Recap of the Day I Lost

(to time zones)

On the 9th of December, I awoke to the sweet realization that my next bed would be in Europe. My flight was due to leave at 3pm from the Seattle airport- and I had just a few mp3s, kindle books, and bus tickets to synchronize. Life as planned. 

Then - disaster! My credit card was refused on three different websites. And the kindle refused to connect. Rapidly maneuvering to the bank, I verified that my card wasn't blocked and missed the ferry by thirty seconds. 

Arriving in Edmonds, it began to snow. A street away from I-5, the car lost compression in one of its cylinders and father drove the poor thing to pick up a different car. Having retrieved it, at the same street, I realized that I left my papers in the Volvo- and we returned yet again. 

Running to my gate at the airport, the flight was delayed; the toilet had burst during the last flight. While switching planes in Iceland, I followed the directions of a stewardess outside of the security checkpoint and had to be screened very slowly yet again. To compensate for the screening, I raced through the building to board my plane. 

(Aside: there is a very large selection of Cary Grant movies on the airplane entertainment center)

Arriving in Amsterdam, I couldn't find a nano-sim or a decent padlock. And Zhounds! Airport lounges are gigantic! The rail I took into Amsterdam Centraal was a commuter, and actually skipped my stop. There were other confused tourists sitting with me on the rail and this made for funny conversation. So, I continued into the next city and bought lunch with a friendly engineer. 

Despite all of the beautiful challenges, I cannot but appreciate the absurdity of life - and revel in it! Snow, engine failure, exploding toilets, getting lost with other people, and a warm welcome.