I used to work as a quality assurance officer, and one of the most challenging aspects of the the job was ensuring the product meets the buyers standards. And that may sound reasonably easy but when each buyer comes from a different continent, language, culture and political background, your product must now take on many faces and make sense of it all.
Spoiler alert - none of this would be possible without the very tangible hand of God so be prepared to see me rate Him up.
For instance, one of my most trusted luggage pieces broke on the way here. Not too much that it was still useful but enough to know that its mileage was over. That resulted in me, unwillingly, purchasing a Fly Lite piece to the point where I held unto the receipt. Because who isn't still in love with their ex at some point. Fly Lite weighs only 3.4kg which apparently makes a big difference when you need to pack away 2 years of items. It became a bottomless pit that made even room for all the pointless knick knacks I collected along the way.
Why was this a Godsend? Because late Novemeber to early January is embargo month aka we can't let all you folks play Santa Claus all at the same time. No more than 2 bags, whether it was paying for an extra in New Zealand or paying for them all in the US. I gotta give hats off to the Air NZ crew for being the kindest yet passionate agents. They were patient enough to talk me through my options and accommodate my circumstances. Like misplacing my boarding pass and last minute hugs at Palmy, you know the usual👀
Speaking of circumstances, covid regulations are changing just as quickly. The day of my travel coincided with NZ'S introduction of the Traffic Light System.
Everyone is required to attain a Vpass in order to access certain events and business. Since I was departing on said day and had an International Vcert I figured I was in the clear. Turns out it's good enough to enter another country but not good enough to enter a convenience store on the Christchurch airport. My hungry and exhausted self may or may not have found a helpful patron. And that tided me over till Auckland.
This was perfect since our flight from Christchurch to Auckland cancelled their snack service. And it was only then it occurred to me, how were we going to eat on the plane? Coming up with all these regulations couldn't have been easy for policy makers who would have to preempt every situation. That's why as a population we do have an obligation to hold up out end of the bargain.
At Auckland I got to see just what it would be like to live life in the red. Unlike the airport, the city was teaming with lively groups, happy to escape 4 month lock down. With only a Vpass necessary, people were bursting through bars and cafes, having beachside picnics and preaching Jesus on the sidewalk. And as I was told, that wasn't even the city on full speed.
Turns out people are still taking it easy when it comes to travel. Not only were 80% of the DF stores closed but our flight was super empty (So much for last minute souvenir shopping). I remember thinking that I messed up because I love window seats for long trips but chose an aisle for bathroom convenience. God, in what was one of several instances He showed up, had other plans. Turns out no one ever came to my row, leaving me with the best of both worlds and the assurance of a safe eating space.
But more than both seats was the ability to sleep. The last time I had a three seater to myself I was 13 years flying to NY alone. Being able to stretch out for 12 hours was just what my body deserved. I think it deserved the lamb dinner too but some may disagree.
That window view that I wanted, well that one took a while to figure out. Unlike the older AA fleet of Boeings, Air NZ windows use photosensitive technology. With the touch of a button, the tint could be adjusted from clear to pitch black in about 60 secs. However, I didn't figure this out until we were about to land and I have pictures of pink clouds to prove it.
HOLLYWOOD...much further away and not on my list of the day. Plus we had history. Oh no. My eyes were on Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach, home to some of the most amazing sunsets and only an hour away. But by the time I sorted myself, it was too late, the sun had set and traffic was unreliable.
Plan B was getting an In n Out burger at the Airplane viewing park but I was still full from my back-up Subway sandwiches. So I settled for a UFO sighting.
This Theme Building is described as a home to non profit organizations as well as observation deck. But all I saw was tarp and security. Code for stay away and that I did.
Instead I did what any reasonable lady would do. I shopped. If you didn't know, LAX has at least 6 different terminals all accessible by tunnel. Coach to Victoria's Secret, Wolfgang Puck to KFC. After getting through a TSA pre-check that I didn't book (because God), I waddled my behind towards the lights, camera and action.
Unlike Auckland Airport, this place was pretty hype. Even if it meant sitting next to Dunkin Donuts while they cleaned to 90s RnB. Does it get more American than that?
These sales almost cost me my flight as I haggled with the vendor just how much 10oz bottles I could bring on my flight (turns out as many as I want). There I was running with chicken wrap in hand to wait for my group number to be called. Am I the only one who gets flash backs of Key and Peele airport skits on the airport? Like the boarding call for old, religious people with military babies?
The only eventful thing was that someone reported an anti masker to the air hostess. And I will admit, that there was a loose guarding of the gate but I'm simply happy to make it out safe and
alive. Five sleeps later and we were pulling up to Miami.
Your girl was hungry to say the least. But living in NZ had erased my taste for Starbucks, and my intestines still remember my last experience with Manchu Wok, so I kept walking. Suddenly I came to my gate and was out of options. Until I paid attention to what was in front of me. Tons of pizza and Cuban coffee. I put a guava and cheese empanada with that and was all set to get home.
The sweetest thing about being on the last leg of flight home is that there a guarantee of meeting old and new friends. Some I didn't recognise and to this day, my brain is still trying to make a connection. On the flip side, I found a potential relative who knew my uncle in Liberia. The kind of things that made me smell home.
Overall, I couldn't deny how awesome this trip was, from the the 3 seater from Auckland to Los Angeles to being at the front of a TSA pre check that I didn't even book. The little things that just continued to work in my favour. The immigration agent who was horrible to everyone but took 30secs to process me. When I consider all the blessings of this trip, it's hard to dwell on the things that didn't work out (which were few and far in between). I plan to apply this mindset to my life - let the good outweigh the bad. After all darkness has already overcome the light.
