The Journey Begins

Friday, June 27, 2008

I have now been awake since 7:00 AM on Thursday, June 26.

At 5:30 AM, I enter the airport terminal and get into line for Security. After 10 minutes in line (a very long line), the woman in front of me sees someone she knows at the end of line and waves her over to join her at this point in line. I'm tired, I'm grouchy, and I open my mouth. (Really, did you think I wouldn't?) “You are not seriously having her cut in line,” I said. “But we are traveling together!” came the bleated reply. Standing behind them in line for another ten minutes and listening to their conversation, I discerned that they were co-workers on a business trip and did not travel together to the airport. Shuffle pucks. At one point, they spied another co-worker at the end of the line but wisely did not have him join them at the front of the line.

As we reached the winding portion of entering security, the line cutter turned around, placed her hand on my arm and said, “Tell you what, why don't you go in front of us since you are upset about this?”

The HELL. I said absolutely not, that didn't make it right and it wasn't fair to everyone else behind them in line. I just glared at them after that. Sometimes I truly despise people. I don't care if you are “traveling” together, everyone is going through the same security checkpoint and the plane will get them both to where they need to be.

I got through security and waited to board my plane. Flight to Atlanta was fairly uneventful except for the fact that my RLS was in hyper drive. You would have thought my seat was on fire or I was seriously epileptic the way I was jumping around – thank you so much legs. Grrrr. I apologized to my seat mate and he was most kind and understanding.

Landing in Atlanta, I made my way to my assigned gate as per my boarding pass. On the way, Missy called my cell and I talked with her for a couple minutes. I had approximately one hour between flights. I kept patting my Ambien in my pocket, ready to take it once I got on the plane.

When I got to the gate, I realized that it was not my flight. Ugh. Trudge over to the departure / arrival screens and I am at gate 26 instead of 12. Fine. Gingersmurf the Pack Mule schleps to Gate 26.

Once there, it is announced that there is a delay and the plane will leave at 12:30 instead of 11:00. The issue? The entertainment system on board was not working. Okay. 15 hour flight, a little in-flight tv / movies would be nice.

By now I am so far beyond exhaustion and in physical distress that I am starting to lose it. In tears, I talk to the lady at the desk to see about being upgraded. Can't do that, she said. I could pay if I like. $3000. Definitely not feasible for me. She did change my seat to the bulkhead seat so that I had a little more leg room and honestly, sometimes that helps. Being able to brace my feet against the wall can sometimes subdue or lessen my RLS.

My cell phone rings briefly, and I see that Snuffles has attempted to call. Not sure why the call won't go through. A couple minutes later, it rings once again. Same situation. I open the phone to call Missy and get a recording of some sorts, instructing me to dial *611 for Verizon assistance. I do, repeatedly, and nothing. Nothing at all. Fuckers at Verizon have canceled my phone service, 24 hours before they were to do so.

I went to find something to eat, and tried to hook up to wireless internet. Miracle of miracles, I manage to snag some internet! I popped into CinC chat and GOD BLESS YOU WONDERFUL CHAT LADIES!!! Thank you Elisha!! Elisha (infantrywife99) called Missy for me and asked Missy to IM my husband. I had just sent him an email but couldn't access Yahoo Messenger. Then somehow, through the email, I had some kind of Messenger connection! Thank God!! I chatted with Snuffles – okay, well I completely had a Tourette's Episode where I repeatedly told him that he could have gently caressing love with himself and every single noun of every single sentence was clarified as being a gently caressing mother.

There I am, sitting in the food court area of the Atlanta airport, bawling my eyes out and chatting on line. Keep in mind, I have been up for well over 24 hours at this point.

Feeling completely hopeless, I sign off and go to my gate for my delayed 12:30 PM departure. Yeah, right.

Delayed some more – we will leave at 5:30 PM. More than seven hours after the scheduled departure time. All for some flipping in-flight entertainment.

At this point, they pass out a meal voucher to compensate for the inconvenience. Seriously? Oh well that makes EVERYTHING better. (Do you detect a touch of sarcasm here?)

I ask to speak with a supervisor and of course, once again, fall into complete shambles, bawling and blubbering like a stark raving idiot lunatic. We do apologize for the inconvenience, did you get a voucher? My God.

Now I am reduced to wandering around the airport like a mental hospital escapee, crying, muttering my displeasure and complete loss of sanity under my breath, trying to find someway to communicate with my husband. Cell phone? Nope, all gone. Internet? Can't log onto it for free again, have to pay with credit card. That doesn't work for some reason. I find a internet phone thingy, credit card operated, call anywhere in the world! I swipe the card (minimum $3.50 charge) and hit SELECT COUNTRY. Any country you want. Provided it is America. Or the United States. Fresh round of tears and insane muttering.

