Friday, March 11
When I was younger, I kept thinking that there would be some magical time when I would suddenly feel "grown up." When I would look like the beautiful women looked on Hugh Hefner's "Playboy After Dark," (the network version, not the cable version), I would go to cocktail parties and drink martinis and engage in social banter. I'd wear little black dresses with pearls and black shoes with stiletto high heels. And bright red lipstick. And I would feel like an adult woman.
I am still waiting for that day.
My hair never did turn blonde, nor did it ever straighten out enough to put into a beehive. Nobody I hung out with ever had a cocktail party, and the one martini I drank tasted like rubbing alcohol. The olive was the best part. When I go to a party, I don't feel like I'm bantering, I feel socially inept. Little black dress? I don't think so - I'd look like a black light bulb. And as for the heels - I can't even do little heels without falling off of them.
Bright red lipstick - can't seem to stay in the lines coloring on that one. Looks like a little girl got hold of Mommy's makeup. Pretty horrifying.
So I don't know why I thought that I'd be able to walk into Neiman-Marcus and look anything like other than what I am. A good old gal from Minnesota, doncha know. I did have it in my mind that I was going to treat myself and buy a purse for myself. Until I got a gander at what the purse prices were. I suppose I should have done some research first. And should have remembered that it has been years, absolute YEARS, since I have paid full price for a purse (thank you very much, various thrift stores!) So I figured that $40 for a purse was really going to be living large!
I will now pause for a moment to let the laughter die down.
$40 can't even get you a coin purse at NM. I never knew that purses are being manufactured that actually cost over $1000! And probably even more!
So I wandered around the store, trying to find a place that had some doo-dad that wasn't too terribly expensive when I happened upon the candy shop. Thank goodness! Got myself a sequined Easter Egg. And George some chocolate. And Matt some imported chocolate.
And the Candy Shop Lady was kind enough to give me a shitload of NM boxes and such for presents. What I'm going to do with them, I don't know, but it was nice of her! Even though she did say it was obvious I was a tourist.........
sheesh
I did feel better when my friend Carol said the letters at the store actually stand for "Needless Markup."
Also felt MUCH better that evening when my friends and I met for dinner at the Dallas Chop House. At first I was afraid it was going to be a high brow, frou frou place, but our waitress turned out to be very down to earth and nice. I have always wanted to try steak tartare, so I did, dammit. And I found out that my palate is not very adventurous, thank you very much. It looked like uncooked meatloaf and tasted something worse. But now I can cross that off my Bucket List of things to do before I die.
The rest of the meal was superb! Steaks one could cut with a fork, huge mushrooms, gigantic potatoes. Yum, yum!
I had to say farewell to my buddies already (their conference was done the next day and they were flying right out), but it sure was nice to spend a little bit of time with them! Hope to be able to do it again! With or without steak!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
And Some Still Insist It Never Happened
Thursday, March 10
Anyone who knows me, even slightly, knows of my passion for World War II. Particularly Europe, and most especially Germany, both in the period between WW I and WW II and just after WW II. I have come across many theories trying to explain how it was that a civilized culture like the Germans could have turned into the murderous thugs they became during the war. But they are, and will always remain, just that - theories. It will always remain something of a mystery.
I believe in reincarnation. Even though I think the Catholic Church frowns upon that sort of thing, I just believe in my soul that I have been on this earth before, and I will be on this earth again, until I learn those things that God wants me to learn in order to be able to stay with Him in eternity (there is my own little half-baked theology, right or wrong! Buddhism, Lutherinism, Catholicism, Lynnieism!). My fascination with World War II is because, I believe, my last time on earth must have been during that time, living in that place. And I must have been Jewish.
Of all the places in the world for such a place to be, Dallas has a Holocaust Museum. http://www.dallasholocaustmuseum.org/
And this was the day I participated in it.
Perhaps all museums do this now, but I really liked what they did here. They hand you a set of headphones and a small player. There are pictures and artifacts, like in a regular museum, with numbers by them. You enter the number into the player and it talks about what you are looking at. Much more informative than just reading the picture captions for yourself.
