Hello! I'm back in Miami...After a many conversations with Delta Airlines, I found out that I'm able to fly domestically using my UK Drivers License as ID, so I'm back in Fort Lauderdale just outside Miami. I wish I could say that my journey here was smooth and stress free... but that would be lying.
It was bad enough that my cab driver that was taking me from work to JFK airport yesterday afternoon was a terrible xenophobic and HATED English people (he asked me if I was purely English, I said 'Well I'm half Scottish' and he said 'Oh, well that explains why you're so nice then, you're not a pure English person!'), but as we were about half way there he decided to tell me that we weren't going to make it on time!
I had deliberately left a couple of extra hours to get there, because I was expecting some problems with security - not because I was expecting there to be solid traffic on the roads. Luckily the driver knew a shortcut, and managed to get me to JFK in pretty good time.
My next challenge was the security at JFK airport... I had phoned Delta to ensure that I could definitely travel using my Driving License as ID, but when I got the desk where they check your passports there was a bit of an uncomfortable silence... and then a bit of communication of the walkie talkies... and then a superior arrived at the scene... it turns out that in my rush to book a new ticket I'd booked my plane ticket under 'Ollie' and all my ID says 'Oliver' and apparently that's no good. They told me I needed to go and get a new ticket printed at the help desk...
... So I went to help desk but there was a HUGE queue and the people in the queue were moaning that they'd been waiting over half an hour. I asked the German family at the front of the queue, very politely if I could cut infront of them - but they weren't having any of it. Luckily I managed to talk the Russian girl behind them into letting me go infront of her, but she was in a rush for her flight back home.
When I finally managed to get to a help desk, I was greeted (greeted is the wrong word) by a rather grumpy, shouty Chinese woman. I explained my situation and asked her if she'd print me a new ticket... 'I'm not printing you a new ticket. Where's 'Ollie' come from anyway? Why did you book it in that name if it's not your name. I'm not printing you a new ticket - I get my supervisor!'... I tried explaining that the signature on my ID says Ollie and that my business card says Ollie, but my full name is Oliver... but she still had to go off and get her supervisor.
She went off for a few minutes and then came back... 'OK - I change ticket, but it's gonna be $200!'... At this point I was getting pretty fed up and just wanted to get on the plane, so I was close to losing my cool and said 'You're going to charge me $200 to change 3 letters of my name?! That's ridiculous, how can you charge for that?!'... I felt like saying 'All you need to is press delete 3 times and then press I-V-E-R... I'll do it! Then you can pay me $200!'... but I didn't. After my short outburst she said 'Well, I won't charge you, but next time it'll cost $200'. Needless to say - there will be NO next time.
Anyway, I managed to get through Security, I managed to get a quick smackeral and I managed to get on the flight which I later found out had been overbooked so a seat wasn't even guaranteed! Then, just before we were due to take off the pilot announces that the longest runway at JFK had been closed (maybe because of all the heavy heavy rain?!) and we were going to be taking off an hour later than sheduled! That hour turned into 90 minutes (I managed to have a snooze), but we finally took off. I think it's the first time I've been on a plane where the passengers applauded as the plane took off! (Bloody Yanks!)
When I arrived at Fort Lauderdale Airport, I got in a cab and asked to go to my hotel, the driver didn't have a clue where he was going, and what's supposed to be a 15 minute journey turned into a 40 minute wild goose-chase - using my iPhone Map, calling the hotel, going round in circles, missing turnings, doing U-turns... it was painful. Then it came to paying, I took out my company credit card and he said 'Oh, the machine's not working, you can't pay with a card'... So I went into the hotel to ask if they had an ATM machine... nope. So it was back in the cab to drive to the nearest cash machine. Luckily there was one a little way down the road...
Now, most America ATM machines ask you to 'dip' you card - so you put it in and take it out straight away... this one was different, you left it in the machine as you were taking money out. So I put the card in the machine, took out some money and then got back in the cab - as we were driving off I was thinking to myself 'Why is the cash machine still bleeping at me?' - I'd taken my reciept, so I couldn't work it out.
We went back to the hotel and I checked in, but as the lady at recepetion asked to see my ID and my method of payment I realised what the bleeping was about... I'd left the bloody card in the machine!
A very nice man at the hotel who drove the shuttle bus said he'd drive me back to the cash machine to get my card - but when we got there it had gone! I can only assume that the machine had taken the card and chewed it up or something... anyway, I got back to the hotel and cancelled the card and tried to think how much worse the night could get...
I think I've had just about enough of these unfortunate incidents and I've had my fair share of bad luck for now...
But anyway - I'm in Miami!
(From Pops)
ReplyDeleteThat must go down as THE most hellish journey ever - are you sure you weren't being secretly filmed by Candid Camera throughout the whole thing?
Maybe one day you'll be able to look back at it all and laugh about it - but I doubt it! There must be a moral to the story, but I can't think what it could possibly be.
If you can keep a cool head while all around you are doing their very best to drive you nuts - and you certainly can - you'll cope with anything life can throw at you. Good for you for dealing with all of it!
Can you get a bus home?