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Published On: Oct 17, 2003 08:01
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Oct 17, 2003 08:01
Two dumb mistakes
So it appears that earlier this month, I have made
not one but
two
really dumb errors which have contributed dramatically to this morning's stress.
The first and worst of these was that upon making airline reservations to get
around the country to visit folks I was too much in nastalgia from my time in
south Florida back in 1995 and I very
mistakenly flew into
West Palm
Beach airport this morning instead of where
the ship actually departs, Fort
Lauderdale, whose airport is roughly five ten
minutes' drive from the pier.
After landing, I quickly verified on the phone that the cruise line, who was quite happy to pick me up from the local airport had no such facility for the one I was at. The second really dumb error is one at least I've been making consistently all my life; that is, I ended the month with around $41. cash in my pocket and the SuperShuttle wanted $64. to get to the ship- what to do? I learned about SuperShuttle and the local taxis ($90 for a taxi) and checked the train schedule. The woman at the airport information booth had a 2000 train schedule which showed no appropriately timed trains and although she suggested I try Greyhound buses, I reasoned that theh clock was ticking and I wasn't even sure about the money for the cabs to and from the bus stations in each city, let alone the schedule. So I figured that the simplest answer was the best. I was feeling pretty stressed. I called a friend to wire me some money. Next problem: there was no Western Union at the airport. So, gambling, I took a cab to a grocery store whom the cab driver believed was open and had a Western Union pickup point. It was and it did, however, the woman behind the counter had just tried it for someone else and determined it to be inoperative- something about the pouring rain (Oh, yea -- of course, there was pouring rain through all of this; I mean, just for dramatic effect, ya know?) Anyway, I convinced her to try again (and again and again) and low and behold, a mere hour later, money in hand, cab driver finally returned (45 minutes after he said he'd be there) I was finally on the way, with only a few wrong terms and we arrived with a solid twenty minutes to spare before the ship would have been scheduled to go without me. The ship waited an additional 38 minutes for two additional passengers who finally arrived and we were off at last!
After landing, I quickly verified on the phone that the cruise line, who was quite happy to pick me up from the local airport had no such facility for the one I was at. The second really dumb error is one at least I've been making consistently all my life; that is, I ended the month with around $41. cash in my pocket and the SuperShuttle wanted $64. to get to the ship- what to do? I learned about SuperShuttle and the local taxis ($90 for a taxi) and checked the train schedule. The woman at the airport information booth had a 2000 train schedule which showed no appropriately timed trains and although she suggested I try Greyhound buses, I reasoned that theh clock was ticking and I wasn't even sure about the money for the cabs to and from the bus stations in each city, let alone the schedule. So I figured that the simplest answer was the best. I was feeling pretty stressed. I called a friend to wire me some money. Next problem: there was no Western Union at the airport. So, gambling, I took a cab to a grocery store whom the cab driver believed was open and had a Western Union pickup point. It was and it did, however, the woman behind the counter had just tried it for someone else and determined it to be inoperative- something about the pouring rain (Oh, yea -- of course, there was pouring rain through all of this; I mean, just for dramatic effect, ya know?) Anyway, I convinced her to try again (and again and again) and low and behold, a mere hour later, money in hand, cab driver finally returned (45 minutes after he said he'd be there) I was finally on the way, with only a few wrong terms and we arrived with a solid twenty minutes to spare before the ship would have been scheduled to go without me. The ship waited an additional 38 minutes for two additional passengers who finally arrived and we were off at last!
Posted: Sat - April 26, 2003 at 08:48