Tag Archives: traveling

Speed Dating and the Non-Believer!

12 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by in Daily Life, Dating, Finding Me

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“To venture causes anxiety, but not to venture is to lose one’s self…. And to venture in the highest is precisely to be conscious of one’s self.” – ― Søren Kierkegaard

I am leaving for Brazil in a few hours.  I am fighting a bit of anxiety.   There is this one thing that I wanted to accomplish but it didn’t work out as expected (is it the Universe telling me that I should wait until I return or is it the Universe seeing my resolve in getting this done?).  When things don’t go according to plan it causes me a bit of internal turmoil.  I am trying to compartmentalize it and put that one issue aside until I am back in NY and can deal with it. I should know better than to thing that I have any control over anything.

Before I go I want to make sure to tell you about my last adventure in dating:  Speed dating.

It was surprisingly fun. There were 9 guys and 10 women.  It was in a bar in NY City.  The women sat around and the men went around to each lady, changing to the next lady every 3 minutes.  To me this is the perfect way to meet someone since I normally know within the first couple of minutes if there is something there or not.  I don’t have the time to go into details about every guy, but there was a good mix from the not so normal (this is NY after all) to the completely normal (at least it appears to be so).  There was a good mix of ladies too, from the divorced housewife to the rude impatient “I am better than you” lady.

A side note is that 8 out of the 9 guys were never married and had no children.  A shocking fact since they were all between the ages of 40 and 50.  The other ladies thought that this was a matter of concern, as if there is something wrong with them.  Since I happen to be one of them (never married, no kids) I think that fact it is no big deal.  But I do find strange to have so many of them in one place.

In the days after, you are supposed to go to the service website and choose who you would like to see again.  I chose 2 guys.  There were probably 5 of them that I wouldn’t mind seeing again, but only two seemed to be candidates for something long-lasting, so I rather not waste the other’s time.

Since they had chosen me also, contact information was provided to all.  They both contacted the same day.  One is an International Business Strategist (whatever that means) and the other is a jazz musician.

The first one emailed me right away, but then never contacted me again after I replied.  This is NY so I am not surprised, but I am just curious as to the silence.  I hope he was not run over by a truck!

“I am realistic – I expect miracles.” ― Wayne W. Dyer

On Wednesday the musician took me to a French Restaurant.  Everything was great from the food to the conversation.  And we both had agreed to date again.   But, of course there is always a but.  While he was walking me to the train station the conversation turned to religion.  He questioned me a lot about my religious beliefs.  I am not sure I like that part very much.  I am all for healthy debates but I felt interrogated.   We sat at the train station and had a cocktail while I waited for the train.  I was intrigued that we got along so well and yet there is this huge divide.

He doesn’t believe in anything that cannot be proven.  I, on the other hand, don’t need proof of a God (whatever name you choose to call) or miracles, I believe in it with all my heart.  I believe in the Universe/God/Superior Power, something greater than me. I find comfort in that belief.  I believe in miracles and consider my life a blessing.  He wanted proof!  I said I was not one of those people that think that my belief is the right one, and I was not about to try to prove him wrong, but my belief is right for me!

I am open minded and always believed that as long as people respect each other’s opinions any relationship can work…today I am not so sure.  At that time it didn’t seem to be a big deal to have a difference of opinion, but today, a couple of days later, this seems way too big a difference to ignore.    He used the word “ridiculous” to describe the belief in things unseen and unproven, such as Christ, God, miracles, etc.  That seemed disrespectful to me now.

 “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” -― Albert Einstein

Perhaps the ridiculous thing is for a believer like me to be with someone that thinks it is ridiculous to believe in something that you cannot see or prove.  Is it worth to see him again? I love believing in guardian angels, miracles, faith, hope, the Universe, etc I am thinking I need someone that will, at least, not think that that is ridiculous.  My faith and believe is such a huge part of me that if someone has an issue with that, then they have an issue with me.

Well, I have more to say, but not enough time, I need to make the next train, get home, get bagels, and then head to the airport.

ps. please forgive mistakes, typos, etc…written in a hurry!

 

 

Way to go Delta!

29 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Daily Life

≈ 19 Comments

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Delta

On Friday night I took my Mom to JFK Airport in NY for her flight back to Brazil.  She was travelling on Delta Airlines out of their Terminal 4.  Delta’ s Terminal 4 is new and checking in is very efficient.  The wait time was under 5 minutes.

For some reason I was more nervous than my Mom this trip, and I wasn’t even travelling.  I feared Delta would not allow me to accompany her to the gate.  She looks amazing for her age (79 years), and she is normally a dynamo but the truth is she gets nervous and confused when travelling.  It doesn’t help that she knows little English.  Normally when I ask to accompany her they say no and want to put her in a wheelchair.  It would be a great idea if she accepted that suggestion, but she doesn’t.  She gets offended and hurt; after all she is able to walk.  I can understand how she feels now that I am starting to feel the years in me.