This museum is not huge. So instead of trying to cram a bunch of stuff into a small space, they instead decided to focus on just one day - April 19, 1943 - and the behaviors of bystanders to the Holocaust. They highlight three different events: 3 young men attacked a train bound for Auschwitz, the residents of the Warsaw Ghetto rose up in revolt against their Nazi oppressors, and delegates from Britain and America were meeting in Bermuda to ultimately decide that they were going to do nothing to help the Jews of Europe.
The museum was begun by Dallas residents who had survived the Holocaust. What moved me so much about it is that it is not just a recitation of all the horrors done in the name of the Nazi state, but concentrates instead on the morality of what WAS and what WAS NOT done by governments and ordinary citizens. The exhibits ask you to question what you would have done, and to become an "Upstander," or one who stands up for what they know to be moral and right. If there would have been more Upstanders during that time, the Holocaust could never have happened.
Of course, I've come across this idea before, but it never made such an impact on me. Being a visually oriented person, it was probably seeing in person things that I had just read about before. I began to cry when I saw and touched the rail car that had actually been used to transport Jews to their deaths, and I continued to cry when I saw the concentration camp uniform, the hundreds of rings taken from their owners before their murders, the stack of eyeglasses no longer needed.
I cried through the entire museum.
And, at the end of it all, I cried at each name that is memorialized. Those who perished, and those who are still among us. But who will soon be reunited with their loved ones.
We were fortunate enough to have a survivor talk with us. She was not in one of the death camps - her mother was able to get she and her brother out of Germany just in the nick of time. But her testimony was still chilling. She was a young child when they left, but she still remembers the sound of the SS man's boots as he came striding through their train compartment checking papers - she said that she didn't know what it was about them, but once you heard the sound of those boots you never forgot it. And the way she said it, sent a cold chill down my spine.
My original plan was to visit the JFK Museum after this one. I was so emotionally drained, I just walked home. And processed my visit, to use a therapy term.
I would not have missed this for the world! And I do hope that, over my years, I have learned to be an Upstander.
Anyone who knows me, even slightly, knows of my passion for World War II. Particularly Europe, and most especially Germany, both in the period between WW I and WW II and just after WW II. I have come across many theories trying to explain how it was that a civilized culture like the Germans could have turned into the murderous thugs they became during the war. But they are, and will always remain, just that - theories. It will always remain something of a mystery.
I believe in reincarnation. Even though I think the Catholic Church frowns upon that sort of thing, I just believe in my soul that I have been on this earth before, and I will be on this earth again, until I learn those things that God wants me to learn in order to be able to stay with Him in eternity (there is my own little half-baked theology, right or wrong! Buddhism, Lutherinism, Catholicism, Lynnieism!). My fascination with World War II is because, I believe, my last time on earth must have been during that time, living in that place. And I must have been Jewish.
Of all the places in the world for such a place to be, Dallas has a Holocaust Museum. http://www.dallasholocaustmuseum.org/
And this was the day I participated in it.
Perhaps all museums do this now, but I really liked what they did here. They hand you a set of headphones and a small player. There are pictures and artifacts, like in a regular museum, with numbers by them. You enter the number into the player and it talks about what you are looking at. Much more informative than just reading the picture captions for yourself.
This museum is not huge. So instead of trying to cram a bunch of stuff into a small space, they instead decided to focus on just one day - April 19, 1943 - and the behaviors of bystanders to the Holocaust. They highlight three different events: 3 young men attacked a train bound for Auschwitz, the residents of the Warsaw Ghetto rose up in revolt against their Nazi oppressors, and delegates from Britain and America were meeting in Bermuda to ultimately decide that they were going to do nothing to help the Jews of Europe.
The museum was begun by Dallas residents who had survived the Holocaust. What moved me so much about it is that it is not just a recitation of all the horrors done in the name of the Nazi state, but concentrates instead on the morality of what WAS and what WAS NOT done by governments and ordinary citizens. The exhibits ask you to question what you would have done, and to become an "Upstander," or one who stands up for what they know to be moral and right. If there would have been more Upstanders during that time, the Holocaust could never have happened.
Of course, I've come across this idea before, but it never made such an impact on me. Being a visually oriented person, it was probably seeing in person things that I had just read about before. I began to cry when I saw and touched the rail car that had actually been used to transport Jews to their deaths, and I continued to cry when I saw the concentration camp uniform, the hundreds of rings taken from their owners before their murders, the stack of eyeglasses no longer needed.
