Attitude of Gratitude
Traveling is a nightmare for me. I'm not a patient person and I get very anxious about my lack of control over any and all circumstances. But alas, I had spent my Christmas vacation with my family and it was time to return to my home in the Aloha state. My original itinerary was Fayetteville (NC) to Dulles (DC) to Los Angeles (CA) to Honolulu (HI). Fifteen hours of traveling ahead of me and I was getting panic sweats about loosing my luggage already. My drop off point was at the dinkiest little airport you can imagine. Two terminals and a smoking lounge comprised the entire layout. When they announced the flight was delayed I was only annoyed but it wasn't a huge deal. I knew the weather in the North East was bad so I expected a slight delay. It was an hour later that our plane arrived, plus 40 minutes on the runway. This meant I would miss my connection to LA. During the wait, I discussed my options with an agent who seemed almost giddy about our impending doom. I guess it was nice for her to finally have something to do besides empty the ash trays. I was mad though, not because the I missed my connection, but because it was clear nothing was going to be done. The lady said she double and triple checked flights and my best choice was to go home and try again next week. It was hard to believe because I didn't notice her checking anything, she seemed to be practicing aiming the scanning laser at random objects on her desk. I decided to check my carry on to my final destination (bad move, Abby) and travel to DC. I'd see if anyone there knew what they were doing. The flight wasn't bad, I had a whole exit row to myself and managed to doze off. When I woke up I was shivering so bad I thought I might freeze. I looked out the window and saw snow for the first time ever! This year! In 2014! But still I was slightly excited, mostly cold. I exited the plane, scanned the eight texts and three e-mails my mom sent me (She wanted to be sure I knew my flight out of Fayetteville had been delayed. Thanks mom.) and found the customer service desk. Okay pause. Have you ever been to Harry Potter Land in Disney World and fancied some Butterbeer? And you get in line and wait for two hours and you're still too far away to even see the tap so you consider leaving the line but you've already spent two hours there and you might as well keep waiting even though the flight of the Hippogriff is closing soon and you aren't thirsty anymore but you really have to pee and also the kid behind you just threw up? Now imagine those people in line haven't slept for days or eaten anything but peanuts, then go ahead and double the length and add 20 Russian men. And I was at the end. Not much to tell you about my wait except I made a new friend from Fiji and beat my high score in Dots (451, suckers). This is where my story takes a turn. I was playing a game of "What celebrity does that person sort of resemble" with myself when I overheard a family of four as they walked by. Mom, dad, and two babies. I heard enough of their conversation to know they were much, much worse off then I was. And I really didn't think I could justify a rotten attitude anymore. So I let it go. Let it go. I am one with the wind and skyyyyy. (Frozen anyone?? Worth seeing.) Anyway, as soon as I made my decision to be positive my day brightened. I was helped by a man named Roy, which probably translates to "sweet baby angel" in Gaelic or something. He explained how the weather halted all the flights, rerouted a bunch of people, and kept crews from arriving. He promised to do his best but it was unlikely I would leave until the following Friday (*sobs internally*). Roy did some magic with his fingers and made little comments to his screen. "That was a close one". "No no no, what are you thinking." "Maybe...just maybe." In a short while Roy had rerouted me from Dulles to Houston, TX and from there a direct flight to Honolulu. He wanted to be sure I was out of Dulles to prevent further delays. My first flight was standby and it left in 40 minutes. Roy just so happened to be the gate agent at that flight, so get this; He actually walked me to my gate, checked me in, and printed me a real ticket with a real seat. I might have kissed him. Instead I ran to a little gift stand and bought him a chocolate bar. Roy paged me before boarding to be sure I was all set. Ladies and Gentleman, this is a man who excels at his job. Than you Roy. While I was boarding the plane this handsome young guy came up to me and asked if I left from Fayetteville. He said he recognized me, and for a split second I was flattered (He probably admired my sock and sandal combo) but he only remembered that I got in a "heated discussion" with the agent in NC. Well that was the old me, blunt stranger. I'm a different person now! I have a new outlook on life! I want him to know. My flight to Houston was crowed and I was eager to do some good deeds. Instead I accidentally broke my headset and my seat parter fell asleep on my shoulder. Does that count? The plane landed close to midnight and I was completely prepared to sleep in a forgotten terminal with a sweatshirt-pillow. BUT a cute little old lady was waiting for us with food, taxi, and hotel vouchers. Score! I hoarded my food vouchers for the next day and caught a cab to my hotel. The driver swerved all over the road and had some really bad road rage but I tried to think nice things about her. For example, I liked her dreadlocks. I was cautious going up the stairs to my hotel room because A) My contacts had dried out and I couldn't see where I was going and B) I fully expected a murderer hiding between the steps. Although I did get to room 233 safely. I didn't have any luggage and I was going on day two in the same clothes so I took a shower, washed my undies in the sink with "Days Inn Shampoo" gargled with tepid water, and dried my undies with a blowdryer. I managed to catch the last ten minutes of Cutthroat Kitchen and curled up in bed with six pillows. I woke up at 6:30am ready for my flight home but I had more frantic texts/emails/snapchats from my caring mother. The flight was cancelled. Not delayed or anything...just gone. I was ready to cry. But I had a taxi waiting to pick me up at 7 and I was already awake anyway so I headed back to the airport. I got rescheduled again for 7pm, which left me with 11 hours to kill. Eleven hours in an airport means you can do a lot of fun things. This is what happened next.
7:50- Try to find a free toothbrush. Get lost in terminal D. Endeavor unsuccessful.
8:10- Try to flirt my way into the Officers Club. Old lady working. Probably married. Day pass is 58$. Also unsuccessful.
9:00- Stumble upon a chapel. Remember it's Sunday. Read the Bible. Feel uplifted.
10:00- Try to locate (steal) free Wifi. Mission Accomplished! Charge phone and computer.
10:15- Watch old episodes of 1600 Penn. (I don't know why they took that show off the air, Josh Gad is a gem).
12:00- Lunch time. Use my 1st voucher at Wendy's. I can't for the life of me recall their motto.
12:20- Give in and buy an airport book. Snuggle up and read 'Sense and Sensibility' in a massage chair.
2:00- Free samples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company!
2:05- If I can nap I'll probably feel rested? Can't nap, not rested.
2:30- People watch. Fascinating. Why do SO many women wear heals in airports?
2:45- Watching Les Miserables. Trying not to sing along...or cry.
5:15- Have I really not gone to the bathroom all day? Yikes.
*Saw a man wearing Google Glass, internally monologued the dangers of technology.
5:20- Dinner at Panda Express. Fortune: "Pursuing a career in athletics will not be fruitful for you." I'm offended.
5:40- Try to exchange my 10 pence piece at the international currency station. Too worthless to be of any value.
5:50- Mess around with toys and gadgets at Brookstone. I'd buy moon sand if I had a few more 10 pence.
6:00- Stalk up on snacks with my last voucher. I go the healthy route, because that's what you're supposed to do in January, right?
6:25- Settle in to gate E7. They're boarding shortly and I'm at peace with the world.
After everything has been resolved I can reflect on my experience and conclude that a positive attitude changes everything. Being grateful is more rewarding than not, and being ungrateful is unnecessary. I did have a good day and I'll be home in plenty of time for work tomorrow. Amid all the morals and life lessons learned, the one piece of wisdom that will stick with me forever is: Don't travel during the holidays.
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