a series of unfortunate events.

(Oh hey blog, I'm traveling again, so time to dust you off the shelf.)

DO NOT BOAST ABOUT TOMORROW, FOR YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT A DAY MAY BRING. - old Christian proverb (27:1) - 

PROLOGUE
It all started about a month ago when I got a phone call from Expedia. My flight out of Indy at 4:30 to New York City was cancelled and they had to reschedule me to an earlier flight at 12:30. Slightly inconvenient because my brother Nathan wouldn't be off work yet, but nothing serious. Sure, Delta, that's fine.

A WHITE BEGINNING
Fast forward to 8:30am this morning ( Wednesday, December 1) when I checked the status of my flight. All good, despite the fact it had snowed about 2 inches that night. 9:30 am - driving to Indy in the snow and ice and slip-slidin' around when I get a phone call. My flight was cancelled, and I was rebooked on the next flight out at 1:30.* .... *Bonus: flight now has a two-hour layover somewhere. Needless to say, I spent a productive 2 1/2 hour car ride (which should have been 1 1/2 hours, but thanks to the snow...) rebooking my flight to a direct flight. But, again, sure Delta, no big deal in the long run.

So I get to the airport at 11:15 and see that there is a flight to New York leaving at 11:45. I run to the counter and ask to be put on standby. I want to get out of the airport as soon as possible because the snow is still coming down, and that could get messy.

The 11:15 flight gets delayed to 12:30. At 12:30, they announce that due to bad weather in New York, all flights have been delayed until 2:00. I go to my original flight's gate, because at this point, standby doesn't matter since all flights are leaving after 2pm. At 2pm, they announce that all flights into New York period have been cancelled.

"Come to the counter to rebook flights for a later departure."

UP IN THE AIR
After spending 20 minutes on the phone with Delta - while standing in line waiting to get to the counter - I manage to book a flight that leaves at 7pm that night with a layover in North Carolina, putting my arrival time in NY at 9:15. At this point. I'll take it.

My brother calls me and says that he wheeled and dealed with Delta and they had a flight open at 3:15 that wasn't cancelled. He rebooked my flight again for me. At this point, I've reached the counter. The lady at the counter tells me that the flight he just rebooked me for was just cancelled. And oh no! The flight connecting in North Carolina has just been filled! Nothing until tomorrow morning at 7am.

At this point, I admit defeat, go collect my bags and get out my phone to start making calls to friends that live in Indy that could possible let me shack up for the night. Everyone from my millions of cancelled flights have already stormed out of the place cursing Delta's name. As I'm about to get on the phone, I hear on the overhead: "Would flight attendants for Flight 5988 to New York please return to the boarding gate to prepare for departure." ...

...

Wait, what? Curious, I find that gate. Lo and behold, it's that 11:30am flight still hanging on strong after a 4-hour delay! But alas, other people heard the same announcement as me and were already in line begging for standby. With my last amount of effort and a lot amount of prayer, I get in that line. I tell the attendant that I put my name on standby early that morning. She tells me to have a seat and see if someone doesn't show up for the flight, but my name WAS on the standby list.

NOTHING YOU CAN'T DO
Three people didn't show up for their flight. Guess who was number three on the standby list? If I hadn't put my name on the standby list that morning, who knows where I would be now? I do know that all things considered, I pretty much arrived exactly the same time I had originally planned when I booked my flight for the first time 2 months ago.


EPILOGUE 
And where am I now? Sitting in an apartment in Chelsea, two doors down from Ethan Hawke, and stuffed full of expensive NYC cuisine.