thursday morning:
my flight was at 6:40am. i wasn't sure what time i should leave. 4? 4:30? 5? it should take about a half hour to get to the airport. but that wasn't allowing me time to figure out where the long term parking was, and time to take the shuttle to the airport which comes around every 15 minutes, the website said.
i didn't get on the road till about 5:20am. this is when i started panicking. "oh god, please let me make it." "god help me," i'd repeat over and over.
i have serious issues with time.
first dilemma: finding the parking lot. i turned on the road the directions said, and i kept driving. after a while i panicked that i might've fucking passed it. that's when i finally saw a sign for park 'n save.
of course, it was this mad maze of turning on different roads, following the little blue signs. after a turn, i'd worry that i had missed the next sign for where to go now. but eventually i made it. i marveled at my ability to do this by myself. you have no idea how often i don't do things like this.
next dilemma: is there available parking?? if there was no parking, that meant finding where the other lot is, losing more time, and god, what if i miss my flight. it looked full as soon as i turned in the lot and of course i fucking panicked. i saw signs that told you what to do if the lot was full. i kept driving. imagine my relief when i saw one spot at the very edge of the lot.
third dilemma: getting to the airport on time. now i had to figure out where the shuttle picked you up. actually, that was easy enough, i saw the stations as i drove in. but where was the shuttle and how does this all really work, will it get me there on time? actually, the shuttle drove right past my car as i got out. it was driving around to one of the stations. so i walked hurriedly.
i was halfway in between stations. do i walk to the one the shuttle is parked at? or does he go right to the next one on my right?
i attempted to walk to the one it was parked at, but as i was maybe 100 feet away, the driver started moving. and he passed by me, while beeping the horn and telling me to go to the next station. ugh. so i ran to the next station. and i made it.
once inside the shuttle, the lady sitting across from me said to me, "getting your exercise this morning?"
"yes," i told her.
i was stressed the fuck out, and i was afraid of how i'd react to other people, but i seemed to be doing okay. now the question was, how long does it take to the aiport?
it was around 6am at this point. god, how i worried about making this fucking flight.
the driver started dropping off at the different terminals. i had looked up online for it to tell me that AirTran was at Terminal 4, the last one. when the driver asked where everyone was going, and he was dropping me off at terminal 3, i was very confused.
i had the audacity to ask him if he was sure this was the right terminal. if this was the wrong one, imagine the time i'd lose to get to the right one. i was thinking that he might've misheard what i said, confused it with a different airline. i looked at the sign ahead of me, i thought maybe he was thinking i meant ATA. but i went ahead and trusted him, and got off the shuttle. i stared ahead of me, a little dejected, not seeing a sign for where to go for AirTran.
but the driver told me, "behind you." and there it was.
race upstairs for check-in. i saw the computer screens for AirTran self check-in, but didn't want to deal with it, so i got in line. handed my ID. the lady wasn't seeing my name. she started asking when i made the reservation. 'holy fuck,' my head was going. but i remained calm and cheerful on the exterior. i searched for my confirmation page that i printed out. when she saw it.. she saw that i, uhm.. was in line for the wrong airline. i laughed at what a ditz i am, apologized, and went over to AirTran, the counter next door.
there, the lady told me they're already boarding. i believed it.
past security, approaching gate, i heard them paging my name. the two flight attendents at the gate already knew who i was supposed to be, as well as the attendents inside the plane. it was an odd scene of "we all know your name" and "we've been waiting for you" as i staggered my way sheepishly to the back of the plane.
but i made it. i was on the plane. it wasn't leaving without me.
actually, it wasn't leaving after i got there, either.
after being settled in my seat for a few minutes, i heard them say on the intercom that we were waiting for weather to clear in atlanta. ten, twenty minutes later, they tell us that the weather hasn't improved at all and it would be about an hour before we actually take off. they gave us the freedom to get out of our seats and roam around back to the gate area.
new panic for me: what happens when you miss a connecting flight? will i be stranded? i paid to get to chicago, not to atlanta.. surely they must have some provisions for a situation like that.
i wanted to ask one of the flight attendants, but i was also very tired. so i chose to take a nap, sprawled out on two seats, instead.
LJ