Friday, March 8, 2013

Appreciating Life

I don’t think I’ve done any baking since Valentines. Appalling I know. Although tonight I’m hoping to jump back in and get back into my routine.

Life’s been hectic lately. I had my weekend in Sydney, and the last weekend I went back to Brisbane for my cousin’s engagement.
However, the trip home is the real talking point. So I had a flight back at 5pm, which was delayed half an hour. Standard. No worries. However, by the time we had neared Mackay, the plane was shaking, bumping and rolling like you would not believe. Epic thunderstorms in Mackay. Joy. The Captain was very nice and told us not to worry, that he was in control and he was going to try to land. Well, if ever the Captain says that on your flight, start panicking. Midway through the tumbling, the plan suddenly nose dived, with ear-bursting levels of noise. It felt like it was dropping through the sky. The lady next to me vomited. People screamed. Kids were crying. Strangers were holding hands. It was just like in the movies, and then suddenly, the plane reversed and was heading back into the sky. After a few minutes, the Captain got back on and said that his attempt wasn’t successful and he was going to fly to Townsville (which is 400km north).

So, land in Townsville, get off the plane and every single person is on their phones, crying to loved ones. After a while, the airline crew shuffled us through the airport onto a bus to take us to a motel. We waited for our rooms, got our free room service dinner and slept it off. The following day, we got our free hot buffet breakfast and jumped on a bus for a 6 hour bus ride back home.
Over this time, people complained. I feel like events like these bring the worst of society out. Ok, yes, we spent a lot of time waiting. Waiting at the airport, for a bus, for our rooms, for our bus home. But I personally, could not rate the airline higher. I did not feel abandoned, helpless or lost. They were calm and accommodating – hell they gave me a free night in a fancy motel for the night! They made sure we were fed and got home safely, all at their own expense, for something which was totally out of their control. I was extremely impressed.

So that has been my last few days. It still hasn’t stopped raining, but I’m home safe and that’s what really matters isn’t it?

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