My right arm and my left foot are still throbbing with pain because of the escalator incident this morning. I’ve always had weird escalator dreams so I’m a bit afraid of taking the escalator. But, I was in a hurry this morning. I stepped on the escalator on my way down to the train platform while fumbling for something in my bag. Suddenly, my left foot slipped! Morbid images came flashing in my mind and my thoughts flew to my family in the Philippines. What would happen to them if something bad happens to me? That and nothing else came to mind, while my right arm acted on its own. In a flash, it shoot up and grabbed the hand rail. Thank God my reflexes are still working perfectly! I dearly grabbed on to the handrail and ignored the pain I felt and prayed that I’d be strong enough to support my full weight. Did the guy a step ahead of me help? Unsurprisingly, he didn’t. He just took a quick glance at me while I was still trying to find my footing. Not even a quick “Daijoubu desu ka?” (Are you Ok?). To him, nothing happened. Perhaps he was just kind enough to try to ignore the incident to save me from further embarrassment.

Anyway, I’m just really grateful for reflexes and for handrails!
Lessons learned:
* When going up or down the stairs or escalator, make sure to take the “handrail side”.
* Don’t do other things, (no groping inside the bag, etc.) when taking the stairs or escalators.
* Don’t rush especially when on the stairs or escalator.