Well, I'm safely back in Princeton after a much less eventful day of travel than my way to California. I only had one minor delay this time and it only put our flight back about 15 minutes in terms of when we arrived, so it worked out much better this time. I also met a couple more people at Princeton on the train ride back. One of them actually gave me a ride back to the Seminary which was very convenient. I was back on campus by about 9:00 last night. So now it's back to life at the Seminary for another four weeks before I head home again for Christmas. It's nice being able to break down the semester between breaks; makes the work a little more bearable and the schedule a little easier to manage.
Speaking of Christmas, my crisis is over in terms of getting back in time for my first final. It turns out that the flight that I originally had (a red-eye out of LAX) will be discontinued as of Jan. 7, so I rescheduled my flight so that I leave 12 hours earlier, meaning, barring any huge delays, I will be back in Princeton well before my final. So my new Christmas itinerary looks like this:
Departing Dec. 22, 2007:
Depart from Newark at 5:35 p.m.
Arrive at Milwaukee at 7:00 p.m.
Depart from Milwaukee at 8:00 p.m.
Arrive at LAX at 10:14 p.m.
Departing Jan 11, 2008:
Depart from LAX at 11:55 a.m.
Arrive at Milwaukee at 5:39 p.m.
Depart from Milwaukee at 7:35 p.m.
Arrive at Newark at 10:46 p.m.
I'll be getting in really late both times, which is kind of a bummer, but at least I will arrive in time to take my finals and with plenty of time to see family and friends while I'm here.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Safe at Home
I have made it safely home, though it took a lot more effort and energy that I would have liked or hoped. Here is the story in a nutshell.
I was leaving from Newark Airport and flying into LAX via Minneapolis. My train ride to the airport was painless; very easy and convenient, so I had arrived at the airport by 11:30 for a 1:15 flight. Plenty of time.
Or not. When I arrived at the airport, the one of the sets of gates - including the gate I was departing from - was closed. No one was allowed in and everyone was being evacuated from that section of the airport. When we asked the police officer, he very rudely informed us that the area simply wasn't safe and told us to wait. So we travelers have no idea what is going on. Is it a bomb threat? Is it an injured passenger? Is it something ridiculous?
Turns out it's a natural gas leak. Better yet, it is a natural gas leak that had happened the day before as well. But so far it hadn't become too frustrating because we were told that all the flights were going to be departing from different gates. Great, no problem, I had a two hour cushion to get to Minneapolis to get to my next flight. So I go through the new set of gates to get to my flight.
Now the way Newark sets up their security is that you go through security not when you initially enter the airport but when you enter your specific set of gates. So I go through security and wait to eventually get on my flight. When the Northwest people arrive, they start boarding a flight for Detroit. By this point it's about 1:00, and my parents have let me know that my flight has been delayed to leave at 2:00. Still no problem. So I ask the northwest people when the flight from Minneapolis is leaving. They tell me it's still leaving from it's original gate in the closed off section of the airport. After talking to security and them telling me that all northwest flights are leaving from the new set of gates, I go back to the northwest people who tell me that, no, it's still leaving from it's original gate.
So I go to the northwest check-in counters, where I am told that yes, the flight is leaving from the original gate. I set up a back up booking now, just in case I miss my next flight, because it's now 1:30, and that entire section if airport is still closed. So I am forced to wait for another hour before they finally open that section of the airport. I have to go through security, again, and then I board my flight.
We're supposed to take off at 2:45, 3:15 at the latest. That's still enough time for me to reach my next flight. But there's still another problem: baggage was never loaded, so we're forced to wait another hour hour before we finally take off. It's about 3:45 at this point. My next flight is supposed to leave at 5:15.
Needless to say, I missed my flight. No big deal, I still can get home on my other flight, but I'm going to miss dinner with my family and friends, which I was really disappointed about. So I arrive at my next gate for the flight. It's on time, so that's good. I go to get a quick bite to eat because I haven't had much to eat at this point. I return to my gate to find that my flight has been delayed by 15 minutes. No big deal, after a two and a half hour delay, this is fine. So we finally board the flight ... and once again we're stuck sitting at the gate. Turns out there are some customs problems with some of the crew for our flight who are coming in from Canada, so our flight is delayed by yet another 20 minutes. So we finally take off. Smooth flight.
