One Life, More Futures, No Regrets
The benefits of getting older.
I woke up suddenly — slightly agitated and palms sweating — realizing I had forgotten my tie. The plane was about to land, it was late, and the shops would almost certainly be closed. I had to give my presentation early the following morning. And presenting without a tie? That was impossible.
Don’t ask me how I knew. I just did — call it foresight or intuition. But there was definitely no tie in my bag.
I felt hopeless and couldn’t believe how stupid I was. The way you feel when you lose something important or make a silly mistake. If only I could turn back time. And put things right — and pack the damn tie.
I had prepared for the presentation for weeks and knew making a good impression was crucial. My future depended on it, as a successful performance could lead to new opportunities to present my research.
Or so I imagined at the time.
The Hand of Fate
I heard someone calling my name when I got off the plane and was making my way to the luggage carousel, grumbling to myself about the tie situation.
“Hey, Erik!”
It was another conference participant.
