Traveling by numbers
Traveling is always stressful for me, since, in addition to frantically trying to catch my mode of transport ( train, plane) to the final destination, I am paranoid about losing things. As a result, I am usually super-cautious in handling my belongings while on the move, which I achieve by number-coding my stuff e.g.
- purse
- wallet
- keys
- phone
- coat
- passport
- rucksack
- laptop
- suitcase
This is a pretty effective way of checking my stuff and making sure that all my belongings are with me, as I can tick them off at any point in my travel. The numbers of my choice are quite appealing too, since 9 = 8 + 1 neatly ties in with the fact that I almost always check in my suitcase while boarding, which literally leaves me with 8 hand-held things plus 1 registered luggage on the plane. While 9 is not such a good number in (Cantonese) Chinese, 9 squared (9 * 9) = 81, which is a convenient way of reminding myself that I am carrying 9 items with me whose numerical makeup (8 + 1) happens to be homophonous with its squared product (9 * 9 = 81). As long as I keep these numerical patterns constant throughout my travel, I have no chance of losing anything. What a way of finding peace of mind while traveling to distant lands.
Originally published at http://keithtselinguist.wordpress.com on December 24, 2024.
