Merry Christmas?

Since Ashish’s reemergence on the Wisconsin scene has been delayed I decided to spend Christmas in Berlin with him. The only problem with this idea is how much I despise travel. I mean seriously hate it. But why invent reasons not to travel? Or as my friend Linda used to say, why buy trouble? It could go perfectly. Everyone else seems to have perfect flights and seamless connections.

Everyone else: Oh my flight left early and they upgraded us to Disney Princess level and we got pink champagne and Club crackers served by fairies in tutus and we landed a day early and got orchid leis even though we were in Ottawa and OMG the inflight lobster was amazing.

Me: Flight canceled just as I was leaving my house for O’Hare. Literally at the door with my jacket on. I was booked on a flight 5 hours later. I ended up taking a Coach USA bus which got hit by a car and then got stranded in the traffic of a huge freeway conflagration. See below. But that was only the beginning.

Brief outline: O’Hare. Flight delayed. Flight delayed. Fight canceled. Sent to a hotel. Next morning new flight at 11. Flight delayed, delayed, delayed. Boarded at 1. Sat in the plane until 3. My connecting flight was at 5:50 from Newark. I might, probably would miss it, I thought. So the anxiety of missing and then rebooking was waiting for me. I got a tiny bag of pretzels. We landed at 5:50. The flight attendant joyfully came to tell me my connecting flight was delayed until 6:30. Except that we sat on the tarmac in the plane until 6:30 but then my connecting flight was delayed until 9.

See where I am heading here? No Disney Princess, no champagne, no Club crackers, no leis.

Currently I am sitting in Newark. It is 9:44. Flight to Berlin delayed currently until 12:45. I am a seething hell pit of anxiety, anger, helplessness, annoyance and sweetness, for lack of a better word.

End part one. The easy part.