Crappyhad.

This is not India. Or even Abu Dhabi.

I SHOULD be in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, right now. I SHOULD be about to board the last of my three flights to arrive 4.5 hours from now in Chennai, India, and from there drive 2+ hours to the Rising Star Outreach campus in Thottanaval Village, Kancheepuram District to spend the next week helping to lead a group of 39 volunteers.

Instead, that view is of Chicago, from the 14th floor of the Crowne Plaza (Rosemont) Hotel. My new home-away-from-home, and my layover either on the way (finally) to India, or--as is also possible--back to Los Angeles, tonight.

So what happened? Well... I got up yesterday at 6:45am to catch the 8:20 Metro to Union Station, to catch the 9:00 FlyAway bus to LAX to catch my 11:52am United flight to Chicago, to then board Etihad Airways to Abu Dhabi (and the rest you know). All went well.

And then... United was late. "Machine trouble." (Eek!). We left the ground maybe 45 minutes late, and they made up most of that time in the air, but landed 12 minutes late to Chicago. I busted it across the airport (which meant through a maze of terminal branches to get to the airport transit, to go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 5) to get to the Etihad desk, where I had to check-in to get my next boarding passes to continue my trip.  I scooted up the escalator, rushed to the desk, and the woman said nonchalantly, not even looking at me,

"Flight's closed."

WHAATTT???

Yep, they closed the flight 1 hour before departure. Gave away my seat. Told me too bad. Then took my passport and info, came back 5 minutes later, and said, "We can get you on a flight tomorrow, goes through Paris and then Abu Dhabi to Chennai. For a charge of $1,180."

I won't go into the details of what happened next, but though there were no swear words involved, there were sure a lot of disbelieving looks and glares and tears and standing-stock-still-in-shock and it ended with me saying through gritted teeth, "Thanks for NOT helping." Yeah. I really gave it to him.

And THEN, what ensued was 3 1/2 hours of trying to figure out how to get this fixed, including waiting by the empty Etihad desk for over an hour for an agent to even come back and help us (there were three of us in this situation); getting different answers from different people ("we didn't give up your seat" "we gave up your seat" "there is an Etihad flight tomorrow" "there are no spaces on an Etihad flight until Dec. 20th" "no, we won't charge you" "no, it will cost $1,180" "never mind, it will cost you $1,180"); talking to United on the phone and them telling me they WOULD help out, but they had zero space on any of their flights or their flight partners' flights; both airlines pointing fingers at the other; and basically, eventually, me slumping to the floor in defeat, wondering how I was even going to get home, because my returning flight from Chicago to LA wasn't until Dec. 25th and it would cost me a truckload to either change that or get a one-way home.

Oh and by the way? Etihad (pronounced eh-tee-hahd) -- NOT helpful. As well as very rude and inconsistent. And their website claims that they have been awarded "World's Leading Airline"-??.  Not in my book, and from here on out, I shall refer to them as Crappyhad. Or CH for short, I shan't waste time even spelling that out, for them.  (United, whom I love, will be UA, just to make it easier on me, as they would of course want because they are so great.)

Anyway, what finally happened was another CH manager came by and said "uh, you should be at the United ticket desk right now demanding them to get you there because it was their fault" (well derr, but I wasn't traveling the 15 minutes back there without knowing if Etihad was abandoning us or not, and they had taken an hour to come back and 'help'), and gave me the CH office number there if United needed explanation.

So-- 10 minutes to Terminal 1, choking back tears on the transit with strange looks from fellow passengers, half an hour waiting in line at the all-but-closed United ticket desk area with the other stranded and despondents, and then... then came an angel from heaven. By the name of Jennifer Barb.

Jennifer understood, she knew it was their fault, even only 12 minutes late there was no way I could have made it to my flight, she got me a spot on a flight through London to Chennai, she got me a hotel for the night and a food voucher, she even made a backup flight reservation back to LA in case the London-Chennai fell through because Jennifer spent over an hour on the phone with the CH desk woman, on hold and going in circles when not on hold because the incompetent CH lady couldn't figure out how to release the ticket to UA so UA could re-book me. While at the same time saying, "we won't rebook her, that's your responsibility" and UA Jennifer saying "we are trying to DO that, but we can't without you releasing that ticket", and finally CH not being able to pull through on their side, so no ticket to India after all.

Yep. Story not over yet, kids. :)

Jennifer had already stayed 1 1/2 hours past when she was supposed to have ended her shift, it was now 10pm and the UA desk was locking up for the night, and suddenly I was back to square 1 (or 2, since I at least had a hotel and a potential flight to LA), and she said "our hands are tied... without them releasing that ticket-- (which they probably weren't doing because they wanted to hold onto the money, even though I didn't board the flight)--"  she couldn't give me the actual ticket to get to India. So I called CH at their customer service number, told the rep what was going on, we went in circles for a while again, then finally she came back after putting me on hold for awhile and told me to go to the CH desk the next day and they would reissue the ticket to me so I could give it to UA. Jennifer told me to ask her to put it in the notes, which I did, and the rep said she would/did, and I asked when the CH desk opened on Friday and she said 3:30pm. So-- my flight (hopefully) leaves at 6pm to London/Chennai; I will be camped out at the CH desk starting at 3:15pm today and I'm not leaving until they give me that ticket, or I'm escorted out of Chicago O'Hare airport by Security because I've thrown a fit and/or rushed the agent or tried to put myself on the baggage belt to get through or threatened the airline or something. Or, I'll have put my tail between my legs and will be on a flight back to LA with my tail between my legs.

