Luggage gone again...

Hmmm... brief synopsis that will be elaborated on later because my days up until yesterday were spent studying for Step 2 CS, flying to Houston to take my CS, and then hanging with family in Houston, and since then I've been alternately trying to figure out how to get my luggage back and how to get my insurance to give me a new phone since mine's broken. Which makes getting luggage back more fun...

So... CS: stressful, but not as stressful as I was expecting considering forced human interaction with people who are judging me is where I excel least (hello pathology!). Can't detail too much on the exam because they threaten us with death or something equally bad like not being allowed to take CK or something. Wait...

Also, practicing for CS is not only a good idea, but fun. I got to treat my boyfriend for 'lady bits problems' and discovered a crashing deficit in my bedside manner when I was practicing on my friend... you see, the chief complaint that was yelled to me (our version of the doorway information) was "fatigue". I open my door and there is my friend sitting there with my silk robe on backwards and her eye blacked out with makeup. After my first staccato burst of laughter, I extend my hand and find both of her arms similarly darkened.

So my response to the investigation of domestic violence is to laugh uncontrollably for 15 minutes while attempting to conduct an interview and being completely unable to look at the patient's face. FAIL.

Seeing family: Awesome! My little cousins are people now. They're also more polite than I am and address me by name and title, whereas I usually get people's attention by either saying "Hey!" or more frequently, by wandering obliviously down the street attached to my ipod until someone who wants my attention has to physically grab me.

The littlest one also wants to be a doctor because she wants to give shots, and asked if I brought any. Which is absolutely not weird. The older one shares my Wii addiction and my unnatural love of the show Avatar: the Last Airbender. I'll add in that my love of True Blood fills out my diet with enough mindless sex and violence that it justifies my addition to a Nick toons show, thus I maintain my legal status as a grown-up. My big cousins plied me with wine and explained the whole oil crisis since as a proper medical student, I have absolutely no idea what's going on in the outside world at any time and my grasp of the BP situation involved a vague depression and pictures of dead pelicans.

In other news, hi guys!

My aunt and uncle took me to a little place called Spring which I liked and reminded me of Woodstock, if someone turned the thermostat up 20 degrees. I also ate BBQ with gusto since it tends to be of not fantastic quality and prohibitively expensive in NYC. I also got to make multiple car trips to the store which is a convenience I had not realized how badly I missed until I was tucked safely and comfortably in the backseat of an air conditioned ride rather than rammed up against a hobo and a busker with my food for the next week determined by how much upper body stength I have (spoiler: none).

I shopped before I left and I shopped while I was in Texas. This is relevant because it allows me to say that pretty much *everything* lost in my carry-on luggage was brand spanking new. And I very rarely shop for clothes, so it was a particularly harsh blow.

I've had luggage lost so many times that by the time I flew to NYC for my current stay, my luggage was labeled all over with Sharpie marker with my contact information, had ribbons tied on the handles, and was wrapped in fluorescent duct tape. I'm not making that up. Since flying now carries the added fun of a 25 dollar fee and I'm tired of losing my shit, I put everything in carry on. Including my stethoscope, white coat, PD kit, and all that fun stuff (that I needed today!). So imagine my surprise when as I went through the gate to my flight, my carry on (fortunately not my purse) as well as most other people's was marked "Valet" and stuck in the side of the plane. Since I never planned on letting that bag leave my sight, it wasn't well labeled.

So naturally, as soon as I got to Dallas, someone grabbed my bag instead of his and apparently disappeared off the face of the planet, leaving his bag with me, which I promptly turned over to lost luggage in Dallas because I'm a moron unfamiliar with the art of blackmail. Best part is... since it was never formally 'checked', I can't actually prove I ever had it. So I may be out the possibly ~800 dollars worth of stuff in that bag that was of a cost and emotional value which they recommend you don't check... *which is why I didn't*.

I put all of that aside to go out to watch True Blood at a bar with my friends last night, cause you know, you gotta prioritize, at which point my phone went from "almost dead" to "dead". So I end up having to call others so they can call my voicemail to listen to my messages to determine whether my bag's been found.

ARGH.

