Chronic-ism

Today I missed my train to Nantes where I was planning to shop and hang out with another assistant. Now I have to sit here and blog because there is nothing else to do.

I have serious temporal problems. Problems with time. Problems with being on time. And this problem has cost me big time in regards to money and missed oppourtunity. I think it should be my birthday resolution to fix this chronic problem, lest I be fired at my first real job.

This problem however seems to be unfixable. No matter how early I leave for something, something happens on the way and I am still late.

However, being late all the time has some major advantages. Namely that it has managed to make me pretty tough. After you miss your first trans-atlantic flight, it's hard to rattle you.

Here is a list of times where being late has cost me big time:

1. Summer of 2009. Missed flight from Israel to New York (and then New York to Toronto).


I left 4 hours early. I decided to take public transportation. I got on the wrong train. I got on the right train. I decided to get off train and take cab, throwing whatever American money I had at Shmuli, the driver. I got to the airport with 30 minuites to spare, but check in had closed and they wouldn't let me on. I cried. They didn't feel sorry for me. The flight was insured so they just moved me to the next flight. My connecting flight from New York to Toronto, however, was not insured so I had to buy a new flight. I spent the day in an internet cafe trying to book another flight listening to some Spanish guy declare his undying love for a girl over Skype.

Then I had to put my luggage back in the hostel where I had been staying, only to run into the Danish guy I had made out with the night before, thinking I would never see him again. Can you say "awkward?"

But I was so tired from staying up the whole night before drinking Israeli Ouzo and smoking hash, and so frustrated from missing my flight, and so sweaty from being in the freakin desert, that I didn't really care.

2. Winter 2008. Missing Eurostar train from London to Brussels after flying in from Toronto.

I wrote about this in my other blog, Flemish Beer, but I will rehash. Basically I spent the afternoon shopping. I didn't realize how long the buses could take in London so I missed my train and there was no later train. I was a wreck, from being jetlagged and from having to carry ALL my luggage around all day, but lucklily the very nice British ticket man said I could take the earliest train the next morning without charging me extra. This was after breaking down in gut wrenching sobs though. I had no money, so I decided to put my 24 Tube pass to use and just rode around on the buses for hours, it was like my own mini tour of London. Eventually I ended up at Liverpool station where I met some Australians and went bar hopping with them. I ended up sleeping over at one of there houses, waking up early and catcing the 6:30 train to Brussels.

3. All the time. Missing the Eurostar-
I think I have missed about 3 or 4 Eurostar trains by now. Nooooo Joke. I just missed one a month ago when I went from Paris to London. Again, I didn't miss it , but I was not a "half an hour early" so they wouldn't let me on. Bastards!!! Seriously the Paris train station is so giantic and confusing and it took me 45 minuties to even find the Eurostar check in!

4. Last month. Taking the wrong train from Paris, to Nantes instead of Sable
I already blogged about this. Worse. Evening. Ever.

5. Missing Greyhound buses from Toronto to Ottawa.
I always miss these. My dad always yells at me. Luckily, they don't charge you.

6. December 2007. Missing my flight from Marrakesh to Lisbon
This one was on purpose. I was too lazy to go all the way back up to Marrakesh since I was surfing in Agadir (I use the term "surfing" loosely. More like frantically paddling in the water). I had pre-booked a flight to Lisbon since I really wanted to see Portugal, which is Danielle's Murphys Law : If ye pre-book a flight, ye will miss it. So I just decided to skip the flight, in a fit of travelingrelaxation
(whereby the traveller becomes so overly chilled he or she ends up doing shit all and starts using phrases like "whatever man, no biggy, just chill", or in other words, acting like an Australian acts, all the time. If you want a visual aid for this term, please watch the The Beach, to see all the dangers of acting like this)
So I ended up just staying in Morroco because of my laziness, which turned out well since I love Morroco, but then I realized, too late, that I also had a flight from Lison to Brussels (where I was studying) which meant I had no way to actually leave Morrocco, and I had to start school in a few days. Another session spent at an internet cafe at an airport lead me to a ticket to Brussels. And this was before EasyJet and RyanAir had flights to Morrocco, so it wasn't easy, lemme tell you.



I am sure I am missing a million missed trains and flights, but these are the mains ones. It has probably cost me like over 500$ for my carelessness, but it has led to some pretty interesting situations. I'm also ALWAYS late for school and jobs. always always always. But I'm 22 now, I have to act like a grown-up, so I think I am going to buy a watch. Or make someone buy it for me for my birthday.

Ps: The reason I don't have a watch is because...wait for this..I'm allergic to them. Seriously. I actually break out into hives when I wear a watch. No joke. Now do you believe that Chronic-ism is a genetic things?