I Love US Airways, but...
I fly to Portland today. What should be a nice, creative, weekend away will be filled with real work in my downtime. I'm not happy about that. My client is driving me nuts. I keep telling me that I only have 3 more weeks and I can put up with anything for 3 weeks.

So, many of you are aware of all of the issues USAirways is experiencing related to their check-in systems in Boston, Charlotte, and Philly (of course). Because of the merge of USAirways and America West they have two reservation systems. I encountered some of the problems when I flew to Albuquerque last month. I could only check in at certain counters. And, then they couldn't give me all of my boarding passes because my itinerary crossed systems. So, last weekend they tried to merge the systems and FAILED miserably. Apparently lots of people missed flights because they couldn't get checked in. So, they recommended people check in online. No problem. I prefer to check-in before I get to the airport. So, at 8:30 last night, exactly 24 hours before my flight, I tried. The keyword there is "Tried". The system told me to call USAirways and tell them my reservation was "out of synch". I was only hold for about 30 minutes when a guy looked at it, told me that it was too messed up for him to fix and that I'd have to check in at the airport. I pointed out that I'm flying out of Philly. He put me back on hold. About 30 minutes later it was fixed. However, it still took me about 15 minutes to print out a boarding pass. The good news was that I was able to buy an upgrade to first class for $150! Of course I took it! So, after about an hour and 15 minutes, I was checked in. Then I got the receipt. When I read my receipt, it showed that an upgrade was really $50 per person and that I had 3 people on my reservation - all with my name. I called, and after about another 30 minutes, they confirmed that I paid the right price. I'm still sceptical. So, I'm set - and it only took an hour and 45 minutes!!! I still have to wait in line to check bags a the airport. At least I'm in first class and can stand in the short line. I was really missing my Personal Liaison last night.

Okay, that was the flight. Now for my other travel changes. Even though I had a good deal on my hotel, I didn't like the location. I really wanted to be closer to the Convention Center. But, the cheapest option was the hotel where I had my reservation. I decided to use points. I cashed in 1/3 of my hotel points to stay a few blocks from the convention center. It's a Residence Inn and I can get breakfast every day. Plus parking and internet access are free. I would have had to pay for both at the other hotel. So, my hotel is free (part of the reason I didn't hesitate to pay for first class.) Then I decided I wanted a car for the whole weekend. I wanted a nice car. But I didn't want to pay for it. So, I reserved a "Prestige" Hertz vehicle for free (again, part of the reason I didn't hesitate to pay for first class.)

Whew. When I finally got to bed last night, I was mentally exhuasted. I didn't mention I had to call Marriott Rewards and fight for 225 points that I should have gotten from Baltimore. They tried to give me the Gold Bonus Points and I was still Platinum at the time. So, I had to fight that battle.

I think I packed everything. I don't really remember packing. Packing for these events is always so hard. I'm not really worried about the craft supplies - I have those, and all of the required pictures. I'm mostly worried about clothes. I hope I packed enough. I just kinda grabbed various clean clothes that were in piles around the house. Since I can't get into my bedroom, my dining room, living room, and craft room have turned into my closet. Then, because I'm going straight to work after landing Monday morning, I have to remember to pack work clothes.

Can you tell I'm stressed? My mind is going in twenty directions at once. Okay. I have 5 1/2 hours before I leave. I'm taking my laptop and my camera on my trip, so check in this weekend for updates!!!