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Sunday, March 09, 2008

No Bereavement for You!

Thank you for all the condolences regarding Jerry's grandfather; they are appreciated. His grandfather's death was not a total surprise (he's been fighting Alzheimer's for years and has been in especially poor health the last 2 years), but losing a loved one is always tough on a family. So, we were able to secure a flight for Jerry to MN this morning, and I had to get up at the ass-crack of dawn to drive him to the airport.

I feel kinda bad not going with him, but I was already planning on taking Thursday, Friday, and Monday off because I'll be in MN for my friend's wedding on the 15th and to take off more days would be hard for me -- not just because my store of personal days would be tapped, but because missing that many days of class is really hard (missing a day of teaching essentially doubles my workload). Plus, it was clusterfuck enough to change/cancel his ticket.

See, I thought it wouldn't be a big deal: I call Travelocity, change his outbound flight from Thursday (original ticket) to today, pay the fee (I was guessing somewhere around $200), and viola! That'd be it. But, they had a different plan: sorry, bitch, that ain't happenin'.

Wha?

Apparently, if you don't fly out on a round trip ticket, you may not return on that ticket's original return flight. So, essentially, we had to buy a whole new round-trip ticket. And when I asked the Travelocity representative if there was a discount because of bereavement, he simply said: "We don't do that anymore." (I guess you have to book directly with the airline in order to get a bereavement discount; now I know.)

Needless to say, I was so frustrated with Travelocity yesterday morning that I wanted to come through the phone line, all the way to India, and strangle that fucker (even though it's not his fault). Eventually, I got Jerry a flight, had to pay dearly for it, but we got him one and by now he's in MN with his family. The wake is tomorrow; funeral Tuesday. And he'll just stay there and meet me at the airport on Thursday, and we'll continue our week there as planned for the wedding. For some reason, it seems appropriate to me to have a funeral and a wedding so close together -- the symbolism seems to say something important about life -- plus, Jerry is gonna get a lot of use outta his [one] suit this week.

Anyhoo...hope everyone enjoys their Sunday and remembered to turn their clocks forward (effing Daylight Savings -- I'm probably the one person in the US who thinks it's a crock 'o shit, but maybe I'm just bitter about losing that 1 hour of sleep). Chat at ya later homies! Peace.

25 comments:

L*I*S*A said...

I'm sorry to hear of Jerry's grandfather. I'm glad that he is able to spend time with friends and family, though. It really helps, I think.

And, you're right..he'll get a lot of mileage out of one suit.

Oh, and way to kick some ass on that race!! Please come to MI and train me.

Erin said...

The airlines screw you no matter what. My bereavement discount was a whole whopping $700+ ticket. Oh, thanks for saving me $50 Northwest. How kind of you in my time of need.

At least he is home and will be able to go through the grieving process. Topping the long week off with a wedding is a nice way to end a sad week.

Viv said...

The airlines don't give a big discount either. Glad jerry made it out there.

teacherwoman said...

Stinkin' airlines.

I hate the time change too... I woke this morning looking at my clock, only to realize it was actually an hour later... poop.

TonyP said...

So sorry to hear of Jerry's grandfather.

Alison said...

I hate daylight savings time AND Travelocity. Expedia's return policy is better -- I usually book directly through them.

Wes said...

I'm glad Jerry got home OK. Some things are definitely worth the extra expense. I'm right there with ya on daylight savings time. They should just leave it this way all the time!!

ws said...

I hate daylight savings time. As a child I always wanted to operate on "old time" if it was to my benefit - like playing outside later or a later bedtime...now I just want to revolt and live on old time cause it is easier.

hope you are enjoying your Sunday.

Anonymous said...

I forgot all about the Daylight Saving thing, too. It's totally stupid.

Sorry to hear about all the flight/ticket complications, especially during a time of stress and general unhappiness :/

chia said...

Little late, I know, but I usually book with Hotwire.com if it's an immediate need flight. It's usually quite cheaper, even without bereavement consideration. It's always a bloody ripoff.

Safe travels to Jerry and yourself!

Marcy said...

First, CONGRATS on the most excellent race! Dang girl you killed that thing! You also make me feel bad for not going to mine for one of the same reasons :P

I'm sorry for your loss :-( I was probably the last thing you want to deal with :-( I'm glad everything worked out (although costly. BAH) in the end.

Scott McMurtrey said...

airlines are mean.

i heart daylight savings. now when i get off work it won't be dark!

Elizabeth said...

The whole moving the clock thing drives me batshit.

And to Travelocity - y'all suck ass. That's all.

MNFirefly said...

Wow! What an airline mess!

Nancy said...

Glad you got him there, that's the important thing. Take care.

Unknown said...

At this exact moment, I am having a hard time seeing any benefit to DST. *YAWN* Grumble grumble

Unknown said...

Your entry yesterday was the only thing that saved me from being late to work...I totally forgot it was Daylight Savings...WTF.

Mendy said...

You know, it sucks that they can't help in times like that. You know they do all they can for the preferred customers, but to help save someone some money on a ticket to go to the funeral of a loved one, --- NO way.

Still, I agree, Jess. Jerry going to the funeral, spending some time with you after you get there, then topping the bad week off with a wedding might be what the dr ordered.

My Grandmother died of Alzheimers too, so I know it's especially tough. She had it for 10 yrs, and although it was hard on us to see her go (physically), it was for the best for her.

keith said...

nice job on the 35:17!

Triseverance said...

I would complain to customer service about it. The people at the ticket counter don't know jack. Call the home office of the airline you flew and tell them how you feel. My guess is they will try to do something to keep your business.

Anonymous said...

Way to kick ass on your race.

And, my regards in regarding Jerry's grandfather.

Iron Jayhawk said...

That is one ass backwards policy in my opinion. Glad he was able to make it out there...

My sympathies to your family...

J~Mom said...

We went through something similar when my Grandmother passed away. The airline would give us a discount but only off of the full rate (their made up full rate ;>P). It was cheaper to just come up with the tickets on our own. I am glad Jerry made it there!

Crissy Rae said...

Sorry to hear about Jerry's grandfather. No matter what the circumstances, it's always hard to lose a loved one. Hope he is doing okay up there.

Nice race, Jess! Did you have your Dunkin coffee to give you that turbo boost?

My Life said...

Sorry to hear you and the hubby have had a rough couple of days... and congrats on your awesome 4miles!