If I Can Make It Here

I am still not home.

My flight yesterday got canceled because of the bad weather in the DC area. They put me on a later flight, and as expected, that flight got canceled too. The earliest flight they could put me on was for 10:40 tonight. So, being tired, and not wanting to spend the night in the airport I found a hotel nearby to stay in.

I ended up staying in the night in the Howard Johnson's near JFK. The price was not too crazy. (Of course, in the New York area, all hotel prices are crazy.) I took a cab over to the hotel. The driver didn't know where the Howard Johnson's was. That was a red flag. He ended up going the wrong way and the fare ended up being higher than it needed to be. When we finally arrived at HoJos, I asked the driver what the fare was ($15) and gave him a $20 and asked him for a receipt. He came back with the receipt and I asked him where my change was. He said that was for gratuity. I told him "for what?" He drove me the wrong way and now wants a $5 tip? He told me that was usual. I told him that just because I showed up in the country today, doesn't mean I know what the deal is. After arguing back and forth about it, he finally gave me $2 back. Being tired, I gave up on the argument.

When I went inside the hotel, they did not have my reservation. The guy said he had a reservation for a Tim Rudman and he asked me if I was sure I wasn't Tim Rudman. In my tiredness and disbelief, I told him I was positive I was not Tim Rudman. He asked me if perhaps I gave them a different name. And again, in my tiredness, I told him why would I give them a different name than my own. He kept on insisting that I might be Tim Rudman. And AGAIN, in my tiredness, I said, "Perhaps, just by coincidence there might actually be more than one Tim in the world and they both have reservations at the HoJos."

I ended up calling Hotels.com and straightening it out with them. I did apologize to him for being a smart ass. (But he never apologized for being stupid. ;) KIDDING)

The room wasn't too bad and I actually got some sleep. I did end up making the best of the situation and ordered some genuine New York pizza. I ordered a small pizza and a Coke and ended up getting what for most places would be a large pizza. The price also wasn't too bad...only $12. (After the $20 taxi ride, that was a bargain.)

Today, I checked out at noon and headed over the airport. I caught the free shuttle over to the airport. (It was much quicker and cheaper...nothing beats free.) When I got to the airport, there were tons of people in line. I figured a lot of people were in line to rebook their flights. Since I already had a seat, I only needed to do a simple check in. However, the self-check in kiosks were not in service. So I asked information if I needed to stand in line to check in. They told me that I needed to.

Well, I stood in line, for over 3 1/2 hours. At one point during the wait, they announced that all flights before 4:00 were canceled. I was hoping that they wouldn't announce later that all of the flights for the day were canceled. The wait wasn't too bad. I spoke to my mom for about 1 hour of the wait and I also called Verizon Wireless to change my plan back to what it was before I left for the Philippines. There was a woman in line (and later her daughter) that I ended up striking up a conversation with. She and her family were desperately trying to get to the Dominican Republic. The flights to Miami were all backed up because of the cancellation. So, here I was all relaxed, and there were others who stressed out because they were trying to go on vacation. I guess it could be worse for me.

I decided I was going to stay in the Admiral's Club lounge that American Airlines has. They offer a Day Pass that I decided to take advantage of. That is where I am at now. The seats are way more comfortable and they have internet access available. I figured it was worth the extra money to relax a little more.

Right now the skies have cleared up here in New York. (Although, there are some dark clouds again in the distance.) My flight is supposed to go out at 10:40 tonight, which would put me in to DC just before midnight. I think my chances of getting out tonight are better than not. They actually have flights flying out of here now. However, the only drawback is that I am taking American Eagle back to DC. I will be on one of those commuter planes, and the winds are supposed to pick up tonight. I am hoping they don't cancel the flight because of the winds.

I know I will eventually make it home.