The 26th Annual International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts is coming up in March, and since I'll be presenting a paper there — "A Lull in the Conversation: Embedded Narrative in the Fiction of Kelly Link" — I figured it was time to make flight arrangements. I went on Expedia.com last Thursday (1/13) and bought two tickets, Raleigh to Fort Lauderdale and back. The last time I was at ICFA, two years ago, I went by myself, and even though I knew a few people there, it was pretty lonely. I'm really looking forward to Janet going with me this time.

The paper tickets arrived on Monday, and I shouted something that rhymes with "DUCK!" then proceeded to smack my forehead. My tickets were fine, but Janet's were under "Janet Chui." While this is her professional name, and what I call her, and what most of her friends call her, it is not, in fact, her legal name. None of her identification is under this name. Her passport, visa, student ID, ATM card, all of it is registered to "Jia Ee Chui."

Idiot. Stupid. Blockhead. Boob. Cretin. Dimwit. Dumbbell. Dunce. Dunderhead. Fool. Halfwit. Ignoramus. Imbecile. Jackass. Meathead. Mental defective. Moron. Nincompoop. Nitwit. Pinhead. Simpleton. Twit. I was all of these and more.

I called Expedia the next day to get the name changed on the tickets and then just to have them reissued. It was quickly made apparent that this simply couldn't be done. Since 9/11, airlines have gotten increasingly anal about security, and since paper tickets had been issued (the decision of the airlines, not my choice), they were non-refundable. I was told to try to contact the airlines directly, to see if they could possibly help me out.

Naturally, they couldn't. Their policy was the same: no name changes. Her ticket was worthless. I was out more than $200, just like that.

I called back Expedia and asked if I could get the money credited to my credit card, and they said it didn't work like that. They could credit "Janet Chui" toward a later flight, but the problem remained that "Janet Chui" doesn't exist in the legal sense. The money was gone.

Like I said in part one of these Sagas Three, I've been reading The Art of Happiness. In it, the Dalai Lama talks about patience, and dharma, and he spends a lot of time discussing ways that we can avoid letting the little things in life drive us crazy. One of his techniques is practicing acceptance (which goes along with the practice of patience), realizing that if every available option has been exercised and you still don't have the outcome you want, to accept that there are things in life you have no control over.

I talked to everyone I could talk to about this situation, but the fact was that because of my goof-up, I was out $200. And there was nothing I could do to bring that money back. I fumed for a while and beat myself up about it, then I accepted the situation and moved on. I was out the money, but it certainly wouldn't break us. We still can pay our rent and buy groceries and keep the electricity going. I wasn't happy about the situation, but once I accepted the reality, I was able to go to the next step.

I called Expedia yet again (I think this was on Wednesday by now), had them cancel Janet's tickets, and bought new tickets for the exact same flights. Fortunately, the same seats were available, since the flights were far from booked up, and we were easily able to get her on the same planes. For almost twice the price. The fares had shot up in less than a week, but if I wanted her on those flights, I had to pay them.

Her tickets arrived today, with the correct name on.

So, we're definitely going to ICFA. I reserved a room at the hotel. Now I have to send a check for conference membership and all that. Going to be an expensive trip, but hopefully I'll get some financial assistance from the two grants I'm applying for.

So the lesson learned: make sure you fill out the passenger's legal name before hitting that OK button to buy plane tickets. Nothing like losing $200 to teach you some humility.

Now Reading:
The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
and Howard C. Cutler

Stories Out to Publishers:
9

Books Read This Year:
2

Zines/Graphic Novels/Fiction Mags Read This Year:
1