Getting to the Real World

Friday, July 23rd finally arrived...more slowly than I could have imagined, but more quickly than I expected (if that combination is even possible!). I was all packed, and underweight (allegedly...), and ready to start the new chapter in my life. However, since I really cannot do anything without there being a complication, my flight was...not delayed...but canceled. Yes, canceled. Thank you, Milwaukee, for having a torrential downpour the night prior and flooding the runway. How/when does that happen? Craziness. So, because Delta is such a courteous airline, they automatically rebooked me for a different flight...the next morning. Unacceptable. The real world is not going to wait for me to get there the next morning! Long story short, my wonderful father cleared his schedule for the day, drove me to Midway airport in Chicago for a 4:00 pm flight to Indianapolis. Whew. Crisis averted....or was it?

Either way, I had a flight. Done deal. However, I get to the baggage counter to check my one underweight bag and it was, you guessed it, not underweight. At home, my bagged weighed 47 pounds. Golden. At the airport, 58 pounds. Now, let me explain how crazed these airport scales are. I took 3 pairs of flip flops out of my baggage to try to get the weight down, and those 3 pairs were 4 pounds. There's just no way. Fortunately, this new flight was on Southwest and I was able to check both my large bag and carry-on for no fee.

So, despite the mix-ups the no fee for "excess" luggage almost made up for all of it. Also, fun fact/trick I learned as I arrived at training. If you never take your hand off of your luggage when you put it on the scale to be weighed, and gently lift/pull (depending on how conspicuous you want to be. Lift if you're using the top handle, pull if you're more discrete using the side handle.) until you're at the appropriate weight. Rumor has it that most past TLCs have been able to get by with that all year. I'll report back on my progress with that scam.