(mis) Adventures in Travel Part Two

So the first time I was on the road to Texas this month I survived the horror of losing a critical document (my drivers license). You would think after that the travel gods would be smiling upon me, right?

No…

…because we had to book this trip so late (it was based on how well the first trip went, and the first trip was sucessful in some aspects, not so much in others) I ended up not taking a direct flight. This meant layovers in Phoenix.

Because this was a shorter trip I was able to pack smart and fit everything into a roller case which would fit in the overhead. No problem right? WRONG. I was in boarding group 5 and of course it is a full flight (of course it is)  so there was no more overhead space at about group 3.  So they offered to check my bag through to my final destination at no charge.  **tip to travellers, if you have a short flight, and can fit everything in a roller case, do it, the airline will check the bag for free at the gate, to keep overhead space available. although after this story, you learn to do it ONLY if it is a direct flight or you have a good feeling they won’t screw it up** I had a really bad feeling about this but really had no choice at all, my bag was not going to fit under the seat and i had my laptop bag. Against my better judgement, I did it.

Once I arrived in Dallas Fort Worth, I got off the plane, went to the baggage carousel and waited, and waited, and waited. My apprehension was right. I went into the US Air baggage office and handed the worker my tags asking where my bags were. They were on another plane that was not reaching DFW for another 2.5 hours.  So after filling out a couple forms, my bags were going to be delivered to my hotel later that night.

Now a new fear had crept its way into my head. I have a good friend who “lost” a couple of really nice items from a checked bag.  All I could think of was his experience (Thanks KH!). Not that I really had anything of high value in the bag, but my garmin was in there, and as a runner, you live and die by your garmin, whether that is good or bad.

I kept waiting for my bags and finally went down to the front desk around midnight. The front desk guy said when airlines drop lost luggage it is usually around 3-4 in the morning. I went to bed in hopes my luggage would be waiting for me when I got up. Sure enough the bag was there at 5:30am and after I got it upstairs, my stuff was all shifted but the garmin was there. Never more relieved to see my poor little battered bag.

So after these past couple little travel mishaps i am due a good trip.

 

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News…

A friend who although I don’t see enough or speak to enough has posted some excellent news.  He will be stopping chemo treatments a full eight months early as he has been an exemplary patient and is living a much healthier lifestyle than I ever could.

The joy in my heart for this excellent news, especially right at the holidays is truly endless.

You are and forever will be Tough as Nails Phil and Anna, Xavier and I are over the moon. Truly an early Christmas gift.

(mis)Adventures in Travel Part One

I have been on the road for the majority of December. The company I work for was sold and for the last year we I have been participating in various aspects of the transition off our old parent companies systems and networks and onto our new parent companies systems as well as assisting with the actual physical migrations out of old locations and into new facilities.

So I have had an interesting month. I have been away from New mom and Xavier 11 days this month. Now this is not completely unexpected, as it is a part of my job. But it is difficult seeing how it is right before the holidays and our little guy has totally kicked it up a notch or ten in the time I was gone. He is not ultra mobile and just as curious as an eight month old can be.

But this post is not about being away, it is about the nightmare the travelling has been. I went to Plano Texas both times, the first for six days. I was on the earliest flight out (6:45am) and at the airport at early o`clock.  I was fortunate to have a window seat and I am one of those people who can totally sleep on a plane. so after i board, i roll up my jacket, put it up against the wall of the plane, use it as a pillow and I am OUT. I don’t even remember the takeoff. I get up, apologize to my rowmates if I snored (they said I did not, but they said I kept shifting. so they were surprised that I was really asleep) and chat with them on our final decent into DFW. I get off the plane, pick up my luggage and catch the shuttle to the rental car facility. So I am in line to pick up my car and I get the clip I keep my license, credit cards and insurance cards in. i get my corporate card out and my license out to get the rental car, except there is one little problem….

NO LICENSE!!!!

