I got to the airport quite early, and as I was on the shuttle (from the rental car drop off to the terminal) I received an email notification that the fight was delayed by 45 min-- no big deal; I can get dinner & read a book.... sitting at the terminal as the (original) flight time was approaching, I heard the airline employees saying that the plane still hadn't left from Buffalo (where I'm headed, I guess it's a round trip for the crew) and that it would be pushed back even farther-- they didn't make this announcement, but talked amongst themselves about how they'd better take their dinner break- which I happened to overhear.
I continued to sit patiently, reading & enjoying a treat (popcorn--yum! BTW, I'm SO grateful to finally have my braces off... it's been since August, but I still continue to be happy, particularly when eating "forbidden" foods), and then randomly got up (to wash my hands/ use the restroom) and happened to glance at the computer monitor... What did I see??? The flight was listed as Cancelled (not delayed!) Thankfully, I've had years of experience traveling (and unpleasant memories of my mom trying-- unsuccessfully I think--- to get me to run ahead and talk to the gate attendants to hold the flight for her & us kids) Upsetting memories aside-- I know what to do! I quickly found the customer service desk and informed them that the flight was apparently cancelled. (There were about 6 employees talking and no customers at that point) The woman promptly gave me a boarding pass for the next flight (7:30 instead of the original 6pm) and as she was helping me, the man next to her was talking on the walkie-talkie and saying something to the effect "What time did you cancel the flight? ... Well, you should let us know because when the passengers know before we do it makes us look bad") hahaha... that made me chuckle, but he's right!
Of course, as I walked away, at least 20 people came running to the customer service-- they had announced the flight was cancelled.
Well, now they've just announced that the 7:30 flight is running a few minutes behind (they aren't at the gate yet and we should be boarding) But, at least I know the plane is almost here, and I have a boarding pass!! (many of the other passengers are on stand-by, and they just asked for a volunteer to bump off of this flight, which makes the chances of standby seem pretty slim!)
Although I've been spending an absurd number of hours in airports, I really can't complain! Off to Buffalo tonight (both the hotel & interview site are close to the airport, and my interview isn't until late morning so I get to sleep in a bit!) I'm weaving my way back west this week (to Buffalo tonight, then to Salt Lake City for a Friday interview) and then I *only* have one more flight for a Monday interview next week. What a Journey this has been!!
Whoohoo- the plane is here! G'night!
Update: well, the flight to Buffalo was fine, but they warned us that the landing would be rough because Buffalo was really windy (the plane was small, less than 40 passengers) I actually overheard the flight attendant say to another passenger as we were boarding: "Well, the winds are at 30 mph but they say it's safe enough to land." Not the most reassuring phrase I've ever heard in my life! The flight wasn't too bad, except for the last 15 minutes or so of the landing- that was some of the worst turbulence I've felt in a loooong time! After the Catamaran incident this summer (not a pretty story, let's just say I discovered that I still get motion sick, not just nauseous!) I was nervous about how ill I might feel, but, thankfully, that was just my "worry" talking! After being happy to make it to the ground, we braved the winds (wow!! and Brrr!!) and walked from the plane to the bldg (yes, that small of a plane!) They even took our carry-on luggage (that we had to check at the gate because the plane was tiny) to the barrage carousel because it was too windy (not sure if they meant our luggage would blow away, or if it was too cold/windy for us-- or the employees-- to stand outside for longer than 2 seconds!)
After a bit of confusion at the rental car desk (he asked for the name of my hotel- I'm too tired for those complicated questions, and why did he need to know anyhow?!) and a fight with my GPS system (kept insisting that my hotel was in the parking lot of a mall. I assure you, it was not!) 2 stops for directions later, I backtracked about 3-4 miles and found the hotel.... and, what am I doing? not sleeping! (This must change, and it must change soon!)
All in all, I'm safe and warm, and I'm thankful that the interview isn't until 11:30 am (12 hrs away, what luxury!) oh, and the hotel has breakfast, that's awesome too! (and incentive to make myself get up before 10 when they stop serving- ha!) Thanks to those who are reading, I hope you're finding my traveling rants amusing
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