Traveling on the east coast can be tricky during the holidays. I usually plan to be back a day early, just in case the snow decides to cause some trouble in the form of delays or cancellations. I narrowly escaped the Denver airport fiasco two years ago, which taught me some important lessons. For the most part, I’ve learned: which cities to avoid (seasonally) with layovers and plane switches; which airlines will help you, and which ones will just deal with you; that it takes me a full day of traveling to get home, so the earlier I leave the better. Aside from Denver (which doesn’t technically count, because crisis was averted), I’ve never had a flight cancelled. Lucky me.
Until Sunday……but really, with the prediction of a five-inch snowfall, I should’ve expected it.
I went to check in at the airport, only to learn that my first flight was delayed so long that I would miss my connection. Not that it mattered, because my connecting flight was cancelled, “Due to weather.” I was then asked, “Well, is it imperative that you make it to Baltimore tonight?” Um, if it wasn’t, would I have booked the flight for today? Right.
I won’t go into details: dealing with airline personnel is not a pleasant experience. Bottom line, my internship director is always accommodating, a new flight was booked for the next day at noon, and I’m just fine.
Since this gave me one more night away from the apartment, and a little extended “break,” I decided to use it wisely. Traveling with my laptop and books clearly does not ensure that I’ll do work, because…well, I didn’t. And I know that for me, just getting the smaller things out of the way makes the big things seem much more attainable. So, on Sunday night I got some little homework things done.
A year ago I used this mentality to get through my finals week and Christmas break with at least one less thing to worry my stressed out mind. I knew that by mid-February I needed to have five application packets signed, sealed and ready to ship out. To make progress, I made a new deadline. By December 20, I handed out my packets* to the three people who wrote my letters of recommendation, and I had the first draft of my cover letter saved onto my computer. At the time, I knew I had a lot more to do before everything was ready. But, at the time, it felt good to check one or two things off of that list. And it felt good to know I could head into my holiday break, and actually enjoy the extra time, just for me.
*First, ask the people you want to write your letters of recommendation if they would be willing to do this for you. Then, when you’ve decided which programs you’re applying to, put together a packet for your references to make the process smoother and ensure that you get what you need. I typed up a list of the programs I was applying to, including the Internship director’s name and address (office address). I added a copy of my transcript and resume (for their reference), and stamped envelopes for them to put each reference letter in, addressed to the specific program. You may also want to include a “thank-you” note.
Posted by Mary Ellen Nunes at 12/03/2008 03:04:40 PM |