Sunday, October 20, 2013

I've Decided ......

...... to not decide.

Yes, I found houses in Tulsa that I liked.  A lot.
But I just don't feel ready to pull the trigger.

What I do feel ready to do is get back to NY.
At least that's something.
: )

So an interesting thing happened on the way to Tulsa.
I left my bag of medications on the plane.
Unbeknownst to me.

The next morning I couldn't find the bag and called a friend.
She went to my house to see if I had left it at home.
I had not.

I wondered if I could've lost it on the plane, so on a whim I decided to call my home phone and check my messages.
And indeed, someone had found it.
An employee of the airline, which I shall not name, (but it used to be called Continental) found it after the plane had returned to Houston.  He, being a decent guy, called the number on my reservation.  He left a message saying that he had found it and asked if I wanted him to put it back on the plane, as it was headed back to Tulsa.
I didn't get the message in time to make that happen.

So I called that number the next morning, after I listened to the message.  I asked for "Randy".
I was told he was working in another area.  I explained what had happened and asked about my bag.
I was told that they don't normally do things like that and that my bag wasn't there.  I repeated that "Randy" had called me, and that he had been in possession of it.  I was told that he was only being "a good guy" and that the bag was now in "lost in found" and would be in "lost baggage" by that evening.  I was then told to go on line and file a claim and then wait to be contacted.
So I did.
That was Wednesday.
The 16th.

Yesterday, Saturday, the 19th, after hearing nothing,  I called this airline's "lost luggage" department.  After being on hold for a while, I was told that there was no record of the bag.  Or of my claim.
I patiently explained the situation.
The employee I was talking to didn't give one red cent about this problem.  Or that another employee had once had my medications.  He said that that was not their policy.
I said that I not only have "Randy's" name and number, but I still have the message.
I then said that if, after 4 days, my bag had not been turned into "lost baggage", I could only assume that it had been stolen.
He kept repeating that I needed to just wait another 10-14 days to see if it shows up.

I asked to speak to someone at the actual Houston airport, in the actual "lost baggage" department.
He told me that wouldn't help.  I repeated the question and he said no, it would be a waste of time.  I need to file another claim and wait 10-14 days.
He.
Was.
Infuriating.

I ended up telling him that I realized this was not his fault, or his problem, but that he had been very unhelpful and that someone will have to look into a possible problem of theft at his workplace.
And then I hung up.
And sent an email to customer service, which is all I could do.

After I flew into Houston tonight I checked with the lady at "lost baggage".  I told her the story and she was most concerned and very helpful.
But the bag wasn't there.
She admitted that it was likely that someone had taken the bag, and said that she was sorry.  She asked if my pharmacy would re-fill the meds.
I told her that I hope so.

So, that's been fun.
: )



Homecoming was great, as usual.  We were able to meet up with friends that we hadn't since in years. And I mean YEARS.
We also took a tour through our sorority house to see all the changes that have been made over the YEARS.
The girls who live there smiled at us the exact same way we used to smile at alums who came by ......
kind of like, "Oh, aren't they cute?  Those old women who used to live here back in the dark ages.  Can you even imagine being that OLD?!  Ugh!"
Yeah.
What goes around, comes around, girls.
In the blink of an eye.

It was 39 degrees and raining off and on as we walked all over campus, checking out all of the house decorations and running into old friends.
But it was still fun.

I bought a hamburger from Son #3's fraternity.
I think it was the coldest hamburger I've ever eaten.
Their warmers had gone out.
Nice.

I rescued my brother from funnel cake hell.
He was a parent volunteer at his daughter's sorority and had been making funnel cakes for hours.
And had experienced a huge gust of wind that whipped through the tent and knocked over gallons of iced tea.
Right down his back.
Homecoming ...... it's not for sissies.

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching "Storage Wars.
And staying warm.
Well, at least I stayed warm ...... but I didn't have a wet backside.
Or reek of the smell of hot oil.

And then there was this (which you may have seen that night on ESPN live):


The game was ...... well, a bit painful, but we won.
Both teams were pretty sloppy and there was much stress and frustration in the stands.
That tends to happen after a kicker misses three (3) field goal attempts.
In a row.
Sigh ...

But, at least it was a win.
And we once again enjoyed the "largest Homecoming in the nation".
And I got to spend time with Son #3.
So it was a win-win.

: )










3 comments:

Beth said...

I'm glad you're still writing. And glad you're coming back to NYC very soon. Miss you. And love you. Very much.

Beth said...

does this mean your back? your site still comes up as one of my favorites when I log on my computer, still click it out of habit. was surprised when it opened. Hope so. miss you. see you SOON!!!

Jonathan said...

While I have only recently discovered your blog, I love it. Life is never what we expect, far different than the perfect lives of others, not fair, but always entertaining. Thanks for taking the time to pour your soul into your writing.