Thursday MWC report
May. 26th, 2007 06:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hildy89I am writing from the lobby of the Media West hotel in Lansing, using their wireless to catch up on two days of email and LJ. I had good intentions of updating on a regular basis like last year, but nothing works out the way you expect it to.
Thursday was travel day. In previous years, I've made the connection in Detroit using Northwest Airlines. I've had a few problems, but no major hassles. I've never had a flight canceled out from under me ever. Never say never as they say.
I had an amusing flight. When I booked my ticket, seating was very limited. Usually I try for the window seat, but there wasn't one available. So I picked a middle seat and prayed for good luck. I was prepared for the worst case scenario. And sure enough I was seated next to a young girl traveling alone. But I put on a brave face, said hello and hoped for the best. The smile must have done the trick, because she started showing me all the cool stuff she was seeing in the Skymall catalog. The clothes and shoes didn't interest her as much as the outlandish items. Afterwards, we retired to our respective books. She was reading about Eleanor of Aquitaine in one of the Royal Diaries, so I was able to go all history and folklore geeky with her. And completely blanked on who succeeded Richard and John... bad history minor, must Google. Henry III!
By some coincidence, I had brought my copy of Plain Janes along for the trip as my light reading. When the stewardess came around with drinks, the girl seated next to me asked what it was about. What can I say? I saw an opportunity and took it. I asked if she'd like to read it. After all, she was the target market more or less, maybe a little younger. I read along with her, trying to explain the parts that she didn't understand. It was interesting to see what and who she reacted to or what she didn't get. The two hardest things for her to wrap her mind around was Jane changing her hair and her interest in John Doe. Cindy was very pushy and she didn't understand why Jane's mother was so over protective. Not a parent myself, I could only recall my mother's regular emails about how I was, worrying when I didn't contact them enough. The flashbacks confused her a little. I don't know if they threw her out of the story or what. But she seemed to like the artwork and the story. She didn't dismiss it out of hand anyway. I wonder if she'd had a different attitude if she was older. She had been the "new girl" at school, although she never started in the middle of a school year. She even flat out laughed at the "we covered this already at my old school" line, because she had so been there. All things considered, it was a fun experience. It certainly made the flight go faster.
I should have known that would be the enjoyable part of the day. This is the first time I've made a connection at Chicago O'Hare airport. My Chicago friends assure me that the city itself is lovely. But O'Hare is anything but. I think my tale of great woe has single handly made![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
neadods swear off flying to MWC. Maybe United Airlines isn't all bad, but they certainly didn't impress me this time around. The airport was certainly loud and busy. Because of the windy conditions, landing was reduced to two runways, so we were slightly delayed. My gate was in a completely different concourse from where I landed, but I had plenty of time to make my connection thankfully. I don't think I have the energy to do my Marion Jones imitation this year. My body clearly has a perverse sense of humor of when is a perfect time to be a girl. Plus add the turbulence I'm feeling less than ideal.
If that had been the end of it, that would have been fine. There was no immediate signs of trouble. Flights were taking off. Occasionally crews were delayed from other connections. Orbitz sent me cell phone updates on my flight occasionally. Mostly I could ignore them. Until I received the one that informed me my flight was canceled. This was fifteen or twenty minutes before we were supposed to leave. Suddenly the flight was off the board and everyone was sent off to the nearby customer service area to be rebooked with no explanation. Apparently it was related to the winds and our small plane. Even Detroit was off the boards. I had been rebooked to Lansing all night -- at 6:30 am the next morning. They gave us a voucher for 10% off a hotel room and maybe we might have made the flight. Maybe. We'll never know.
By this point, I was panicking. I had never gone through this before. I didn't know what questions to ask and my customer service person didn't offer any advice, except take what we give you, you silly traveler. In retrospect, I wish I'd coordinated better with other friends going to MediaWest, either meeting up for a train or simply driving up from DC. I've always flown and usually I haven't had any problems, except for missing a flight the first year. Fortunately there were other fans on the flight. They didn't like the answers they were being given, so someone hatched a scheme whereby we'd rent a car and drive to Lansing. Theoretically we could pick up our bags at the Lansing airport the next morning when it came in on the flight. Understand, we hardy six (Margaret, Susan, Spensser, Barbara, and Linda) didn't know each other. Or some did, but not all. But that is one of the good things about fandom. We troubleshoot and work together to solve the impossible, whether a canceled show or flight. Needless to say, the United people considered us rabble rousers for stirring up trouble. Is it our fault fans don't take "no" or "you can't" as an answer?
