Cabs and Airports

Flashback to my last day in Chicago. Leaving the city and returning to the airport was easy enough. Made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare, obviously, given that my flight was scheduled for 20h50. I check in and go through security gates, which takes me a little more than an hour. I hate waiting in line…

So I looked for a place to plug my Thinkpad, review some notes and tie some loose ends thru email. Around 18h30, I decide to grab some dinner (I’m in O’Hare’s Concourse C at that point) and as I’m heading back, I glance at the departures board. Hey… that’s weird, my flight says Cancelled. I double-check.Yup, it says cancelled. After speaking to an airport staff near my gate that says cancellations due to bad weather happens often in O’Hare, I head for the Customer Service counter. Ouch! There’s a looooooooooong lineup already. Looks like I’m not the only one in this situation. I decide to call IBM’s travel agency and find an alternative route to Montreal. It took me 50 minutes on my cell phone to finally get a flight out. All that time, I’m waiting in line – slowly progressing toward what seems to be a lonely service agent. I’m able to get on a new flight, but the problem is it’s tomorrow morning at 6h35. I get the last seat on that flight. Being smart, I also reserved a stay in a nearby hotel. Good thing, given that the O’Hare Hilton was already full (according to my travel agency). Despite that fact, people in line were being given rebate coupons for the Hilton… they were in for a surprise.

So I hop on a cab. By that point in my trip, I’ve got $8 USD left, which would have been great had I flown back that night. Perfect budgeting. But nooooo, the cab ride costs $9.25. So I pull out my credit card, and the driver looks at me funny. He starts mumbling about delays, % fee taken off his ride… I mean c’mon, I know that and I tell him I’ll make it worth his while, since I don’t have enough cash. He keeps rambling about it. In the end, he decides he’d rather have my $8 than offer to swipe my card for a bigger reward. Your loss, buddy! I leave somewhat ticked off by such lousy cab service. So I check in the Wyndham Hotel, get to my room. The shock! This is not my W Hotel!!! Where’s my plasma TV? Where’s my beautiful view of the Michigan lake? 🙂

As I head down toward the hotel restaurant to grab a bite to eat (haven’t had dinner yet, it’s now after 21h00), I see the long line up of like-travellers trying to get a room… good thing I made reservations!

Having had so much fun tonight, I have a hard time getting to sleep. It must be close to midnight when I doze off. And then BEEEEEEP – BEEEEEEP – BEEEEEEP !!! The fire alarm rings and I wake up in a panic. That things must be pushing 120dB straight into my room. It’s … 3h00 AM !?! Like many, I check into the hallway if I can see what’s going on. The alarm rings for 30 minutes straight.

By that time, I’ve already decided that enough is enough. I take a quick shower, put on my same clothes as last night (yeah, the luggage is still somewhere in the airport), and head down to check out. As I get to the airport, it’s chockfull of people. A human sea.

I line up (I’m good at this by now) to get my paper tickets and figure out where’s my luggage. After 45 min, I’ve got my stuff, and line up (again) to go through security. Another 30 min flies by. Finally, I’m through all the procedures and head for a coffee shop to grab a bite and relax a bit.

As soon as I sit in the airplace and buckle up, I fell asleep. I only woke up at Newark. See, this is the nice part. I ended up exchanging a 2hr direct flight, for a 7hr via Newark, NJ. Just great. And because I need to make sure my luggage is following me, I exit the secure area in Newark, go check the carrousels and speak to an agent to make sure my luggage is not somewhere here.

Once I get the confirmation that my luggage is tagged to Montreal, I have to -again- go through security (another 15min) and then get to my gate for my final destination.You’d think this story ends once I arrive in Montreal, right? Well, I have to find my luggage first. So I stick around my flight’s carrousel for 15-20 minutes. Nothing. I then visit the Lost Luggage counter, and after a short wait (another 15 min), an agent tells me that my stuff has arrived in Montreal since yesterday (how, I have no clue) and is probably lying around somewhere near carrousel 3 (since yesterday). Jeeez. Good thing I don’t value my belongings too much…

I end up finding my luggage and head home with a cab that speaks some african dialect. The thing is it’s loosely based on an ancient form of French, and I can make up that he’s telling the person on his cellphone that he’s not that happy to get my short ride (I live less than $15 from the airport) and the prospect of having to do the line-up again at the cab stand at the airport.

By that time, I’m too tired to say anything. I pay him the minimum fee and leave to crash into my bed… I’m home.