Blizzzaaarrrdddd

So overnight most of the eastern seaboard got over a foot of snow dumped on it. I realized that if me and my brother were still in high school, we would have been overjoyed and freaking out about a snow day. Instead, we both grumbled and realized we had to dig out our cars. Of course, I was lazy and slept in, so by the time I got to shoveling my brother had dumped three feet of snow directly by my car, which I then got to move. My legs went numb from the knee down. Two days after the snow stopped, I drove down to Long Island and even the highways weren't completely plowed. Driving on the Cross Island through half a foot of dirty slush is not fun.

I learned a few valuable air travel lessons from this blizzard. My aunt's flight got canceled due to the snow; apparently, canceled does not mean they will put you on a different flight, it means tough luck, here's your money back. Crap. And then you get to wait on hold for 30+ minutes listening to the hold music and advertisements because everyone else in the country is doing the same thing, and finally an agent tells you "tough luck." After doing that three time, you can FINALLY get a flight out, just several days into your planned vacation.

What did I learn from this? Well, the agent people are nicer if you don't yell at them, and then maybe they will do nice things for you. Also, airlines are crazy. Most importantly, check the weather like a WEEK before you leave. And then maybe move your flight up to two days before the blizzard.

All I can say is that I hope my international flight with multiple connections across Western Europe doesn't have this many complications. Hopefully no volcanic ash, either.

I also learned, don't expect to be able to mail a box of extra stuff home from the Netherlands to the US. It might cost several hundred dollars.

Happy new year y'all.

Merry Christmas!

So, the Fall 2010 semester is over and I am back home. My flight to the Netherlands leaves in slightly over a month. Between now and then, I need to finish up some stuff for school, start an internship, and, oh yeah...PACK! How does one fit SIX MONTHS of clothes into 1 suitcase?! Should be interesting. 

Other than that, Merry Christmas!