One hour into my flight to Amsterdam, the pilot announces that he will be turning the plane around to return to Philadelphia. There is technical difficulty with the plane and they do not think they can make it over an ocean. So, our 6:40 pm flight returns to Philadelphia to become a 12:30 AM flight. I was surprisingly pretty calm as I sat in the airport awaiting a new plane. I used to the time to call an old friend with whom I had played phone tag and to check in with my sister. The major snafu for me was that I would now arrive in Amsterdam too late to transfer some clothes into carry on bag and leave the rest with my friend. I’d have to make my way straight to Switzerland. In the end, I arrived in Amsterdam with only 2 hours to spare, so I left my luggage in a baggage locker. Yes, Switzerland…home of cows, chocolate, and awesome bank accounts and most importantly, ROGER FEDERER!!
Wait, I have to aim for cool professionalism… I’m getting ready for a new adventure. I’ve been asked to work as media for DelPoNews for the ATP tournament in Basel, Switzerland. Three weeks ago, I received an email that I was approved to be media for the tournament. I had been preparing to cancel any trips for the remainder of the year (yes, Federer and I were not certain for WTF this year), but I couldn’t say no to this opportunity. Thanks to some creative juggling & the generosity of friends, I secured a plane ticket and found reasonably priced accommodations. I figure if I’m going to be in Europe, I might as well hang around until November and make my way to the World Tour Finals as well. No need to sell those tickets. Let’s hope Federer is equally inspired to secure his place there too.
If this little plane crisis had been during my year of traveling anxiously in 2009, I would have assumed it was a referendum on whether I should scrap my plans and stay close to home. This time around, the plane problem was exactly what it was: a minor delay that stalled my trip, but didn’t put its purpose or actual occurrence up for question. Am I actually getting more zen as I get older? Who knows. All I know is that I’m going to do a better job of enjoying the road this time around, including all the hiccups and unraveled plans!
Just to make sure I knew I had made the right decision, last night I turned on my telly to this sight:
