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A Rather Horrid Holiday.
18 years ago
General
This is my official Holiday journal. Yes, yes, I'm well aware that the holidays are over for most people (although Chinese New Year ought to be fun next week), however it has take me this long simply to pull myself away from the drudgery that is my recovery for this year's holiday.
It started out well enough, and had an excellent climax as well. However the moments between those two points, as well as the still unknown conclusion have left me rather bitter about this year's Yuletide celebrations.
I was lucky enough to find out that I would have the entire holiday weekend off this past Christmas, which unfotunately did not change my plans for the year at all, seeing as how the ticket that my parents bought for me to come home for the holiday were purchased with the assumption that i might have to work on Christmas Eve. Still, it meant more time for me to spend working my at-home job
I was able to do all of my Holiday shopping fairly quickly, seeing as how I knew what everyone wanted, and was able to finish all my holiday shopping in one day. Two days later on the night of the 23rd, I had all of my things packed up and ready to travel with me.
Among my luggage, I had decided to pack my brand new X-Box 360 and a few games, so I could share the fun of it with my sister when I got home. She always liked the Halo series, so I thought I'd show her the latest installment of that. I also brought along The Orange Box, which was an early Christmas present from my roommate Red, and Beautiful Katamari, because I like the colors (so sue me).
I grabbed a nice Philly Steak sandwhich for dinner before heading out from the local liquor store, and caught a shuttle cab straight to the airport. The driver, a gay man by the name of Ray, shared a pleasant conversation on the ride.
When I arrived at the airport a little under 3 hours early, I was expecting a long wait at the check-in line, but was surprised to be inside and ready to leave with 2 1/2 hours to spare. Naturally, I headed directly to the bar, where I ordered a Jager Bomb and a Pomegranite Martini (yay martinis! ^..^).
The flight left on time with no delays. This ends the pleasantness of my trip. Now my flight was scheduled to arrive in New Jersey, where I would transfer immediately to North Carolina. The flight to New Jersey was turbulent, and restless. Oh, did I mention I was flying the overnight red-eye? Yes, I probably should have mentioned that. Anyhow, I got to New Jersey at around 5am (with 3 hours jet lag), and boarded the next flight at the oppossite end of the airport. It left on time as well, thankfully, though it was quite a rush to get to the terminal door.
Now far be it from me to criticize my birthstate, but this is Jersey, and I was soon reminded of this when the plane hit a pothole on the runway. I don't know what it takes for an airport runway to get pottholes in it, but apparently NJ managed to get it alright.
The flight itself (minus some mild turbulence), was rather enjoyable. I got to stay up and watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean-- something that I haven't enjoyed in many, many years. From that altitude, it is truly astounding. I had a 3 hour flight to NC to watch it, and enjoyed every minute of that sunrise.
Though my grandmother always warned me, and I was reminded by a nagging thought in the back of my head as I watched the red morning sky... "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." She always said it was bad luck. Well the entire horizon was red that morning, and I should have taken heed of her warning...
When I arrived in NC at 8am, I was shocked by the baggage officials to learn that my luggage had not left San Diego on time, and would not be arriving until 10 O'clock that morning. However, the airport's complimentary baggage delivery service would ship it directly to my house, and it would arrive between 1pm and 3pm. Well I had nothing really to do that day; it was only Christmas Eve, after all.
The time for delivery came and went, however, and no bags in site. We found that there was an 800 number to call for the airlines should anything go amiss, and so we called... only to spend over an hour of waiting on the phone with no answers whatsoever. I finally got fed up with it, and researched the local numbers to find out who handled the baggage at the airport. I finally got through to determining that my luggage was AT the airport, and was not due to be delivered until near 4pm, and would likely arrive around 7pm.
Naturally, I would no stand for this waiting, and drove to the airport to pick up the luggage myself, where it was hand-delivered to me by airport personel. It was nearing 5pm, and my sister wanted me to go with her to a Christmas Eve church function, which I obliged her with.
I arrived home around 7pm, and opened my bags for the first time to discover that my XBox 360, its power cables, the controllers, and all my games were gone. Panic ensued (mostly by me), and in 30 minutes I was back at the airport trying to find out how to file a claim and get compensation. Unfortunately, no methods were provided. Bypassing the airline's normal procedures, I filed a police report, retiring to my parents home defeated and depressed.