I cried through the entire museum.
And, at the end of it all, I cried at each name that is memorialized. Those who perished, and those who are still among us. But who will soon be reunited with their loved ones.
We were fortunate enough to have a survivor talk with us. She was not in one of the death camps - her mother was able to get she and her brother out of Germany just in the nick of time. But her testimony was still chilling. She was a young child when they left, but she still remembers the sound of the SS man's boots as he came striding through their train compartment checking papers - she said that she didn't know what it was about them, but once you heard the sound of those boots you never forgot it. And the way she said it, sent a cold chill down my spine.
My original plan was to visit the JFK Museum after this one. I was so emotionally drained, I just walked home. And processed my visit, to use a therapy term.
I would not have missed this for the world! And I do hope that, over my years, I have learned to be an Upstander.
Owie, Owie, Ouch, Ouch
As promised, I'm continuing the Blog from where I stopped. So today's entry would be for Wednesday, March 9th.
The web site for the Segway tour is amazingly comprehensive. http://www.dallassegwaytours.com/
And they even go so far as to have a page of photos taken just for your own particular group: http://www.dallassegwaytours.com/Photos/March11/03-08-11-1/1.html
One small fact that they don't touch upon is that riding a Segway is exercise. I don't know why the idea didn't occur to me beforehand, but it didn't. I guess that I thought that one just stood still up top and moved ones arms to get the thing to move. But there is more to it than that. You are moving your ENTIRE bod - booty and all!
For example, if you are going along a hill crosswise, to keep things upright and yet traveling in the proper direction, you must lean your body towards the hill but keep your weight towards the Segway, if that makes sense. After about half an hour, I found myself sort of dancing on the machine. Like riding a bike, or skiing, or roller skating, after a while it becomes instinctual. And the Segway involves the whole body to get it to move. Lean forward and you go forward. Lean forward a lot and you go forward FAST. Lean forward a lot and turn your hand to the left and I would imagine you would fall down. But in a most spectacular fashion.
The three of us on my tour were not of an age to be leaning forward a lot, but our tour guide told us that on some tours there are hot dogs who have to try it. And they do, and they fall down and everyone laughs at them so they don't do it again.
Anyway, I digress.
I slept like a rock. And when I finally woke up, realized that getting out of bed was not going to be an easy undertaking. Not only did I have muscles that were sore, I had muscles under muscles that were complaining. And I do quite a bit of walking, and have a moderately physical job, so am not TOTALLY out of shape. But, boy, did I hurt! So I, gently, rolled out of bed to get some breakfast.
Thank heaven for room service! And for the lovely hot water in the shower that came sprinkling down without end! It helped a little, but not a huge amount, so I decided that a "stay close to home" day was called for. And I did just that! Napped, read the paper, watched t.v.
My friends came in town Wed. night, so they came over to my hotel and we hung around in the living room and caught up on who was doing what, and how silly we were way back when and drank oodles of Diet Pop.
A low key day. But a Very Nice Day.
The web site for the Segway tour is amazingly comprehensive. http://www.dallassegwaytours.com/
And they even go so far as to have a page of photos taken just for your own particular group: http://www.dallassegwaytours.com/Photos/March11/03-08-11-1/1.html
One small fact that they don't touch upon is that riding a Segway is exercise. I don't know why the idea didn't occur to me beforehand, but it didn't. I guess that I thought that one just stood still up top and moved ones arms to get the thing to move. But there is more to it than that. You are moving your ENTIRE bod - booty and all!
For example, if you are going along a hill crosswise, to keep things upright and yet traveling in the proper direction, you must lean your body towards the hill but keep your weight towards the Segway, if that makes sense. After about half an hour, I found myself sort of dancing on the machine. Like riding a bike, or skiing, or roller skating, after a while it becomes instinctual. And the Segway involves the whole body to get it to move. Lean forward and you go forward. Lean forward a lot and you go forward FAST. Lean forward a lot and turn your hand to the left and I would imagine you would fall down. But in a most spectacular fashion.
