Another day, another round of reservations. I dove deep into the fare structures, bathing in the information like a sea creature, wriggling around rules and airport connections and odd flight times to get the best fares. I snapped up upgrade seats, snick snack! I fought hard for the clients' rights when hotel clerks didn't want to let me cancel reservations without a penalty, or refused to honor rates booked weeks before. I wouldn't let airline reservations agents tell me to take it or leave it. I demanded to speak to managers, supervisors, and counter agents, and didn't give up until they did the right thing for my clients. I queried small discrepancies. I refused to be brushed off. All day long I juggled callbacks, incoming calls, emailed requests, voicemail. Oh, I was fierce today in pursuit of the best. I emerged at 5:30 bruised in spirit but victorious.
Yes, it's been like that all week. Yes, I'm very tired.
This evening, American Airlines treated our agency to a play in San Jose. It was La Cage aux Folles, which is a sweet little story. Boy, that's weak praise; I'm sure you'll run right out to see it now. I guess I wasn't ready for drag queens eMOting and ACTing and VAMPing like mad, proclaiming they were what they were. I was more in the mood for a symphony. