Part 2 of my arduous journey home:
So I boarded my train 20 minutes later and caught the connection from 30th Street onward to the airport. I quickly rush over to the Southwest baggage dropoff/check-in area and wait in the surprisingly short line. Maybe things were starting to look up for me huh?
This thought soon became a false alarm however when the man at the check in counter informed me that my bag was 2 lbs overweight. He said if I could not remove the extra weight and store some of it in my carry-on duffel that he was going to charge me $50. Really? Ok, so I wasn't going to dig for the key in my backpack to unlock the main part of my luggage and open up all of my clothes and underwear in front of spectators, so I opened the outside mini-zip-up compartment on the front of my luggage and proceeded to remove 3 scarves and some papers.
He then claimed that it was fine. Really... 3 scarves were 2 lbs overweight?? In the first place, I had a hard time believing that my bag weighed 50 lbs. However this did give me an ego boost knowing that I had been carrying/lugging around 50 lbs worth of weight. I guess all those push-ups paid off!
Anyway, after that annoyance was settled I ran upstairs to wait in the security line and when asked by the man who checked my ID how my day was, I replied honestly and told him that it could have been better. His cheery attitude dimmed my frustration level a bit though. That is, until I got up to the security area.
An intimidating woman asked whose backpack had just passed through the converyor belt and I was forced to claim it as my own. Wondering what could have possibly set off their suspicion I hurried to put on my shoes and jacket, my last shreds of dignity in a plastic bin before me. I went over to the counter where she gave me 'a look' and asked if I had any sharp objects in my bag. I didn't recall putting any knives in my backpack so I replied no. Then she reached in and pulled out a half-used water bottle and raised her eyebrows at me. Seriously? She knew where it was the whole time and could have just pulled it out. I realized I had just been careless and left it in there. I was really planning on throwing it out before I got in line, but the craziness of the previous 3 hours had left my brain a little bit jumbled.
My backpack was forced back on the conveyor where they examined it again, to see what else they could get me for. Thankfully they didn't need to humiliate me twice and I was sent on my way. At this point, I was almost in tears out of frustration. It was one of those days where if something CAN go wrong it WILL go wrong!! I made my way to the closest women's bathroom and just took a breather in a stall. Yes I picked the handicapped one I needed the space.
Overall, that was it for the most frustrating part of my day. After all that had happened not even listening to the yelping/screaming/crying dog sitting in the row in front of me for four hours on the flight could compare. My focus was just on getting home, and really, that's what it should have been on the entire day.
If we tend to focus on things in the moment, we feel like we aren't missing anything and we are getting the most out of our situation. Sometimes, though, to get through the present, we find that focusing on the future, can be the best coping mechanism.
-Stephanie, WWT
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