The three of us on my tour were not of an age to be leaning forward a lot, but our tour guide told us that on some tours there are hot dogs who have to try it. And they do, and they fall down and everyone laughs at them so they don't do it again.
Anyway, I digress.
I slept like a rock. And when I finally woke up, realized that getting out of bed was not going to be an easy undertaking. Not only did I have muscles that were sore, I had muscles under muscles that were complaining. And I do quite a bit of walking, and have a moderately physical job, so am not TOTALLY out of shape. But, boy, did I hurt! So I, gently, rolled out of bed to get some breakfast.
Thank heaven for room service! And for the lovely hot water in the shower that came sprinkling down without end! It helped a little, but not a huge amount, so I decided that a "stay close to home" day was called for. And I did just that! Napped, read the paper, watched t.v.
My friends came in town Wed. night, so they came over to my hotel and we hung around in the living room and caught up on who was doing what, and how silly we were way back when and drank oodles of Diet Pop.
A low key day. But a Very Nice Day.
Where Oh Where Has The Blogger Gone?
EEEEEEEEEEEEEk.
I now understand what happens to blogs when they start out great guns and then just sort of slide off into Neverneverland. I got so busy vacationing that coming home (i.e., back to the hotel room) and creeping into the big comfy bed with the hundreds of soft pillows was more important then spending time on the computer.
BUT -
I did discover that I can't go and go and go anymore like I once could. I think it's a combination of my physical problems and the drugs I take to combat those problems. It seems to work better, I seem to work better, if I do one day of sightseeing stuff and one day resting. Watching tv, reading books, hanging with friends, whatever. I feel a little guilty, that I'm on vacation, dammit, and I should be out DOING SOMETHING, but by NOT seeing everything that I want to see, then I have a wonderful reason to come back and visit that place again. And again.
So I will pick up this blog where I left off.
I now understand what happens to blogs when they start out great guns and then just sort of slide off into Neverneverland. I got so busy vacationing that coming home (i.e., back to the hotel room) and creeping into the big comfy bed with the hundreds of soft pillows was more important then spending time on the computer.
BUT -
I did discover that I can't go and go and go anymore like I once could. I think it's a combination of my physical problems and the drugs I take to combat those problems. It seems to work better, I seem to work better, if I do one day of sightseeing stuff and one day resting. Watching tv, reading books, hanging with friends, whatever. I feel a little guilty, that I'm on vacation, dammit, and I should be out DOING SOMETHING, but by NOT seeing everything that I want to see, then I have a wonderful reason to come back and visit that place again. And again.
So I will pick up this blog where I left off.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Oh, Dear
We get used to our "ponies"
My steed, trusty No. 11
Representation of the original settler's cabin. His entire family lived here, parents, kids and all. Wowzer.
One of the smaller hotels.
Oh, it is a conference center, also.
Yours truly, modeling the latest in safety gear and flamingo fashioning.
Big Red.
Used to be a courthouse, now is the Visitors Center. All of the stone was brought in (via wagon, I should guess) from Pennsylvania. An absolutely stunning building, especially in the sunlight.
The old jail. Jack Ruby was held here pending his first trial, as was Lee Harvey Oswald. The location where Oswald was shot are two metal doors to the left, which I didn't get in the picture.
The first shot was when the Presidents limo was under a sign which crossed the road. The next shot was maybe 20 ft away, and is shown by this "X" in the road.
The last, fatal, shot was much further down the road. This is the shot that many people believe came from the direction of the Grassy Knoll. After seeing everything in person for myself, I am no longer sure that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. The first and second shots are way too close together, and the view from the Sixth Floor Window to the roadway is not very good. 
This is what is called "grabbing the longhorn (bull) by the horns."
God only knows I have enough experience with bull!
I've had this liking for Texas Longhorns ever since I lived in Texas in the late 70's.
Cowboys were primarily Mexican or black. Being a cowboy was a dirty, stinky, difficult job that didn't pay very well. So it was way down on the ladder of jobs that people wanted. Freed black former slaves and Mexicans didn't have much of a choice.
This is a textbook example of a poor composition.
The horse looks like he is getting ready to poop on the people.
I have no clue what I was thinking with this one!
This young man takes the expression "family jewels" most literally!