But whatever. I started pediatric heme/onc today and it's pretty cool, features an insanely nice nurse, plus nothing minimizes an extraordinarily aggravating couple of days like seeing 6 year old cancer patients. It's hard to even stay really pissed off. "I'm having the worst day with my luggage and my phone and I had to circle LGA for an hour and..." "My hair fell out but they gave me this great wig. Can I watch Ratatouille during my chemo sessions?" "Uhhh.. have a cookie." "I can't; I'm NPO."

Oh, in that direction, while practicing for the CS, the First Aid gives you these often off-the-wall 'patient questions' that are designed to throw you off guard to determine your response to being put on the spot. They range from "am I going to die?" to "What does 'ultrasound' mean"? They dispense with the normal answers of "No" and "it's a test" in favor of a paragraph of feel-good that I found rather silly.

Until today. Had a "Will I be able to make the trip" question that sounded like it was lifted directly out of the pages of the First Aid, and then not one but two "Why does she keep complaining of being cold and shivering when her temperature is so high?" that wasn't in First Aid, but should have been. Hopefully the practice paid off for something, because I felt like I could give pretty good answers and empathized well. And even for real empathy. Also, heme/onc moms seem to be a relatively forgiving lot and are used to medical students asking them a crap-ton of questions they've answered seventeen billion times, so it worked.

Snow!!!!!!

No, not in Grenada, though that would be something.

I'm home! To a place I hadn't been before. But it still feels like home. I flew from Grenada to Trinidad (Liat) to JFK (Caribbean Airlines) to Boston (American Eagle).

Unfortunately, I spoke too soon and marveled that I'd made it to Boston with no delays or mishaps on behalf of the airlines, just in time for American (why are you after me AGAIN, American?) to lose my bag, and better, claim they never had it since apparently claiming it and dragging it through customs in both Trinidad and New York was just a figment of my imagination. Though I got my passport stamped by both, and the homeland security guy in NYC said "welcome home" while doing it, which was nice. He also didn't strip search me, which was even nicer.

Miraculously, they found my bag in New York (no doubt with their ticket agent), after having a couple new pieces chewed out of a particularly apathetic baggage claim girl, and shipped it to me in Vermont, where I am now. Phew. Traveling sucks. Though the journey was surprisingly good. Liat managed to screw about half the people in the airport by claiming their original flight time was at 6 am, canceling that flight and merging it with mine (at 7:20), which was fine for me, but not fine for their original connections. D'oh. Sorry guys. Enjoy Trinidad. Nice people.

Caribbean Airlines is awesome. Not to be confused with CaribStar, Caribbean Airlines is the official airline of Trinidad, has excellent service, allegedly has a 90% on time rate (my flight was on-time/early), tell you everything that's going on right down to geography and temperature, got my luggage through and in a crowning moment, when I dozed for about ten minutes, I started awake to realize a blanket had been placed over me. Dayam. Caribbean Airlines... so attentive, we'll freaking tuck you in. Unfortunately, they fly like four places. From Trinidad. I'm thinking it's worth the swim. They're looking for investors though, so if you have a boatload of money, please invest in them to reward them for not sucking? I want these guys to take over the airlines for the *world*.

So no problems with them, and had a pretty good treat considering the horror stories I've heard about Liat and my own joyous experiences with Air Jamaica (they lose your luggage for five days, but at least they don't claim not to have it) and American Airlines, who is rapidly going from my favorite airline to my least favorite airline because they're not even screwing up in ways that are easy to predict. Liat will screw with your flight times (so you schedule long layovers) and AJ will lose your luggage (so you pack all your essentials in your carryon). That's what they do. AA is dabbling in everything.

Anyway, arrived in Boston to be met by my mom, who was carrying seventeen different layers of clothes, since the warmest things I could get together were jeans, vented running shoes, and a hoodie. I was a little concerned about trying to run that ensemble through the New York layover, but it turned out not to be bad at all. I forgot that the monorail between terminals had indoor stations so spent the majority of my time browsing shops in my shiny new "Trinidad and Tobago" t-shirt, since I'd sweated through the old one in, you guessed it, Trinidad and Tobago. Nothing like trying to dress appropriately for a 60 degree temperature change.