I arrive at LAX and my parents pick me up. Getting picked up from LAX is a nightmare in itself, but this time is was not too bad. So we're on our way home. I'm eating my fish tacos from Rubios. We get to the 605 and our exit, ready to go home. Until we find that the exit is blocked. A big rig stalled out and it left the entire exit blocked. So we have to drive over a island separating the exit from the freeway, get back on the freeway, and exit on the 210. It wasn't a huge delay, but it capped off a day of travel characterized by delay.
But the good news is I'm safe at home. I'm probably going to call up Northwest and find out how I am going to be compensated for this mess. I realize but it wasn't completely their fault, but the fact that they were able to get one of their flights to leave from a different gate means they could have done it for others as well. It's just a matter of whether I really want to take the time or not. Anyway, that's my story.
I was leaving from Newark Airport and flying into LAX via Minneapolis. My train ride to the airport was painless; very easy and convenient, so I had arrived at the airport by 11:30 for a 1:15 flight. Plenty of time.
Or not. When I arrived at the airport, the one of the sets of gates - including the gate I was departing from - was closed. No one was allowed in and everyone was being evacuated from that section of the airport. When we asked the police officer, he very rudely informed us that the area simply wasn't safe and told us to wait. So we travelers have no idea what is going on. Is it a bomb threat? Is it an injured passenger? Is it something ridiculous?
Turns out it's a natural gas leak. Better yet, it is a natural gas leak that had happened the day before as well. But so far it hadn't become too frustrating because we were told that all the flights were going to be departing from different gates. Great, no problem, I had a two hour cushion to get to Minneapolis to get to my next flight. So I go through the new set of gates to get to my flight.
Now the way Newark sets up their security is that you go through security not when you initially enter the airport but when you enter your specific set of gates. So I go through security and wait to eventually get on my flight. When the Northwest people arrive, they start boarding a flight for Detroit. By this point it's about 1:00, and my parents have let me know that my flight has been delayed to leave at 2:00. Still no problem. So I ask the northwest people when the flight from Minneapolis is leaving. They tell me it's still leaving from it's original gate in the closed off section of the airport. After talking to security and them telling me that all northwest flights are leaving from the new set of gates, I go back to the northwest people who tell me that, no, it's still leaving from it's original gate.
So I go to the northwest check-in counters, where I am told that yes, the flight is leaving from the original gate. I set up a back up booking now, just in case I miss my next flight, because it's now 1:30, and that entire section if airport is still closed. So I am forced to wait for another hour before they finally open that section of the airport. I have to go through security, again, and then I board my flight.
We're supposed to take off at 2:45, 3:15 at the latest. That's still enough time for me to reach my next flight. But there's still another problem: baggage was never loaded, so we're forced to wait another hour hour before we finally take off. It's about 3:45 at this point. My next flight is supposed to leave at 5:15.
Needless to say, I missed my flight. No big deal, I still can get home on my other flight, but I'm going to miss dinner with my family and friends, which I was really disappointed about. So I arrive at my next gate for the flight. It's on time, so that's good. I go to get a quick bite to eat because I haven't had much to eat at this point. I return to my gate to find that my flight has been delayed by 15 minutes. No big deal, after a two and a half hour delay, this is fine. So we finally board the flight ... and once again we're stuck sitting at the gate. Turns out there are some customs problems with some of the crew for our flight who are coming in from Canada, so our flight is delayed by yet another 20 minutes. So we finally take off. Smooth flight.
I arrive at LAX and my parents pick me up. Getting picked up from LAX is a nightmare in itself, but this time is was not too bad. So we're on our way home. I'm eating my fish tacos from Rubios. We get to the 605 and our exit, ready to go home. Until we find that the exit is blocked. A big rig stalled out and it left the entire exit blocked. So we have to drive over a island separating the exit from the freeway, get back on the freeway, and exit on the 210. It wasn't a huge delay, but it capped off a day of travel characterized by delay.
