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I made the flight reservations through Orbitz. It seemed like a good idea at the time--dealing with the airlines directly, there's no way to ask about important conditions. Orbitz would answer me when I asked, "About that 42 minute connection through Detroit on the return trip, how often does that flight arrive in Detroit on time? You say it leaves on time 40% of the time? And is that the last flight Northwest has between Detroit and Boston? Riiiight. Well, then, how much would it cost to make the return flight earlier in the day? Really? No, really? Are they all like that? It doesn't have to be Northwest. And the flight on Friday can be any time of day." Allowing Friday's departure time to vary was the secret. If I couldn't do that, the tickets would have cost 2 to 3 times more (well, in practice, I would not have gone.)
So I'm planning to be on a plane leaving Logan at 6:30. Being a cautious turtle, I told the taxi dispatcher I wanted to be at the airport at 5, and he said the taxi would be here at 4:30. I set the alarm for 4. This is all sensible, as far as it goes. (Modulo having no public transit at this hour.) My cell phone rang at 3:30. I was not pleased. There are a handful of people who are welcome to call me at that time of night, but they usually only do it when something is WRONG. This phone call was not from someone I love. It was a recorded message from Orbitz, informing me that my plane was scheduled for on-time departure in 3 hours. Did I mention not being pleased?
But I am packed and awake, and very nearly ready to go. I am packing ridiculously light for this trip, to accomodate my problems carrying things. How can I be packed when I'm not even bringing socks? How can I be ready to go when there are no books in my bag? This is crazy. (I need to calm down. I have dozens of ebooks in my jacket pocket, and they will have to do.) There's still something reassuring about putting one more paperback in the bag, just to make *sure* I'll have enough on the way. The Palm doesn't feel as reassuring. And I'm not bringing Dracomir. There's no room in the bag, even if I thought it would be safe.
So I'm planning to be on a plane leaving Logan at 6:30. Being a cautious turtle, I told the taxi dispatcher I wanted to be at the airport at 5, and he said the taxi would be here at 4:30. I set the alarm for 4. This is all sensible, as far as it goes. (Modulo having no public transit at this hour.) My cell phone rang at 3:30. I was not pleased. There are a handful of people who are welcome to call me at that time of night, but they usually only do it when something is WRONG. This phone call was not from someone I love. It was a recorded message from Orbitz, informing me that my plane was scheduled for on-time departure in 3 hours. Did I mention not being pleased?
But I am packed and awake, and very nearly ready to go. I am packing ridiculously light for this trip, to accomodate my problems carrying things. How can I be packed when I'm not even bringing socks? How can I be ready to go when there are no books in my bag? This is crazy. (I need to calm down. I have dozens of ebooks in my jacket pocket, and they will have to do.) There's still something reassuring about putting one more paperback in the bag, just to make *sure* I'll have enough on the way. The Palm doesn't feel as reassuring. And I'm not bringing Dracomir. There's no room in the bag, even if I thought it would be safe.
