So this is the wonderful winter wonderland that I get to leave behind for 4 months. After much effort and deliberation I have finally decided what comes with me and what I must part with for 4 months. It's too bad that I lost some of my pictures because I had a few shots of my grandmother's basement taken over by everything I brought back from Waterloo.
The plane ride was actually much smoother than the entire check in experience. Air Canada has apparently put in place a new policy that all passengers must now take part in their electronic check in system (a.k.a. infuriating check in systems of mental death). Bill likes to say that hell for a user interface designer would be to use an ATM for eternity. I think I now disagree. It used to be that you had the option to use the automated systems (oh so attractive and nicely arranged in little clusters in front of the checkin lines) or go directly to a clerk at one of the check in counters. In what must be a cost cutting move they have reduced the number of clerks and force you to check in electronically before you can go through the maze to get the the counters.
So I can't figure out how to use this thing for the life of me. The sessions time out on you before you have time to dig out the information that the system needs. To make matters worse VMware had booked my travel so the ticket was in my name but not the payment confirmation. There is also only 1 person to help the 50 or so people trying to figure out what to do with these machines, which I'm convinced can't be understood. Rather if you get these things to work it's because you touched the screen in just the right random sequence for that session.
I tried explaining to to the person that was helping everyone that I hadn't purchase the ticket. He didn't seem to understand... no matter he says if the system can't find your ticket by name just put in a credit card where the last name matches the last name on the plane ticket. HUH?!? If the system can't find the ticket by confirmation number, first name or last name how on earth is it going to find my ticket using a credit card number that it has no idea exists. Oh and I should mention that when you choose the enter other number feature you can only enter 8 characters. Now look at your credit card. The guy had already walked away helping all of the other helpless people. For some reason that is beyond me I still tried with my credit card... first eight digits, last eight, last five. OK I give up let's try to get to a real person. I get to the entry of the maze (read: gauntlet) to find an Air Canada employee standing there hands on waist. Her job... not to provide extra help to people needing assistance with the system, NO, to prevent people from entering the maze and getting to a real person if they don't have a receipt of their electronic checkin, which by the way the checkin clerk uses to bring up your itinerary and print out and actual ticket. ARG!
OK, enough venting about Air Canada. I finally made it through and after paying a hefting overweight charge I was crossing customs without a problem. I think I'll leave out most of the story about the 2 parents and their 2 brats for boys on the plane. The parents had no control what soever (the dad even less) I think the climax was about when one of the boys, no older than 5, started hitting the dad in the face for some reason or another to which the dad responded with an "ow could you not do that please" and the kid just continued. That about just had me break out laughing. I can only imagine if I had tried something similar with my parents.
