(written on the 28th from notes taken previously)
Don’t remember what time I got up. It was a chilly, windy morning. Talked with Richard pretty much the whole time that I was organizing and packing–trying to get everything figured out.
I thought I had plenty of time, but as time wore on, I realized that everything was taking a lot longer than I expected.
Richard let me store some of my stuff at his place, which I’m grateful for. 🙏
Headed toward Cory’s place, hoping to get the tire fixed while I was on my way, but realized that I didn’t want to cut it too close with the packing time.
Also realized that as quickly as my old friend had seemingly opened a window of quasi connection, she closed it again just as quickly.
I don’t understand. I guess I don’t have to. It’s hard.
I’m glad I didn’t try to get the tire fixed because I was still scrambling around a little bit when Richard came to pick me up from Cory’s place. 😅
I had spent probably 2 hours in the parking lot of the church next door scrambling as quickly as I could to get everything squared away. I don’t remember if I mentioned it, but when I first bought the tickets, it said I had one free checked bag, but when I looked to get everything squared away for the trip, it was now saying that the checked bag was going to be $100, and I had a free carry-on and a free personal item.
So I scrambled and scrambled and decided not to take a whole bunch of things because I didn’t want to pay $100 for the checked bag each way. Figured if I needed anything, I could probably buy it in New Zealand for about the same amount of money as it would cost just to drag the old used stuff with me.
That was the hope at least.
Funny, as I was finally doing the actual check in for the flight, the baggage information went back to the original, saying that I had one free checked bag.
😶
Really, United?!?!?! I spent so much time and left a bunch of things that I wanted to take with me because of the stupid change in the information, and now it’s back to the original. I had nearly 20 lb left of storage weight I could have put in my pack, lots of things I would have taken that I didn’t.
Lots of time wasted trying to consolidate so I didn’t have to pay the stupid baggage fee that didn’t end up happening.
😒
I was pretty stressed out with everything, trying to get everything squared away, trying to meet the stupid baggage requirements that were incorrect.
Oh well. What’s done is done. I have a credit card, and a whole bunch of New Zealand cash, so I can buy stuff when I get there.
Richard came and picked me up and gave me a ride to the airport, for which I am grateful, and we listened to the BYU game a little bit on the way. Big game against Iowa state, that started really really badly, but in the end, the Cardiac Cougars pulled it out again, my plane being delayed from SLC just long enough to catch the end of the game. 🙃
The flight to San Francisco was relatively uneventful, and amazingly, the plane was super sparsely populated. I had an entire row to myself. 😶
Connecting flight was in San Francisco, with something like a four or five-hour layover, which I spent on my phone. 😅
Perhaps surprisingly, I’m not nervous for the trip. Just sort of is what it is. I’ve tried to prepare myself well.
I can’t really say that I’m excited either. Maybe just a little, but mostly I think there aren’t really emotions? It’s just sort of something that’s happening, a transaction, and I don’t know why.
Left San Francisco sometime around 11 or midnight (I don’t remember for sure). I was tired, but I don’t really sleep well in vehicles sitting up, so I watched How to Train Your Dragon (the “live” version), stared at my phone using the free internet T-Mobile customers get, then closed my eyes to doze for a while… somewhere over the Pacific.
✈️🌊
Lift the world.
Bring it on.
~ stephen
Lift the World 
Hah! You landed! 😀
♥️