5:40PM: I am waiting for a taxi with Judy in front of the
Hartamas Mall. The roads are getting clogged up by cars. And rain.
“ Meet at Mindvalley at 7pm sharp.”
We were supposed to have a radio session with Inspire.fm for
Incitement Y!
5:45PM: Judy notices her friend waiting first in line at
the taxi queue. There are 8 people waiting before us. Her friend has been waiting for an hour.
Ouch.
P(extremely long wait)= 1
6:00pm: I begin paying close attention to the time. We must leave
within the next 10 minutes or we won’t make it in time. Bangsar will be jammed
up due to the LRT construction.
I needed to get out of the situation...but how? At least, the
rhythmic beating of the rain against the tarmac floor enabled me to not focus
at the potential of being late or not even making the appointment. Rather, it
calmed me enough to keep thinking of alternatives.
“Is your friend gonna be passing by our stop?”
“No.”
“Is her destination far?”
“Yes.”
6:05pm: Judy’s friend gets into a taxi.7 more. At this rate, we will end up waiting for
hours. We will not make the appointment.
Taxis were just not...coming.
Yet Proton Sagas of the signature white and red or apple
green were passing.
On the opposite road.
“Judy, 1.”
“Judy, 2.”
“Judy, 3.”
“Judy, 4.”
6:10pm: Judy and I decide walk across the highway in the
rain.
I remembered my dad always came from the direction of the opposite road- from KL. It hit me that at his hour, there were more going home from KL to PJ in a taxi than the inverse. Probability of taxi passing, with or without passenger, was much higher.
We took a calculated risk.
6:18pm: I start eating in the rain while looking out for a
taxi. More than 6 have passed, all occupied.
6:20pm: An empty taxi slows down. I call out to Judy to go
after it while I grab my bag and catch up after her.
The taxi was waiting for its caller so dismissed we were. We
walked back to the taxi stand while the rain danced around us.
“Hello? Zikry, we can’t get a taxi. I tell you what, think
positive. Call you in 10 minutes.”
6:25pm: A bus nears us. We wave it. Inside are two
hungry-looking Malay men and a completely dark seating area. Going to Setapak.
Bye, bus.
6:30pm: We get into a taxi.I look back at our previous taxi stand. There are more people now. The person after Judy's friend is still there.
“We’re coming! :D ”
We could've accepted the situation and waited at the original spot.
We could've continued watching taxis swish by at the opposite road.
We could've been the ones still waiting in frustration at Hartamas Mall.
We could've not reached Menara UOA at all.
6:45pm: We reach Menara UOA. Judy is a bit freaked out by the
impatient taxi driver’s reckless driving while I am amused. I happily wave
goodbye to him and bid him well. It’s the first time I see him smile and laugh.
"If you don't take control of a situation, situation is going to control you."
 |
| With Zikry & Daniel, co-founders of Incitement! 8D |
Happy Days Ahead,
Yau
