75 points
Please Standby For Love by Chachi
July 18th, 2006 1:45 PM
[I'm not sure if this is the way the task creator meant for this task to be completed or not, but I thought I would give it a try. And ErikThePlaid should also receive points for this, if the sf0 Gods deem it worthy.]
ErikThePlaid and I traveled to CT this past week for a wedding and to see family and such. We are in love. We went for a wedding, of two people very much in love. And saw family who we have never met before. Much loving ensued.
We were suppose to fly from Hartford, CT to Dallas, TX and then home to San Jose on Monday, July 17th. We spent the night at the airport hotel so we wouldn't have to fight traffic for our 7:30 AM flight.
We missed the flight anyway.
The agent in CT thought we'd have better luck getting home if we went to Chicago O'Hare, rather than Dallas. Okay. Sign us up. So at 10 AM eastern time we got on a plane to Chicago. This standby thing seems pretty easy. We're only 2.5 hours behind schedule.
When we got to Chicago the agent put us on standby for a flight to San Francisco, rather than San Jose. Our bags were happily on their way to San Jose, but that's okay. We live in SF and were happy to be heading closer to home. We still had delusions at this point of taking BART to Muni on the way home so we could complete the "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" task.
We arrived in Chicago at 11ish Central time. We did not make it on the 12:44 PM flight. No worries, we (and a heck of a lot of other people) were rolled over to the standby list for the next flight at 2:45. Okay. Not to worry. We scouted out a four-plug power outlet in the boarding area for the 2:45 and prepared to settle in for the wait. Frozen yogurt was purchased (mmmmmm.... sprinkles).
Turns out the four-outlet power plug does not work. But two other outlets cut in the rug, and now in use by other people ,do work. Our laptops are nearly dead, so we debate purchasing a deck of cards. But it's not that long until the 2:45, so we decide to wait it out.
The 2:45 passes on us. It's full. There are so many people on standby for this flight that we don't see our names on the list at first. After mild panic we are assured that we are still on the standby list for the next flight. We call the main service line to see if it makes sense for us to go to San Jose instead. Or Monterrey. Or Sacromento. Hell, we'll even fly to LA and DRIVE home. The agent on the phone tells us that all flights to the west coast look full. We wander back to the K concourse and wait for the 4:55.
Diet be damned. French fries, a chicken burger and egg and cheese on a bagel are purchased. Mood is slightly improved with the intake of fud. A book of cross-word puzzles is also purchased. We still cannot find a working and available power outlet.
We are listed as 4 and 5 on the standby list. We cross our fingers, toes, legs, and arms that we will make the 4:55. We do not. With tears in our eyes we pack up our stuff and move to the H concourse to wait for the 7:00. It is noted that our luggage should now be happily waiting in San Jose. It is also noted that we could have just about flown to the west coast and back to Chicago in the amount of time we have been waiting.
The easy crossword is finished. As is the medium. We also attempt the Laddergram. Smurf-hickies and Gumby-hickies are given with the two pens we have. Luckily it is realized that a full-blown middle school pen fight is about to break out and "uncle" is called. Instead I go to look at the standby list.
We are not listed on the standby list. A small cosmic freakout commences.
I calmly talk with the gate agent. We were not rolled over to the standby list for the 7:00 from the 4:45. I tell the woman that we have been waiting in Chicago since 11 AM and would very much like to know if we have a snowball's chance in hell of getting on this plane. She says it doesn't look good, but will put us on the list anyway. I ask if we can be guarenteed a seat on a morning flight. She says that we'd have to use the red bat phone again and talk to the booking agent. And it would cost us $$ but she can't say how much. We are printed fresh standby cards for this flight.
We wait for the 7:00 to begin boarding. Somehow we have jumped to the 2nd and 3rd position. Fingers, toes, legs, eyes and arms are all crossed in hopes that we make it. Though we are preparing to leave the airport for a real meal and to crash with friends who live in Chicago.
The plane boards and a name is called to the counter. Then another name. Wait, that's OUR name! We made it on the plane! I about leap over the counter to hug and kiss the gate agent I am so happy. The plane is completely packed and we sit nowhere near each other, but we don't care. We are finally on our way home.
At 10:15 Pacific (that's 1:15 AM eastern!) we land at SFO. Our luggage is in San Jose. We don't care. E will retrieve it while at work in the morning. And fuck the Score, we catch a cab home.
At last, we are home. I don't know if this 8-hour adventure on standby counts for this task, but it has to count for something.
