More than a year ago I embarked on a journey to a place that I have been dreaming of ever since I was a kid. I made my first trip to the United States smack in the middle of winter. It was February when I flew to Chicago. This was the trip that I was supposed to make with my mum but never got the chance to because she passed away in December of 2013. It was a bitter-sweet trip as I was pretty much thinking about her the entire time I was there, imagining that I was with her as I walked the streets of Chicago and braved my way through the snow.
It wasn't a smooth trip let me tell you that. Getting there was the most difficult part for reasons that have left me as the laughing stock of the royal court. The week before my trip was marked with deadlines in the office that I didn't find any time to pack my bags and prep for the trip. So, like what any other queen in the same situation would do, I set packing on the night before the trip. That night I got home at around 7 pm after having worked my ass off at work trying to ensure that I didn't miss any time-sensitive task before leaving for my holiday. The flight was at 9:30 the following morning and having only a few hours left to pack my bags I decided to enlist the help of my best friend to make sure that I got everything I needed and pack my things with ample amount of time to sleep and rest. Being pressed for time, I did what I knew to be the essential part of any trip to a foreign land - I tried on all the winter clothes that I'll be taking with me to see how they would look and craft out a plan on which clothes to put on for the entire 2 week trip. I made a list of combinations of sweaters and coats with shoes to match for every day that I will be in the states. This part was non-negotiable. I just had to know what to put on for each day that I was going to be there so as not to waste any precious time deciding what to wear when I could be out exploring the richness of the United States.
As one might expect of a queen trying on a new wardrobe, it took me until midnight to finish that list. Seeing that I had barely 5 hours left to rest because I had to be at the airport by 6, my best friend and I hurriedly packed everything into my bags. We finished packing around 1 am and we bid each other good night. He made his way home and I went on to do some last minute checking to make sure that I didn't leave anything, most importantly my passport and ticket. After settling everything down, I finally hit the sack to make my way to lala land. Knowing full well that I had to be absolutely up by 5 am, I decided to sleep on the couch, half sitting and half lying down, thinking that it would help me wake up on time. Like a rude awakening, I monumentally shot up straight after having regained consciousness. The sun was high up in the sky and when I looked at the clock to see what time it was, I nearly fainted. It was 8 am!!. I woke my cousin up and told him off for not waking me up then went to my dad's room to tell him the same thing. He said he thought I told him that my flight was in the evening. I'm pretty sure that I was crystal clear when I told him the previous night that the flight was at 9:30 am. No use arguing about it now. So, I dressed up in less than five minutes and grabbed my bags to head off to the airport. I asked my dad to put the pedal to the metal so that I could make it there at 8:30 and perhaps by some luck, make it to my flight.
No. It was all in vain. The check-in and boarding gates have already closed when we arrived at the airport. It felt as if someone had splashed cold water on me after having stayed in the sun for an hour. We went home after that fiasco and I couldn't bring myself to think how it happened. It was embarrassing because I've been eagerly waiting for that day and when it finally arrived, I didn't show up. The royal court laughed hysterically at what happened and I just had to endure the humiliation. I rebooked the departure for next day's flight. One day wasted off of the 2 week holiday just because I had to try my clothes on. That night I made sure that I didn't stay up late. By 9 pm I was already in bed with three alarm clocks set to the highest volume to make sure that I wake up on time. I beat the alarm clocks the following morning by half an hour. That is how bent I was to make it to the flight. I had my dad drive me again to the airport on his way to work. I made my way to the check-in counters to have my name listed for the flight. This was a protocol for ID ticket holders, those who use specially discounted tickets for airline staff. No, I am not an airline staff but a friend of mine is.
The thing about this kind of ticket is that you will only be boarded to the flight on a seat availability basis which means that if the flight is full, you will have to come back another day and try your luck. After getting my name listed, I was asked to come back at 8 am to confirm whether I will be boarded. As luck would have it, the flight was full. By this time I could not describe how I was feeling. It was a mix of anger (at myself for missing the flight before) and anguish, feeling like the universe is conspiring against me and telling me that I am not supposed to make this trip. I had to take an airport taxi back home since I couldn't ask my dad to pick me up because he was already at work. Getting home, I lunged onto the couch thinking that I might suddenly wake up and realize that it was all a bad dream. Oh no, it wasn't. After a good ten minutes lying on the couch motionless, I got up, turned my lappy on and decided to look up full fare flights. I was desperate. However, my best friend convinced me otherwise saying that it wasn't practical because full fare flights would cost me 5 times more than what I paid for the ticket that I already have. He said that it's ok to be offloaded since it always happens but that I will eventually make it to the flight. I heeded his advice and decided to try it one more time.
