Its lift off today! So no more entries for a bit, but I am so pumped that the game is on. Cannot fathom how I can feel so exuberant after all the mayhem leading up the departure, but let me explain.
Was in Ohio for work through Thursday, and it was a hectic time as I attempted to get ahead on so many fronts. I was thoroughly exhausted by the time I checked out Thursday afternoon to head for home…knowing that working from on Friday would also be a grueling affair.
There were omens that the fates might work against me because this was the first time I had flown Delta in two years. Our company travel desk always goes with the lowest fare, and from my small airport that usually means US Air. The beneficial impact of constantly flying with the same carrier means that I am “Zone 1” for these flights and get to board first.
I am a total zero with Delta, however, so even though I checked my luggage through as carry on, before we boarded the gate attendant announced it was a full flight and didn’t believe there would be sufficient overhead…so they were checking bags for no charge. Well, I was beat and could do with less hassles, and glancing at my boarding pass to confirm I was “Zone 4” (dead last to board), I ventured to the desk and checked my bag.
Big mistake.
I silently laughed as I took my seat and noted there was a slot right above my seat that would have accepted my bag, but dismissed concern and buckled up. Well, when we landed at Atlanta there automated trafficking software crapped out and they had to navigate planes from gate to runway by radio…meaning we sat on the tarmac for forty five minutes to get the last two hundred yards into our gate. I was already acknowledging my luggage would be lost and scrambled through the massive airport to catch my connecting flight.
Well, I made it and actually sat on the plane for ten minutes before they closed the door, so I felt hopeful my luggage miraculously joined me. Of course this was misguided optimism and I wound up waiting an extra twenty minutes to confirm my bag was MIA before returning home by 11:30 PM with some things I needed to pack Friday stranded in Atlanta (I am using my backpack rather than a suitcase so at least I didn’t need to worry about a speedy recovery of the suitcase anyway).
On top of this, my CGM hasn’t worked properly this week, so I spent a half hour on the phone talking with several folks to diagnose and learn corrective action. The remedy was to tear out the old sensor and inject a new one. They will replace the sensor at no cost and my confidence has been restored, though not 100%, in the device’s reliability.
Dilemmas continued on Friday when I opened the package from Verizon to fire up my international cell phone. My delight at the inexpensive option turned to dejection, however. I had requested a simple flip phone and there was a blackberry in the box, missing directions to activate everything and no discernible charger for the battery included to run the unit. After contacting Verizon and making it past hold times, I was informed there was some “switch” in data plans and they had sent me the different device for reasons that I was unable to untangle in my distressed state (driven by work concerns and all of these travel disasters). I finally just told the person on the other end I would simply ship the phone back without using it because there wasn’t enough time to work through these curve balls they had tossed with no notification.
So no phone for the trip and disappointment that this good thing fell apart so quickly and completely.
I bravely pressed on wrapped up office concerns, but the day concluded with translating an e-mail from Air Austral (our airline between Paris and Reunion), which communicated that our flight was no longer departing Sunday evening…it has been delayed until Monday morning. There’s some unpleasant news. Now we need to find lodging for Sunday night in Paris, miss a day on Reunion and have to ensure we can check in (very) late at La Gite du Volcan Monday night (and navigate the treacherous roads in the dark now).
Not great news, but you know what? I am too close to the challenge that has been building towards this climax for eighteen months and there has been too many cherished moments recently. The delay affords more time to spend in Paris with Rudolph and Jacomien, and this week in Dayton I had a great experience at Massage Envy at the Greene. Went there for a last massage and naturally talked about the race with my therapist (since my response to her initial question was to focus on my legs...which leads conversation to the run). When I offered some cash as a tip afterwards, she instructed me to contribute it to my fund raiser. It’s hard to get down when you come across such gestures of kindness.
In fact, many contributions have come in this week and my apologies that I haven’t been able to thank everyone à if you read this please know how grateful I am. Once this trip is all over I will try to express my appreciation personally. Thank you, my friends, and bon voyage!
No comments:
Post a Comment