But the good news is I'm safe at home. I'm probably going to call up Northwest and find out how I am going to be compensated for this mess. I realize but it wasn't completely their fault, but the fact that they were able to get one of their flights to leave from a different gate means they could have done it for others as well. It's just a matter of whether I really want to take the time or not. Anyway, that's my story.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Good News, Bad News
I just received my final exam schedule this morning for the Fall Semester. And with it came some good news and bad news.
The good news is that my final exams will all be done by Tuesday Jan 15. I only have three finals that I have to sit down and do as an exam, one at 9 a.m. on Monday the 14th and 9 a.m. on Tuesday the 15th with one paper being due that Tuesday afternoon. So I will only have a few days where I actually have to stress about finals.
The bad news is about the third sit-down final exam: it's on Saturday the 12th at 9 a.m. With my current flight home, I won't be back to Princeton in time to take it. Not really a big deal, but it means I'm going to have to spend money to get it changed most likely. It also means my visit home will be cut short, and I'm none too happy about that. Also a bummer is that I only need to be in Princeton for four days in order to complete all of my final exams, so it's a bit of an inconvenience when I feel like I could be spending more time with friends and family at home. Alas, I will have to make do. I am contemplating coming home again after I finish my exams, but we'll see if it's financially a) logical and b) possible. But at least I know what I'm dealing with now.
The good news is that my final exams will all be done by Tuesday Jan 15. I only have three finals that I have to sit down and do as an exam, one at 9 a.m. on Monday the 14th and 9 a.m. on Tuesday the 15th with one paper being due that Tuesday afternoon. So I will only have a few days where I actually have to stress about finals.
The bad news is about the third sit-down final exam: it's on Saturday the 12th at 9 a.m. With my current flight home, I won't be back to Princeton in time to take it. Not really a big deal, but it means I'm going to have to spend money to get it changed most likely. It also means my visit home will be cut short, and I'm none too happy about that. Also a bummer is that I only need to be in Princeton for four days in order to complete all of my final exams, so it's a bit of an inconvenience when I feel like I could be spending more time with friends and family at home. Alas, I will have to make do. I am contemplating coming home again after I finish my exams, but we'll see if it's financially a) logical and b) possible. But at least I know what I'm dealing with now.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Quick Request
Tomorrow morning at 10:30 (7:30 a.m. PST) I'm going to be interviewing for a possible placement in Northern Ireland for the next academic year. It was my third choice on my application, so the field department thought it would be a good idea to interview sinec the pastor is only here this week. If you could pray for me for tomorrow, it would be appreciated.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Updates
It has been quite a busy week with many new developments and changes. It's a rough but expected time, and I'm wrestling through it the best I can.
This week was my week of midterms, so I have been reading and writing like mad. Two midterms are finished, two more are about to be done, due on Monday and Tuesday (they're take-home essays). Once those are finished, life will calm down quite a bit. I'll still have a lot of work, but it will be less stressful and more manageable.
I'm still working on finding my place, my niche at the seminary. Though my feet are starting to feel the ground a bit, I still feel somewhat suspended, not quite sure where I'm landing. It is teaching me how to rely on God's faithfulness rather than my efforts. If there's one thing that I'm learning at this school is that I certainly cannot do this on my own. The power of prayer and time of devotion is certainly more tangible than it has been in quite some time.
More updates will come once I have finished up with midterms on Tuesday. At that point my life should become much more sane.
This week was my week of midterms, so I have been reading and writing like mad. Two midterms are finished, two more are about to be done, due on Monday and Tuesday (they're take-home essays). Once those are finished, life will calm down quite a bit. I'll still have a lot of work, but it will be less stressful and more manageable.
I'm still working on finding my place, my niche at the seminary. Though my feet are starting to feel the ground a bit, I still feel somewhat suspended, not quite sure where I'm landing. It is teaching me how to rely on God's faithfulness rather than my efforts. If there's one thing that I'm learning at this school is that I certainly cannot do this on my own. The power of prayer and time of devotion is certainly more tangible than it has been in quite some time.
More updates will come once I have finished up with midterms on Tuesday. At that point my life should become much more sane.
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