The following day, I arrived at the airport around the same time as the day before. Went straight to the staff check-in counter and had my name listed for the flight. Then, I made my way to where the restaurants were to have breakfast and wait for 8 am to go back to the check-in counter. As I was making my way back to the counter, my anxiety was at its peak. My mind was trying to brace myself for another disappointment once I get offloaded again. On the way to the counter, I came across an airport staff who was pushing a metal cart containing newspapers and magazines. There was a word written on the flat of the metal slab of the cart that was facing me. It read: relax. It got me thinking, was this the universe trying to tell me something? Was it a sign that something good was about to happen and that I need not worry about what I would be hearing at the check-in counter?
The attendant on the counter made a call to the boarding gate to check and see how the flight was looking, whether there was a seat available for me to take. He even told the person on the other line to make something happen to get me into the flight. It might have been probably out of pity since this was the same guy whom I have been coming to for the past two days when I missed the flight. He might have seen the look of desperation in my face while I was waiting for his call to end. Whatever it was, it worked. He put down the phone and asked for my passport and my bags. He didn't even say that I will be boarded. He just took my bags and weighed them, put tags and then set me off. He told me to proceed to the immigration counters and onwards to the boarding gates. At this point, I was mustering all the strength I could to compose myself. I felt like I just won the lottery!!! I had to calm myself down or else I will be screaming at the top of my lungs out of pure joy and ecstasy.
I ran the length of the way from that counter to the boarding gates. Every step was like a hop showing the excitement of finally making it to the flight. The first thing I did after strapping my seat belt on was to text my best friend, I MADE IT!!! The rest, as they say, is history, which we would be visiting in my next posts.
That incident taught me an important lesson, one that is so cliche yet true - relax. Nothing good ever comes out of worrying oneself to death. We will eventually make it and once we do, all that waiting will pale in comparison to all the wonders the other side has in store for us.
xoxo
QB
It wasn't a smooth trip let me tell you that. Getting there was the most difficult part for reasons that have left me as the laughing stock of the royal court. The week before my trip was marked with deadlines in the office that I didn't find any time to pack my bags and prep for the trip. So, like what any other queen in the same situation would do, I set packing on the night before the trip. That night I got home at around 7 pm after having worked my ass off at work trying to ensure that I didn't miss any time-sensitive task before leaving for my holiday. The flight was at 9:30 the following morning and having only a few hours left to pack my bags I decided to enlist the help of my best friend to make sure that I got everything I needed and pack my things with ample amount of time to sleep and rest. Being pressed for time, I did what I knew to be the essential part of any trip to a foreign land - I tried on all the winter clothes that I'll be taking with me to see how they would look and craft out a plan on which clothes to put on for the entire 2 week trip. I made a list of combinations of sweaters and coats with shoes to match for every day that I will be in the states. This part was non-negotiable. I just had to know what to put on for each day that I was going to be there so as not to waste any precious time deciding what to wear when I could be out exploring the richness of the United States.
As one might expect of a queen trying on a new wardrobe, it took me until midnight to finish that list. Seeing that I had barely 5 hours left to rest because I had to be at the airport by 6, my best friend and I hurriedly packed everything into my bags. We finished packing around 1 am and we bid each other good night. He made his way home and I went on to do some last minute checking to make sure that I didn't leave anything, most importantly my passport and ticket. After settling everything down, I finally hit the sack to make my way to lala land. Knowing full well that I had to be absolutely up by 5 am, I decided to sleep on the couch, half sitting and half lying down, thinking that it would help me wake up on time. Like a rude awakening, I monumentally shot up straight after having regained consciousness. The sun was high up in the sky and when I looked at the clock to see what time it was, I nearly fainted. It was 8 am!!. I woke my cousin up and told him off for not waking me up then went to my dad's room to tell him the same thing. He said he thought I told him that my flight was in the evening. I'm pretty sure that I was crystal clear when I told him the previous night that the flight was at 9:30 am. No use arguing about it now. So, I dressed up in less than five minutes and grabbed my bags to head off to the airport. I asked my dad to put the pedal to the metal so that I could make it there at 8:30 and perhaps by some luck, make it to my flight.
