Simple Endings Are Never Easy

I was actually hoping to end my blogging about the Poland trip with a simple sentence about an uneventful trip back home on Saturday. Were I only that lucky ...

Early morning on Saturday, one of our hosts, Radek, picked us up at the hotel for the 2.5 hour drive to Warsaw from Olsztyn. Our flight was at 12 noon and everyone suggested that we leave by 6:30 AM to be safe. So we did. The drive to Warsaw airport was quite uneventful and we arrived at the airport very early (by 9:45 AM). After a little confusion about which terminal to go to, we waited around the crowded, disorganized and confused terminal for check in. It's weird. They have a medium-sized hall with a bunch of check-in windows along three sides of the hall. In the middle of this hall, there is a large jumble of people waiting for ther flight check-in to open. Mingled with this shifting mass of people are those who are already in line for their check-in counter. At first glance, it is difficult to see who is standing where and why. Eventually, with the help of an information window, we found put which counters would be open for our flight and just waited around for it to open.

The flight to Amsterdam was smooth and uneventful. Once in Amsterdam, we went through the security check for our flight and were told that it was delayed. We waited around for a few hours (with no additional information update) and then were told that the flight (which was scheduled to leave Amsterdam at 3:30 PM) had been "delayed" until 9 AM the next morning! Even this information we gathered from the mass of people who let out a collective graon. The announcement on what to do was made while some other airport announcements were being made and was basically unintelligible. There was a mass movement of bodies towards the counters as everyone asked everyone else around them what exactly was said. I gathered from the crowd that we were to go to baggage claim #3 to get hotel vouchers for the night.

At passport control, my colleague who was traveling with me got stuck (which I didn't know as he was behind me) because he had an Indian passport and they needed to issue him a visa to enter the Netherlands for the night. Meanwhile, I was issued a hotel voucher and shipped off to a poky hotel with tiny rooms. That started a whole bunch of events including numerous cross-continental calls as I tried to track down my colleague. Realizing that there are only two flights from Detroit to Duluth (one at 12 noon and one at 9:30 PM), I also called Northwest Airlines and had them rebook us on the 8 AM flight from Amsterdam as the 9 AM departure would result in us being unable to catch the 12 noon flight (and the idea of spending many more hours in Detroit at that point was not appealing). After a whole series of communications which are too long and confusing to detail here, I managed to get in touch with my colleague and asked him to get to the airport early. When I got to the airport, I was told that there was no way we could travel on the 8 AM flight since our baggage was loaded on the "delayed to 9 AM" flight. They emphasized that for international travel, the passenger must travel with the bags. After unsuccessfully speaking with many people and getting the same answer, we resigned ourselves to working things out after getting to Detroit.

On our arrival in Detroit, the ticket agent re-routed us through Minneapolis and then to Duluth, getting us in to Duluth at 6:30 PM. I specifically asked her if there was any chance of making the 12 noon flight and she said "No, it's too late for that one" since it was about 11:45 AM at this point. I even answered saying "I know, but I was hoping it was delayed." She shook her head.

Since there was plenty of time, I took my time going through security and sitting on a chair past the security to tie my shoelaces. Then, just for the heck of it, I wandered over to the bank of monitors to find that the 12 noon flight to Duluth had been delayed to (according tot he monitors) 12:17 PM. At this point it was a few minutes to 12 noon. I whirled around to look for my colleague to tell him we should just head to that gate to see if there is even a small chance of getting on the flight, but I could not find him. Assuming that he had walked past me (not having seen me waling over to these monitors), I ran out of the security area and headed to the "C" Terminal for the Duluth flight. I practically ran all the way (of course, it was the furthest terminal from where we were) and got to the gate to find them still boarding the flight. There was no sign of my colleague at the gate. I asked them if I could get on the flight, and after a whole set of nerve-racking phone calls and adjustments (too detailed to go into here), I found myself on the flight without my colleague. He obviously never checked the monitors to find out about the delayed flight and headed straight to the gate for our 3:30 flight to Minneapolis.

I arrived home (a day late) and recently checked to ensure that the 3:30 flight to Minneapolis (on which we were scheduled to fly) was on its way with my colleague and our baggage only to find that the airplane was indefinitely delayed due to mechanical problems that eventually led to an aircraft change. Amazingly, on this entire trip, not a single Northwest plane left on time and two of the four had mechanical problems. Something surely is a problem with this airline.

Air Rage? Taking Out Frustrations on Airline Staff

Okay, so let me use today's post to finish my thoughts about my nightmare trip to Boston. now that I'm a little removed form it, perhaps I can be a little more brief than I otherwise would have been.

So, when Northwest handed me the hotel and dinner vouchers, I specifically asked the lady at the counter whether I had to call for a shuttle from the airport or whether they would come automatically. She assured me that the shuttles run on a regular schedule and that I did not need to call (WRONG - what did people do in the age before cell phones?). I also asked her if I needed to use the dinner voucher at the airport or whether I could use it at the hotel's restaurant. She promised me that I could use it at the hotel's restaurant (Well, I guess maybe you could, if the hotel even had a restaurant. The good news is that they're getting one next year!).

Another interesting experience was watching some really irate passengers interact with the gate agents. One old man and his wife seemed in a state of panic and the man was very curt and rude to the agent. The wife kept jumping in with her comments. At one point she said, "But we're diabetics and we're out of medicine." The gate agent started to respond, but the man turned to his wife and said, in a loudd voice, "Honey, they don't care about that. They don't really give a damn about us." I could see the gate agent flush red. He then started to ask how he could help get ... when he was cut off by the man who said "Just help us by doing your job and getting us out of here." Later, after he had gone out of his way to ask them where they could get their prescription refilled and how he could help, he said "Sir, I think you're wrong. We really do care. I was simply trying to get more information from you to help you."

I guess I've done enough traveling to know that there is just no benefit to losing your temper with the airline staff. When bad weather disrupts so many flights, they're as frazzled and frustrated as the passengers are. They are as anxious to get you out of their airport as you are to leave. They're being blamed for something that had nothing to do with their performance. I guess it does make the yellers feel a little better to get it out of their system. But, I think yelling at them doesn't give them any incentive to go out of their way to help you.

Fascinating situation for people-watching, though.

The Path to Happiness Pt. 1

Now before I get people inflamed, let me start with a disclaimer. This post is meant to be introspective and not prescreptive in any way. That is, I am in no way qualified to advice anyone on happiness. This is just my "journal entry" on something that worked for me.

In true "infomercial" style, let me tell you what I used to be like. I was one of the many who would slam my hand on the steering wheel and curse (under my breath) when I was cut off by some careless driver. Hitting a series of red lights when I was in a hurry would get me fuming and (occasionally) even blaming the lights. While these were never serious impairments, my breakthrough came when I read one of the many quotes my great-grandfather used to print on holiday cards he sent to friends. It's something you've all seen or read: Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference (attributed variously to people including St. Francis of Assissi). It suddenly hit me that when I curse at the old lady talking on the cell phone while driving or even more ridiculously yell at the traffic light for turning red, I am affecting no one but myself! It really hit me that there is NO point in getting frustrated at something or someone if it is having NO effect on them. I'm not kidding, it really made a difference (now this is sounding like a paid announcement). Now really, every time I find myself getting angry or frustrated at something, I stop and ask myself if this frustration is doing anything other than putting me in a bad mood. If not, I have the option of either doing something to change the target of my frustration or letting it go.

Now, it has even got to the point of being weird. I remember a time when I was (again) in a hurry to get somewhere and ran into a red light. The moment I hit the steering wheel and cursed (and I mean something as terrible as "damn those damn lights"), I realized what was happening and burst out laughing. I got to my destination late, but in a good mood. It even works when I get frustrated with people. I realize there's no point in getting angry and frustrated if the other person is oblivious to my anger. I'm doing just the opposite of achieving my objective. The person causing the anger is happy and doing fine while I sit and stew and mess up my day. So, if I'm not prepared to confront the person, I just let it go and actually force myself to stop getting angry.

That's weird, isn't it? But hey, it works for me. I find myself more happy than not and if I'm so angry that I can't let it go, I confront the person with my problem. So, my "path to happiness, part 1" is simply to either let people know exactly what they're doing that's bugging you or just drop it and not let it bug you at all. Easy!