I have never faced so many hurdles on a roadtrip. I waited two days for the stress of it all to blow over, and hopefully so I could report a favorable resolution. Unfortunately not.
When I arrived in Las Vegas on Tuesday, only one of my two bags was on the baggage carousel. The one with my shoes and stripper outfits. On the bright side, I wouldn’t miss work Tuesday night. On the not so bright side, the only civilian clothes were the ones on my body. I waited for the next Southwest plane from Phoenix to land thirty minutes later, hoping my bag was put on a later flight. Nope. SW gave me a $50 travel voucher for future travel for waiting.
They lost my luggage when I went home to PA for my stepfather’s funeral. It was delivered the next day, so I wasn’t that worried. I proceeded to pick up my rental car.
Now, I probably set myself up by renting from Pay-Less Auto Rentals. Especially the $9/day model. No sooner do I exit the rental car compound does the “change oil” light turn on in my little Kia Sorrento. Sooo…..I circle around the block, pull up to the returns and tell the boy, “I think you need to change the oil in this car.” I got a moderate upgrade to a Ford Focus.
Check into my hotel, walk down the hallway towards my room…thinking, “Gosh, it smells like cat pee.” At least it’s just the hallway, not my room.
No sooner did I collapse on the bed, do I get a call from Mr. Viggliotti. “The bank called to authorize some charges, did you use your debit card today?”
Um….no. I spent the next hour on the phone with the fraud department. Avalon Viggliotti’s DBA business banking account somehow had TWO debit cards issued to it. I had one in my wallet. Someone tried to buy $220 worth of groceries at Food4Less in Las Vegas. How uncanny is it that on the day I arrive in Vegas, this person clones a card in the same city and his/her first fruadulent charge is caught?
At this point, I didn’t even feel like going into work. Of course, I also wanted a change of clothes….and the only clothes I had were stripper robes! I had Bill Pullman the whale from last May lined up, so it was a no brainer.
Wednesday I began replacing the items that were in my suitcase. I figure the sooner I get new stuff, they’ll find my bag. I need business attire for my meetings in LA. I don’t think the sheer nude crystal dress in my avatar is appropriate.
Today I wanted to work out, so I bought sneakers, socks, sportsbras, tshirts, shorts, etc. Southwest called to inform me that they still have not located my bag. I scoured their lost luggage policy and it appears my expenses will be re-imbursed. Just a ton of paperwork.
The biggest obstacle I am navigating right now is Hurricane Ike. I’m supposed to land in Houston Sunday night around 1 AM. On the bright side, I haven’t booked a car or hotel yet. So if I decide to throw in the towel, all I have to do is change my flight. I haven’t made an executive decision yet. Still awaiting confirmation from my travel partner. If she backs out on me, I will have to re-evaluate the hotel costs. I’m waiting to see how severe the damage is.
