It has been awhile, I am afraid, since I shared some of my insignificant flapdoodle, but I guess it is time again… I hope that everyone had nice and cosy holidays and “slided” just fine into the new year. I certainly did, though it didn’t look very bright at all from the start! Where to begin?

Ah, yes, with travelling, of course. I reckon that nowadays it is taken for granted that reaching an arbitrary point B from any point A in the so-called civillized part of the world is a matter of routine. One just hops into a plane, more or less stumbles out of it and embraces whoever is picking one up from the airport. Now, I used to share that notion but I learned the hard way how innocent my views have been….

It all started so well: I arrived early at the airport around 7pm, three hours prior to departure. I skipped the quite short queue, since I was travelling alone, and after some nice chat with the check-in desk attendant got a free upgrade to the next higher cabin! Never happened to me before. However, when she asked if I am going to Hamburg tonight, I replied “hopefully”. That was a bad omen, I really have to learn to keep my sarcasm in check from time to time! Well, the damage was done and I would have to bear the consequences later on. Regardless, I enjoyed hanging around the shops and having a beer with fries in the Terminal C pub. Slowly, I set out for the Gate and made my self comfortable…

Finally, the flight was ready – almost on time, I might add – and people began boarding the plane. Happily, I lowered myself into the economy plus seat, which does have a generous amount of additional space in front of your legs which can make all the difference after three or so hours. Then came the next positive surprise: The gentleman sitting next to me was trying to get a seat next to his wife and child! Sitting in the economy plus cabin with an empty seat on the left and the aisle on the right: That’s bliss! So indeed he moved and I settled for a nice flight with a lot of room for myself!

That’s when the first announcement came: Due to technical problems the departure will be delayed. Half an hour later it turns out that the problem is more severe and that they have to power down the aircraft which makes it necessary for all of us to leave. Having done that and being back at the gate, the next announcement let us know that they tried everything and will now go through the check-up again. At last, after keeping the passengers at there toes for more than two hours, the final verdict came: Due to a defect valve in one engine’s fuel line the flight was cancelled!

That’s when the chaos started: No one seemed to know what needs to be done next. Supposedly, busses were waiting to take the passengers to nearby hotels. But first we had to get our checked-in baggage! And where were the busses waiting? And where would they take us?

Now everytime the fine fabric of custom is ruptured, human beings revert to their most natural behaviour, shedding all acquired education in an instant: You had people angrily discussing with personal, others were crying and were devastated, again others were laughing or cracking jokes. I guess I belonged to the last group, I found it all just hilarious! Anyway, the busses arrived eventually and off we went to the closest hotel, which was totally unprepared to host 80 to 100 people in the middle of the night! So when I finally was inside, the queue moved about one party per three minutes. It took me another two hours to get into my room and around four o’clock in the morning I fell asleep, totally exhausted!

The next morning we had to check out at noon, so I was back at the airport around 1:30pm. The place was completely empty expect for the poor wretched fellow passengers: No officials, no open check-in desks, and no news or information to make us feel at least not forgotten! Also, the place has no food or drinks, not even a bloddy coffee dispenser, so I set out on a mission to find something to drink… After an hout or so I found a coffee, so I resumed queuing and making acquaintances with fellow victims of the system. Meanwhile, people started to get hungry, so I joined a few guys who decided to order a pizza…. 😉

Altogether, we spend another four hours waiting till I finally was checked-in again! Boy, at least I got my free upgrade again, I had feared the worst! The plane was supposed to depart at 18:15 now, but we didn’t lift off till eight o’clock….

…. which automatically made me miss my connecting flight in London. They did rebook me on a flight of a competing airline, but of course my suitcase never made that change…. So, when I finally arrived in Hamburg, I had slept maybe eight hours in three days. And since I had missed a whole day of my vacation, I couldn’t rest that evening, there were appointments I had to attend. The whole rest of the week was so busy that right on the 26nd I hit the bad with a cold! Great, huh? Fortunately enough, my cold wasn’t so bad, I still had a very good time back home!

Now, the trip back was supposed to redeem that particular airline in my eyes. And everything went pretty well! I even ended up in economy plus again, because a lady wanted to sit next to her friends in the economy cabin. How could I have refused her!

But then it happened: After the plane had halted in its park position at Philly, they wouldn’t let us get up and off! Turns out that they have broken power units, so the engine had to keep on running till they get power from a ground unit. When they let us disembark finally, it was 45min later and the engine was still running, which meant that they couldn’t open the cargo bay! I spent two hours at the airport before I finally got my luggage and could leave!

Well, well, well, let’s not forget that after all I went and came back safe and sound and that’s what matters, doesn’t it? I have spent hours in storage ring control rooms waiting for a proton beam to come alive, so technical problems are no real news to me… 😉

Now I am back in good old Newark, planing my next steps. There is the driver’s licence business I have to seriously take on now and there are a few other projects like my new toy that has to be setup properly! Otherwise, I am trying to pick the threads of my new life and to continue the ongoing adventure of being abroad!

Yours truly, Levent