Actually, he is the "mascot" of AT&T, representing communications. He started out on their building in New York City, and resided several other places until finally landing in the lobby of their new corporate headquarters in Dallas. It is difficult to get a sense of his size, but he is enormous! To get him into the building, they ended up pretty much gutting the front of the building. They then ended up reinforcing the floors to handle the great weight of his presence. He is not solid gold, but is gold leaf.
I did have several other pictures that I wanted to post tonight, but the server is giving me fits. So, I'm going to soothe myself with leftover steak. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Horn On The Train Goes "Toot, Toot, Toot!"
The Window Seats
The long bench on the right pulls out into a bed. Two are supposed to be able to sleep in it, but I'm not sure how comfortable they'd be. Up above is a single bunk that can be pulled down for another bed.
Towards the door.
There is a sink on the right. I had a bagel sitting there, and Jim, our Attendant, came by and told me I probably wanted to throw the bagel away. I told him I needed to keep it in case I needed something to eat. So he let me know some of the disgusting things he has found around sinks - when he got to used condoms, I willingly gave my bagel to him to toss. Yuck.
The shower
It was a pretty interesting arrangement. On the left is a curtain that was supposed to snap against the walls so water wouldn't run out. But none of the snaps on the curtain matched the snaps on the walls. I had figured out by this point that trying to take a full shower while the train was under full steam was probably not one of my smarter ideas, anyway, so settled for washing my hair and sort of wetting myself down very quickly during a stop.
My traveling companion surrounded by my traveling stuff.
My companion again
Her full name is Mistress Eleanor. Or Ms. El or Ms. E. for short. The Eleanor is after Eleanor Roosevelt, who was also a great traveler and one of the women (after Helen Keller) I admire most highly. Ms. E. is enjoying her trip and is proving to be a wonderful companion! Never complains, always willing to do what I want to do, doesn't eat my leftovers. Can't ask for more than that!
When I knew I was back in Texas
On the day my Grandma Gilgosch was buried, it rained. When a bunch of the kinfolk got together at one of my cousins house later on, the sunlight came streaming through the clouds. We felt like Grandma was letting us know her spirit was with us. Ever since then, whenever I see sunlight coming through clouds like this, I feel Grandma is around me again.
Chicago, Chicago, That Wonderful Town!
Checking out the television stations in the Windy City.
Ah, looks like something in a Good Housekeeping mag!
You can see the full length shower in the mirror. Unfortunately, this means that when you shower, you can also see a full length representation of yourself in the buff taking said shower. My personal opinion is that any architect who designs something like this deserves a very special place in Hell.
Anyone care for a game of soccer?
Big enough for three. If you like that sort of thing.
What Happened To Monday?
One thing I didn't realize about train travel is that there is a period of time of readjustment to dry land. George referred to it as "train lag" instead of "jet lag." All day yesterday, I would have bouts where I felt like I was still on the train and I was moving. Think of being drunk without having a drink. So I figured that a nice nap would take care of things (naps take care of almost all that ails you, right?) and ended up sleeping the afternoon and the night away.
But, BOY, am I rested now!
So following are the blog entries to catch up to where we are for today.......
But, BOY, am I rested now!
So following are the blog entries to catch up to where we are for today.......
Sunday, March 6, 2011
ALL ABOARD!!!!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Day One
Whew!
We finally got on the road. Railroad, that is. I only have one suggestion for Amtrak.....perhaps they should consider making one of the cars a "Crying Car," like there is a "Crying Room" in churches where the youngest of the babies can go and be as vocal as they want. It's not that I don't love babies, but listening to eight solid hours of crying (and parents hollering at the top of their lungs, "MATTHEW STOP" "ANDREW STOP") tends to get on ones nerves. Add to that the fact that said parents were evidently hard of hearing (I suppose from all the crying), and, since we were late, they had to spend an inordinate amount of time on their cell phones re-arranging things - it wasn't a really calming way to begin a vacation.
Thank heavens for Bose headphones!
There were a couple of really cool happenings. Several deer went running across the fields from us. There were a LOT of folks at train crossings taking pictures of the train. I had never noticed before how many wild animal tracks there are in the middle of the Cities (St. Paul & Minneapolis) until we were cruising through and I could see all sorts of tracks in the snow that didn't belong to humans.