There is no where in the airport to purchase an international calling card. Nowhere. I tried to call my credit card company because they are very good about halting a purchase when it is out of your normal area and their system is down. Great. Just fucking fantabulous.

Still patting my Ambien in my pocket as though it has magical properties, I continue to wander aimlessly around the airport. If I sit down, not only will I fall asleep but my RLS will frighten everyone around me. Have to keep moving.

Added bonus? My shoes are making blisters on the tops of my toes. Yay.

Finally, we board the plane. I had the bulkhead seat but it was so uncomfortable! And I was in the middle. My seat? Oh yes – reclining NOT A POSSIBLITY. Lovely.

I immediately fell asleep due to sheer exhaustion. Slept through take off, woke up about half an hour later. The stew came by and offered a beverage and I looked at him and just burst in to tears again! I was so uncomfortable.

I took my Ambien hoping to be knocked out quickly. No such luck. So I got out of my seat and walked to the back of the plane where I could stand up for a while. There I am, looking miserable, weeping, muttering, and falling down everywhere due to being tired and the Ambien kicking in. They finally shooed me back to my seat and I managed to fall asleep.

I woke up after a few hours, but my eyes were now so swollen I could barely open them. I checked my watch and was delighted to see that the flight was almost half over! I realized then that my bulkhead seat had an unobstructed view of the completely empty Business Class section with its roomy reclining seats. More tears.

I was starving by now so I wandered back to the galley area. Finally the crew took notice of me and I asked for a cup of hot tea. Walking back to my seat, I saw an unattended mini galley and I helped myself to a packet of cheese crackers. While I had slept, the crew had served two of the three meals for the flight and I had received nothing.

In the last hour of the flight, they served supper. Mostly inedible except for the fresh cut fruit which was delicious. Then a crew member escorted two ladies from coach up to the business class seats and told them to sit and relax. WHAT?!?!?! Guess who was not happy about that? Yep – me.

Finally we landed and got off the plane. Long hike and two escalators to the transit train in the airport to take us to the immigration desk. Getting through immigration didn't take long at all, and then on to baggage claim and customs. And then . . . I WAS FREE!!!! I was so incredibly happy to be off the stupid plane and done with flying that I burst into tears again. LOL!!

Snuffles, God bless him – what an incredible wonderful man he is – knew from our computer conversation that I was at or beyond a breaking point and instead of catching the military bus to the base right then (another hour and a half journey), he informed me that he had booked us a room at the very upscale Hyatt by the airport. What did I ever do to deserve such an fabulous man??

At the Hyatt, he told me to help myself to anything from the honor bar and order anything I wanted from room service. I took a fabulous shower and he ordered me a European breakfast meal from room service: granola and milk, hot Earl Gray tea, orange juice, croissant, frittata, sausage, bacon, roasted potatoes, grilled cherry tomatoes, Camembert cheese, prosciutto, melon, walnuts . . . ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

Then I promptly fell asleep on the fabulous bed. Head hit pillow, and I was out.

Woke up refreshed and ready to go! The one bonus about landing late at night is that I don't end up with jet lag. While he slept I went down to the hotel restaurant for a breakfast buffet and had yet another incredible meal.

Then we took the shuttle back to the airport and went to get our bus tickets to ride to the base. At the military services desk, there was a “situation”. A young boy, 11 years old, was there at the desk. His father, an army man at Yongsan, had dropped the boy off at the airport entrance with his plane ticket and a few dollars in his hand to fly home to the States alone. Unbelievable! The military men manning the desk were working to try and contact the boy's father or his command; in Korea, unaccompanied minors are not permitted. Plus this young boy had more than one international stop before reaching family in San Francisco. I hope that the boy's father gets the full punishment he deserves for this stunt. Makes me sick.

While waiting for the base bus, Snuffles checked out my new passport. Guess what he found in there? Mr. Competent, the passport guy on base, had an approved entry stamp for Germany in the passport!! Good God! It is a miracle that I ever managed to get to Korea and to an air force base at all with that dimwit in charge.

So now I am home and relaxing. I like the house and the location to the main gate and downtown is perfect. We took a walk downtown to get a cell phone for me but they can't activate them on Sundays so we will go back tomorrow. Picked up a long handled scrub brush with which to clean the courtyard outside, and then sat and enjoyed a cold beer at my favorite bar in Pyeongtaek, JJs Cantina.

And that, my friends, is the Saga of Gingersmurf Getting To Korea!