But when I got to Vermont, there was already two feet of snow on the ground and it started snowing almost instantly when I got here. WINTER!!! I have to put on hat, gloves, jacket, long pants, and scarf just to walk the dog (my baby!), and I love all of it. Everything looks Christmasy, everyone is nice and they're playing real holiday music. Ahhhhhh... Not to mention I can watch Comedy Central again.

LUGGAGE!!!!

I called Air Satan this morning to be told that ONE of my bags was in. I told them they'd better well drop it off at my apartment, and she said that because it was only ONE bag, I'd have to come pick it up myself and I said "let me get this straight. Because your airline is incompetent, I have to make TWO trips to the airport, when I'm getting low on money by having to buy things that I had in my luggage, which you have had for FIVE DAYS???" and she hesitated and said "yes, I suppose so," though was helpful enough to say they could drive me my bags when the other one got there, whenever that was. Right.

So I went to take the remaining money out of the ATM from school (after having to go over there to top up my phone since I was out of minutes due to arguing with Air Jamaica), only to have the ATM broken at school. I had to hop the bus to Spiceland Mall to find an ATM (which fortunately did work) to withdraw my rapidly dwindling funds so I could get a cabbie back from the airport. Also got a dish drainer. Got back to my apartment, dropped off the dish drainer, grabbed my passport and the luggage tags, and started stalking to the airport on foot in the rain, because I was in that sort of mood. About halfway there, a cabbie picked me up and offered to charge me 40 bucks to do the whole thing there, waiting and back, with an extra 10 if he had to wait a long time, so I figured what the hell, and with pretty much the last of my money, jumped in.

Got to the airport to be passed between a couple of ticket agents, and wound up in the care of a surly jerk who grunted that I needed my lost baggage form, the one piece of documentation I didn't have, because I'd had to keep pulling it out. I said I didn't have it, but I had my original ticket stub, the baggage claim tags, my customs form, and my passport. He said "no" and half gestured toward the outside door.

Let me clarify that I am not someone to abuses service staff, even usually when they're showing less than service, even to a point of being passive in places because I know that service jobs suck as does dealing with angry people every day.

I threw a fucking fit. It was a solid adult temper tantrum. I refused to leave, told him I had everything that I had on the plane when I should have gotten my luggage and that they weren't taking it a day longer, that I had just spent the last of my folding money on a taxi, and I was NOT, I repeat NOT leaving until they gave me my luggage because it is MY LUGGAGE, and they'd gotten to keep it long enough, that I was sick of calling them, sick of being passed on, and I would be getting my luggage today, and that was that. Add exaggerated gestures and slamming my hand on the counter.

He glared at me, sort of made a dismissive gesture at me that could best be translated as "youse! fuggettabouttit!", and stalked off into the office, which I wasn't sure what that meant, but I sure wasn't leaving.

He came back out to help the other girl who'd lost her luggage, apparently on the same flight I was on, and I trotted right along after them, clutching my luggage tags in my hand, DARING them not to let me through the door, so on their heels I went back through the gate, back through security, with the agent nicely joking "They're finally giving you your luggage, eh?" and back through the "escorted passengers only" or whatever door to the place where the luggage from the flights comes in, including mostly the luggage that was supposed to come in on other flights.

I'm not sure if my coming along was his plan, but it certainly was mine, and he didn't say a WORD to me after grunting at me and waving his hand for me to go away, so who knows. Who cares. When going through all the security checkpoints, he was clearly only gesturing at the girl accompanying him, but they let me through anyway.

They had told me that I only had ONE bag, as mentioned, which was their arbitrary reason for not driving it to my apartment, as they have done for other people whose luggage was this late, such as the girl who had Air Jamaica (that's AIR JAMAICA, folks, a DELTA AIRLINES subsidiary) lose her luggage for three months, but as I looked among the island of abandoned luggage, I found BOTH my bags, cheerfully still wrapped in their fluorescent tape, and put a death grab on them. Lurch took my luggage tags, and ripped the arrival tags off the luggage, but didn't try to stop me from leaving, so that worked. Customs didn't even try to shake me down.

So I am now in glorious possession of both bags, and have all the wonderful things I planned to set up my apartment with in the first place, and clothes... and a razor. Halle-freaking-lujah.

Now, if only I can get my registration taken care of, we'll be all set.

