Getting there is half the fun.
Three o’clock in the morning came too soon that day (Nov 25). As I zipped up the last luggage, hubby came in and said, “It’s time to go. Let’s wake the kids up.” Oh man… I haven’t been able to have a shut eye at all, and it’s time to go already? Good thing I dressed the kids in track pants, long sleeve shirts, and socks for them to sleep on. Once they’re awake, all they need to do was put their shoes on and get going. I was expecting some fuss, not wanting to get up, need more sleep, etc, from them; but there wasn’t any. They were actually in a happy mood when I woke them up. That’s why I couldn’t say ‘no’ when they asked if it’s okay to bring their pillows along.
Quarter to four in the morning, in our Toyota Highlander, on Interstate 35, I wondered if we were insane. After what had happened, with the cancellation and all, was it best for us to just cancel everything and not keep on trying? Is it like a bad signal that we’re supposed to follow and avoid going to SE Asia all together?
Four o’clock. We finally arrived at the Des Moines International Airport. Since it’s freakingly cold outside (somewhere in teens), hubby said he’d drop us off (and the luggages) at the front door, then he’d park the car and take the shuttle back to the airport *My hero!!*
When we checked in with Delta Airlines, they said that the four of us will be seated separately on the flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles! They’re talking rows and rows away, not only a few chairs. My heart sank. When we asked if there’s anything they could do since we have two little kids, they replied, “I’m sorry, it’s a full flight. You can try to have the people at the Atlanta gate to help you, but nothing we can do here.” *What a great service*
That’s why I couldn’t sleep at all on the flight from Des Moines (IA) to Atlanta (GA). Not only because it was a small plane and unbelievably uncomfortable, but mainly worrying about having my children scattered around in an airplane for 3 1/2 hours on the next flight.
When we finally got to Atlanta, we had to hurry to the next gate. Hubby directly went to the check-in counter and told the rep our situation. Again, they were reluctant to help and basically told us that there’s nothing they could do about it and for us to ‘beg’ other passengers to switch seats.
Hubby and I nervously walked into the plane; we kept the kids not knowing what’s going on because there’s no reason to scare them. We told our 7 y.o. Davi and 6 y.0. Dante to just sit on their assigned seats and play with their game Boy/read a book. Hubby was seated 2 rows right behind Dante, so that’s good, he could keep an eye on Dante and who’s seating next to him. Mean while, I was seated all the way at the back and couldn’t even see Davi, Dante, or hubby. I couldn’t sit at all. I was standing up and all jittery. Delta’s flight attendant wasn’t helpful whatsoever. There was one lady who said that she’d check on us from time to time, but that means no shit to me.
Finally, I saw an African-American young girl walking towards me and kept looking at the seat next to me. She’s probably in her early 20s, and behind her was her parents. I asked the girl politely if she’d mind switching seats with my seven year old daughter and briefly explained the situation. She snottily said, “No thanks. I’m sitting here with my parents.” She didn’t even look at me or trying to see where my daughter was seated. Neither did her parents. I knew they heard me alright, but her mom just glanced at me and shoke her head. No sympathy at all. Instead, they sat down and ate their fried chicken they’ve brought along.
Time passed, and the plane was almost full. Somebody who’s supposed to sit next to Dante was finally showed up. She was about 40ish y.o. with a very short hair, dressed masculine, and a tattoo on her hand. A dyke, I thought. They’re usually nice people. Boy, was I wrong. When hubby told her our situation, she looked at him like, “And why would I care?” Her reaction when hubby asked her a favor? She didn’t say anything but shaking her head and continued to store her bag in the overhead bin and find her seat.
Finally, with only a few minutes to spare before taking off, I just grabbed a flight attendant who’s nearby and with [almost] teary eyes I asked her if she would at least check if there’s any two of 2 seats close together so we could be with our kids. A lady overheard us and said to me, “There’s an empty seat next to me. I’d switch with you.” OMG! I thanked her over and over again and quickly grabbed Davi and her stuff to switch around. When we walked passed the black family, I purposely said loudly to Davi, “Wow, what an awesome lady, huh? She’s so nice to help a little girl like you. UNLIKE SOME OTHER PEOPLE.” Davi whispered, “Mommy, why are you talking so loud? I can hear you just fine.”
Good things come to those who wait. Shortly after I got Davi settled in next to me, the flight attendant found two empty seats at the very back of the plane; which was unfavorable because you wouldn’t be able to recline your seats back. Dante and Dad moved there.
I don’t know why we would want to fly to Asia, because both hubby and I were bitching on how long the flight from Atlanta to L.A. took (it was close to 4 hours). Kids seemed to be enjoying themselves, reading books, playing with their Game Boy, watching cartoons, etc. The adults were really struggling *maybe the lack of sleep made us cranky*
Do I see the light at the end of the tunnel yet? I wish. While hubby’s getting our luggages at the bagage claim area, I called the hotel to find out if they have shuttle buses. When they asked my name, they said it was cancelled because we were a no-show last night. Are you fuckin’ kidding me? The hotel rep told us to just go ahead and come in and they’ll help us out. At that time, I was about ready to kill him because he’s the one who booked it. But then, it was that chaotic midnight when we both stayed up all night preparing everything, so I decided to let him live. For now.
