“You saved…my shoe- I mean my life.”
Yesterday a single event happened that embodied the type of day I was having and, in some ways represented life in Vietnam. I lost my shoe. And I mean, lost lost it. Like it’s somewhere in Hanoi and I really could not tell you where. And not that someone stole it. Somehow, I lost it. I can’t imagine this ever happening in the US. I mean, who just loses one of their work shoes, a black boring pump no less? Is this me? Is this how my life will go, striving to be in control of my life but constantly not being able to?
Besides the mini life-crisis that my lost shoe can inspire, I find it quite funny. Last week was a blur, all I remember is coming home one night and pulling one black work shoe out of my bag and setting it near my door so I didn’t forget it Monday morning. I usually leave my work shoes AT work, just slipping them on when I get there. I hate work shoes and the less time I have to wear them, the better, especially since I ride a motorbike to work and am not ready to ride in heels yet.
For some reason, my heels came home with me. And for some reason I only had one in my bag. And for some reason when I brought it to work yesterday morning, the other one was not at work as I had suspected. And so I had an extremely frumpy day wearing extremely frumpy clothes and my sneakers, hiding behind my desk all day. I also had frustrations with my life in the near future, my life in the distant future, my visa, my passport, my money, my travels, my job, basically everything. Nothing is certain right now in my life and it all hit me yesterday. I was also behind in my work, my Vietnamese and in my relationships. Basically, the fact that I had lost a shoe was the best representation of my day: something basic and routine was absent and it was absurd. And these are my only work shoes.
I made myself sit back in my chair and identify 1) the day I had been moving shoe locations 2) where I had been going 3) the circumstances under which I was moving shoes. Since I RARELY take my work shoes anywhere outside of the office and I took taxis to the AmCham lunch I finally thought of my interview at VNN. I brought the shoes with me, parked, changed shoes, interviewed then changed back into my sneakers to go have dinner with Julie. And since I only had one shoe, I had to conclude that somehow I had one shoe in my bag and I left the other in the garage of the VNN building since it wasn’t in my seat or in my room. I bet the garage attendant is enjoying my Nine West pump.
(I have since found my shoe in our garage. Don’t ask me how it got there, I don’t know. I have not had any ‘lost shoe’ days since this day, al humdilallah!)
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