back at Lansing

Arrived Lansing a little before 3pm after what seemed like a neverending flight on Korean Air from Penang. Left Penang at 1.05am Monday morning with a heavy heart. Due to my dad's 'the-early-the-better' character, I was at the airport at 10pm. After checking in, we sat at Coffee Bean drinking hot chocolate and talk about the house, the garden, me getting a car, me getting a green card and etc. At 12.30am, it was time for me to go to the gate. All of a sudden, tears started pooling in my eye and all I could do was hug my dad tightly and cried. I didn't want to let go. I did the same with my mum. I've done this many times and like the first time, I didn't want to leave and the tears never seem to wanna stop. I cried all my way to the boarding gate and just sat there, wishing that I have more time with them.

When I left home to pursue my bachelor's degree, I never did expect to leave home for such a long time. All I had in mind was that I want to go home after I finish my degree. It was set to be that way until that very last year of my degree. I got really interested in research and the appreciation I received from my professors, professors who didn't know me, from peer researchers, it was all very motivating. I knew that if I want to continue towards success, I would have to stay here. At the same time, the expectation of family members for me to stay is so high that it became part of the reason I stayed. Today, I wished that I had stayed home a few years before pursuing my higher degree. But since I'm already in the middle of it, I will finish it and this time, I am going to go home to find my destiny. If I can't find it at home, I'll roam again. But I'll definitely take the time off to stay home.

The flight from Penang to Incheon was a disastrous one. I was having a bad cold and a heavy head. I slept most of the way until they served breakfast, which was just some fruits and yogurt. I am a huge fan of yogurt but at that time, nothing seems to appeal to me. I picked on some fruits and went back to sleep. However, I can't go back to sleep this time as my meninges seems to be filled with fluid. I can't blow them out and the pressure was killing me. I was holding onto my head all the time. As the plane started descending about an hour later, it hurts even more as my ears are now hurting too. It felt like my head was going to burst due to excessive fluid. Thankfully, the pain was gone when the plane touched down.

I arrived Chicago at about 10.30am this morning. I brought my luggage to clear the custom requirements and went straight to United Express counter to request for an earlier flight. I got the 1.10pm flight and was so glad. However, I didn't thought that my luggage might not make it because it was still at the international terminal at about 11.30am, when I brought it for custom clearance. But I didn't want to spend 6 hours at the local airport because there is nothing much to do there. My cell phone was out of battery so there's noway I can call anyone to chat. There is also no wireless connection so I can't really do much.

Arriving Lansing at 2.50pm, I waited for my two baggages. One arrived but the other still seemed to be filed as missing. I took a cab straight home and took a bus to the lab. I tried to call Nok from there so that she don't go over to the airport to pick me up. But until now, I have yet to get my other baggage. It was supposed to arrived tonight when they called me around 8pm. Should I wait or should I just go to sleep? Keeping my cell phone charger in a check-in bag is probably the dumbest thing to do but I didn't realize that the battery is still being drained even if the item is switched off all the time. How dumb...