The good part is that this entire process has been so bloody frustrating from missed registrations to no textbooks to broken ATMS to surly gate agents to lost luggage to late buses, to rainstorms, that I'm not even slightly concerned about biochem. I slept like a baby last night. I'm still studying for it, but panicked? Nah. I'm certain I'm going to pass because I'm really well prepared, but if I don't? Hey! I get to go home!

Air Jamaica Update

Ah, the incompetence abounds...

In AJ news, I called yesterday, as I was told to do, to be told that the luggage from the 7th (they didn't specify MY luggage, but "the luggage from the 7th", which fills me full of confidence) would be coming in TODAY on a charter flight at 9:40.

Since it's currently 9:50, I called, as told, to be told that flight wouldn't be in until after 1 in the morning because the flight was delayed... ya know, just like the flight on the 7th was delayed, except in that case, it was still early enough to have a shot at getting to my apartment, but I'm sure the people on that flight, and their RAs/apartment managers will be THRILLED by the prospect of not getting in until after 1. Any guesses on whether THEIR baggage will make it? Especially if, as promised (which means nothing), the plane is full of the luggage of people from the 7th, since they reassured me yesterday that lots of people on that flight lost their luggage. They also specified that my luggage wasn't getting in yesterday (like they said it would be) because that was when last SATURDAY'S luggage was coming in.

One might have the novel idea that the people who flew that Saturday should have had their luggage on Saturday and the people who flew on Tuesday (the 7th) should have had their luggage on Tuesday rather than playing this "Where are the cookies? I put them in the goldfish bowl. Where are the goldfish? I put them in the clothes hamper. Where are the dirty clothes?" game that ensures that probably around 50 percent of their passengers are chronically pissed off and calling them daily while getting progressively angrier, but what do I know?

On the plus side, the people are getting a bit nicer, though they've stopped putting me through to Air Jamaica, so I think I'm talking to the people at the airport.

On the minus side, we are now at 4 days without luggage, without an answer from DELTA AIRLINES, without compensation, and without someone willing to physically track down my luggage to make sure where it is and if it's coming at the times they keep telling me.

And yes, that's AIR JAMAICA and DELTA AIRLINES. Your source for delayed flights and lost luggage. But their seats are bigger than American Airlines, who, by the way, also sucks, with delayed flights and horrendous baggage restrictions. In case it seems like I'm just needlessly bitching about any kind of air travel, American Airlines, Air Jamaica, and Liat have *pretty much* cornered the Grenada market with a few exceptions that fly in sporadically, thus, since they have little competition and a high market, both among students and locals, none of the three put ANY effort whatsoever into customer service and have differing and equally deserved horrible reputations. I have not flown Liat, but consider my first term roommate's story was far worse than any of mine despite only involving a flight to Trinidad (90 miles), I'm not encouraged to do so in the future. So far, the best airline I've found that actually goes to Grenada is Conviasa, which is the official airline of Venezuela, and has excellent service and staff, so I'm beginning to wonder if it might be worth going through Caracas just for the privilege of getting to my destination on time, well served, and with my luggage. It's not a lot to ask, right?

In SGU news there is no news, oh, other than the fact that their registration prohibition also means I can't get the books that have already been paid for out of my loan check, which by the way, has been dispersed to them, thus they are charging me for classes I'm not supposed to attend with bought books I'm not allowed to have. On the plus side of that, I can access the parasitology and genetics lectures online, which means I actually can prestudy for those classes despite the best intentions of the university to keep me from viewing ANYTHING that could potentially help me in my new courseload until I pass my biochem exam.

In Ishie news, I've reached that point where I'm almost getting amused by the multifaceted and stunning incompetence I've seen at all levels when trying to engage in beginning my second term, which is keeping me in better spirits. I have long ago learned to embrace my cynicism, since it amuses me, and apparently when I came back here, over the summer I'd become just too much of a gosh-darned optimist, but fortunately reality has bitch-slapped me back into remembering that being negative is a lot more satisfying, thus allowing me to laugh at the stupidity of others rather than having anger explosions in response to it. This also helps me in my quest to be the bastard female offspring of House and Dr. Cox.

I've also finished transcribing all biochem notes and small group cases into flash card format thus can now spend my time, instead of bent over my desk, sprawled out on my intensely comfortable though not wildly aesthetically pleasant sofa getting my biochem on, so that helps the mood.

