What's Been and What's Ben

I recently found out that I did not have a flight back from Christmas. Denial (this can’t be). Anger (this is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass (the Big Lebowski reference)). Bargaining (what is the cheapest flight). Depression (this is my fault). Acceptance (never got here). It would have cost me $2700 to fly back at this late time during the busiest travel time of the year. I filed my paperwork back in October to use my once a year free round-trip flight from KAUST to go home for Christmas. My dance card is full back home between Chirstmas, New Years Eve, a GRE test, a trip to Boulder, and did I mention Christmas. This was all that gave me hope to get through this tough few weeks near the end of the semester where professors delayed lessons plans suddenly overwhelmed us with work. Writing this was a luxury.

KAUST never told me I didn’t have a flight. The reservation with the travel agent was canceled on November 13th. Paperwork was likely overhwelming for the sole staff member. Everything is back on track and my original flight has been confirmed. Thank God. I wanted to wait to blog about this until after the situation was resolved to give KAUST the benefit of the doubt because I feel that I am often hard on them. This was particularly upsetting because this wasn’t a large-scale problem that would take years to fix, but an administrative accident. The prospect of having Christmas taken away was all that I needed during this hectic time where I have four projects due within a 24-hour period. I had decided that if I had to buy my own ticket, it would have been a one-way. Luckily KAUST came through for me and I will get to finish out my masters degree. On a related front of KAUST doing what it should, they are compensating us for stuff damaged during the flood. Now onto the flood of work that will not stop until just before I board a plane next week. I may pull my first all-nighter since high school when I finished by IB extended essay (3947 words) on the viability of Huey Long in the 1936 US presidential election – had he not been assassinated – five years ago next Wednesday.