Welcome to New York City... or at least Indianapolis

The new year is bringing lots of changes to my life - most notably a new city and a new job! I am just thrilled to be employed... I am also slightly terrified. I have never worked full time and have not even technically worked in this field (development at a nonprofit). Plus, I am moving to New York City. Yes, I know I have lived in the city before, but never on my own and never on a budget! Making the move more challenging is the fact that I am moving without a place to live. I am staying with friends temporarily, and will hopefully have my own place soon. I am having drinks with a friend of a friend (more specifically the friend of a friend's boyfriend) on Wednesday, with the hope that we may live together. I hope this works out - I want to live with someone both for the company and the financial benefits. Since I am moving to NYC from Memphis, TN, by way of Atlanta, I have been spoiled by a very different real estate market! An excess of 1,200 square feet, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, outdoor space, walk-in closets, and so on may all be distant memories when I move to Manhattan. In Manhattan I imagine I will pay double to pick one of the above amenities!

Today is Monday, January 6th 2014. Monday? Shouldn't I be at work? Yes, and yes. However, instead of being half way done with my first day of work, I am stranded in the frozen tundra known as Indianapolis.

Let me back up. The family spent a beautiful week in Deer Valley, Utah skiing after the holidays. We got back to Memphis on Saturday night, and I had about 15 hours to turn things around to fly to New York on Sunday and to start my job on Monday. It was a bit tight but seemed doable. Then winter weather took over the East coast. My aunt in Connecticut uploaded a picture of her back yard with ten inches of fresh snow. Friends in New York were stuck there. Chicago all but turned its lights off and gave up. I prayed it would not affect my trip. I'm an optimist, after all. I went through security in Memphis without a hitch and was relieved to see my flight to Cincinnati was on time. I sat down at my gate and ate two, yes exactly two, Ritz mini crackers with cheese. Then my phone rang. It was my mom - my second flight (from Cincinnati to New York) was cancelled. I went to the gate agent and then the Delta Customer Service desk. All flights to New York were cancelled or already booked solid. The agent handed me my new boarding passes. For flights leaving the next day and connecting through Indianapolis. My eyes welled with tears as I walked through the terminal to baggage claim. I did not get my bags, but my Dad was there to pick me up.

I spent the rest of that Sunday moping around the house and watching HGTV. Why I didn't use this extra time to get my nails done, I will never know. I got up early Monday morning to begin my journey again. I flew at 9am to Indianapolis. When we landed and arrived at the jet bridge, I realized there was an issue. The jet bridge was frozen in place and could not meet the plane. We were not allowed to disembark on foot because the ground was icy and dangerous. Forty minutes later a crew finally wiggled the jet bridge free. But by that time I suspected chances were not good for my next flight. Indeed, it had been cancelled.

Beautiful Indianapolis!

It was -11 degrees when we landed. You saw that right, -11 degrees, with a windchill colder than -25. Lord, what had I gotten myself into! I cannot imagine why Delta Airlines sent me to such a nonfunctional tundra. The airport itself was a ghost town. Most of the shops and restaurants were closed; the "Departures" board was red with cancellations. I learned that all the roads in Indianapolis were closed, which had kept crew, workers, etc. from making it to the airport. I was re-booked on a 3:00pm flight to New York. I ate lunch and walked around. My mom suggested I book a hotel room in Indianapolis, just in case. I was reluctant to admit that I would likely be in this place overnight. I had a job and a new life to get to, how could I stay in Indianapolis?

At 2:05pm, when my 3:00pm flight was cancelled (Surprise, surprise), I was glad I had already booked a room. I walked through baggage claim, the second time in two days to walk by the conveyor belts of baggage claim and leave empty handed. Thank goodness I bought a T-shirt and toothbrush before leaving the terminal. I rode the shuttle two miles to the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The trip took thirty minutes thanks to roads that were little more than sheets of ice. A kind Irishman rode the shuttle too. I bet he won't plan another trip to the states in January!

The hotel was comfortable and even had room service! Even with the heat blasting the room was chilly. The windchill temperature had dropped to an unimaginable -35 degrees. I guess when it is that cold, no amount of heat can keep all the cold out. I slept as far from the window as possible. It was nice to get a solid night's sleep, especially since it was my last night in a real bed for a while (hello air mattresses!). The next morning I took a hot shower, ate the PB&J I had in my purse (the lunch I had packed for my first day of work), and checked out of the hotel.

I rode the shuttle back to the airport. This time it was jammed full of hopeful travelers planning to leave that day. I checked in at 12:10pm for my 3:00pm flight and was then directed downstairs to check on my luggage. When the baggage claim became visible I nearly deflated. It was a, excuse my French, clusterf*ck of chaos. Bags were lined all around and stacked in piles. Confused and frustrated looking passengers combed through the area trying to spot their bags. A woman who was promised by Delta in Detroit that her bag would be there, cried and begged an agent for information unknown. I saw the sign marked "Baggage Services" and then I saw the line. It stretched across the room. I walked to the end of the line where a friendly man greeted me saying, "Welcome to the back of the line!"

Even though everyone was stressed and annoyed, we quickly made the best of the long line. We swapped stories, vying for whose experience was the most miserable. Maybe I won, but then again it could have been a million-way tie among everyone. The man behind me had been wearing the same clothes since Sunday (me too). The young woman in front of me had a long drive ahead of her. A man had been asked to check his bag after boarding a flight in Atlanta to save room, now he did not know where the bag had gone.

An hour later I made it to the front of the line. The woman behind the counter was confused by the many changes to my itinerary.
"So when were you in Cincinnati?"
"Never."
"Are your bags in Indianapolis?"
"I have no idea"
"Where should your bags be?"
"New York, I guess"
Eventually, we got on the same page, and she tracked my bags. Both suitcases were already in New York, she informed me. Never had I ever been so jealous of luggage before!

At security, the line was moving at lightening speed. I discovered they were treating everyone as if they were TSA Pre-Checked. I left my laptop in my bag and kept my boots on. The whole security process took less than 5 minutes. Thank God for small blessings, I suppose!

Once in the terminal I had a couple of hours to spare. I got a smoothie, played on my phone, made some phone calls, wrote this, anything to make the time go by. Meanwhile, I compulsively hit "refresh" on the delta.com page on my phone. I felt relief each time it showed "On Time" in happy green letters. Eventually the flight was delayed because they switched our plane, but only a short delay of twenty minutes or so. Delayed I could handle; cancelled I could not. I could breathe deep when they announced Pre-Boarding for Delta flight 7318 to New York, LaGuardia. I think that means I have made it! New life, new career, new everything - here I come! Only two days late and with quite a story to tell!