So, Operation No-Wait-Time was unsuccessful.
I’ve done a lot of flying over the past few months, and the good news is that I absolutely adore flying. Really. I love the takeoffs, especially that moment when the plane taxis onto the runway and stops completely for a moment and then all of a sudden you hear the roar of the engines and you’re sucked back into your seat as the plane goes 0 to airborne in seconds. I also enjoy the landings. Maybe it’s an adrenaline thing, but I like the way my heart pounds when we get inches away from the tarmack and everyone’s waiting for the touchdown. For some reason, no matter how rested I am, I never have trouble dozing off, even on flights that aren’t even two hours long. Maybe I am just naïve, but I don’t mind riding with clouds between my knees. I also don’t really mind going through security. It’s always bewildering to me when I get pulled aside and double-frisked, have my carry-on gone through, or beep on my way through the metal detectors, (I think that may be a result of my habit of eating change as a child; also I’m not sure how many times you can accidentally throw your razor in your carryon before you get placed on the terrorist watch list). Bewilderment aside, it’s mildly amusing to me. There is one thing I really don’t care for, one thing that I decided to find my way around: the 1-2 hours of waiting time between security and boarding. Airport check-in almost always begins 2 hours before scheduled departure. Most people show up a bit before this and by the time it nears the 2 hour pre-departure mark, almost everyone taking the flight is already in line ready to check their baggage and head through security. After making it through the check in line, it’s time to move onto the security line. Once through security it’s then time to wait for the boarding call, which usually comes 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure. Depending on your position in the check-in line, you could have anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours to wait until boarding begins for your flight. After dutifully making sure you arrive to the airport at least 2 hours before the flight, it seems like such an awful waste to me- not to mention boring time- to be sitting for that time period, just waiting for the boarding call. Anyway, I decided I was going to be bold this time, and attempt to make myself just late enough to avoid at least 30 minutes of that waiting time, (Oh so bold of me!). My flight was scheduled to leave at 10:45am, and I rounded the approximate time for a cab ride from my apartment to the airport up to about 30 minutes. I calculated my airport arrival time to be 9:15am and once through check in and security, I would hopefully have no more than 45 minutes to wait until boarding. I was up by 7:45am and on schedule, but somehow time slipped past me and by the time I checked the clock it was already 8:45 and I hadn’t even called a taxi yet. With an eyelash curler in one hand clamped onto my right eye, and my cell pressed to my left ear I speed-dialed Taxi 4 and reached to turn down my music. The phone rang. And rang. And rang. After about a minute and a half I finally hung up, cursing the phone operators who literally have ONE job to do, and ignoring the slight feeling of panic rising up in my stomach, proceeded to move on to curling my left eyelashes. A minute later I tried to phone Taxi 4 again and after waiting a slightly shorter time for an answer, I gave in to the panic and hung up to google another taxi co. After no immediate luck on my google search I glanced at the clock (near 9am) and rushed to jam my hair dryer and blanket into my bag. Feeling more panic and a hint of desperation I hit send one more time and waited. After quite a few rings, I got an answer, and within a few minutes my cab had arrived. I got downstairs, loaded my bag and self into the car and my cab driver shut me in, slamming the door as he said “Moment!”. I waited in the car as he went into the store and came back a few minutes after with what he later offered to me as “breakfast”. By the time we left the apartment it was 9:15am but my nerves were calmed a bit by the fact that we were on the road and not more than 30 minutes from the airport. Little did I know… Every time I taxi to/from the airport my drivers take a different route. I’ve even had the same driver three times, but a different route each time. I don’t know what it depends on- the traffic, the weather, the phase of the moon, but bottom line: it’s something I am used to now, so I wasn’t the least bit alarmed when the driver took a left where I expected a right and headed into unfamiliar territory. I did, however, feel a slight stirring in my stomach when 20 minutes had passed and still no sign of the highway connecting the inner city with the outskirts and airport. By the time we reached a strip of freeway that I recognized, I could gauge that we were still at least 5-10 minutes away from the terminal. It was 9:45. I had resigned myself to accept the fact that I couldn’t make the taxi arrive any sooner, but when we zoomed past the left turn for terminal 1, my slight panic was back in full force. Turns out I was flying from a different terminal and I had neglected to discover that they weren’t at the same location. By the time I was dropped off and into the terminal, it was deserted of all passengers. Not sure which desk to step up to I chose the one on my left (I always choose my left), and tentatively handed up my passport. I checked to make sure that I was in the right place, and his surprised reply was “Amsterdam? Just in time,” along with a smile. He printed my boarding pass, stamped ‘10am’ and let me know that boarding would be beginning any minute. Feeling relieved and a bit silly at the same time I mumbled something about my cab driver and he smiled some more and sent me through security. Security check was uneventful. There was not a single person in line and I was through in seconds. At this point I was riding the high of my nerves and actually feeling quite pleased with myself for bypassing the lines and needless waiting. Boarding was set to begin at 10:15 so I grabbed some fruit and a newspaper and sat down prepared to wait the remaining 10 minutes. Instead, I waited another hour and ten minutes thanks to a delay caused by the snow that had just began to fall when my cab pulled up to the terminal. Once boarding began we were off the runway and into the air in no time. My flight arrived an hour late, but safe and uneventful. Anyway, I declare Operation No-Wait-Time a FAILURE.*
I hope no one actually read through this.
Farewell.
*mission that needs to be retested
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