A Fool And His AMEX Card Are Soon Parted
#photoadayaug - 9 - i'd gotten a call from #USelessAir that my flight was delayed - first 30 minutes, then 2 hours - then ultimately cancelled. All within 5 minutes! my travel plans had gotten #messy. No matter, i was able to book a room at the Aloft by PHL. So i popped smoke and made my way north.
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When i got up to the Aloft, they had their typical hip music playing. i was bopping and grooving and the girl at the desk liked it and was even more impressed that i knew the words - it was an old hip-hop song from the early 90s or thereabouts. This black family was hanging out there as well and they thought it was pretty funny and the father came over and said "Hi" and shook my hand and seemed to think he should know me as if i some entertainer. No, just a dancing bear. Turns out it was the family of the Eagles' star wide receiver, DeSean Jackson. The Eagles had their home opener - pre-season - that evening down the road. Like i would know, right? i was told to go down to the Sheraton for dinner, but come back and buy a piece of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake from their cooler for dessert. So i got my room keys and be-bopped off to the elevator.
After changing and doing a few things, i went down to forage for food. i futzed around by the giant "Aloft" sign and even used my wallet to prop up the camera. i went down and had some dinner - good, not great - and then when i went to pay...OOPS, no AMEX!! So i used one of my other cards and headed back. i went and looked in the bushes where i was taking the picture by the sign thinking it had obviously fallen out there, but no. i went inside and the guy was at the desk and knew nothing about any cards. i went upstairs and tore through my clothes and, finding nothing, went through my backpag and my suitcase and the whole room. Nothing. i called AMEX and they said once it was cancelled there was no resurrecting and i was covered for bogus charges so i held off and kept looking. About 9:30 i said screw it and went down for a swim.
When i got down there, there were about 10 little kids in the pool so i just got a beer. Fortunately, the staff soon shooshed them out since after 9 it was adults only. Ahh... After i got out, i saw the girl who had checked me in. Sure enough, she hadn't given me my card and had put it on her keyboard thinking i'd be right back. Well, i didn't think to look at first plus she could have just called and told me to come back! She knew my number... No matter, we went to the desk. Not there. They tore the desk apart. Plus the security guy and the guy from engineering were there as well. Nothing.
She was going to comp me the night, but couldn't figure out the accounting. So instead, she gave me 7000 Starpoints (good for one free night!) which worked out better for me since you KNOW i charged that night into my expenses. So fine...i was going to get a couple of beers and head upstairs. "Oh, and i'm taking the cheesecake.'
The next morning, i got up and worked from the hotel all morning. Some rainstorms rolled through the area which is never a good sign especially the way my luck had been these past few weeks. About 1'ish, i made my way over to the airport. Hertz had charged the card overnight and there wasn't any additional charge for the extra day...i didn't ask questions. As long as they were happy, so was i. i've taken to going in through the International Terminal as it is usually pretty dead and the security line is never more than 10 people if you time it right. All of the concourses are linked on the other side, so it's your choice. Most folks don't know that and spend achingly long waits over in B/C.
We pushed off late, as usual, and then got stuck in more traffic trying to take off. We landed about 5:30 in Charlotte and boarding for my CET-STL leg was to begin at 5:25. It was nearly 5:45 by the time i got off the plane. Of course, we were at the end of the D concourse and my connection was down and across the main terminal over and up at the end of the B concourse. i got into a range walk (Army terminology) and without knocking over any old ladies made it to the gate. Huffing and puffing, i asked if it was my flight and they assured me it was but thanks for US Air's predictably horrific on-time performance, it was delayed as usual. Exhausted, i collapsed into a chair, a sweaty mess.
As it turned out, thanks to built-in wiggle room, we landed in STL just 5 minutes late. Baggage took another half-hour, but soon enough, i was home and having dinner with Matt. The new AMEX card arrived via UPS on Saturday morning and i was able to go online and update all of my travel sites by copy/paste in less than 30 minutes. Drama resolved.
