2003-09-18/21Where is my ticket?

It's Thursday evening, and I still haven't got a ticket. E-mailed the organisation on Tuesday about this, but haven't had a reply yet. I wanted to go 2 days earlier -- with the KLM flight on Tuesday Sept. 23 of 16:50 hours. And I still haven't reserved a hotel for those days. Should I reserve one now? I decide to wait.

The next day I ask Marieke (our secretary) if she can find out whether anything has been booked. She's good in these things. Nope, I am not on the passengers list, KLM says.

In the evening at home there is finally a reaction: "The committee of the tournament said that they would send tickets today" -- very sorry, best regards, etc. Ok guys, that means if you send it on Friday by DHL I will have it on Monday, and if you send it later it might be here too late to catch my flight in time. But of course they could just tell KLM to print the ticket at the desk at Schiphol, and just let me know the reservation number -- I decide to wait -- again. Maybe another e-mail might help.

Website

Friday evening I see that the website of the tournament is coming on-line. I am getting a bit more confident that everything will work out. I see some familiar faces among the participants: Dimitriy, Vesa, Matthew. It will be nice to meet them again. But many participants are of course unknown to me.

Saturday

Just waiting...No ticket arrives. I send another mail, but it is of course weekend and I do not expect a reply.

Sunday

Just after I woke up my daughter tells me that some vandals broke off the left hand mirror of my car. I am not the only one: later I hear that some 70 to 80 cars were damaged. I'll have to go to the police station Monday morning to report it.

Monday morning

Surprise. Another e-mail arrives. Sorry, sorry, sorry, but I fly with Korean Air anyway, in via Frankfurt, out via London Heathrow. It takes about five minutes before I see that there is something strange with this e-mail. It says: the 22nd, and that is today! I call Korean Air to ask them if I can change to tomorrow, but they say they have to get permission from the head office, and given the time difference it is quite unlikely they will get it today.

I decide to go today. Rush to the police station to report the damage on my car. Pack my things in a hurry, I'll probably forget some things. My son can bring me to the airport (where he works -- the start of his shift is perfect: two hours before my plane leaves). Just minutes before we go I make a last minute reservation in the Seoul Hilton.

My son seems a bit worried about me. I have to get my tickets from the Korea Air office which is in a building about 5 minutes walk from the departure hall. He insists on showing me where it is, even though I know where that building is.