I'll have to do some Photoshop work on this picture before doing anything else with it, as it looks terrible. Such is life. I chose the wrong picture to buy last night. But I burnt off the rest of the $100 credit I had from the cruise line.....
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The more I go out and about, the more that I find that people tend to treat transgender people as "just folks" when we make efforts to blend in as a member of the gender of which we identify ourselves. Although I heard the dreaded "S" word a few times. I feel that these were people seeing paperwork that was incongruous with my feminine presentation. going with the formality they normally show to others based on paperwork alone.
The two day ordeal started at 11:00 pm the night before I was to leave Hawaii. I had logged on to United Airlines' website to check in for my coming flights, and found out that a computer error was preventing me from completing the check in process. Since there was no way that I was going to call United from the ship (at $4.99/minute), this would be a task I'd have to put off until the morning.
Waking up at 4:00 am Hawaii time, I knew that I was going to have an exhausting 36 hour ordeal ahead of me. First, I'd have to go to my day-use hotel. Once there, I'd have to call United to see if they could fix things. Then, after some midday sleep, I would proceed to the airport at 6:00 pm, and be in transit from 10:45 HST to 6:00 EST, not being able to get any real sleep until I got back home. Well, things didn't work out according to plan.
Once I got to my day-use hotel (the Holiday Inn Express, Waikiki), I called United. The service agent said that she couldn't fix my problem, and told me that only airport ticket agents may be able to help. Was she passing the buck? Who knows? I didn't have the energy to fight, as I needed to rest before my long trip home. Around 5:30 pm, it was off to the airport and the ticket counter, where they took about an hour to "fix" my problem. Although they were finally able to generate paper boarding passes, they didn't fix what was in the computer. This meant that I had to guard these documents with my life, as I could not retrieve them electronically if needed.
After waiting 3 hours, it was time to board the plane. These had to be some of the most uncomfortable airline seats I've ever been in, as the adjustable headrest would not allow me to put my head in a comfortable position, much less a position where I could get some shut-eye. Yet, I know I had to have passed out for an hour on this flight, as my cell phone stopped playing music that I had previously stored in its memory.
Next, I had to change planes in Los Angeles. This time, I was on a more comfortable plane. However, due to limited overhead capacity, I was forced to check my carry-on. AARGH! I could live with a gate check, but what would happen if my bag got lost? (This happens to 0.7% of all bags.) My winter coat was packed in my carry-on bag. With 40° weather outside, I couldn't afford to lose this bag . This plane was more comfortable than the first, and the carry on made it to Newark on the same plane. In fact, both of my bags were dropped onto the luggage carousel first, and I was able to leave the airport within 30 minutes of my arrival. Finally, my airport luck had changed!
Back at the hotel I stayed at before my trip, I was able to see why I felt so scared driving there a week and a half before. Not only was the route convoluted and confusing, but it had enough risky intersections that would invite an accident in dark and rainy weather like we had before. Luckily, Google Maps was able to get me home by 6 pm with a minimum of confusion....
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