We got to the Embassy Suites LAX North, talked to the front desk rep, and after they check with the Manager they let us stay one night for free because it was an ‘honest mistake’. Now, that is SERVICE!
Our suite was quite big for a one bedroom (we originally booked the two bedroom suite, but not available at that time). We were happy with the one bedroom because there’s a pull-out bed in the living room. The staff was so nice and the breakfast was amazing.
We were scheduled to fly out to Seoul (South Korea) then Bangkok (Thailand) the next morning. Davi started to feel sicky that night; sore throat, headache, and mild fever. Great. The concierge only has sinus medication for adults, so I had to go out of the hotel and walk a little bit to a store to get something for her. Unfortunately, they only had Sudafed PE and it clearly said ‘for children under 12 year old, please contact your doctor’. Since it was already night time, our doctor’s office back home was already closed. Next option was to call the ‘First Nurse’ back home for suggestion. Whoever that nurse was, who answered the phone, was not very helpful at all. All she could come up with was for me to contact the nearest pharmaceutial because that particular medicine was not in her stinkin’ data base. Not wanting to overmeds her, all we could do was to make sure she’s well rested and to have her drink plenty of OJ (orange juice).
As I was packing for tomorrow’s long haul flight to Asia, I heard hubby cursed, “Fuck! Oh shit! Hunny, c’mere… you’re not going to believe this!”
… to be continued…
uhuhuuuuuu, kenapa disunat-sunat gini din postingannya. :((
@fitri: kan ceritanya serial drama :p
an African-American young girl walking towards me and kept looking at the seat next to me. She’s probably in her early 20s, and behind her was her parents. I asked the girl politely if she’d mind switching seats with my seven year old daughter and briefly explained the situation. She snottily said, “No thanks. I’m sitting here with my parents.” She didn’t even look at me or trying to see where my daughter was seated. Neither did her parents. I knew they heard me alright, but her mom just glanced at me and shoke her head. No sympathy at all. Instead, they sat down and ate their fried chicken they’ve brought along. —> Totally American manner
She was about 40ish y.o. with a very short hair, dressed masculine, and a tattoo on her hand. A dyke, I thought. They’re usually nice people. Boy, was I wrong. When hubby told her our situation, she looked at him like, “And why would I care?” Her reaction when hubby asked her a favor? She didn’t say anything but shaking her head and continued to store her bag in the overhead bin and find her seat.—-> Another American manner
A lady overheard us and said to me, “There’s an empty seat next to me. I’d switch with you.” —-> She’s probably half Indonesian for her good manner
din, sumpeh, gak sabar nih. a good way to ensure that the reader regularly check your blog 😀
@V: actually V, come to think of it, that nice lady did look like an asian woman.
Well, Madame Bovary had her share of bad luck of course. And Medea also ran into a fair amount of trouble. But your holiday story really seems to develop into a drama of such magnitude that it will end all holiday stories – or even holidays as such.
I know it is inappropriate in this context, so I will do it in a whisper: Happy New Year ( and stay home in ’09 to make sure),
OMG, Din … am near to death, wondering of your vacation, especially after your 1st post of Vacation Gone Wild.
Well … even in Indonesia there’s a lot of people who may have the same manner like the american manner :-p
BTW, Merry Belated Christmas Din and Happy New Year too.
All the best for you and your family throughout the coming year 🙂
Diny, your holiday sounds like a suspense story …. I could hear the drum is beating ……
*Happy New Year 2009!*
I don’t mind checking your blog regularly just to find out how the story goes. I’m sure it’ll end up happy, just like Tersanjung 1 sampe Tersanjung 5… hehe…
oh my….. your part 2 made me…. upset!!! tell me names of those havenomanner-ignorant jerks…. i’ll send them to timbuktu!
part 3 please…..
oh, btw, Happy New Year! and please don’t have any holidays-ran-wild in 2009!
selamat tahun baru…mudah-mudahan kesehatan dan keberkahan senantiasa berlimpah di tahun ini
@colson: thank you for the wish. i don’t wish for another crazy trips. but if we’re afraid to try, then we’re not going anywhere, right? but for 2009, we’re staying in good ol’ usa. ahem, financially still hurting.
@tere616: sorry ‘ta, didn’t mean to give you a heart attack :p i’m just sharing my frustration.
@santi: imagine me, experiencing it myself. i thought i was going to end up either in jail or an emergency room, after beating up somebody out of frustration.
@ichi: i always love a happy ending. but unfortunately life isn’t always giving me one. will this one have a happy ending? no promise, girl :p
@mer: be patient my child. i need to find my motivation first :p
Din,
I’m holding my breath reading this. Wow, you’ve made me more and more curious about the coming parts.
If this story would be published, it would be a page turner!
Din, waiting patiently for the part 3 😀
What happened???? Where’s the continuation??? 😛
ayo buruan tulis yg part 3.. !!!
@yoyen: you’re too kind. who’d want to publish my bitching? :p
@V: thank youuuuuuu
@therry and rima: still in my head, dudes. don’t know how to spill it out, too much going on in this little head.
I can imagine those people could be just as cold as the outside temperatures.. hang in there, dear… good things happen to good people, indeed 😀