Back to the UK

I've been trying to update but the internet hates me, so finally I got this far.

So I don't know if I'm cursed or not . . but I swear my first weekends tend to not be so great.

Well I woke up at about 6 am on Friday the 4th and headed to the airport. It was pouring and windy and for the first time in my life, no one was going above the speed limit. I get to the airport only to find Im in the wrong terminal. I was supposed to be in the domestic terminal not the international. . .so I went to the domestic terminal and stood in the paper ticket line. Once I got to the front the woman kind of lectured me about being in the wrong line because I guess I had an E-ticket. Who knew? Security wasn't too bad. I went straight to my gate and saw that the flight before me to Chicago (where I had to make my connection) had already been delayed. Since my original flight was supposed to leave at 11 and it was just after 8, I decided it would be best to try to get on the earlier flight. United had only given me a 45 min layover in Chicago so any delay out of San Francisco would have been disastrous. I was put on standby for the earlier flight. Then flights started to be canceled and I figured out there was no way I was getting out of SFO in time. I randomly met an ex-pilot for United who told me to call United and switch my flight to a direct one. I called and didn't get through.

I went to stand in line to ask what I could do, and my mom called United and they put me on a direct flight leaving at 12:30, because it was almost 10 at this point. So I stayed in line to see what my best bet was only to find out that they put me on the direct flight @ full fare instead of frequent flyer. . . .oy vey! At this point, the earlier flight and mine were pretty much set to leave at the same time. And my flight had changed gates without an announcement!!! So I rushed back to the international terminal and went up to my gate and was told that I would make the last flight out of Chicago. We boarded at 1ish and sat on the plane until 3:30. By the time we arrived in Chicago I had at most 45 minutes until the last flight left for London. But with my luck, we arrived only to have our gate occupied, which meant 25 minutes ticked away. I got off the plane at 9:05 and ran to the monitors to find that my flight left @ 915 and the gate was in another concourse.

Running through the Chicago airport is not fun. . .

I arrived at the gate out of breath and asked to get on the flight and they told me it was full. So I asked what I was supposed to do because I had to get to school. And some wise guy told me to go to Mexico. My response "Well considering I'm from California that would have been a lot easier than getting here". They gave me a number to call for a hotel and let's just say I wasn't a pretty scene. After waiting to see if there was any chance of getting on and seeing that everything in the airport was closed, which meant no food for Margaret who only had a chai, 2 gingerbread cookies and a granola bar to eat for the whole day. I finally called the number and got the cheapest place available which was still just shy of $60. United assured me that my bags would be on the next plane with me but could only give me a flight a full 24 hours after I was originally supposed to leave (6 p.m.) and put me on standby for a 4 p.m. flight.

I had nothing with me. Thank god for shampoo and conditioner that I had shoved in there. I had to buy toothpaste and a toothbrush from the hotel (bloody expensive toothpaste) and I watched TV and went to bed. I checked out at noon and headed for the airport.

I went through security and then they pulled me aside and wouldn't tell me what was going on. They were wiping down my stuff with a cloth and putting it in some machine. Finally they explained that my standby ticket had a random security check thing on it. . Thank you United. . .you never cease to be crap.

I got myself a Starbucks to calm myself and went back to the scene of the previous nights crime. They wouldn't tell me my chances of getting onto the flight, but luckily I did and actually had a seat in economy plus, which meant more leg room. But thanks to us sitting on the plane until 6 p.m., I didn’t
even leave Chicago until a full 24 hours after I was supposed to leave
originally. And when I got to London a full 24 hours after I was supposed to I was greeted by no luggage. They guaranteed me that it would be delivered later that day (Sunday) and guess what? It wasn't. It was finally delivered on Monday afternoon. Luckily I had a shirt and a pair of jeans and some PJs in my luggage that I left at school. . .

So basically, I hate United and they will be getting a fatty complaint letter. Yes it was partly the weather, but I overheard them say that the pilot for my flight out of SF wasn't there yet. . .therefore, united. . .there's a reason you went bankrupt.
Oh and to make matters even better, due to jet lag I slept right through my 4-6 lecture on the first Monday.





Now I'm back at school. I was feeling a bit stressed but I dropped my history class so now I feel a bit better. I went to see Chicago with Sarah yesterday since I now have Wednesdays off. A few of us decided we are going to use our Wednesdays. . .shows, Windsor Castle, etc, etc. Overall though, I think that this term will be a bit more fun filled. Ive booked some trips throughout England for the weekends in February including a weekend in Wales.

I will try to keep you all updated, but for now my only updates are about the flight back.