By the time I made it down to the Lounge to get something for lunch, all they had left was hot dogs. And no diet pop. Or anything but sugar pop. By the time we hit Chicago, I was one thirsty lady. I hit a newspaper stand and guzzled down 40 oz. of Coke Zero in record time. Live and learn on that one. You had best believe that I'm going to have my own supplies with me when I step onto the train tomorrow for the longest leg of the journey!
My room at the LaQuinta is exquisite. My mom would be proud of my taste! The bathroom is about the size of my bedroom at home. And the bedroom is about the size of my apartment. I feel like one Rich Bitch!
But for now, I am one Tired Rich Bitch, so am going to try and load a couple of pictures and crawl into bed. I haven't slept much the past two nights and it finally caught up with me. Well, that and the fact that it was cloudy and gloomy again most of today. I do hope we are able to find some sunlight tomorrow!
We finally got on the road. Railroad, that is. I only have one suggestion for Amtrak.....perhaps they should consider making one of the cars a "Crying Car," like there is a "Crying Room" in churches where the youngest of the babies can go and be as vocal as they want. It's not that I don't love babies, but listening to eight solid hours of crying (and parents hollering at the top of their lungs, "MATTHEW STOP" "ANDREW STOP") tends to get on ones nerves. Add to that the fact that said parents were evidently hard of hearing (I suppose from all the crying), and, since we were late, they had to spend an inordinate amount of time on their cell phones re-arranging things - it wasn't a really calming way to begin a vacation.
Thank heavens for Bose headphones!
There were a couple of really cool happenings. Several deer went running across the fields from us. There were a LOT of folks at train crossings taking pictures of the train. I had never noticed before how many wild animal tracks there are in the middle of the Cities (St. Paul & Minneapolis) until we were cruising through and I could see all sorts of tracks in the snow that didn't belong to humans.
By the time I made it down to the Lounge to get something for lunch, all they had left was hot dogs. And no diet pop. Or anything but sugar pop. By the time we hit Chicago, I was one thirsty lady. I hit a newspaper stand and guzzled down 40 oz. of Coke Zero in record time. Live and learn on that one. You had best believe that I'm going to have my own supplies with me when I step onto the train tomorrow for the longest leg of the journey!
My room at the LaQuinta is exquisite. My mom would be proud of my taste! The bathroom is about the size of my bedroom at home. And the bedroom is about the size of my apartment. I feel like one Rich Bitch!
But for now, I am one Tired Rich Bitch, so am going to try and load a couple of pictures and crawl into bed. I haven't slept much the past two nights and it finally caught up with me. Well, that and the fact that it was cloudy and gloomy again most of today. I do hope we are able to find some sunlight tomorrow!
 |
| Here's the station! |
 |
| We are here, but the train isn't. |
 |
| Might as well go to our favorite little Diner and get breakfast. |
 |
| Ah! Nothing like the first cup of the morning! |
 |
| Waiting around is SUCH fun! |
 |
| The Three Stooges? |
 |
| Finally we are on our way, on the great Empire Builder! |
 |
| Gee, Shadow, hope you miss me just a LITTLE bit! |
Hurry Up And Wait
A Temporary Glitch
It was bound to happen.
I am not terribly good with numbers. When I was younger (younger grade school, that is), I was, but then once I hit the Sixth Grade it all vanished. For years I blamed it on Geometry. That's the year we got into theorems. And, for the life of me, I didn't then and still don't, see the point of proving something that has already been proven.
But it was also the year after I had my major fall from the galloping horse during that summer. The worst spill I ever took. To the extent that I lost consciousness for a bit, and became a little scared of horses after that. Well, lo and behold!, while doing all kinds of tests on my melon to try and find the cause of my seizures, the docs have found some "abnormalities" in my brain exactly where I landed during that fall. And numerical reasoning is one of the skills controlled by that particular region. So maybe I'm not just stupid - maybe it's physical.......
Be that as it may, I do have trouble with numbers. In different ways.
Last night, I finally stopped at the store to pick up more ink for my printer to print out all my rail and hotel and airline reservations. Just in case. Not that anything would happen, like a lost reservation, but it is best to be prepared. Up until now, I haven't even looked at the confirmations. Just noted mentally that they had arrived and put them into a separate folder so I wouldn't accidently bleep them off my screen while doing one of my infrequent but intense computer cleanings.
