Dear Girl....why didn't you call me!!!!!!! I would have fetched ya and brought you back to the airport! I have known you since you dreamed of being a writer......you make me laugh....your voice is one of the most fun reads and I just bought your two first books. Can't believe I have been so busy with my life I keep cheering you on...but never read one! I love you girlfriend. Don't you ever hesitate to contact me if that happens again! Of course, with all hope, I will be in Costa Rica instead of here in the USA. I hate living here.
I'm so sorry you had such terrible bookends to your trip. I hope the in between part with your kids went well. I can imagine you felt the stress melt off your body when you walked into your apartment.
I really think you need to send this entire essay to the good folks at United. (Don't bother with Spirit; they're the absolute pits.) The big airlines are pretending at least, to care about PR and say they want to know how they're doing. I'm so sorry you have to go through all of this, but it won't enrage you, will it, if I say it was fascinating reading?
"Living in the United States, you don’t notice the sadism as much." Oh, we notice it; we've just developed a thick skin because none cares, nothing matters...and what if it did? The most technologically advanced nation is the world is also the most brutalistic and least humane. People no longer matter, because those tasked with serving them (remember customer service?) aren't paid enough to give a fuck.
All that matters is the bottom line, and toward that end people are merely just another number, another cost to be minimized in the drive towards almighty Profit.
Yeah, we notice it. We're just stuck on this hamster wheel. I, for one, would dearly love to depart for somewhere that isn't America. I miss Norway. No, it's not perfect, but at least you can count on being treated more like a human being that a debit on someone's ledger.
You've seen that meme that was making the rounds, right? The one of the nice, Ikea-showroom-like Norwegian prison and then the text: If I'm lucky, here's my retirement plan.
At United, the poor are punished with NO customer service and a lovely TSA gate massage. The rich, on the other hand, get a lounge, first-class treatment, and the ability to skip all the lines. No finer example of capitalist disparity exists anywhere else.
Well, I cannot LIKE this, but I freaking love you and am terribly sorry the return trip was so insane and expensive.
Frankly, I gave up flying on United a long time ago because I consider them to be an amateur airline. They are not really serious about Airlining, it's only a stage for them on their way to Plutocracy, so they are not really good at being an airline.
So glad John waited long enough to spirit you away from Fiumicino. Dear Gods, honey! Rest Up! <3
Thanks for the heads up. Going off to the UK (on United-ugh). I will be anxious to see if million miler status is worth the ether it’s digitized on. I don’t really expect so.
Dear Girl....why didn't you call me!!!!!!! I would have fetched ya and brought you back to the airport! I have known you since you dreamed of being a writer......you make me laugh....your voice is one of the most fun reads and I just bought your two first books. Can't believe I have been so busy with my life I keep cheering you on...but never read one! I love you girlfriend. Don't you ever hesitate to contact me if that happens again! Of course, with all hope, I will be in Costa Rica instead of here in the USA. I hate living here.
And I love you, Annie! With all my heart.
I'm so sorry you had such terrible bookends to your trip. I hope the in between part with your kids went well. I can imagine you felt the stress melt off your body when you walked into your apartment.
I'd do it all over again--a thousand times--just to see them. It was soul food. I know you get it.
I really think you need to send this entire essay to the good folks at United. (Don't bother with Spirit; they're the absolute pits.) The big airlines are pretending at least, to care about PR and say they want to know how they're doing. I'm so sorry you have to go through all of this, but it won't enrage you, will it, if I say it was fascinating reading?
I think I will do EXACTLY that. What a good idea! Keep you updated if I ever hear back from them.
"Living in the United States, you don’t notice the sadism as much." Oh, we notice it; we've just developed a thick skin because none cares, nothing matters...and what if it did? The most technologically advanced nation is the world is also the most brutalistic and least humane. People no longer matter, because those tasked with serving them (remember customer service?) aren't paid enough to give a fuck.
All that matters is the bottom line, and toward that end people are merely just another number, another cost to be minimized in the drive towards almighty Profit.
Yeah, we notice it. We're just stuck on this hamster wheel. I, for one, would dearly love to depart for somewhere that isn't America. I miss Norway. No, it's not perfect, but at least you can count on being treated more like a human being that a debit on someone's ledger.
And people smile at you.
You've seen that meme that was making the rounds, right? The one of the nice, Ikea-showroom-like Norwegian prison and then the text: If I'm lucky, here's my retirement plan.
That doesn’t sound so bad sometimes. 😝
I haven't flown United in years and certainly won't be choosing them any time soon either. I'm happy to hear you made it through that horror safely.
At United, the poor are punished with NO customer service and a lovely TSA gate massage. The rich, on the other hand, get a lounge, first-class treatment, and the ability to skip all the lines. No finer example of capitalist disparity exists anywhere else.
Well, I cannot LIKE this, but I freaking love you and am terribly sorry the return trip was so insane and expensive.
Frankly, I gave up flying on United a long time ago because I consider them to be an amateur airline. They are not really serious about Airlining, it's only a stage for them on their way to Plutocracy, so they are not really good at being an airline.
So glad John waited long enough to spirit you away from Fiumicino. Dear Gods, honey! Rest Up! <3
I love you, dearest Caroline. Thank you for your good wishes!
Thanks for the heads up. Going off to the UK (on United-ugh). I will be anxious to see if million miler status is worth the ether it’s digitized on. I don’t really expect so.
Don't take seriously any of the material you read online about what will be needed of you when you travel. CALL. Drill down. And good luck!
Definitely never flying United.