Benefitting From Frequent Flier (S)Miles

Nomadic Lifestyle

I tend to take a bit of sport in blasting the TSA for their treatment of travelers and their draconian rules. This is a highly unproductive task and I need to re-adjust my perception and stop creating negative energy. A recent experience in airports has driven that point home and I begin to think that there may be two sides to horror stories told by travelers, granted I can easily envision agents abusing their power but I also realize that some people may have a mis-guided sense of entitlement and because they can’t manage a smile or a kind word to their fellow human being may create a negative situation for themselves.

After fifteen months of working a job in Antarctica my own visage resembles that of an escaped mental patient and I haven’t got a whole lot of interest in cleaning that up. I do realize that appearances mean a lot and if one has nothing else to go on, judgments, sometimes harsh, are made on appearance alone. I did make an attempt at cleaning my appearance up a little – I figured if I toned it down a bit that customs and the TSA might not give me a hard time.

After a twelve plus hour flight from New Zealand to Los Angeles I was a bit frazzled and out-of-sorts. Additionally, the metal detectors at LAX are apparently quite a bit more sensitive than those in New Zealand. I was traveling with carry-on only so I had a huge caravan of tubs to put through the X-ray machine. With all of this going on I missed a few coins in my pocket so when I tried to walk through the metal detector I set it off. The very kind TSA agent suggested I check my pockets and try again. I checked, fished out the coins and added another tub to my caravan. I set off the metal detector again. I just knew that I was in for an anal probe after the second time, but I kept my head up, kept smiling and directed the interaction between myself and the agent in a positive manner. He actually gave me another chance and helped me find the culprit – a packet of drink mix that had been in my pocket since my flight from McMurdo to Christchurch. I stayed cheery, the agent remained very professional and our interaction was conducted in a positive manner and ended well. I could have just as easily allowed my frustration to overtake the situation and probably would have created an undesirable situation for myself.

A couple of other examples of how a smile and positive attitude helped: In Christchurch I was reluctant to show up the recommended two hours ahead of my flight. When I did show up I was running out of time to get checked in. The serpentine line to check in looked like it was 45 minutes or more – however, the “Qantas Club” line had nobody in it. I held my head high, put on a huge smile and approached the podium – had a friendly and upbeat interaction with the agent and checked in for my flight in less than five minutes – I can’t imagine that would have turned out that well if I had approached him with some sort of attitude created from my own failure to show up two hours ahead of my flight. I also circumvented the security line at LAX by smiling and joking around with the person charged with filtering out the cretins from the first class security line. She allowed me to use a smile and a positive attitude in lieu of a first class ticket to move to the front of the line.

I guess the point is, I understand how the frustrations of travel can put one’s mood off. The problem is, if you allow things like delays get you upset you will not only be delayed, you will be delayed and pissed off and your problems will be compounded. Keep your head up and create a positive atmosphere for yourself and those around you.

Will @ November 17, 2008