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The Window Seat, Or The Aisle Seat, Sir?

Posted by narrowband - 05/09/09 at 12:09:47 am

Everytime I hear those words I’ll be torn between choosing a seat with ample legroom and a window seat. You rarely get both. If you get the seat near the exits, the nearest window would be at some distance away. When I was little I always loved the window seats, especially at night. I was a very curious little boy. The buildings, wings, lights on the ground, the flashing lights on the aircraft body, they were quite fascinating to watch. I even wished that the aircraft had bigger windows so I could see more. Then when I grew older I had to learn to appreciate legroom. I remember being given the emergency-exit seat, with all the legroom I ever needed. Despite having the stewardess’ jumpseat right in front of me (facing me), I found myself trying to peek outside the nearest window during various stages of flight. (You could argue she wasn’t pretty enough, but she was actually quite fine.)

“Actually I would prefer the window seat” I heard myself say today, instead of the usual “I’d like to have the seat near the emergency doors”. I traded off legroom for window seat today ;) I don’t usually carry much when commuting between Changi and KLIA, and I’m glad that airline companies recognize this. I paid a ‘Lite’ fare – a return Jetstar that cost a little more than a return Aeroline – where I can’t have check-in baggages. Today was particularly nice because I hadn’t felt this good about coming home in a long time. Important dates are over, the major stresses are gone and I really need a break. Even the lady at the immigration officer was being nice to me. She smiled and looked at my passport, did some stuff and wished me a nice weekend before clearing me. (Btw it’s common to have your occupation and company name written in your passport when you’re a working foreigner). I wished her the same and left for the departure hall.

I realized that everytime I walked through that metal detector I would expect the buzzer to go off. Today was no exception. I can never understand why sometimes the buzzer goes off, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve even tried removing my watch and wallet but I’d still trigger the detector. But today, even the metal detector ‘gantry’ (Singaporean’s most dreaded word) was ‘wishing’ me a nice trip home. I held my breath as I walked through it and when nothing was heard, I smiled at the officer in relief. He smiled too. My pleasant homecoming didn’t end there… I was typing away on my laptop (gotta love the wifi) when a hottie came and sat next to me. She was in a dressed-to-kill combo of white silk dress and heels. Looked like she was headed for some ball or something. The True Fitness backpack looked a little out of place but it was cute nonetheless. Turned out she sat right behind me on the plane. Naw no exchanges took place ;).

And my seat? No I didn’t suffer a muscle cramp. But it was tight sqeeze. Anyway I wouldn’t have sacrificed my legroom if it wasn’t a short flight ;) Have a fantastic weekend, you!

Shorttalk: Narrowband is to answer a call of duty tomorrow, for his sister’s graduation ceremony. Guess? Free labour!

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