Whenever there’s a kernel panic it’s natural for services to be re-set and returned to a default state. After the horrendous Christmas travel experience, I finally arrive in Florida…my default State. This area is designated as Safe….. far from hostiles (close and hidden).
The first line of order….get settled into my emotional baseline and put down all the trauma of 2018. Set sail to re-build my global emergency funds.
Crossing the pond doesn’t just change my
location it changes my emotional, physical state and outlook on life.
My meticulous plans had to be migrated to countermeasures due to the unexpected rogue drone exploiting commercial airspace. This planned attack was timed on one of the busiest travel times and the numbers of passengers impacted over 100,000.
I was scheduled on the 12:15 Vienna to Gatwick flight today.
07:00 Check BBC radio for general news then got the heads up on the closure of Gatwick.
08:00 Decided to head to the Vienna airport and check in early expecting some delays.
10:35 Gatwick still closed, my flight is delayed to 14:10. Lots of media chatter and noise.
10:45 Suddenly dawns on me that they may not open Gatwick till after 14:00
11:00 I decided to ditch that flight and look for another destination. Hats off to EasyJet for a no quibble of flight to Luton.
11:25 Had to retrieve my checked-in luggage, check in again and go through Passport check….again.
12:00 Gatwick flight pushed back to 16:55 delayed departure. Gatwick still closed.
13:00 arrive at gate and ready to fly
14:17 Late fight departure but relieved to be heading back to the UK.
15:29 (London time) arrived in Luton. Pretty busy, not sure if this is the normal state. My Gatwick flight was cancelled
16:45 Finally boarded train to London.
Things that worked
Good situation awareness made it easy to make decisions.
Planned contingency already in place
Solo travelling, no dependency or discussion.
Things to improve
Checked luggage slowed me down but it was needed.
Lots of anxiety and panic, lost my ear buds so couldn’t watch any movies.
Simply amazing how basic domain squatting is still prevalent within marketing companies who set up your website. Small business owners are prime victims making rookie mistakes that they end up paying for in emotional and economic terms.
Are you vulnerable? Test yourself, change your admin passwords….oh whoops you don’t actually have admin rights.
ABC of which Administrator rights you should NEVER give up
Is Air travel a luxury? I’ve put up with another year of flying the 4th worst airline in the world according to the AirHelp Global Airline ranking system.
I’ve become immune to the waiting times, nasty fees and negative staff attitudes and constantly over compensate by expecting a late arrival. No disasters but I’ve come too close to missing important life events and this accumulates to a constant state of high anxiety I sooth with massive doses of downloaded Netflix series.
So here’s how I did…again
No checked luggage -90% of the time my flight runs out of space, so I get to check-in luggage free of charge
Prepare for late night arrivals – the last flight is always delayed leaving me transportation issues when car hire closes at 11pm, fortunately I found all night train route.
Pack only what you need
Avoid gifts and comfort bits
Avoid speaking to airline staff, the ground crew just tell you to visit the website anyway.
Use the airport lounge, this oasis is perfect preparation to be squished up in a seat with absolutely no creature comforts. Worth every penny of investment and your last bit of civilisation for a few hours.
Don’t tell Loved ones you’ve landed till you are in the airport…. it’s not unusual to be left on the tarmac on plan waiting for a gate or “somebody” to bring a bus to the airplane.
Line up early, this actually beats the so-called paid “Speedy boarders “as it usually every man for himself as over 150 people try to board as fast as possible through 2 ground crew checking passport and boarding passes on mobile phones. Expect no decorum here.
Fly solo, it helps you get into the brutal zone but always have a plan B and C lined up.
I’ll be enjoying one of the better airlines this December and will be snacking with real cutlery on-board and with enough leg room for two.
It took me over an hour to re-organise my inventory across four characters and open 62 Caches for rewards from the last Global Event on Tom Clancy’s Division.
My cache open ceremony was like being at the roulette table, I didn’t get exactly what I needed but the elusive “The House” Sub machine gun was amongst the goodies that leaned towards becoming a half decent squad member.
Tom Clancy’s The Division – Do you remember your first House?
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