Haircuts & Missed Flights

Trafton B.

March 19, 2010 - 1:30 PM

Well, I'm sitting in the Eugene Airport right now and I have a little bit of bad news. I missed my flight home for spring break. Don't worry, I'm standby on another one that leaves later this afternoon. And technically I could still ride with my friends to the Bay Area tomorrow, but I'd really like to sleep in my own bed tonight. The one at my parent's house, that it. Not so much the one in Eugene.

It's especially disappointing considering that today started off with such real promise. This morning I had to finish up one last assignment before I could legitimately close the books on winter term 2010.

At 7:30 am, I woke up (miraculously) and put the finishing touches on my lesson plan for the Environmental Leadership Program. Then I tidied up the house a little, enjoyed the morning sunshine on my roof for a little bit before Winston came over to head to the barbershop.
It isn't often that I make a trip to a real barbershop for my bimonthly haircut. Actually, I can't remember the last time my hair was cut by someone other than my roommate, Ross, or my mother. Today, though, I had just cause to do so. For one, I have a few internship interviews next week so I need to look sharp. Also, there's a coupon in the UO Student Survival Pack for a free haircut from Sport Clips. How could I pass that up?

Sport Clips apparently is a national chain of barbershops that has bridges the gap between the modern women's salon and the old school men's barbershop. They have televisions on every wall playing games and highlights from the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Winston and I chatted with them about Mike Bellotti resigning as Athletic Director to become a football analyst on ESPN.

It was pretty sweet, if you ask me. They may have a returning customer.

Unfortunately, back to reality, I was cutting is far too close for United Airlines. I arrived at the airport around 12:45, the exact time my flight began boarding. I thought I'd be just fine. I had my computer out, belt off and toiletries bag ready for security check. Only one thing stopped me. I didn't realize that you had to check in 30 minutes before departure.

Now, I'm usually a professional at this stuff. I thrive under pressure situations. I just can't believe that after years an entire lifetime of travelling, I forgot to check-in online. It's so simple. If I'd just logged in online this morning when I woke up and printed out my boarding pass, I'd sitting on a plane 30,000 feet above Lake Shasta right now. Instead, I'm sitting in the airport terminal waiting for the flight attendant to call standby for an oversold flight.
I really screwed up on this one. At least I have a fresh new haircut.