Friday Frustrations

Well, it's been quite some time since I've had a rant about something. But, I just have to do it! You might be asking yourself, "What is she so worked up about this time?" Well, I think if I say "airlines," you might go, "ahhhh, now I understand!"

Okay, I get that Covid has changed everything. But for crying out loud! Why in the world are the airlines constantly changing and cancelling flights? They don't give a d***n if it screws up anyone's plans---or life, for that matter! 

Funny that I didn't get quite so worked up when Butch was having problems with his trip to Morocco---with two friends---that he's responsible for organizing. Those airlines changed 3 times in the last 6 months--plus another change yesterday. He has spent countless hours on the phone because each time, the cancellation caused them to be missing connecting flights somewhere else. The airlines just don't care!

Butch has also had to deal with all the changes with trips we are taking--one includes Stephanie and Nicky. It's one thing if it's only us being inconvenienced, but when other people are involved, it just adds to the frustration! None of it has bothered me since I wasn't the one having to deal with it. I'm just happy that he deals with all of our travel plans. Frankly, I know I'm spoiled! I just want to show up and have fun!

Well, what sent me over the edge was that I planned a beach trip with my friends (6 of us in all) for the end of September. I got everything organized with dates and checked best airfare. We all booked our flights and I reserved the rental car. Months later--we found out earlier this week--Southwest cancelled our flight---completely eliminated it! They put us on a later flight which now impacts the rental car. 

First mistake: booking through a third party---in this case, Travelocity. 

When I called to change the pick up time for the car, I was on hold for half an hour. Then, when I went through the entire scenario, I was told that I would have to call the rental car agency directly---Dollar Rental. I called there and was on hold another 15 minutes, only to be told that I had to call Travelocity! OMGosh! Here we go, in the loop from hell! She told me that there were no cancellations or changes allowed since I booked through a third party. Oh, hell no! I asked her if I could just ask a question. I asked her if I would still be able to pick up the car if I was 8 hours later than originally planned. She said there was no guarantee, but that they usually hold the cars for 24 hours. What that means to me is--if they have a need for the car, then they'll let it go. Otherwise, they'll hold it for 24 hours. I then asked if there would be an attendant there at 10:30 p.m. She said someone would be there until 11. Soooo, now I just have to worry about whether the flight will be on time and that the car would still be there. 

Second mistake: or actually, this was my first mistake! I told myself a few years ago that I was going to quit being the planner and organizer of everything! I don't want the stress and headaches that go along with it. But the bottom line is that no one else will. I guess I forgot about the hassle when I got the beach trip organized. It's one thing if it's just us. But when other people are involved, now it's their money on the line too! 

Believe me---and I hope Connie reminds me---I am not doing this again! I just don't want the headaches. Blame it on my age. I realize now that's about the only good thing about getting older. You can blame everything on your age!

PS I checked the spelling for the word canceled and cancelation to make sure I was correct. Autocorrect didn't give me that little squiggly line, but one "l" didn't look quite right to me. Turns out, both spellings are correct. British English uses 2 "l's"! Since I prefer the king's English, I went back and changed to two! 

See how uncertainty of any kind can cause me angst?