Leaving the Bay Area for Seattle
I left San Jose and flew to Seattle with Jade early morning on Tuesday. Jade for the most part was a pretty good kitty. The flight attendants weren’t as cool as the last flight and told me that Jade needed to stay under the seat the entire flight. Meow. Meow. Meow…. then she gave up. Every 10 minutes she would give me a short meow just to let me know she was still there. “Flight attendants prepare for landing.” Jade could sense the change in presure. M E O W. In that frantic high-pitched meow… THAT meow… it means I just pissed myself and I’m really upset. Once we landed I hopped into the little bathroom in the back of the plane and cleaned her up. Thank god for pee pads. I got my luggage and then hopped in my rental car. From there, Jade got upgraded to my lap. Nice Kitty.
The stay at Seattle was pretty short and shorter than I anticipated. For the most part, I stayed at Christina’s place making sure that Jade got all her stuff organized and settled into her temporary home.
First DOH! moment
Brushing my teeth the night before my departure, i get that gut wrenching feeling. CRAP! I forgot my scuba weight in the back of my rental car when I returned it the other day. Lazily, I had left it in the car because i didn’t feel like lugging it into the house with all the other luggage. Then I had a brain fart while returning the car and didn’t check the back seat. For the next hour, I stormed around like a mad woman trying every which way to contact Alamo. Calling their Lost and Found, filing a claim on-line and doing that call/repeat dial every line I could think of trying to reach a human being at midnight. No luck.
In the morning, I went back to the rental car company at 5am, only to be told the lost and found wouldn’t open till 6am and that the car had already been rented out. I checked into my flight, and then took the shuttle bus back over to lost and found and waited till 6am when they opened. No luck, no weight. By now I’m just kicking myself for being such an airhead and forgetting my weight. I’m more disappointed in myself for being an idiot.
Second Doh! moment
But wait- thats not all! I fly to Los Angeles and get a text from Christina that I forgot my medication at her place. I probably could order it in Thailand, but I don’t want to leave that up to chance. I hop off the plane and call an uber to take me to the nearest Rite Aid. From there, I get my prescription transferred (only a month’s supply for a refill) and then uber my ass back to the airport to get back into the airport. Thank god for Uber.
The one and only saving glory that day was that I still had platinum status on American so I strolled into the one lounge and took advantage of all the free stuff. I looked over at the bartender. He looked bored as ever- wiping glasses dry with a rag. I get his attention and order a bloody mary. He excitedly decided to make my bloody mary from scratch. OH the sweet taste of alcohol never felt so good.
Things started to look like they were turning around. On the plane, I got more legroom than I could use. Bulk head seat score. My legs stretched out so much I could have been lounging at the pool. JAL also hooked it up with the food and I ate everything on my plate. Each meal was a cute bento box. I chuckled as the flight attendants tried to speak english over the intercom. Very endearing, yest struggling to get the words out. Always with a happy face, the flight attendants kept coming around with the best snacks. Three twins ice cream, hot green tea, cold barley tea, rice snacks…. I barely had time to sleep.
Once I got to Tokyo, things started to change. The flight was delayed and my seat was in normal economy where my knees barely fit, scraping the front seat. I dont know how anyone about 5.5ft tall flies. Another 7 hours to go.
I should just staple everything on myself
I get off the plane and jump into the priority immigration line. I figured the worst they can do is tell me to go in the normal line. I manage to get out of immigration in less than 5 minutes. I reach into my bag to check my phone because I forgot where to meet Nina’s driver. Thats when it hit me. Crap. My phone. Its gone. NOOOOOO!
I’m out so early that no one is even in baggage claim. I walk over to the Thai Airways baggage counter and they call JAL. I tell them, its a Cat Case IPhone. So embarrassing. They found it. Praise Jesus. They describe to other person that I’m wearing a grey shirt with Cat on it, and they will meet me at the baggage carousel. God I can’t believe I’m that CAT LADY.
My bags come out really fast, but then I wait there another 30 mins while everyone leaves. Finally a lost and found lady comes out with her bright orange vest. I flag her down and she talks to another woman. Then an AH-HA moment look comes across her face. She’s been there the entire time waiting for me to come to her and I’ve been doing the same. This marks my first Thai miscommunication.
I get out of customs and find the driver and all is great.
Thailand I’ve arrived!
