s got to be the #1 cause of the congestion.
• Got through that checkpoint only to discover there were no decent breakfast places past it: just a few spots that served prepared foods and machine coffee.
• Terminal was thick with squalling children. I’ve come not to mind crying babies on flights: nobody likes to fly, but it’s especially stressful on little kids (especially the air pressure issues on takeoff and landing) and it’s not like their parents are thrilled about any of it either. But here were a number of children having full blown temper tantrums, complete with blood curdling screams. I could feel the stress building within myself.
• With flight boarding time approaching, I made my way to the gate with the cup of machine-made coffee that I’d finally decided to get. And that’s when I found that KL airport security personnel were being used to enforce Air Asia’s policy against bringing any outside foods or drinks on board. I wasn’t even allowed into the gate area with my coffee. Screw you, Air Asia.
• The gate agent’s announcement that boarding was available for those with priority zone seats meant everybody boarded at once. So much for an orderly process.
• While standing in line on the jet bridge just prior to stepping onto the plane, an elderly Asian couple pushed their way past me with the aid of the large backpacks they were wearing. To what purpose, I don’t know: they were still stuck in the slow-moving line. But my patience had been sapped at that point, so once the line started moving again I had no qualms about pushing right by them. The woman protested angrily in another language. I turned to her and mouthed a profane response that I believe she understood quite clearly. It wasn’t until later that I realized that it would have made the flight incredibly uncomfortable had we ended up sitting together.
• In the 15 minutes before we pushed back from the terminal, the passenger sitting next to me had to get up three times to go talk to family sitting elsewhere in the plane, so six times she had me getting up out of my seat so she could get by.
• I’d forgotten Air Asia’s ridiculous rule that all electronic devices must be shut off until the plane is at cruising altitude. Keeping your phone in airplane mode isn’t sufficient and will earn you a scolding by their cranky cabin crew members.