Post-Vacation Blues

As always, I return from my vacation filled with resolutions. I'm determined to be the perfect employee; to arise at 5 am to write my books; to zip off a daily blog filled with wit and flair but most of all to maintain a zen-like aura of efficiency, grace and good humor. As always, these resolutions don't last. In fact, my boss gave me until noon of my first day back—but I managed to make it to mid-week with a smile. This time, the chaos that greeted me at my day job has left me reeling. It's a far cry from the tranquility of Devon. 

Heard about the latest Toyota recall (that's our account) or perhaps the City of San Francisco and East Village, NY, not being happy with a certain guerilla marketing campaign for Zynga (that's our account)? I've had no time to blog until now (I'm multi-tasking and on hold to customer service via my favorite Third World country) but I have managed to keep my promise of getting up at 5 am.  It's important to look on the bright side. I'm gainfully employed. I like 99% of my work colleagues and the 1% I don't provide me with the raison d'etre to plot a murder or two.  Seriously. I can't complain. 

Vacation Adventures: Lost Luggage and Mumbai

I've finally come up for air after returning from two and a half weeks in lovely, wet England. It was a wonderful trip even if it did start off somewhat vexing. The purpose was foremost to attend a family wedding in Devon. My nephew James was tying the knot with his childhood sweetheart Sarah Florence—not to be confused with my Sarah. And confused, people were. 

I have flown Virgin Atlantic from Los Angeles to Heathrow for nearly twenty years now and never have I lost a bag. Sigh. Needless to say the bag contained the wedding "paraphernalia." We arrived on the Thursday (wedding on the Saturday). We were assured by a very polite gentleman in Mumbai that the bag was on the next plane. It wasn't. Nor was it on the Friday plane despite a plethora of polite reassurances to "Mrs. Hannah" that it was only minutes away from arriving on our doorstep. At 9 a.m. on the big day, I called again for the umpteenth time. and got another very polite young woman who practically promised the soul of her first born and guaranteed the bag was in London and would arrive at our house by eleven. When I pointed out that we were three hundred miles away from London and that only a magic carpet would deliver it on time, she confessed that she had no idea that England was "so large." 

To cut a long story short, the bag arrived at 10.30 p.m that night and my husband spent most of the day holding his trousers up with string.  

Virgin Atlantic are always very good about addressing complaints made by their customers. I am eagerly hoping for a pair of complimentary First Class tickets even if we have to fly via Mumbai. 

Packing for my vacation! Hurrah!

You'd think I'd know how to pack by now. In my misspent youth, I was a flight attendant for years. At one point, I worked on private jets and was on call twenty-four hours a day with a pager (no cell phones at that time). I'd often get paged in a supermarket and told to get to Heathrow Airport in 2 hours for a one-week trip to an unknown destination. I had packing down to a fine art then—or perhaps it was because I never really unpacked. On this trip my husband and I are having a competition. Who can pack the lightest. We're both planning on taking just one carry-on bag! My daughter Sarah says it's impossible. What I haven't told either of them is that I've already shipped a box of shoes to my mum's house in Devon. Is that cheating?

Just checked the weather forecast and yep -- looks like it's going to be raining. It always does when I go home in the summer. Let's pray for a magical sunny day on Saturday August 7 - just for my gorgeous nephew and beautiful bride-to-be ...

Back to packing ... and then off to work downtown for what promises to be an insane pre-vacation crazy morning. 

I'll be back in 2 weeks!