We just needed to find a rental car company that'd rent us one way. Of course we're doing this last minute on Memorial Day weekend. Most assumed we'd be going round trip. They had a phone kiosk, no actual people to talk with, until you got out to the lots. Finally we thought we had a confirmation from Budget. Hurrah! Until we actually arrived at the desk and the horrors initially they didn't have what we needed. Fortunately this man was much more helpful than the airline people and not only found us a car one-way, he found a larger car. They were going to squeeze us into a Grand Marquis, which was way too small. Instead we wound up with a Dodge Caravan.
Bless her, Margaret drove the entire way, above and beyond the call of duty. Not being a driver, I would have been royally screwed if I'd been really on my own. We had dinner at the Denny's in Portage, Indiana, although the map makes it look closer to Michigan City. We actually had to ask where we were in relation to the Michigan state line. That brought out the manager who apparently drove his Corvette a lot, so he was their specialist in directions. He had slicked back black hair and spoke with this wispy voice. I swear I expected him to say "I'm come to make you an offer you can't refuse", much more Godfather than Sopranos. Off we went with directions from several sources and actually managed the navigation pretty well.
By now, I was really worn out. That time warp hop to left and jump to the right from Central to East time zone was messing me royally. My companions were all on West Coast time. I was also the youngest of the group, a mere baby. I've gotten used to that feeling in MWC gatherings... mostly.
At 2:30am we finally made it to the con hotel and everyone checked in. At 8:30 am, I grabbed a quick breakfast after bumping intoneadods and headed off to the airport to recover our bags. Again United didn't exactly impress with their customer service. My bag was on the baggage claim, but Barbara went through several rounds to find hers. Finally I could come back to the hotel, shower and change before standing in line for registration.
Thursday was travel day. In previous years, I've made the connection in Detroit using Northwest Airlines. I've had a few problems, but no major hassles. I've never had a flight canceled out from under me ever. Never say never as they say.
I had an amusing flight. When I booked my ticket, seating was very limited. Usually I try for the window seat, but there wasn't one available. So I picked a middle seat and prayed for good luck. I was prepared for the worst case scenario. And sure enough I was seated next to a young girl traveling alone. But I put on a brave face, said hello and hoped for the best. The smile must have done the trick, because she started showing me all the cool stuff she was seeing in the Skymall catalog. The clothes and shoes didn't interest her as much as the outlandish items. Afterwards, we retired to our respective books. She was reading about Eleanor of Aquitaine in one of the Royal Diaries, so I was able to go all history and folklore geeky with her. And completely blanked on who succeeded Richard and John... bad history minor, must Google. Henry III!
By some coincidence, I had brought my copy of Plain Janes along for the trip as my light reading. When the stewardess came around with drinks, the girl seated next to me asked what it was about. What can I say? I saw an opportunity and took it. I asked if she'd like to read it. After all, she was the target market more or less, maybe a little younger. I read along with her, trying to explain the parts that she didn't understand. It was interesting to see what and who she reacted to or what she didn't get. The two hardest things for her to wrap her mind around was Jane changing her hair and her interest in John Doe. Cindy was very pushy and she didn't understand why Jane's mother was so over protective. Not a parent myself, I could only recall my mother's regular emails about how I was, worrying when I didn't contact them enough. The flashbacks confused her a little. I don't know if they threw her out of the story or what. But she seemed to like the artwork and the story. She didn't dismiss it out of hand anyway. I wonder if she'd had a different attitude if she was older. She had been the "new girl" at school, although she never started in the middle of a school year. She even flat out laughed at the "we covered this already at my old school" line, because she had so been there. All things considered, it was a fun experience. It certainly made the flight go faster.
I should have known that would be the enjoyable part of the day. This is the first time I've made a connection at Chicago O'Hare airport. My Chicago friends assure me that the city itself is lovely. But O'Hare is anything but. I think my tale of great woe has single handly made
neadods swear off flying to MWC. Maybe United Airlines isn't all bad, but they certainly didn't impress me this time around. The airport was certainly loud and busy. Because of the windy conditions, landing was reduced to two runways, so we were slightly delayed. My gate was in a completely different concourse from where I landed, but I had plenty of time to make my connection thankfully. I don't think I have the energy to do my Marion Jones imitation this year. My body clearly has a perverse sense of humor of when is a perfect time to be a girl. Plus add the turbulence I'm feeling less than ideal.If that had been the end of it, that would have been fine. There was no immediate signs of trouble. Flights were taking off. Occasionally crews were delayed from other connections. Orbitz sent me cell phone updates on my flight occasionally. Mostly I could ignore them. Until I received the one that informed me my flight was canceled. This was fifteen or twenty minutes before we were supposed to leave. Suddenly the flight was off the board and everyone was sent off to the nearby customer service area to be rebooked with no explanation. Apparently it was related to the winds and our small plane. Even Detroit was off the boards. I had been rebooked to Lansing all night -- at 6:30 am the next morning. They gave us a voucher for 10% off a hotel room and maybe we might have made the flight. Maybe. We'll never know.
By this point, I was panicking. I had never gone through this before. I didn't know what questions to ask and my customer service person didn't offer any advice, except take what we give you, you silly traveler. In retrospect, I wish I'd coordinated better with other friends going to MediaWest, either meeting up for a train or simply driving up from DC. I've always flown and usually I haven't had any problems, except for missing a flight the first year. Fortunately there were other fans on the flight. They didn't like the answers they were being given, so someone hatched a scheme whereby we'd rent a car and drive to Lansing. Theoretically we could pick up our bags at the Lansing airport the next morning when it came in on the flight. Understand, we hardy six (Margaret, Susan, Spensser, Barbara, and Linda) didn't know each other. Or some did, but not all. But that is one of the good things about fandom. We troubleshoot and work together to solve the impossible, whether a canceled show or flight. Needless to say, the United people considered us rabble rousers for stirring up trouble. Is it our fault fans don't take "no" or "you can't" as an answer?
We just needed to find a rental car company that'd rent us one way. Of course we're doing this last minute on Memorial Day weekend. Most assumed we'd be going round trip. They had a phone kiosk, no actual people to talk with, until you got out to the lots. Finally we thought we had a confirmation from Budget. Hurrah! Until we actually arrived at the desk and the horrors initially they didn't have what we needed. Fortunately this man was much more helpful than the airline people and not only found us a car one-way, he found a larger car. They were going to squeeze us into a Grand Marquis, which was way too small. Instead we wound up with a Dodge Caravan.
Bless her, Margaret drove the entire way, above and beyond the call of duty. Not being a driver, I would have been royally screwed if I'd been really on my own. We had dinner at the Denny's in Portage, Indiana, although the map makes it look closer to Michigan City. We actually had to ask where we were in relation to the Michigan state line. That brought out the manager who apparently drove his Corvette a lot, so he was their specialist in directions. He had slicked back black hair and spoke with this wispy voice. I swear I expected him to say "I'm come to make you an offer you can't refuse", much more Godfather than Sopranos. Off we went with directions from several sources and actually managed the navigation pretty well.
By now, I was really worn out. That time warp hop to left and jump to the right from Central to East time zone was messing me royally. My companions were all on West Coast time. I was also the youngest of the group, a mere baby. I've gotten used to that feeling in MWC gatherings... mostly.
At 2:30am we finally made it to the con hotel and everyone checked in. At 8:30 am, I grabbed a quick breakfast after bumping into
neadods and headed off to the airport to recover our bags. Again United didn't exactly impress with their customer service. My bag was on the baggage claim, but Barbara went through several rounds to find hers. Finally I could come back to the hotel, shower and change before standing in line for registration. 
