Heading Back Home… And in Time

Today started like so many other days for the last four weeks… Breakfast at the corner table with the sea view with the A-Team. I had my peanut butter honey toast and some yogurt, but the mood was definitely a bit more somber because we knew that this very well could likely be the last time the three of us are ever together again. Even that aside, we still had some of our morning playful banter which has made the time we have spent together so enjoyable. I’ll certainly miss hanging out and working with (now) such close friends on a daily basis. I typically love working remotely (and alone), but four weeks with Matthias and Maria made me see the other side of things.

After we finished eating, I grabbed my bags and went down to the lobby to check out. Jose caught the same lift down, so I got one more picture with “Jose from Dubai.” Elaine, Karen, and Matthias were all there to see us off. Since Jose and Maria’s flights were all close together, the three of us shared the ride to the airport. Both Elaine and Karen were having trouble fighting back the tears. I gave all three a big hug and we were on our way.

It was probably a good thing that we left a little earlier than what Karen had originally planned as it took almost an hour to get to the airport. Jose was taking a domestic flight first so we said our goodbyes curbside. Maria was on a slightly earlier international flight than me, so she had to head off pretty quickly as well to catch her flight while I was waiting to check my bags and get my ticket. I found it really odd that they didn’t start the check in process until 100 minutes before the flights are scheduled to take off. However, that gave me time to weigh my bag and figure out it was a little too heavy. I had grabbed my last Tsingtao to bring home and knew that drinking it would be an easy way to lose some baggage weight. Somehow I was unprepared and didn’t have a cuzi, but I made do with the sock cover I used for my sunglasses. A bit tacky, yes, but also effective.

Even though my bags were still a bit heavy, the agent checking me in let it slide. Getting through security and immigration took about half an hour, which was a bit surprising given how late check in really starts. I had originally thought I might see Maria off, but by the time I got through, I only had about 25 minutes before my flight started boarding and her flight was already pushing back from the gate. So instead, I pulled the fruit I brought along out, and I snacked on that as I waited since I knew it wouldn’t be allowed through customs. As I was alone for the first time in awhile, it also really then sank in that the my time in Qingdao had come to a close — which was certainly bittersweet. I was glad to be going home, but would miss my CSC friends.

After a bus ride out to the China Eastern flight, I found my small aisle seat for fortunately a short ride to Seoul. The one thing I love about international airlines, even on very short flights, you get food.

I didn’t realize when I was booking my flights how tight the connection was in Seoul, but when we landed and I turned on my phone, I saw that my next flight to Dallas departed in only an hour; and I didn’t even have my next boarding passes. Fortunately, there was a airport representative there waiting outside the jetway with a piece of paper with my name on it to escort me to my next flight… Which I made it to physically pretty easily. However, even though I got to the gate, I couldn’t get my boarding pass. They told me to wait in a long line for it that didn’t seem to move at all. Eventually, I was getting a bit concerned so I pulled the status card and was on the plane shortly after. The next problem I would soon find out about was that they thought only one of my checked bags was on the plane. One of the agents came on the plane to personally tell me. Sure it was nice to know, but bummer that it was happening.

It was getting pretty late in the day, so after I ate the meal they served, I popped an Ambian and slept for the next 9 hours — which was very welcome on a 12 hour flight after a busy previous day (and night). A long trip back always makes it even sweeter to get home.

When I got to Dallas (literally going back in time due to crossing the international date line), I confirmed that indeed only one of the bags made it. So I rechecked that bag and headed up to the Admiral’s Club for a shower. It’s amazing how good that feels after a long flight. I also grabbed a little soup and some veggies and dip.

When I finally got back to Austin, I was pleasantly surprised how quickly I was able to fill out the paperwork for the missing bag. Also thankfully, the one bag I was now expecting came out safely.

Then came the moment I’d been waiting for… Curbside pickup from the clan. And it didn’t disappoint either! It was great to see and get a big hug from Korey, and huge smiles from Crosby. He was so excited to see me he didn’t stop talking the whole way home.

When I finally got home, I started pulling out gifts… The only problem was that most of the stuff for the kids was in the missing suitcase. Still, it was great to be home with everyone, presents or not.