I’m an emotional wreck… sort of… I can’t really decide… which is depressing

Overview: This morning brought with it a wicked variety of emotions: anger, fear, worry, disappointment, frustration, then love.

Situation: The first ominous note sounded at about 4am. I was sleeping soundly when the awful sound of popping bubbles and beeps woke me up. After wondering briefly what sort of terrifying monster was in my room, I realized the sound was coming from my laptop: someone was calling me on Skype. I sleepily picked up the laptop, my eyes adjusting to the bright screen… American Airlines? What in the blue blazes are they thinking? I decided I’d better answer it. It might be important.

“Hello?” Then nothing. “I guess they hung up,” I thought.  And sleep was upon me again. If I had been thinking more clearly, I might have realized that something serious was going on. Nonetheless, I woke up this morning with an email from Google Voice notifying me that I had a new voicemail from American Airlines. Now, you have to understand that when you get a voicemail from Google Voice, they attempt to transcribe it into a readable email, and this usually goes very poorly, with all kinds of misunderstood and nonsensical words showing up. This one was no different, but there was one word that very clearly stood out from the rest: “Cancelled.”

I had been looking forward to seeing Candice all week, counting down the days when she would be home: tonight. My stomach lurched, “Had her flight been cancelled?” Sure enough, AA flight 643 from St. Louis to Chicago had been cancelled.

Objective: Get Candice to Chicago by 8am for a 9:20am flight to London.

Obstacle: Candice is in St. Louis, where it is now 2:30am, with no knowledge of her flight cancellation.

Solution: Cry a little bit, then I’ll call American Airlines. I’d like to say a big fat “thanks-for-a-whole-helluva-lot-of-nothing” to AA rep Nancy Modella, whose best solution was to get Candice to Chicago by 1pm… what about her flight to London? Since they were booked on separate reservations, “it’s your problem… can I sell you another ticket to London?” Whatever, Nancy.

Better Solution: Cry a little more, then let Candice call American Airlines. I don’t know how she does it… but she’s simply brilliant with customer service reps. She appealed to the almighty power of “Could I please speak to your supervisor!” Bam, y’all. She gave the boss an earful of “My problem?! No, no, no, this is YOUR problem, buster!”

Resolution: Candice calls Collin, “Don’t worry, sweetie, I got a first class ride to Chicago and a new flight to London, no charge. Stop crying, and I’ll see you soon.”

Conclusion: I married the best damn woman there is.