ErikThePlaid and I traveled to CT this past week for a wedding and to see family and such. We are in love. We went for a wedding, of two people very much in love. And saw family who we have never met before. Much loving ensued.
We were suppose to fly from Hartford, CT to Dallas, TX and then home to San Jose on Monday, July 17th. We spent the night at the airport hotel so we wouldn't have to fight traffic for our 7:30 AM flight.
We missed the flight anyway.
The agent in CT thought we'd have better luck getting home if we went to Chicago O'Hare, rather than Dallas. Okay. Sign us up. So at 10 AM eastern time we got on a plane to Chicago. This standby thing seems pretty easy. We're only 2.5 hours behind schedule.
When we got to Chicago the agent put us on standby for a flight to San Francisco, rather than San Jose. Our bags were happily on their way to San Jose, but that's okay. We live in SF and were happy to be heading closer to home. We still had delusions at this point of taking BART to Muni on the way home so we could complete the "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" task.
We arrived in Chicago at 11ish Central time. We did not make it on the 12:44 PM flight. No worries, we (and a heck of a lot of other people) were rolled over to the standby list for the next flight at 2:45. Okay. Not to worry. We scouted out a four-plug power outlet in the boarding area for the 2:45 and prepared to settle in for the wait. Frozen yogurt was purchased (mmmmmm.... sprinkles).
Turns out the four-outlet power plug does not work. But two other outlets cut in the rug, and now in use by other people ,do work. Our laptops are nearly dead, so we debate purchasing a deck of cards. But it's not that long until the 2:45, so we decide to wait it out.
The 2:45 passes on us. It's full. There are so many people on standby for this flight that we don't see our names on the list at first. After mild panic we are assured that we are still on the standby list for the next flight. We call the main service line to see if it makes sense for us to go to San Jose instead. Or Monterrey. Or Sacromento. Hell, we'll even fly to LA and DRIVE home. The agent on the phone tells us that all flights to the west coast look full. We wander back to the K concourse and wait for the 4:55.
Diet be damned. French fries, a chicken burger and egg and cheese on a bagel are purchased. Mood is slightly improved with the intake of fud. A book of cross-word puzzles is also purchased. We still cannot find a working and available power outlet.
We are listed as 4 and 5 on the standby list. We cross our fingers, toes, legs, and arms that we will make the 4:55. We do not. With tears in our eyes we pack up our stuff and move to the H concourse to wait for the 7:00. It is noted that our luggage should now be happily waiting in San Jose. It is also noted that we could have just about flown to the west coast and back to Chicago in the amount of time we have been waiting.
The easy crossword is finished. As is the medium. We also attempt the Laddergram. Smurf-hickies and Gumby-hickies are given with the two pens we have. Luckily it is realized that a full-blown middle school pen fight is about to break out and "uncle" is called. Instead I go to look at the standby list.
We are not listed on the standby list. A small cosmic freakout commences.
I calmly talk with the gate agent. We were not rolled over to the standby list for the 7:00 from the 4:45. I tell the woman that we have been waiting in Chicago since 11 AM and would very much like to know if we have a snowball's chance in hell of getting on this plane. She says it doesn't look good, but will put us on the list anyway. I ask if we can be guarenteed a seat on a morning flight. She says that we'd have to use the red bat phone again and talk to the booking agent. And it would cost us $$ but she can't say how much. We are printed fresh standby cards for this flight.
We wait for the 7:00 to begin boarding. Somehow we have jumped to the 2nd and 3rd position. Fingers, toes, legs, eyes and arms are all crossed in hopes that we make it. Though we are preparing to leave the airport for a real meal and to crash with friends who live in Chicago.
The plane boards and a name is called to the counter. Then another name. Wait, that's OUR name! We made it on the plane! I about leap over the counter to hug and kiss the gate agent I am so happy. The plane is completely packed and we sit nowhere near each other, but we don't care. We are finally on our way home.
At 10:15 Pacific (that's 1:15 AM eastern!) we land at SFO. Our luggage is in San Jose. We don't care. E will retrieve it while at work in the morning. And fuck the Score, we catch a cab home.
At last, we are home. I don't know if this 8-hour adventure on standby counts for this task, but it has to count for something.
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posted by crzy bones on July 20th, 2006 10:06 PM
sounds like hell in a hen basket...o haire is not a fun place to be stranded...jesus tells me so...
it sounds like you took a really passive role in all of this. you should have used the time to give guided tours of airport art or conduct mock interviews of foreign tourists, or something. refuse to live vicariously! players are never bored.