A structured white shirt and a pair of black high waisted pants. My basic almost uncreative ensemble for a summit. Like Steve Job’s blue jeans and turtleneck on repeat. A summit doesn’t happen regularly but I would make it a point to attend at least once a year whenever I could survive and not drown in my kids’ schedule. Besides gym, a summit is an invigorating escape from my ordinary and repetitive mom-life.
Summit ready. To Kuala Lumpur by Grab. I only keep my driving within my town or places I’m used to. I tend to avoid morning KL city-limit drive on weekdays because one, it’s congested and two, it steals the serenity when I need to be in a state of peace. Particularly before immersing myself in a big crowd given how homebody I’ve been. Motherhood didn’t exactly murder my social life but it definitely has altered some parts of it.
On the road. In my Grab ride.
I reached into my bag and pulled out my pocketbook. A quick brain workout fix. Only helpful when I lowered my head reading it instead of eyeing how bad the traffic was. Halfway in, I broke the silence. “You Grab full-time?” I asked. The Grab ride owner said “Yes”. I could sense a friendly tone so I shot again. “Is the money good?”. Goodness me. A flawed premise to some. But I meant it in good conscience.
He responded with a giggle. Lucky me. “Not bad, better than my last job. More free time. Are you working?” in his adorable Chinese accent. “Good to hear yeah you could say that” I said back. Working on myself more like..
I reached super early and went straight to the ladies’ to iron out some wrinkles. Scanned my appearance top down to guarantee a more summit attendee look and less of a hot mess mom. Formal arena isn’t a new scene to me. But when you’re a mother entangled in motherhood, a little outside your mom-routine can make you feel foreign.
I was good to go. All boxes checked. You see, you can never be too sure that you got it all covered. You’ll be tested. And the test came in the form of a broken shoe heel. I felt a mild zap of anxiety and a half bit of idiocracy. Why did I choose the pair that had been worn to hell and back?
Time to pull some strings. I removed the broken heel and levelled my footing. Didn’t occur to me to barefoot so I limped myself out from the ladies’ and eyed down the hall for a corner to park. Spotted a table and chairs by the large window just a few feet away.
Great. I could make the distance through this barely seen crowd. I dare say that God was saving me from a public embarrassment. Parked. I looked to my side and saw a couple of summit facilitators. An obvious tell by the corporate gift bags in their hands and lanyards around their necks.
I raised my hand hoping for a help and caught a good samaritan’s attention. “I’m sorry but by any chance you have a super glue? My shoe heel’s broken.” I claimed. Cringe attack down my spine as I made the unimportant request.
“Ok, I will look for it. Just give me some time ok.” He said. I conveyed him a deep gratitude for taking the trouble to scout around looking for an inessential item like super glue. I waited and he returned with a miracle. “Thank you so much!” I reiterated. “Need a help?” He offered. “Don’t worry I got this” I said. He pulled a chair and waited till I finished. The repair was shorter than I expected . Next thing I knew, I was standing and ready for a registration.
Humbled by the broken heel experience, I moved on with a good sense of novelty. Crowd began to build. I regathered my objectives. To pick someone’s brain and to refine my knowledge. I joined a bar table conversation by the refreshment area and slipped myself in. For the first time in so long I got to exchange some views unrelated to motherhood.
“So they don’t allow people in yet?’’ asked a senior looking man in sharp suit. “Few more minutes to go I guess” I said. “Krishna, I’m based in Hamburg, here’s my card. You been to Hamburg?”. First card of the day. “Nice, I’m Alia. No, I have not been there. I’m sure it’s great.” I responded while handing my card. “Look for me if you ever come there. They’re opening the hall” he said and made his way to the summit entrance.
How I’ve missed new energy…
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