hey there you beautiful soul :)
Welcome back to my weekly Friday newsletter! I really appreciate your time reading.
I can't believe I've been living back at my USA home base for two full weeks already! Mostly because as usual I completely underestimated the time I would need to regroup and readjust, so once again I'm completely behind on everything I had planned for this Q4.
This cycle needs to stop. I'm the one in charge now that I'm on my own solopreneur journey, so it's on me to set more realistic expectations for myself and everyone around me moving forward, and I will!
OK... SO WHY AND HOW THE HELL DID I MANAGE TO MISS MY FLIGHT HOME FROM AMSTERDAM ON 11/1/19?
Well first of all, it was the start of Mercury Retrograde! LOL #butseriouslytho :)
I'm already very sensitive to astrological energy shifts (it's wild - I've been tracking it since my divorce), and I know that I'm a Virgo sun sign, which is ruled by Mercury, so I'm more prone to being affected during this time.
Second of all, I just don't enjoy arriving early to airports (Tokyo and Bangkok being the exceptions) and I love cutting it close.
Nothing like a good run through the airport with a backpack full of books to get your daily exercise in before a flight, am I right!?
Hahaha so yeahhh, a really dangerous combo there!
My flight was departing Amsterdam at 9AM, so I was up at 4AM which was a great start.
But I just had to get outside and do one last canal walk!
It was a gorgeous, super crisp and chilly morning and I thoroughly enjoyed the silent, solo, pre-sunrise hour.
I went back to my flat, ate breakfast, got my suitcases together... and then that's when it all went wrong.
DANGER! Slivers of daylight were beginning to appear as I was supposed to leave around 6AM!
Like, how could I not go soak that sight in canalside one more time!? I figured there was time for just one more daydream...
Famous last words!
By the time I was ordering an Uber it was like 7AM, and that was a fiasco in itself with him getting lost to pick me up, hitting rare for AMS traffic on the way to the airport, and then dropping me off at the wrong terminal and quickly driving away before I could flag him down.
Normally that wouldn’t be an issue, but I had three heavy suitcases containing my entire life that I was transporting, so it really slowed me down.
Made for a great workout though because I didn't get a cart - just strong-armed them and jammed to T. Swift :)
Side note that I did not find any of this stressful. I knew I was running late, but honestly thought I would make it just in time.
I swear I do love airports even though I won't show up to them on time!
I experience anxiety over a lot of things, but the travel journey is not one of them. I've traveled enough to know that shit always happens, so you just gotta go with the Universal flow and enjoy the ride!
I made it to the United desk to check my bags around 8AM and when I told her my flight the gate agent was like "Oooh - let me call down about that one..." which is never a good sign, but I kept calm because I'd never give anyone attitude or bad vibes because I'm the explorer that's always late.
FLIGHT MISSED. My bags had missed the cut off time to get on the plane by like 10 minutes!!
At some airports, I've been able to successfully convince them to bend the rules - but not with the Dutch, they're steadfast and have excellent systems that even I can't manipulate.
I totally would have made it if I weren't checking bags though! #JUSTSAYIN
Just wondering now if I could have just taken that direct flight to EWR and had my bags come in on another one?!
So then I was like OK cool where I can fly to then because I'm getting rid of these suitcases right now regardless.
There were no other options that day going into NYC or Philadelphia and she tried to book me on a flight the next day... but I pressed for more options and it turned out there was a flight to Chicago in a few hours!
My first thought - YASSS CHICAGO PIZZA!!! (The Dutch do most things right, but pizza is not one of them, and I needed good pizza after the morning I had! LOL)
So a flight to Chicago it was!
I had her travel hack a flight from AMS to CHI then CHI to EWR for the same day and it all worked out.
It didn't cost me anything but time - I am a United Premier Gold Member so I'm sure having status helped with the re-booking and not getting charged.
If you ever find yourself in this kind of situation - I promise you that staying calm and kind will get you very far no matter where in the world you are.
I arrived home around nine hours later than planned and was definitely drained, but overall I was elated to get two flights in (daydreaming and reading time FTW) plus Chicago pizza during my layover while still making it home the same day.
Have YOU ever missed a flight? Or a train? Or a bus? Travel shit always happens and those adventures are my favorite to hear!
WHERE I'M TRAVELING
- On the road again - taking the train down to Richmond, Virginia today to celebrate my college BFF Victoria's baby shower! I'm so grateful to have a flexible schedule now so I can easily make time and trips like this for friends and family. I wouldn't miss this for the world, and there's no place I'd rather be this weekend.
WHO I'M HIRING (!)
- You're hearing it here first! I'd prefer to work with folks already in my community :) I'm looking to collaborate with and hire a few part-time side hustlers as I build out a variety of projects going into next year.
- Still working out the job specs - but in general looking for a virtual assistant, a project manager, and a social media/content manager. If you LOOOVE any of those things, hit reply and LMK why!
HOW I'M BUILDING MY BUSINESS
- My traveling nomad life is part of my business so I've got to start treating it as such. Now that I'm conscious of the underestimating recovery time cycle I mentioned in the intro above, I'm actively taking note of the time and tasks I need to adjust during these nomad transitions so I can better plan for them.
- Forever inspired by Jenny Blake's crazy-smart systems, I developed a Travel Debrief based off of our recent JBE Team Momentum Launch Debrief so I can automate this process and continue to improve with every trip and every move!
NYC EVENT I'M GOING TO
- The United Women in Business Foundation presents Ladies Who Hustle! My FAVORITE UWIB event of the year!!! Next Tuesday 11/19/19 in New York City - grab your ticket here and hit reply if you're meeting me there :)
- Join us for a fun and informative evening as we conduct a panel discussion with five outstanding women who have hustled hard for their success. Attendees will have the chance to learn the ins and outs of what it takes to make a side hustle a reality - or full-time career! After the panel discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to network and participate in a Q&A session with the panelists.
Now let's go and enjoy every part of the journey, one day at a time!
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