I explained the situation to the agent, well truth is, it involved more than explaining, it involved a lot begging and pleading.  I made sure to mention that I am a SkyMiles Silver Medallion (not a big deal, but something) and the proud owner of a Platinum Delta American Express (again not a big deal but it shows my support for the Delta brand.  I also let the agent know that Delta is my airline of choice, which is!

The agent, after some consideration gave me a gate pass.  I wanted to go over the counter and hug and kiss her, but I think that would not go over well, so I mentioned how much it meant to me and profusely thanked her.  One would think she just handed me a winning lottery ticket.  To me being able to accompany my mother and provide her with peace of mind is priceless.   She always fears gate changes and delays and missing the announcements.

We go through security, which for some reason they put us in a line where it is not necessary the removal of shoes and jackets and standing in the x-ray with your arms up.  We feel extra lucky.

We find the right gate, Gate 37.  We seat and get comfortable as we know we have over 2 hours to kill as we are always at the airport many hours in advance.

After 20 minutes I hear an announcement that the gate has changed from Gate 37 to Gate 22, and the flight time from 9:29 to 11pm.  Mom had no idea that whatever they were saying was about her flight.  That is exactly the reason why I like taking her to the gate.

We find gate 22 and sit down, knowing that we will have a long wait ahead of us.

I am probably one of the most understanding passengers as delays and changes to not bother me.   Of course they are annoying but they do not mess up my day and my mood.   Delays and other issues happen to any airline, what set airlines apart are how they handle those occurrences.

Delta is not perfect and at the end of this post I will mention an area that I think needs improvement, but how they handled this delay I think it was awesome.

What I applaud Delta on was making sure that the passengers were comfortable and well-informed (ok there is the language issue that I will be mentioning at the end, but they tried).  They let the passengers know that the reason for the delay was the waiting for a part for the windshield wiper that was en-route from Atlanta.  I am not a big fan of being told exactly what the delay is when it involves something mechanical but that is just me.  I know most people want to know all details and perhaps there is  some kind of law that say that airlines must have full disclosure.

What was surprisingly and welcoming was all the food and beverages they gave to passengers, and how gracious they were when anyone had a question.  For what was supposed to be a less than 2 hours delay I expected nothing.  So getting snacks was a treat!  It also made me suspicious that perhaps we were looking at a delay that would be much longer than 2 hours.  (The flight time changed to 11: 30 later. I think they started boarding at about 11, and it took off after midnight)

They set out a cart with all kinds of beverages and another cart with all kinds of snacks, such as crackers, chips, granola bars, cookies, candy.  Later they passed a basket with chocolate (always a winner in my book).  Later they offered a delicious ham, cheese and arugula sandwich, fresh and delicious.  By then I had already over indulged on the snacks so I took mine home and ate the next day.  They also gave passengers playing cards.

Perhaps airlines are waking up and realizing that a little can go a long way.  In the 30 years I have been traveling there were plenty of delays and I don’t remember ever getting offered anything.

My mother told me that after she had boarded the plane they continued their awesome customer service trying to make passengers comfortable by offering extra pillows and blankets, etc.  My mother was sleeping at the time the dinner was served, but later the flight attendant made sure to check on her and see if she wanted her dinner.  And in the morning when she refused breakfast he once again showed his concern.  She felt special.

As her daughter I am grateful for the extra care.  As a passenger I feel valued!  I care that my mother had a wonderful experience traveling with Delta, even though in the end, the delay (waiting to board and in the plane) was 3 hours.

One area needs to be improved though.  Delta needs to get a Portuguese speaking person to be at the counter during the boarding.  Most of the time they don’t have anyone and there is always an issue with a passenger, and in those occasions another passenger needs to step in to help with translation.  On this one occasion they had a passenger make the announcements.  Her Portuguese was awful. I don’t even think she spoke Portuguese, I think she spoke Spanish.  The effort is appreciated but it is just not professional and not what is expected from an airline of this caliber.

Brazilians are travelling more and more overseas (as opposed to a few years ago when a trip on a plane anywhere was just for the rich).  I venture a guess that 90% of the people traveling to Brazil on Delta flights are Brazilian.  A lot of them don’t speak English, so it just makes good business sense to ensure that when they travel next they will think of Delta.

At the end of the day what my mother and I remember most is not the delay or the lack of Portuguese, but the caring attitude of the personnel.  It is not about the food that they served, but it is the message that it sent.  It told passengers:  we care about you and we are trying to make an unpleasant situation better.

Way to go Delta!  I applaud you on the continued improvement in customer service.  You continue to be my airline of choice!