Lost Luggage

Bad luck Dani... I have had two episodes of "lost" luggage. 

The first instance of "lost" luggage occurred, but luckily I got it delivered to the hotel that night at about 10pm... so my weekend was saved... but then there was Alaska Air... smh and the trip that could have been the worst if it weren't for my awesomeness and my true optimism... first let's go back to 2014 and Lexington Toy and Comic Con.... 

One the East Coast in March its still pretty much winter like Blizzards happen... so it wasn't odd that flights were delayed or late... this caused me to get to North Carolina just in time for my flight to Kentucky, with literally no time to spare. So I arrive in Kentucky to NO luggage... I am just like OF COURSE!!! But I didn't freak out I just talked to the people who said the luggage was on its way. I went to my hotel and prayed to  Jesus.  I was making plans to wear the con's tee... after fries and a drink at the bar as the night moved on I went to the front desk one last time just to see if maybe my bag was there and it was...I was thanking the Lord for sure!!! 

SO the first tip on Lost Luggage is: Stay Optimistic

This is just for your emotional state... no one likes to see any one be sad, crying, angry, outrage... just relax... it doesn't help to have you worry about it... you being sad, mad, or worried won't bring the bag back.... Just breath and smile..... 

SO fast forward to August 2016 Power Morphicon... 

I decide let's take a straight flight to LAX and I won't have to worry about the luggage... WRONG!!!!

I get to the airport slightly late... BUT the chick at the counter told them ONE more is on the way... I get to LAX and NOTHING!!!!! 

I was kind of mad but whatever I stayed calm and put in my claim.... 

That is tip number 2 after remaining calm go over to baggage claim and tell them what's up they will let you know that they will get your luggage to you as soon as they can or they will reimburse you for whatever you have to pay for cause of this lost bag.... I head on over to Pasadena.... With practically nothing....

I check in to the Hotel, Check-in to the con... meet and greet friends... check out the con floor and afterwards I call the airport who tells me "dfghjk';lkjhgfdsfghjkl;';lkjhgfdsfghjkl" which translates to a bunch of crap... by like 5 pm that evening I had a feeling I would not have my luggage so tip number 3 is:

 HAVE EMERGENCY MONEY!!! 

I didn't exactly plan emergency money but I wasn't hurting either... tip number 4: 

Use GPS to find a store.

I didn't have a car... with Uber you can do like anything, PLUS everything I needed for the convention was walking distance, but I didn't know Pasadena from a can of paint... first I looked up Ross, it was too far, so I tried Forever 21 which(randomly) was nearby. Now tip number 5 is: 

Try to be frugal. 

If you didn't plan on an emergency, you have to watch your budget. Forever 21 isn't expensive, but $20 and $20 is $40 and $40 was the cost of my uber ride back.... (didn't realize Pasadena is HELLA far from LA) and I hadn't even really begun to get all the autographs/photos with Rangers, and I needed to eat (even tho during con life I barely eat, but that is a different blog) so I needed to find the clearance  section.... I was able to get a cute shirt for $5 and a cute skirt for $5... awesome deal right!!! I also bought a comb and a pair of undies. Which is tip number 6: 

If you don't do anything else buy some underwear... (bras have a longer life expectancy than panties so what you do about that... I will leave that to your discretion.) 

My mom tells me to keep this kind of stuff in my carry on but I never do... Tip number 7: 

Listen to your mom, more than likely she is right. 

SO I head back to my hotel... and of course call the baggage. New story... from them that sounded more like I wouldn't be getting  my luggage... now I was mad... now previously I said stay calm and smile.... sometimes there comes a point where you get a little mad. I grabbed some food, went back to my room called the airport I got more garbage from them. I actually don't want to talk about them anymore at the end the day... the luggage wasn't going to make it... which really disgusted me and while I was all alone I cried like a 6 year old little girl. I called my mom LOL!! Remember tip number 7: Listen to your mom... yeah repeat that step. She made me feel a lot better (she made me feel like I could conquer the world in the little outfit I bought from Forever 21) and said you know you can hand wash your underwear and use a blowdryer to dry them.... 

This is tip number 8: Hand wash your draws... I guess you can do this if you are a guy too, but girls most def.... and I did have to use the hotel blowdryer the next day to dry them LOL!!! (They hadn't completely dried) 

Tip Number 9 is: 

Go to the front desk a the Hotel and ask for toiletries... these are usually complimentary items.... the hotel gave me a toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant. And all the hotels I have ever stayed in have shampoo, conditioner, soaps, etc in the rooms.  

 

Tip Number 10 is: Buy t'shirts at the con. 

If you are at a convention 9 times out 10 there are t'shirts, they might be free or you may have to pay... go for it.... I bought one tee from Johnny Yong Bosch and one from the people who run Lexington Toy and Comic Con...(they had a booth with an awesome Pink ranger tee) 

BY the way these are tips for a weekend situation, if I had of been there a whole week I may have had some problems for sure...of course some of these tips may help...also had I been there a week I would have been able to get my luggage. 

So I bought a t-shirt and even tho I said I was going to wear the jeans I had on the day before I found an upscale consignment shop around the corner, and got another pair of jeans... I also bought a back pack because at this point I needed a way to carry all my stuff.... 

When ever thing was said and done...I get back to the airport...and Tip number 11 is to make sure the airline reimburses you for the things you had to buy.... 

SO review: 

1.) Stay Optimistic

2.)Remain Calm 

3.)Have Emergency Money

4.) Use GPS

5.) Try to be Frugal

6.) Buy underwear 

7.) Listen to your Mom 

8.) Hand wash underwear

9.) Ask the hotel for toiletries 

10.) Buy Convention t-shirts

11.) Get reimbursed by the airport

AND extra... never check your luggage again...  DO NOT check you luggage always carry on.... smh.... 

I made it through this situation...you can get through it too!!! 

Just Breathe...When Jesus made Starbucks that much better!!!!

I don't fully remember everything about this story about Alexander and his bad day, but I know he went through a series of events in which he felt ruined his day. Friday seemed like that to me. 

To summarize it had been an upsetting Thursday evening as two adults a daughter and mother argued momentarily. The Daughter at time just feels that there is a lack of respect especially since she is 31. The daughter basically feels the mother wanted her to jump when the mother said jump, but the daughter feels that if she is asking for a moment before jumping that should have been respected. When trying to express that feeling the mother either missed the concept of respect or doesn't feel the daughter is owed that respect so not wanting to go into it any further the daughter forfeit, the mother having the last word, nothing being resolved for the daughter, so the daughter was distraught in her feeling of  being treated like 13 year old instead of a 31 year old. 

So Friday is a new day and of course everything is as if nothing occurred the previous evening, the daughter is expected to smile and go about her day still pretty hurt about the night before. There are bigger concerns anyway or at least other concerns that are creating some disheartening scenarios for her career. Its a matter of calm and collected matched with anxiety and adhd. Making sure there is a team effort but recognizing the one terrible trait of teachers who have their ideas and although express a face of i am considering your idea really just have their own idea in mind. Two teachers unifying, two sort of different styles, we do have to collaborate, so the daughter/teacher is hoping that when the dust of getting class rooms set up and meetings settles their will be a better amount of what collaboration feels like to her. 

So with those things on her mind she is ready for Friday and the big event(s) a training and a meet and great cook out for students.  She leaves the house pretty early knowing that there are higher expectations or at least hoping there are higher expectations of her this year. When she starts the car she realizes she forgot to grab her Starbucks frappe she had bought knowing she would need them this week. She said it's early enough I will run over to 7/11. Bag in hand she goes over to her car and the gentleman next to her says: Have a great day! She says: "You too." At the car trying to put the car clicker to unlock the doors it happens so quickly with the bag slipping  from her fingers like it was never in her hands and in an instant the glass bottle of the Starbuck Frappe shatters. In that instant that daughter/teacher wanted to shatter into tears upon the same ground next to the glass and the now spilling drink. The gentleman who hadn't left immediately enquired about what happened and offered to buy another but she said, that's ok, I probably wasn't suppose to have it. That is the statement we like to go to when something doesn't quite go our way. Its a way of getting over the anger. Because in  her head she wanted to snap and curse and cry, but knowing that doesn't solve anything she just got in the car and took a deep breath (after wiping her pant leg) and went on to the next part of her day. 

On the short drive to the school she assessed the situation because she as a daughter/teacher she is always reflecting looking the way things were handled. She wondered if her "have a great day" "you too" response wasn't truly heartfelt and honest. Was it really a matter of she didn't need the coffee drink? Does God allow for such situations because he feels you don't need the coffee or was it to stun you to slow you down because your eyes aren't truly open to that morning. Why would God allow for your money to shatter? I mean that's what was really being thrown away. Or was it one of those moments when he allows something bad to happen so that you see him again? Or is just an accident? 

She never really got an answer. She just breathed let it go and drove away.  She went on to do what she needed to do prior to going the training and even though it was a terrible training (well boring and stressful as there are some new things put in place to make things tedious for spec ed teachers) she was with a few colleagues who she respected, a new person who seemed to get it and appearance of camaraderie with the other spec ed teachers of the building.  

Basically the day got better. A certain amount of  the hurt from the previous night washed away, and the stress of teaching was washed away with a successful Meet and Greet BBQ. Principles were jolly and the new superintendent was even around speaking with teachers, parents, students, and custodians.  

So maybe there wasn't a lesson in the shattered coffee. Or maybe there is, but it won't be understood until later. Or maybe the lesson is "everything is going to be alright." And that is usually true. We stress out regularly. We worry about so many things throughout the day, but really if we just let it go and recognize that God has our path set and does all he does it for a reason, we could cool out a bit.  

And there it is...the answer... worry had overtaken the mind. There is no need for worry. Looking back at the past 3 days, worry was apart of all of them. Even though everything seemed calm. And if anyone remembers in Matthew Jesus uses parables to teacher certain aspects about God. Don't worry because God has your back is one of the biggest teaching. Momentarily that lesson was lost.  It took a shattered coffee drink to help wake up out of the fog of worry. 

With tomorrow here maybe I will be able to grab a coffee and drink it with the peace of the Lord over me.    

Thoughts on singlehood...being numb

Is my life so complicated that I don't know what to blog or is my life so not really complicated that I don't have anything to blog about....
Or is that I know what I want to blog but my words just aren't together yet?
Trying to protect the innocent...
Really the topic should be...Weddings, Weddings everywhere...or Bridesmaid, not even...or Forever Alone....
Not sure....but at some point a few of come to this realization...I am old, I am single, I am cold, this is a dark dark world...and what we usually do is retreat further into of "bat" caves...or we divuluge into our work/school.
I literally work everyday unless there are holidays or breaks in the semester. (perks of working in public and higher education). I also go to class in the evening after work. When would I have time to add a boyfriend really. Not that I wouldn't want to but seriously.
Really this isn't what's on my mind... I am thinking of a friend...singleness is troubling for them. I guess I have become complacent and just don't give a damn that love and lost are irrelevant. I am so caught up in the particulars in order to be with me that I refuse to settle....(just haven't given up hope that there is someONE for me)
It doesn't help that this friend was close to love and lost it all in what seemed to be the same breath.

My opinion is that alot of us, twenty somethings, want to see the world ASAP, we wanted to be ADULTS, YES! We wanted to be on our own and we wanted to make it happen on our own! YES! And we did it for a good 2 years before that became totally F***ing lonely.