It also helps to have the support of friends and family, with people both here and abroad not only offering help (thanks mom and dad!) but a virtual or actual shoulder to cry on/ear to bitch into, which is helping keep me sane, as is my sweet-ass apartment (pictures pending). Today, I discovered that I was not actually out of propane for my stove/oven, but simply didn't know how to turn on the tank, and despite it being a weekend, I was able to get someone to help me (security) in under five minutes, service that perhaps should be emulated by certain airlines and medical schools.

Oh, though to give SGU credit, when I went up to the clinical skills office the other day to check on a selective, the secretary who... well, let's just say has quite the reputation over here, was extraordinarily nice to me, joking around and everything. A certain cranky biochem professor also apparently invited a student over to his table, laughed, and was social and pleasant, so maybe there's hope for the human race after all and... no! DOWN, inner optimist! DOWN!

Ta.

Where'd summer go?

Yup, that's my general thinking at the moment. I certainly had a *full* summer with minimal use of it morphing into the couch, so certainly enough of it to satisfy.

But in less than 24 hours, I'll be on a plane well on my way to Grenada, and it's hard to be excited or thrilled. Perhaps I fear change, and it's good that I'm no longer running around screaming "Covered in BEEESSS!!!!" like I did before I came for first term, but I'm still feeling a little bleak, likely because of the knowledge of having to set up, get in, get settled, back into the life, get used to not driving again, and then, before I have a chance to settle back, take a huge biochem exam that, if I miss for any reason, will get me kicked out of medical school.

No stress. None at all. No, really.

But there's a lot I'm looking forward to as well. Seeing my friends again, David, the beach, getting back to a place that has a steady gym so I can work out, and a field to play rugby. That's all cool stuff. I'm excited to see what the new classes will hold. I'm excited to see if I have conquered the demons that were plaguing me last term, and get a chance to repay all my friends for having to put up with me in the last week. New dynamic.

I'm primarily packed now. Just need to weigh my stuff and make sure it's under 50 lbs a bag, which will probably be borderline. I'm wondering if Air Jamaica will lose one or both of them... I do like a mystery.

When I brought my parents, I brought a good deal of stuff with me, and was able to take my guitar and dive gear, which ate up a lot of space, but was really good for me to get to the island. Now, I'm going full practical. I am up to the brim of my luggage requirement with all the amenities... tons of clothes (thus enabling me to go even longer between 'ruh ruh all I have are dirty scrubs' laundry days), kitchenware, bathware, everything to set up a real "home" in my new apartment, which I'm really hoping goes well, with a mother who's going to send me some SWEET pots and pans since I found the ones on the Rock sorely lacking and overpriced.

Last night, we had a big BBQ for me, grilled up all sorts of stuff, and got to talk with the neighbors for the last time, partaking heavily of one neighbor's bottle of red cat wine. That's some good stuff, and it's particularly good that despite splitting a magnum with her, I don't have a headache. I also got punk'd by one of the nurses that works with my mom, because I went to fax some of my school paperwork from the hospital and she said "You're going to medical school? For nursing?" And I apparently went kind of wide-eyed/dead faced, and she laughed, and my mom laughed. She reads the blog, so hello there! You won't get me twice!

So that's today. No funnies, because well, I'm not feeling all that funny... just nervous with a mild impending feeling of dread. But at least now I know what the omega protein does.

So what now? Part deux?

Good question... I've been generally being something of a lazy bum, but I'm entitled, right? I am so *not* looking forward to spending the summer doing biochem again.

Still taking little side trips, and reading a lot, at present it's Invitation to a Beheading, because I dearly love Nabokov, being an uber-dork. No cable here yet, but with any luck, Comcast will actually keep its promise this time and install everything tomorrow. One can only hope. Apparently, they promised my mom that two months ago. But... there's that whole out in the sticks problem.

But more about SGU.

You get acceptance and secure your loans. Getting there. I haven't tried to get there in August yet, but I understand it's more of a headache due to Carnival, which is on some weird "never on the same date in the same place" schedule that I don't fully understand. I used to think it was analagous to Mardi Gras, but apparently, I'm a moron. So Carnival in Grenada, for better or for worse, is in August.

