Like all college students, I look forward to going home at every chance I get. For most others on campus this is a relatively painless process that involves being trapped in a car with parents for an hour or two, or, at best, a ride with a friend or a roommate. For me, going home consists of two long flights—one from Albany, and one into Seattle. I’ve always been a big fan of flying, but recently, this joy has taken a hellish turn.
Since I arrived at RPI, I’ve experienced every airline, airport, and baggage hassle in the book. Since October, the airlines have decided to throw me all the curveballs that they could. My first trip was Columbus Day weekend. I thought, being the foolish freshman that I am, that a cross-country trip could happen in a three and a half day span. After the happenings in September, I expected some extra security, making my connections tight. I made it to the gate at Albany, flew to Philadelphia, ran across the terminal to my gate, got to my seat, and kicked back.
I enjoyed my hurried weekend at home, and on Sunday afternoon, I caught my flight to Philadelphia. After we had boarded, they informed us that there was some warning light on and we weren’t able to take off. By the time we took off, it was an hour late in my flight plan, and I had a ten minute connection to Albany. When we started our descent into Philly, we were told to “Go to the gate and check on our flights.” I thought of my luck on the way home and sprinted through the Philadelphia Airport to find that my plane left without me. After a night in Philadelphia, I was informed that I was traveling over my bag limit, because that morning the FAA changed the carry-on limit to one bag. I disregarded the rule and went ahead, arriving in Albany just in time to miss all my Monday classes. I vowed to steer clear of US Air, and for Thanksgiving, I flew home on United Airlines.
This time, the airline didn’t provide the problem, the security did. When I presented my Washington state driver’s license to security, they told me that it was a fake ID, and I could not have it back. After arguing with him and realizing that it was a lost cause, I boarded the plane. I somehow got through with my RPI ID in Washington D.C., and got a new liscence while at home. I was annoyed that my vegetarian meal was lost, but this was a small problem compared to my other ones.
Coming back from Christmas was also a hassle. Traveling back to Troy last Sunday, I was hoping that all would go smoothly and that I would be attending my classes on Monday. I made it through, but my guitar didn’t. I tried to carry it on in Seattle, but I was told that I had to check it. I told them it was fragile but they assured me that it would make it. When I went to track my bag, I found that it was in Dallas. After finishing my morning classes the next day, I checked and found that my bag was in Charlotte via Atlanta. My guitar finally arrived later that night with one string broken and two of three knobs intact (it had been held for security reasons). My guitar got to travel more to make many people more secure in the process. Funny how security works.