Rail was fine. Hotels were fine. I've made some reservations for activities - all good. Which left me, late at night, with only the flight home to double check. Printed it out, scanned through it quickly, and noticed that the date of return WAS MARCH 6TH NOT MARCH 13TH. Crap - I had gotten the weekends mixed up.
I figured - eh, no problemo. Just go to "Delta.com" and change the date! Not so easy. For the first several tries, the website refused to accept my confirmations of who I was. I was getting ready to call them for help, but noticed that if a customer makes a change on the website, it is free. If they involve a ticketing agent, it costs $150.00. For that kind of change, I can spend a LONG time trying to figure things out!
Finally got through. Whew. Told the site I wanted to change the date of my reservation. It gave me several options. I picked one, and got the dreaded message, "Unable to complete your request." Do you think you can just back up and pick another flight? HECK NO!!!!! You are obliged to start from Square One.
So I did.
And picked a different flight.
With the same result.
I went through all the flights and got exactly the same result with each of them. By this point, I've been working on this dang problem for close to an hour and am starting to think that the $150.00 would be money well spent. More than that, though, I'm also thinking that there is a troll lurking in the website itself.
So I took a very deep breath and called their Customer Service number. And was put on hold, listening to staticy music that kept cutting in and out. It might just be me, but I don't have a great deal of confidence in the ability of a Tech department to resolve a problem if they can't even keep their Muzak running correctly. But I digress.
A Customer Service girl (why do they always sound like they are about 20 years old??????) finally answered. In a tone of voice that implied I had woken her from her nap. I went through the whole problem and was treated to a lengthy period of silence. That was finally broken by her statement that my ticket was nonrefundable and I couldn't make any change in it whatsoever. All I could do was buy another ticket.
Great.
So how much is THAT going to set me back? Ticka Ticka Ticka on the computer keys, and her voice comes back, suddenly sounding incredibly perky, saying, "That will be only $800.00. Can I book your reservation right now?" I won't repeat my direct answer to her, but the gist of it was that I would fly Delta when the Vikings win five Super Bowls in a row and Bud Grant wins Best Comic Standing.
There are few things in life that can make a person feel more helpless than knowing they will soon be thousands of miles away from their home base and they have no way to get home. After a couple of deep breaths (VERY deep breaths), I looked at Amtrak for the return trip. Incredibly inexpensive, but all that they had available was coach seats. I am at that stage in life where just the thought of riding in a train seat for close to 30 hours (and trying to sleep in said seat) just held no appeal.
Thank goodness, William Shatner popped into my mind. Checked his website and found a flight on Sun Country for $330.00. On Sunday. March 13th. Later than my original one. It is still a $330.00 mistake, but it is a hell of a lot better than an $800.00 mistake!
It took me most of the rest of the evening to stop hyperventilating.
And I won't even go into what I had to do this week to get my meds all taken care of. But taken care of they are, and I am very happily ensconced at a new little pharmacy.
And in about eight hours I will be very happily ensconced in a rail seat, watching the world go by as I officially begin my vacation!
I am not terribly good with numbers. When I was younger (younger grade school, that is), I was, but then once I hit the Sixth Grade it all vanished. For years I blamed it on Geometry. That's the year we got into theorems. And, for the life of me, I didn't then and still don't, see the point of proving something that has already been proven.
But it was also the year after I had my major fall from the galloping horse during that summer. The worst spill I ever took. To the extent that I lost consciousness for a bit, and became a little scared of horses after that. Well, lo and behold!, while doing all kinds of tests on my melon to try and find the cause of my seizures, the docs have found some "abnormalities" in my brain exactly where I landed during that fall. And numerical reasoning is one of the skills controlled by that particular region. So maybe I'm not just stupid - maybe it's physical.......
Be that as it may, I do have trouble with numbers. In different ways.
Last night, I finally stopped at the store to pick up more ink for my printer to print out all my rail and hotel and airline reservations. Just in case. Not that anything would happen, like a lost reservation, but it is best to be prepared. Up until now, I haven't even looked at the confirmations. Just noted mentally that they had arrived and put them into a separate folder so I wouldn't accidently bleep them off my screen while doing one of my infrequent but intense computer cleanings.