No. It was all in vain. The check-in and boarding gates have already closed when we arrived at the airport. It felt as if someone had splashed cold water on me after having stayed in the sun for an hour. We went home after that fiasco and I couldn't bring myself to think how it happened. It was embarrassing because I've been eagerly waiting for that day and when it finally arrived, I didn't show up. The royal court laughed hysterically at what happened and I just had to endure the humiliation. I rebooked the departure for next day's flight. One day wasted off of the 2 week holiday just because I had to try my clothes on. That night I made sure that I didn't stay up late. By 9 pm I was already in bed with three alarm clocks set to the highest volume to make sure that I wake up on time. I beat the alarm clocks the following morning by half an hour. That is how bent I was to make it to the flight. I had my dad drive me again to the airport on his way to work. I made my way to the check-in counters to have my name listed for the flight. This was a protocol for ID ticket holders, those who use specially discounted tickets for airline staff. No, I am not an airline staff but a friend of mine is.
The thing about this kind of ticket is that you will only be boarded to the flight on a seat availability basis which means that if the flight is full, you will have to come back another day and try your luck. After getting my name listed, I was asked to come back at 8 am to confirm whether I will be boarded. As luck would have it, the flight was full. By this time I could not describe how I was feeling. It was a mix of anger (at myself for missing the flight before) and anguish, feeling like the universe is conspiring against me and telling me that I am not supposed to make this trip. I had to take an airport taxi back home since I couldn't ask my dad to pick me up because he was already at work. Getting home, I lunged onto the couch thinking that I might suddenly wake up and realize that it was all a bad dream. Oh no, it wasn't. After a good ten minutes lying on the couch motionless, I got up, turned my lappy on and decided to look up full fare flights. I was desperate. However, my best friend convinced me otherwise saying that it wasn't practical because full fare flights would cost me 5 times more than what I paid for the ticket that I already have. He said that it's ok to be offloaded since it always happens but that I will eventually make it to the flight. I heeded his advice and decided to try it one more time.
The following day, I arrived at the airport around the same time as the day before. Went straight to the staff check-in counter and had my name listed for the flight. Then, I made my way to where the restaurants were to have breakfast and wait for 8 am to go back to the check-in counter. As I was making my way back to the counter, my anxiety was at its peak. My mind was trying to brace myself for another disappointment once I get offloaded again. On the way to the counter, I came across an airport staff who was pushing a metal cart containing newspapers and magazines. There was a word written on the flat of the metal slab of the cart that was facing me. It read: relax. It got me thinking, was this the universe trying to tell me something? Was it a sign that something good was about to happen and that I need not worry about what I would be hearing at the check-in counter?
The attendant on the counter made a call to the boarding gate to check and see how the flight was looking, whether there was a seat available for me to take. He even told the person on the other line to make something happen to get me into the flight. It might have been probably out of pity since this was the same guy whom I have been coming to for the past two days when I missed the flight. He might have seen the look of desperation in my face while I was waiting for his call to end. Whatever it was, it worked. He put down the phone and asked for my passport and my bags. He didn't even say that I will be boarded. He just took my bags and weighed them, put tags and then set me off. He told me to proceed to the immigration counters and onwards to the boarding gates. At this point, I was mustering all the strength I could to compose myself. I felt like I just won the lottery!!! I had to calm myself down or else I will be screaming at the top of my lungs out of pure joy and ecstasy.
I ran the length of the way from that counter to the boarding gates. Every step was like a hop showing the excitement of finally making it to the flight. The first thing I did after strapping my seat belt on was to text my best friend, I MADE IT!!! The rest, as they say, is history, which we would be visiting in my next posts.
That incident taught me an important lesson, one that is so cliche yet true - relax. Nothing good ever comes out of worrying oneself to death. We will eventually make it and once we do, all that waiting will pale in comparison to all the wonders the other side has in store for us.
xoxo
QB
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