The Christmas Curse

My neck has a huge kink in it after an hour of catching up on emails while simultaneously cradling my phone between my ear and left shoulder. That's how long I was on hold with Northwest Airlines even though the man's voice that came through every few minutes continued to tell me that a representative would be with me shortly. Interesting...

So for the third year in a row, I've had difficulty getting home for Christmas due to crap weather. It's becoming a real joke in my family. When I send them my initial itinerary, typically booked a good month or two in a advance, my mom just laughs and says, "Oh, this is when you think you are coming home, right?"

Right.

New Yorkers are pretty damn wimpy when it comes to "severe" weather and I've found that the area airports are quick to cancel flights due to conditions deemed child's play by hardy Wisconsinites. But this time around, I have to agree that the current weather situation is indeed something to write home about. I have no idea how much snow is out there right now but it's more than I've ever seen here. Although I'm annoyed that I can't have dinner with my Milwaukee friends tonight as planned, I'm also relieved that I can hunker down under a mountain of blankets instead of maneuvering my bags through the drifting snow.

Yesterday, I tried for hours to get through to Northwest but I couldn't even get to the point of being placed on hold. The lines were apparently so busy that I continued to hear the following recorded message: "Due to unusually high call volume, we cannot take your call at this time. Please visit nwa.com for further assistance." Click. Okay. But when I emailed customer service, this was the response:

Thanks for the e-mail. We wish we could answer your question immediately
but we are running behind. You should expect a response within 3-4 days.
We apologize for the delay.

Nice.

So I started over again this morning. After being on hold for an hour and then another hour of discussing possible flights which were there one moment and gone the next (my favorite being NYC to Boston to Detroit to Minneapolis to Green Bay...to arrive late on Christmas Eve!), the super friendly (not being sarcastic) Northwest representative managed to find a flight for me which leaves only 36 hours after my original departure. Yes, I have to fly to Atlanta which is 100% retarded but I will take it if it means getting somewhere FOR ONCE before Christmas dinner.

Anyway, I think it's time to unearth myself from my cozy blankety bliss and make my way to the coffee maker. And as I listen to the sound of metal shovels hitting concrete, I cannot help but be grateful that I am a poor ass who doesn't own property. Look at me, finding more and more things to be grateful for! But you know what would make me even more grateful? Clear, blue skies on the 22nd. Universe, work with me now...please?