When you travel, the most important thing to have in your possession at all time is a photo ID. your license or a passport, you have to have something that will prove that you are who you say you are. If you do not have one, it is impossible to get on a plane, rent a car and check into a hotel (the exception to the hotel may be if you are a traveler and are on a first name basis with the staff).  My heart dropped into my shoes when I realized my license was not with me. I checked every pocket, tore my laptop bag apart, no license. One of two very bad scenarios had occurred:

1) I had it in my jacket pocket and it fell out when I used it as a pillow or:

2) I placed it in the seat pocket in front of me.

Either way I was in big trouble. I got connected to American Airways right away in hopes of catching the plane before it got off the ground again. I was on hold with a very helpful girl named Jennifer who worked at DFW lost and found, she was trying to reach the gate my plane come in on (note to all travelers out there, make a note of what gate your plane came in on) to see if it was still on the ground and see if anyone turned in a license. While this was going on, I started the trip BACK to the terminal on the shuttle bus. Jennifer informed me that no one turned in a license off that plane YET, but it could still be hours before it made it tot he office where lost and found is located.

I arrived back to the terminal and went straight to a ticket agent. He checked and i missed the plane by about 15 minutes. What adds insult to injury to this is because of construction at the airport, it now takes the shuttle buses about 20 minutes to get back and forth instead of 7-9. so if they were running normal, I might have caught the plane. The ticket agent called back to the gate and asked if a license had been turned in and it turned out one was recovered, but it was already to a hopper where lost and found items will sit until they go to the main office (to Jennifer). he volunteered to go back and check.

I sat in a panic for about twenty five minutes waiting for the agent to return, making calls frantically to make arrangements to have my old license next day aired to me if the license was not mine. I also let my fellow transition team members know my situation so they would know I was going to be to the new office later than expected.  After about ten calls and enough panic to last a month, the agent showed up with my license in hand. I was so relieved and happy to see it I actually hugged the agent.

so the lesson to be learned fellow travelers:

1) NEVER let your ID be anywhere except a safe secured place (duh, right?).

2) always make note of your gate when you arrive, it took Jennifer extra time to find my gate, I had a flight number, but did not really pay attention to what gate I came in.

3) As much as airlines can make our lives as travelers hell, and as many times we have dealt with a pissy little agent, security checkpoint or anyone else, there are others that will go that extra mile for you.

I…

…miss my boy.

 

And I miss my wife. Looking forward to being home again.

NOISE

Babies love making noise. They may not like being startled by noise, but boy they feel a sense of accomplishment when they make it! The other night New Mom was preparing dinner and Xavier wanted to be in the kitchen with her. So she put him in front of the plasticware cabinet. Kids love playing with tupperware/plasticware, etc. Xavier’s cousins all played in that same cabinet when we watched them for her brothers and sisters in the past so you would think that he would also like to play. He does, but not with the plasticware, but with the METAL BOWLS we also have in the cabinet. I think for no other reason than they make lots of glorious noise. So he will bang them around before even reaching for anything else in there. Here are a couple pictures…

So there I have my noise loving little guy, in all his glory.

Highchairs and milestones.

A couple weeks back New mom and I went to dinner with her parents.  We went to Mimi’s Cafe with the baby and we asked for a highchair for Xavier.

It was really a strange milestone for me. It is amazing, the little things that really effect you. Up to that point, He has been in his car seat and we had either put the car seat in a booth next to one of us or gotten one of those slings that the car seat fits in (a BRILLIANT invention!). But seeing him in that highchair just…hit me in a way that I didn’t think it would. He is just changing so much right before my eyes, and that evening, I was looking at a little boy, not my baby boy. As he is growing and developing his own little personality, I see changes at every corner, some I seem to be more prepared for than others. who knew that something as mundane as sitting in a highchair would make me feel like that.

 

Been a while…

…since my last posting.  Unfortunately time is not a commodity i have an abundance of right now. Not because of the holidays or anything fun like that, but because of chnages in the Little guys routine and because i have been travelling for work.

So over the next couple days I will be flooding this site with additional new posts, with stories and Pictures!