Good Karma

Last week, I briefly felt like the world was conspiring against me. The night we returned to Brisbane, the Australian's car broke down (the "coolant" alert came on  on and when we continued to drive after refilling the coolant tank with water, there was steam coming out of the bonnet and we spent a long time waiting for the service guy) and had to be towed to the garage. Also, my suspicion that I had NOT left my expensive beloved noise cancelling headphones at her place in Brisbane before leaving for Airlie Beach, but rather left them in the seat pocket on the flight from Cairns to Brisbane was confirmed. Plus it turned out I had left my travel adapter for electrical devices plugged in my hotel room in Airlie Beach. I was really frustrated and angry at myself. 

Even though I pitied my friend most for having to potentially purchase a new car (hers is a 2005 vintage) after likely motor damage. I suddenly got a panicky feeling of doom and gloom and weird foreboding. The fact that I had left/lost those things despite having made a deliberate mental note (obviously forgetting that my mental capacity was at "low" these days) not to. After a series of seriously stupid actions on my part, most famously leaving my handbag at the supermarket, I really was concerned where "this" all was leading. What next?

I could barely sleep that night and kept spiralling into a vortex of "what ifs", also slightly miffed that Highflyer who had texted a few encouraging words did not seem to grasp just how much this concerned me and how much I wanted to be comforted right then. 

The next morning after reclaiming my headphones at the BNE airport Lost & Found (Yay, it was as easy as that!) we were encouraged to take an earlier flight than the originally scheduled one, which we did. Once we had checked in our bags and proceeded to the gate, I suddenly wondered if this was exactly the kind of scenario you read about: somebody catching a different flight from the one they had planned to take, without notifying anyone back home. That person was lucky as the original plane would tragically crash, causing relatives to experience a tearful "miracle". Or, was it the other way around that the news reports focused on people who ended up dying because rescheduling their flight? Which would it be? As the reason for us being put on the earlier flight was a forecast thunderstorm and likely delays caused by it, I was mildly concerned. Well, we obviously made it, as did all other Virgin Australia planes that day and by the end of the day, that visceral feeling of foreboding slowly evaporated.

In fact, the Australian was right when she said she believed in good karma (she had given an elderly lady a lift with her car the same day it broke down) and she was right. Not only could her old car be repaired at little cost, but I was reunited with my headphones and all was good in the end. Even more so, our flight SIN-MUC on Saturday night departed on time and was not cancelled due to Lufthansa cabin crew strike like the Thursday and Friday services were.
All's well that ends well, but I suppose the lesson for me here is to be more vigilant and attentive if only not to have to experience this kind of vague panic and frustration at myself again.