I once wrote in an email to C that “without an audience there is little drama”; so, while faced with stress and obstacles on my travels I have been able (in true British fashion) to Keep Calm and Carry On.
When I was really tired and not knowing where I was going, I would take a deep breath and tell myself that getting worked up wouldn’t help anything. Like yesterday, upon arriving at the train station at Birmingham International Airport and not knowing which way to go – I wandered about aimlessly in the station looking for someone to offer guidance. Finding no one, I then started flowing signs to the hotels – which really consisted of one sign pointing in one direction and then once I headed in that direction I found no more signs and only the train shuttle (more like a horizontal elevator, if that makes sense) that ran between the airport terminals and the train station. Not knowing if that is what I wanted to do, I instead wandered out of the train station and found a cabbie – who promptly and helpfully told me, I should go back into the station and take the shuttle to the airport and the hotels are right there - “Can’t miss it”.
And he was right. Once in the terminal I wanted to check where I was leaving from in the morning – more wandering aimlessly, with large pack on back and small one attached to the front (I think I am 3 inches shorter now due to compression) , I asked someone where I needed to go. I found the Flybe desk, found out what I needed to know and then set out across the parking lot to my hotel for the night. All the while telling myself, I can do this, I can do this.
I was so proud of myself for adopting the approach “Keep Calm and Carry On” - I was doing so well – until this morning.
Today, arriving at the airport with plenty of time for my flight – I walk up to the check-in desk, knowing exactly where I was going, pop my bag on the scale and look up to find the check-in clerk on the phone - “Is there a problem?” I think. After a minute, he hangs up the phone and says to me the words that damn near stopped my heart - “This ticket was for yesterday’s flight”
No, OH GAWD NO!
“What?”, I say, thinking I must have misheard him, that it was some strange perverse joke that he was pulling; but alas no, as his response was still “This ticket was for yesterday.”
“But I need to be on today’s flight, I need to be in Glasgow at 8:30, I’m meeting people. Oh my gawd, no.” I heard a voice in my head say (I am not going to cry). To which, my only response was to shed a few tears, try an concentrate on what the check-in guy was telling me and wrestle my big backpack off the scale and stagger across the room in search of a ticket agent to buy a ticket for today’s flight.
Standing in line at the ticket counter, the voice telling me not to cry was voted down and crying commenced. Then panic set in – was I supposed to be in Glasgow yesterday? AM I a day late! My parents (my “travelling companions”) didn’t have any contact information for me, they couldn’t get a hold of me if they needed to – Oh GAWD AM I A DAY LATE!?!
Getting to the counter, I tried to regain some composure (I wonder how often they get distraught travellers like me?) and thrust my confirmation of a flight well missed at her and said I need this same flight today! “Let’s see what we can do.” was her cheery response, to which I impressed upon her it had to be the 7AM flight as I HAD to meet people off an international flight at half-eight (that’s how they say eight-thirty here). Her response being “It will be costly” – yes, I thought, costly indeed – I am truly paying for my mistake.
Poorer, probably none the wiser, and only marginally more composed, I lined up for the security screening and checked the car rental – yes, picking up the car today – OK, I AM supposed to be meeting them TODAY – only the flight was booked incorrectly – thank GAWD. “Crap, that was an expensive mistake”, the voice in my head said – and I could not agree more!
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