That flight booking headache

The saga that is booking our flights continues today.

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Time spent on the phone with Delta: 1.5+ hrs.
Time spent tweeting with a Delta representative: 1 hr.
Number of customer representatives dealt with: 5

* * * * *
I usually wait past midnight to search and book flights.

Since we travel with Zack often, I knew the process – two calls to Delta: first, check if there’s space for him in-cabin on the flights I wanted; and second, if yes, book and call again so they know he’s coming along for the ride. The first call yielded a lovely “yes”, so I happily booked Premium Select seats.

In the second call, I was told to downgrade from Premium Select to Main Cabin because the Premium Select section isn’t pet-friendly, which I wasn’t told when I called them before booking.

The manager pretty much blamed me for not knowing any better and asked if I checked their restrictions. I said yes; no mention of pets NOT allowed in Premium Select (Premium Select is not Business Class, FYI). Told I was wrong. Told her to check their website. She advised to cancel and rebook, then offered a $75 voucher for all my troubles.

Today, I tweeted/DMd with them. Rep insisted I booked Delta One seats with flatbeds, so why did I cancel such a good deal? I gave him my canceled flight details. Nowhere did it say I booked Delta One. Not sure where he got that from.

I was also told that there’s insufficient space, so pets aren’t allowed in First Class, Delta One and Premium Select. What happened to the legroom that’s supposed to be “up to 8″ more”?

RESULT: After all that, I’m supposed to call Delta directly to book flights.

To folks flying Delta, keep your Twitter account handy. They’re easier to contact that way. If you’re flying with your pet in-cabin, you can only choose Delta Comfort+ seats and Main Cabin.

The lengths I’d go for Zack! 🤣 Oh, and we still don’t have flights booked.

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Christmas is nigh!

We just got back from the city to see this year’s Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

I was adamant that we’d see the tree this year. It’s not a yearly holiday tradition for us because it gets pretty crowded in the plaza, but this year, I was determined. Thank goodness you can view it till 11:30PM.

The first time we watched the tree lighting was back in 1999. We were there for hours. The crowd kept jostling and jostling, yet it was so much fun when the tree got lit. The crowd whooped and hollered like crazy. Oh, Britney Spears and NSYNC performed that year too.

I just have to say, New York really does Christmas oh so well.

 

That’s just the way it is

I had a brief chat with someone about friendships recently. I concluded with: “Friendships taper off. That’s just the way it is.”

If your offer of friendship gets rebuffed, then there’s nothing you can do about it. Why would you even want to be friends with someone who isn’t interested? Let it go. Some friends stay; others don’t.

The thing with old friends, some tend to keep you stuck in a rut. They remember you as you were. They can’t see or acknowledge how you’ve grown and changed. But that’s not your problem. Your growth is your own. It does not get canceled out by other people not acknowledging it.

Sad truth? If your friends aren’t keeping in touch, then they’re choosing not to keep in touch. Most everyone are constantly glued to their phones. It’s not hard to simply type, “what’s up?”

“They’re busy.” But who isn’t? Surely, you’ve also got a lot on your plate. You don’t just spend your days staring into space and dreaming idle dreams. Yet you find the time.

Let’s face it, not everyone is worth your time and effort. What’s more, life does not owe us friends. We make friends by being a friend to others and accepting others’ friendships. It’s an active process.

From Drab to Delightful: Lessons Learned

“From Drab to Delightful” project is officially over. It took many months of work from my husband and I, but the end result is just so worth it. Our initial goals included:

1. Changing brass fixtures to brushed nickel. Includes cabinet door handles, light fixtures, door knobs and maybe even the door hinges.
2. Replacing or updating the kitchen countertop.
3. Replacing the bathroom sink faucets.
4. Painting the bathrooms, plus the guestroom ceiling.

What did we end up doing?

Bathrooms – We painted the walls, ceilings, trims and baseboards. I stained the cabinets. He changed the faucet, tub and light fixtures.

Bedrooms – He painted the guestroom ceiling. I painted the closets, which, in retrospect, wasn’t really necessary.

Kitchen – We got the cabinets painted white. A new laminate countertop was installed, as well as the new sink and faucet. Hubby added the backsplash.

Doors, knobs and hinges – I painted the doors while hubby replaced the knobs and hinges. We bought new knobs, but reused the hinges. We also went from brass to brushed nickel.

Flooring – We went from old carpet to new carpet because getting hardwood floors was way over our budget. No regrets. The carpet was reasonably priced.

Between the kitchen and bathroom updates, I can’t decide which one I love the more.

Now what did we learn from our home improvement project that took less than a year to complete?

1. Snowball renovation is a real thing. We started off with four items in our to-do list with a budget of US$1,500 (see post here). We ended up with all that and more.
2. Know your budget. It’s your money; take ownership of it. Get your money’s worth. If you don’t feel like customer service is up to par, then it probably isn’t. Find a different professional.
3. Hire professionals if you can afford it. Negotiate prices. They want your business, so try to work on a compromise. DIY, while very fulfilling, is very time-consuming and back-breaking. Let the pros do their work.
4. If you’re taking the DIY route for the first time, then know that you will be buying your own materials. Choose quality ones that can stand the test of time, so you can use it in the future.
5. Know when to skimp and splurge. For example, do you really need to buy new door hinges? Or will a quick spray paint do the job? Are the cabinets really dingy or can it be saved to look different? Reuse and recycle if you can. It will really save you mucho dinero.

So that’s what we learned in summary. At certain points of our project, we kept wondering what we got ourselves into, which changed when we saw the results, “why didn’t we do this before?”