Cross your fingers! (that all will go well, not that I'll be escorted out by Security, though it would make a good story).

Anyhoo-- onto happier thoughts and stories.

1) Jennifer Barb is my new best friend and I am sending her a can of See's Toffee-ettes as soon as I get home (she's originally from Cali and when I said "I wish I had a box of See's to give you or something", she said, "ohhh-- I love the toffee! I miss those!"). I love America, and I love customer service.

2) I love the Crowne Plaza. I've stayed here once before, before "joining" a Princess ship (to work), but I didn't get to fully enjoy the king-sized bed with duvet, at that time, because I only had 5 hours total in the hotel. This time-- 10 hours' sleep.

Nice digs, even messy in my all-out comfort of strewing things everywhere. Nice bathroom, too (which if you look close you'll see me arm sticking out in the mirror; couldn't have a reflection of me in a towel after my relaxing hot bath this morning--)

they also give you a nice little packet of ear plugs, an eye mask, and "soothing" linen spray. Sigh. It's like Christmas! Thanks, CP!

3) THIS IS WHY I PACK/PREPARE LIKE I DO. Those of you who know how long it takes me to pack (never get more than 4 hours' sleep the night before, no matter how many days I've been packing/planning) and how non-light I pack (always pushing the weight limit), ALSO know it's because I like to be prepared-- and that includes in my carry-on luggage, regardless of what's being checked.

Please benefit now from the following, doezie's carry-on tips.

I was totally okay with spending an unexpected night in Chicago. Why? Because I pack for both the expected and the unexpected, including if your checked luggage gets lost or delayed.

I have, in my backpack, the following: (pertinent to an unexpected stayover)

-pajamas--yoga pants and a t-shirt (also for wearing on the airplane, for such a long flight)

-2 changes of underclothing/unmentionables

-an extra outfit (in this case, it is the outfit I planned on changing into upon arrival so I'd be fresh and cool, so it's a long cotton skirt and cotton polo tee and flipflops, TOTALLY not appropriate for Chicago, but an extra outfit just in case)

-basic toiletries: toothbrush/paste, face wash, face lotion, hairspray, hand lotion, comb, etc.

-my makeup bag

The hotel provides shampoo/conditioner, soap, and hair dryer, so bingo! Good to go.

I ALSO have in my carry-on (NECESSARY):

-Passport/boarding pass wallet

-Regular wallet with cash in both currencies and credit card for emergencies

-Laptop and charger

-iPhone and charger

-iPod, headphones and charger

-Book ("Adam Bede" by George Eliot, thanks mom!)

-December Ensign magazine

-Planner/journal and pens (thin Sharpie for the doing the in-flight crossword)

-Bag of snacks and fruit, fresh and dried

-Water bottle (not disposable; can take through security empty and fill up at water fountain)

-Neck pillow, eye mask, ear plugs, sleeping pills (necessary for 14-hour flights)

-Mini down duvet that folds into a plane-sized-pillow case (from Eddie Bauer-- INVALUABLE, I always freeze on planes--and the down-quilted case can be put around an airplane pillow)

-Sweatshirt/hoodie for plane (and Chicago, turns out)

-Long socks (also for cold planes-- that air by your ankles can be a killer)

-Noise-cancelling headphones (these are soooo great)

-DVDs for watching on my laptop in case the ones to choose from on the flight bore me

-Plug adaptors just in case; the CH plane was supposed to have standard power outlets at each seat, but you never know

-Camera and extra lens (don't want to check/pack those-- dangerous!)

-Extra silk foldable-into-tiny bag (thanks Auntie Judy! Would have been NECESSARY-- see below*)

-Aspirin (prevents blood clots that can occur on long-sitting flights)

-Advil, Emergen-C, Malaria pills, Bonine motion-sickness pills, Rolaids, Pepto-Bismol tablets -- (all of this just-in-case, sure needed to down 4 Advil last night when I had a raging crying-headache)

-Soap leaves, toilet seat covers, hand wipes, liquid hand sanitizer, Lysol disinfectant spray, tissues

-Nail clippers/emery board

-Sunglasses and case, little jewelry bag (don't want to pack/check that stuff, either)

-Perfume

-Lip Balm

-Gum

NOT necessary but also have:

-SD card reader and flash drives so I can finally get around to some photo uploading and blogging in my free time :)

-Rosewater hydrating refreshener spray for those long dehydrating flights

This is why my backpack weighs roughly 25 pounds :)

And why it's a dang good thing I DIDN'T know the CH ridiculous carry-on restraints ahead of time-- 7 KILOS MAX???-- because I wouldn't have had the stuff necessary to be sans-checked-bags or this unexpected overnight stay. Had I gotten on that flight, I would have had to take all valuables and laptop and bare necessities and fit it into the extra silk bag*.

BUT-- back to the present. I successfully and blissfully slept until 11am, and have only minor eye-puffing from all the distress and tears of yesterday. Checked out at noon, got a delicious Reuben panini and side salad for lunch, and have been sitting here in the empty hotel cafe blogging for the past hour. Will leave here in 45 minutes to head back to the airport after a leisurely morning in the Windy City. Ahhh, Chicago. My kind of town. Only regret? Didn't have a swimsuit or workout clothes, because I ALWAYS like to make use of those amenities in hotels, and these look especially inviting.

Onto whatever happens next... !!