Hi Blogosphere:
It took 3 taxi rides, 1 missed bus, and a plane ride, but I’m finally SECO bound. Talk about the worst of circumstances; I must really have the worst luck. I’ve been looking forward to taking the Megabus with my other classmates since we decided to book our tickets together back in December. Somehow, all those well played out plans went awry Wednesday morning. Where to begin…
I booked an early taxi ride to the Megabus station since the bus was leaving for Atlanta at 8 am. By 7:35 am and no taxi in sight, I was definitely starting to worry. After a few calls to the taxi office, a cab finally arrived. By then though, even with all the driver’s might to speed me through downtown to catch the bus, the wheels on the Megabus had already gone round-and-round. I was stranded in Memphis!
After a brief panic attack and realizing the next bus wouldn’t be around until the evening, I weighed my options. After another taxi ride back to my apartment, I looked at flight costs out of Memphis. Thank goodness Southwest now travels from Memphis to Atlanta, which meant I was able to find a pretty reasonably priced ticket (compliments of my work-study emergency funds). So, that left a third taxi ride to the airport...I'm sure YellowCab knows me on a first name basis now!
While paying $3 on a Megabus ticket and spending 8 spring break hours with my classmates sounded like the best deal ever, my desperation to get to Atlanta made the flight ticket just as good a deal at that point. Besides, I knew I'd be arriving in the ATL at the same time the Megabus arrived. So in the end, despite a few slight hiccups, by 5pm that day all pieces of this travel puzzle had been put back together again. By the end of that today, I was in good ol’ Atlanta checking out the NEEDTOBREATHE concert and laughing about this ridiculous situation I some how got myself in. I guess if it was going to happen to anyone, it might as well have happened to me…Class of 2015, let’s just say, I took this one for the team ;)
So note to self…if I ever attempt to use the taxi again for important travel plans, I need at least an hour set aside--forget this trying to get there ‘right on check-in time’ business. Lesson learned.
After this hard hitting reality check, I'm ready to get this SECO show on the road. I can't wait to network with ODs, see the latest in optometric technology at the tradeshow, and expand my knowledge of the optometric profession. Be assured, you’ll get the full SECO 2012 report in my next blog post!
And if I really wanted that Megabus experience, I still have my return ticket from Atlanta to Memphis to use. I better start giving the Atlanta YellowCab a heads up…
Carpe Diem,
Amy