The following day was rather uplifting. The presents I recieved were quite nice-- the laptop from which I am writing this, for example, as well as a photo printer/scanner, a new iHome system, and the best gift of all-- a pre-published edition of a poetry anthology from Poetry.com containing MY work as the first piece, "Friend or Foe." Now many people have told me that Poetry.com is a scam, and that the book was probably a pull-- just something published for me. However even if it is, it is still inspiring to see my work in ANY sort of book. That moment brought tears to my eyes; I have never felt that I could ever be deserving of my own publication before, and this was wonderful. Every time I look at it I feel that I can do it again, and I hope to see my work published by more reputable sources someday in the future.
The following evening I was due to be heading home. I was sad to be leaving, but I made the best I could of it, and spent some time with my boyfriend before I was due to depart. We enjoyed lunch and a movie together, exchanged our Christmas gifts, and then I left for the airport.
I arrived with a bit of time to spare and was not in any rush. I spent the time getting a cup of coffee for my trip back, only to find that the plane had boarded already-- 30 minutes early, as opposed to 15 minute early as the signs indicated they would. As such, I missed my flight, though my luggage did not, and I spent $75 to re-book it for the next available flight in 2 days.
Although I was upset about missing my flight, it did mean I would have some more time to spend with my boyfriend, and we took advantage of our oppurtunity. It also gave me a chance to say hello to some of my friends that I had not seen in a while in NC, and I did enjoy that.
On the day of my re-booked flight (the 28th, for those who aren't keeping up), I arrived at the airport 2 hours early, and went to check in. The teller informed me that my flight had been cancelled, and the next available flight would not be until 2pm, in about 4 hours. This plane would transfer in Cincinatti, where I would wait for a 9pm flight to San Diego.
So I waited and waited, spending my entire day between airports, and not getting to San Diego until 10pm PST, with another 3 hours jet lag. I got there with only minor turbulence, and my luggage was waiting there for me. Once I arrived, I spent an hour talking with a baggage representative in regards to filing a formal complaint with the company in order to get compensation for my stolen XBox 360, and again was left with no direction to take.
Fast forwarding to the present, I have still not been able to get through to them, and I spend at least 2 hours each day finding a new way to nothing accomplished in regards to compensation. I have written letters, sent emails, and made countless phone calls. In a short time, I will be calling the media to do a report on this, because I want everyone to know this one thing:
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES SUCK ASS!!!
This concludes my Yule log.
Until next I scribe, this has been Ryuujin C. S., your Scribble Dragon, hoping you all had a much better holiday than I. ^.____.^ Ciao!
It started out well enough, and had an excellent climax as well. However the moments between those two points, as well as the still unknown conclusion have left me rather bitter about this year's Yuletide celebrations.
I was lucky enough to find out that I would have the entire holiday weekend off this past Christmas, which unfotunately did not change my plans for the year at all, seeing as how the ticket that my parents bought for me to come home for the holiday were purchased with the assumption that i might have to work on Christmas Eve. Still, it meant more time for me to spend working my at-home job
I was able to do all of my Holiday shopping fairly quickly, seeing as how I knew what everyone wanted, and was able to finish all my holiday shopping in one day. Two days later on the night of the 23rd, I had all of my things packed up and ready to travel with me.
Among my luggage, I had decided to pack my brand new X-Box 360 and a few games, so I could share the fun of it with my sister when I got home. She always liked the Halo series, so I thought I'd show her the latest installment of that. I also brought along The Orange Box, which was an early Christmas present from my roommate Red, and Beautiful Katamari, because I like the colors (so sue me).
I grabbed a nice Philly Steak sandwhich for dinner before heading out from the local liquor store, and caught a shuttle cab straight to the airport. The driver, a gay man by the name of Ray, shared a pleasant conversation on the ride.
When I arrived at the airport a little under 3 hours early, I was expecting a long wait at the check-in line, but was surprised to be inside and ready to leave with 2 1/2 hours to spare. Naturally, I headed directly to the bar, where I ordered a Jager Bomb and a Pomegranite Martini (yay martinis! ^..^).
The flight left on time with no delays. This ends the pleasantness of my trip. Now my flight was scheduled to arrive in New Jersey, where I would transfer immediately to North Carolina. The flight to New Jersey was turbulent, and restless. Oh, did I mention I was flying the overnight red-eye? Yes, I probably should have mentioned that. Anyhow, I got to New Jersey at around 5am (with 3 hours jet lag), and boarded the next flight at the oppossite end of the airport. It left on time as well, thankfully, though it was quite a rush to get to the terminal door.
Now far be it from me to criticize my birthstate, but this is Jersey, and I was soon reminded of this when the plane hit a pothole on the runway. I don't know what it takes for an airport runway to get pottholes in it, but apparently NJ managed to get it alright.
The flight itself (minus some mild turbulence), was rather enjoyable. I got to stay up and watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean-- something that I haven't enjoyed in many, many years. From that altitude, it is truly astounding. I had a 3 hour flight to NC to watch it, and enjoyed every minute of that sunrise.
Though my grandmother always warned me, and I was reminded by a nagging thought in the back of my head as I watched the red morning sky... "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." She always said it was bad luck. Well the entire horizon was red that morning, and I should have taken heed of her warning...
When I arrived in NC at 8am, I was shocked by the baggage officials to learn that my luggage had not left San Diego on time, and would not be arriving until 10 O'clock that morning. However, the airport's complimentary baggage delivery service would ship it directly to my house, and it would arrive between 1pm and 3pm. Well I had nothing really to do that day; it was only Christmas Eve, after all.
The time for delivery came and went, however, and no bags in site. We found that there was an 800 number to call for the airlines should anything go amiss, and so we called... only to spend over an hour of waiting on the phone with no answers whatsoever. I finally got fed up with it, and researched the local numbers to find out who handled the baggage at the airport. I finally got through to determining that my luggage was AT the airport, and was not due to be delivered until near 4pm, and would likely arrive around 7pm.
Naturally, I would no stand for this waiting, and drove to the airport to pick up the luggage myself, where it was hand-delivered to me by airport personel. It was nearing 5pm, and my sister wanted me to go with her to a Christmas Eve church function, which I obliged her with.
I arrived home around 7pm, and opened my bags for the first time to discover that my XBox 360, its power cables, the controllers, and all my games were gone. Panic ensued (mostly by me), and in 30 minutes I was back at the airport trying to find out how to file a claim and get compensation. Unfortunately, no methods were provided. Bypassing the airline's normal procedures, I filed a police report, retiring to my parents home defeated and depressed.
The following day was rather uplifting. The presents I recieved were quite nice-- the laptop from which I am writing this, for example, as well as a photo printer/scanner, a new iHome system, and the best gift of all-- a pre-published edition of a poetry anthology from Poetry.com containing MY work as the first piece, "Friend or Foe." Now many people have told me that Poetry.com is a scam, and that the book was probably a pull-- just something published for me. However even if it is, it is still inspiring to see my work in ANY sort of book. That moment brought tears to my eyes; I have never felt that I could ever be deserving of my own publication before, and this was wonderful. Every time I look at it I feel that I can do it again, and I hope to see my work published by more reputable sources someday in the future.
The following evening I was due to be heading home. I was sad to be leaving, but I made the best I could of it, and spent some time with my boyfriend before I was due to depart. We enjoyed lunch and a movie together, exchanged our Christmas gifts, and then I left for the airport.
I arrived with a bit of time to spare and was not in any rush. I spent the time getting a cup of coffee for my trip back, only to find that the plane had boarded already-- 30 minutes early, as opposed to 15 minute early as the signs indicated they would. As such, I missed my flight, though my luggage did not, and I spent $75 to re-book it for the next available flight in 2 days.
Although I was upset about missing my flight, it did mean I would have some more time to spend with my boyfriend, and we took advantage of our oppurtunity. It also gave me a chance to say hello to some of my friends that I had not seen in a while in NC, and I did enjoy that.
On the day of my re-booked flight (the 28th, for those who aren't keeping up), I arrived at the airport 2 hours early, and went to check in. The teller informed me that my flight had been cancelled, and the next available flight would not be until 2pm, in about 4 hours. This plane would transfer in Cincinatti, where I would wait for a 9pm flight to San Diego.
So I waited and waited, spending my entire day between airports, and not getting to San Diego until 10pm PST, with another 3 hours jet lag. I got there with only minor turbulence, and my luggage was waiting there for me. Once I arrived, I spent an hour talking with a baggage representative in regards to filing a formal complaint with the company in order to get compensation for my stolen XBox 360, and again was left with no direction to take.
Fast forwarding to the present, I have still not been able to get through to them, and I spend at least 2 hours each day finding a new way to nothing accomplished in regards to compensation. I have written letters, sent emails, and made countless phone calls. In a short time, I will be calling the media to do a report on this, because I want everyone to know this one thing:
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES SUCK ASS!!!
This concludes my Yule log.
Until next I scribe, this has been Ryuujin C. S., your Scribble Dragon, hoping you all had a much better holiday than I. ^.____.^ Ciao!
>HUGS<