Rail was fine. Hotels were fine. I've made some reservations for activities - all good. Which left me, late at night, with only the flight home to double check. Printed it out, scanned through it quickly, and noticed that the date of return WAS MARCH 6TH NOT MARCH 13TH. Crap - I had gotten the weekends mixed up.
I figured - eh, no problemo. Just go to "Delta.com" and change the date! Not so easy. For the first several tries, the website refused to accept my confirmations of who I was. I was getting ready to call them for help, but noticed that if a customer makes a change on the website, it is free. If they involve a ticketing agent, it costs $150.00. For that kind of change, I can spend a LONG time trying to figure things out!
Finally got through. Whew. Told the site I wanted to change the date of my reservation. It gave me several options. I picked one, and got the dreaded message, "Unable to complete your request." Do you think you can just back up and pick another flight? HECK NO!!!!! You are obliged to start from Square One.
So I did.
And picked a different flight.
With the same result.
I went through all the flights and got exactly the same result with each of them. By this point, I've been working on this dang problem for close to an hour and am starting to think that the $150.00 would be money well spent. More than that, though, I'm also thinking that there is a troll lurking in the website itself.
So I took a very deep breath and called their Customer Service number. And was put on hold, listening to staticy music that kept cutting in and out. It might just be me, but I don't have a great deal of confidence in the ability of a Tech department to resolve a problem if they can't even keep their Muzak running correctly. But I digress.
A Customer Service girl (why do they always sound like they are about 20 years old??????) finally answered. In a tone of voice that implied I had woken her from her nap. I went through the whole problem and was treated to a lengthy period of silence. That was finally broken by her statement that my ticket was nonrefundable and I couldn't make any change in it whatsoever. All I could do was buy another ticket.
Great.
So how much is THAT going to set me back? Ticka Ticka Ticka on the computer keys, and her voice comes back, suddenly sounding incredibly perky, saying, "That will be only $800.00. Can I book your reservation right now?" I won't repeat my direct answer to her, but the gist of it was that I would fly Delta when the Vikings win five Super Bowls in a row and Bud Grant wins Best Comic Standing.
There are few things in life that can make a person feel more helpless than knowing they will soon be thousands of miles away from their home base and they have no way to get home. After a couple of deep breaths (VERY deep breaths), I looked at Amtrak for the return trip. Incredibly inexpensive, but all that they had available was coach seats. I am at that stage in life where just the thought of riding in a train seat for close to 30 hours (and trying to sleep in said seat) just held no appeal.
Thank goodness, William Shatner popped into my mind. Checked his website and found a flight on Sun Country for $330.00. On Sunday. March 13th. Later than my original one. It is still a $330.00 mistake, but it is a hell of a lot better than an $800.00 mistake!
It took me most of the rest of the evening to stop hyperventilating.
And I won't even go into what I had to do this week to get my meds all taken care of. But taken care of they are, and I am very happily ensconced at a new little pharmacy.
And in about eight hours I will be very happily ensconced in a rail seat, watching the world go by as I officially begin my vacation!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Preparations Continue
As with most vacations, I didn't get nearly as much accomplished last weekend as I wanted to. But my traveling companion is finished, and she already shows enough spunk so I know I'm going to enjoy my adventures with her! I am still having a few "technical issues" trying to figure out how to get her image from my iPhone to the Blog, but am optimistic this will happen before Saturday when we actually physically put our little feetsies on the train.
Tonight is my last night of work. I need to do some medical issue cleaning up stuff tomorrow during the day, so I can play to my hearts content without worrying that I'm going to have some major medical and end up spending my vacation in a hospital bed looking out at the outside world. Done THAT one too many times!
So I'm looking forward to the actual start of my time off. And my time "on" to enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Tonight is my last night of work. I need to do some medical issue cleaning up stuff tomorrow during the day, so I can play to my hearts content without worrying that I'm going to have some major medical and end up spending my vacation in a hospital bed looking out at the outside world. Done THAT one too many times!
So I'm looking forward to the actual start of my time off. And my time "on" to enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
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