Getting Here or Always Trust Your Instinct, Ali

So, I was supposed to fly out from San Antonio at 7 AM on Thursday, March 29 , after visiting my family for three weeks, to LA and then cross the Pacific to Seoul. I'd spent the last month and a half getting all of the paperwork together and tying all of the necessary loose ends. On Wednesday night I had finally whittled down my possessions to what I would be taking with me. I was so satisfied that I was able to get a good night's sleep free of worry. I got up on time and got to the airport about an hour and a half before takeoff. I expected that I might have an issue with TSA at the check-in counter as is often the case when I fly. But, aside from having to wait behind Ma and Pa Kettle, things went smoothly and I was in the security line with still about 50 minutes to spare. The security line moved slowly and I had to be "specially checked" after going through the metal detector. Fine. I did all of that and made it to the gate at about 7:00, just in time for the boarding to begin.

Now, I wish I could explain to you the layout of the gate area. I was to leave out of gate 15. Gate 15 was in the very far corner of the terminal and it shared that corner, including the waiting area, with gate 16. Walking to the gate or sitting in the waiting area one could not really tell who was lining up to board the plane, because there was a huge brick wall in front of the walkway. When I got to the waiting area, I saw my plane parked outside and I saw hundreds of people sitting in the waiting area. At the time, I really didn't notice gate 16. I don't know, I'll blame it on the time of day. Anyway, I thought, "Hmm, we must be boarding late," and I sat down with my back to the window. I began to fidget with my iPod and to get my reading materials together.

After some time, (I don't really know how much time, I wasn't really paying attention, why pay attention to time at an airport) a woman called on the PA system, "Passengers Ali Armstrong and Blah blah blah, please come to the front desk at gate 15." She pronounced "Ali" like "Alley." My very first reaction was to get up and go up to her. But, then something told me to sit down when I saw what must have clearly been Ali Armstrong (an older blonde white woman) and some other guy named Blah blah blah go up to the desk.

"Ahh, these must be the stand-by passengers," I thought. "Hmm, I wonder how that woman spells her name, A-l-i or A-l-l-y? She has the same last name as my sister." Then, I went back to what I was doing.

I never looked at the time again. No one had moved in the waiting area. I saw what must have been the flight crew disappear behind the brick wall.

"Boy, this plane sure is getting off late. Were we waiting on the crew all this time?" I wondered.

Some time later, the same woman's voice said over the PA, "Now boarding flight..."

"Finally."

"...beedee beedee to San Francisco..."

"What? San Francisco?"

Everyone around me began to rise and head for the brick wall. I jumped up and spun around only to see the lonely jetway jutting out of gate 15 and stopping right next to where the plane sat moments earlier.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiit!" I ran up to the lady and told her that I had just missed the flight to LA. In the next blurry couple of hours I learned a few things. The woman said that she had called my name. Then I figured out that she had not called passengers Alley Armstrong and Blah Blah Blah, but passengers Ali, Armstrong and Blah Blah Blah. Well, why the hell did she call my first name and their last names. Turns out my name was inverted on the ticket, thanks to the travel agency. The name on the ticket read ALI/ANSARI (It never occurred to me that it was Lname/Fname). I called the airline and travel agency only to find that there were practically no other open flights available flying from SA to LA (or even Austin to LA) until the 7th of April. I guess it was Spring Break or something. I think SXSW was over by then, whatever. There was a $500+ flight that day on Southwest that would still get me to my flight to Seoul on time, but there was no way I was paying $500 for a Southwest flight from TX to California, even in an emergency. I didn't want to wait until the 7th and the next open flight to Korea was at 1 AM on Sunday morning. That's the flight I had to make and the flight that I eventually did make. How, you ask?

I took an alternate route.

Morals of the story: 1) Trust your instinct, Ali, not that voice that tries to silence it and 2) you've lived with your name for 34 years, you know good and well that "Alley," "Ailey" and "Al-lie" all mean "Ali."