SF Trip (Getting Here)
If you haven't guessed already, I'm here in San Francisco for the holidays. But, it wasn't easy.
First, I had all of three days to plan the trip. I was booking my flight online Wednesday night when some problem with the Delta Airlines website caused me to go past the midnight cut-off for the three-day advance price. I saw the cost of the ticket jump $200 in a matter of minutes. And, although I am getting reimbursed for the travel expenses, I didn't want to pay that much up front or present an enormous expense report to a company with whom I'm hoping to land a job. So, I called Delta Airlines customer service (if it can be called that) to get the cheaper flight. After going round and round with the representative, I finally got him to talk to his supervisor. Cut to... me getting the cheaper fare.
I won't bore you with the gory details of getting to the airport, but suffice it to say, between road construction, a broken down MARTA train, and Delta's new rule that says you must check in 45 minutes before the flight departure time if you are checking bags, I missed my 7:25 PM flight. Now, I could have still made the flight if it hadn't been for this new rule. So, suffice it to say, I was not happy. Neither was I happy with the attitude that the ticketing agent was throwing at me... and I made it known. Cut to... me getting priority stand-by on the 9:27 PM flight.
Sitting at the gate, waiting for the delayed plan to arrive (the 9:27 PM flight became the 9:55 PM flight), I was glad to have my gaydar scream nelly murder when the agent arrived at the gate A30 counter. I let him deal with the counter vultures and settle in for a minute after that, then put on my best face and approached. Cut to... me not only getting a confirmed seat, but also a free upgrade to first class.
The bad news... the flight was delayed another hour on the runway due to some mechanical checks, which put me at SFO at 1:30 AM (four hours after initially scheduled) in the middle of a rare San Francisco thunderstorm. The good news... I'm here and ready for fun.
First, I had all of three days to plan the trip. I was booking my flight online Wednesday night when some problem with the Delta Airlines website caused me to go past the midnight cut-off for the three-day advance price. I saw the cost of the ticket jump $200 in a matter of minutes. And, although I am getting reimbursed for the travel expenses, I didn't want to pay that much up front or present an enormous expense report to a company with whom I'm hoping to land a job. So, I called Delta Airlines customer service (if it can be called that) to get the cheaper flight. After going round and round with the representative, I finally got him to talk to his supervisor. Cut to... me getting the cheaper fare.
I won't bore you with the gory details of getting to the airport, but suffice it to say, between road construction, a broken down MARTA train, and Delta's new rule that says you must check in 45 minutes before the flight departure time if you are checking bags, I missed my 7:25 PM flight. Now, I could have still made the flight if it hadn't been for this new rule. So, suffice it to say, I was not happy. Neither was I happy with the attitude that the ticketing agent was throwing at me... and I made it known. Cut to... me getting priority stand-by on the 9:27 PM flight.
Sitting at the gate, waiting for the delayed plan to arrive (the 9:27 PM flight became the 9:55 PM flight), I was glad to have my gaydar scream nelly murder when the agent arrived at the gate A30 counter. I let him deal with the counter vultures and settle in for a minute after that, then put on my best face and approached. Cut to... me not only getting a confirmed seat, but also a free upgrade to first class.
The bad news... the flight was delayed another hour on the runway due to some mechanical checks, which put me at SFO at 1:30 AM (four hours after initially scheduled) in the middle of a rare San Francisco thunderstorm. The good news... I'm here and ready for fun.