We will never forget (And I personally am included)

When I read the news about the failed "crotchbomb" by a Nigerian national, Umar Farouk Abdulmuntallab, I was just getting ready to sleep after searching for the latest update of the anime movie that I followed online.

I immediately thanked God that he failed to detonate the bomb in that Northwest Airlines flight 253. I personally commend the spontaneous response and the brave acts of passengers in that flight which managed to subdue the perpetrator quickly and therefore prevented another humanitarian tragedy.

This latest attempt of terrorist act is another reminder that terrorism threat in the air is real and active despite all the money, time and efforts spent by the US government, the TSA, and authorities in other airports all around the world to prevent it from happening again. The fact that a sizable liquid explosive pouch was managed to be smuggled inside a plane is more than enough proof to say that all those efforts by the authorities around the world were not sufficient to guarantee the safety of the air travelers.

I personally don't mind the extra security, however many other business travelers (especially those who always seem to be in a hurry and those who have whiny and spoiled kids with them) may not like being searched and patted down more intensively (and sometimes intrusively, especially when we cannot tell them: "Hey, watch where you're touching!"). Now, (again, always right after something happened) we can surely expect a stricter check point, a longer line and more whines as people slowly (and begrudgingly) moving along the long lines in the airport gates. And don't forget, more hassles or intrusive checks.

One time, I have the "privilege" of being pulled from the lines by an TSA agent in an airport to undergo some security measure, not long after 9/11 took place. At that time, I was 30 minutes away from my flight departure time and I just barely managed to be in front of the line before the security check point when I saw the lady (TSA agent) scribbled something on my boarding ticket. And I suddenly realized, "This is definitely not a good sign and I could miss my flight"

I was right, when I showed my ticket and ID to the male agent at the security gate, he told me that I needed to step aside and follow him to go through additional checks. I politely asked the agent of how long the check will take since I would have barely made my flight even without the check, and he stiffly replied, "Sir, we will let you go once we finished the mandated security check on you and your belongings." And I suddenly realized that I may have talked too much. Man, it will cost me greatly, I assume.

The agent asked me to stretch my arms and keep my legs away from each other about one and a half foot apart. He then began patting down my arms and legs and ran his metal detector along my body. As expected, it beeped when it passed just below my belly (Of course, it's not because I carried a crotch bomb, it's just because of my belt comes with metal buckle). The agent told me to take off my belt, and I seriously wanted to joke with him but I realized that he was not in the mood for joking so I clamped my mouth shut. After I took off my belt then there was no more beep, then he asked me to sit and wait for my belonging to be inspected. At that time, I noticed that the agent wiped clean cloths along the edges of my roller bag (which I later found out to be a part of a security test conducted by a "puffer" to detect the trace of explosives).

He even opened my laptop bag, ran another cloth wipes (I truly wished the would wiped out the whole laptop instead of just the edges since my laptop can surely benefit from a full wiping). He then turned on my laptop (I guess to make sure it's not an IED). Well, the process took almost 30 minutes and he finally released me.

As I expected, that TSA search cost me my flight, because I missed my flight because of the extra pat downs (Hopefully, it's without any accident such as "Ouch, not the groin!") Ok, that's a little out of bound, I was just kidding... Once again, I do not mind the extra security measures but I honestly felt somewhat vindicated after the checks, I even joked to myself: "The agent must have thought that I looked like Osama bin Laden, even though I believe I looked more like Hu Jintao than Osama." Well, it may be just my tough luck!

I honestly missed the times when the security of the airport were very lax (just before 9/11 tragedy) but then again, I don't really mind an extra security measure for the safety of all travelers as long as it's done professionally and in a timely manner. And also, if I am allowed to ask, I would personally request to not pat down the area between the leg too much.... j/k

Good luck to you all who travels, have a safe trip and remember to come early. And also the best of luck for all TSA agents whose job is to pat down the selected travelers.

Be safe everyone!!! In a worst case scenario, we just have to learn to jump on those stupid terrorists. I am sure I am heavy enough for it.