So far I've flown American Airlines and I've sent my parents via Air Jamaica, so I'll tell you the experiences...

American Airlines... flying *to* Grenada, some people can sneak through over luggage allowance, but I wouldn't count on it. American Airlines officials will likely tell you that you can take two bags of up to 100 lbs or 140 lbs or whatnot, the problem being, they do not consider that they switch to American EAGLE, generally in San Juan, where you get on a commuter plane, and the luggage allowance is 70 lbs. I wasn't even close to it on the way here (thank you, mom and dad!) but on the way back from Grenada, they were so strict about there being a 70 lb cut off (and weren't letting students even PAY to bring extra stuff) that the counters were lined with the things students had to leave behind. To be thrown away. I'm not kidding. So pack accordingly.

Air Jamaica is accurately notorious for losing luggage, though you tend to get it within 3 days. It might be best to bring essentials in your carryon luggage to get you through that time, as they have that tendency to leave luggage behind due to overfull flights.

The good news is that though your luggage may show up 3 days later having seen more action than you have, you get 140 lovely pounds of it. Now, my parents flew AJ as mentioned, and *none* of the bags got lost. It could be coincidence, but I wrapped the bags in flourescent orange duct tape I got at Walmart, so it couldn't hurt; might help. Label EVERYTHING WELL.

I don't know much about Liat other than that on the way back from Grenada, they were better than American Airlines since THEIR planes left on time, but I'm told that's a rarity. I don't know their luggage requirements and I've never flown them, but I've heard some horror stories. Also, if Liat causes you to miss connecting flights, don't expect them to pony up for meal vouchers or hotels. They don't consider it to be their problem.

What do you need to bring? Hmm... There's a good list at ValueMD, but let me give you my impressions.

First off, your dorm room comes with toilet paper and a shower curtain. That's *it*. You want pillows? Bring em or buy em. Blankets? Same story. Cookware? Makes me laugh. If you can take friends or family to help cart your stuff with you in exchange for those lovely free SGU sponsored tours, that works *splendidly*, particularly if you are like me and are a diver/guitar player that needs your own stuff.

I don't know the quality of pillows and blankets on the island since I brought my own and then snapped the ones my roommate left (hopefully, for me), but I saw someone with a pillow she'd gotten at Spiceland Mall and it looked decent.

BRING COOKWARE if you can. Dishes and such aren't that big of a problem, but unless you hunt around downtown St. George's, the cooking pan selection at Spiceland Mall *sucks*. You can get a thin saucepot that isn't big enough for ramen noodles (honestly, it isn't. I bought it, and they wouldn't fit), or a giant, REALLY expensive pot that's actually the bottom of a pressure cooker. Frying pans tend to be overpriced and thin. Oh, and bring (in your checked luggage), good knives and good scissors. Again, hard to find, and expensive when you do.

Your room... I was in SD1, and there are pictures of it somewhere on the blog in January, which I'd link up if I weren't fighting a dialup connection. There are two twin beds, on wheels, two giant wooden lockers to keep your stuff in, a bathroom with a shower (no baths!!!! For months!!!), a two burner stove (no ovens), fridge/freezer, and a microwave. I believe that's the standard for all of the superdorms except in the triples where you have three people to a suite, each of whom has their own bedroom, which is pretty damn cool, and the kitchen is larger.

There are washer/dryers on each floor, and if you're lucky, a couple of them will work. I found the late night to be the best time to do laundry, but your results may vary. I also found it really difficult to find dryer sheets on the island, so you might want to bring some, but regular laundry soap is abundant.

You'll need a laptop; bring the receipt (or type one up yourself), as you will likely be charged an import tax on it that's 50-100 dollars. If you don't screw with customs, that will pretty much be the only thing they charge you for, so don't try cute things like putting it with other people, because as a student, they'll be looking for a laptop. Keep the receipt, as you only have to pay it once so long as you have that to show.

Once I paid the laptop tax, I didn't get charged on any of my other electronics or scuba gear. If have stuff shipped to you though, the charges on those items (I've heard up to 50% value!) can be astronomical, particularly on electronics, DVDs, and that sort of thing.

Uhhh... and that's all for now folks.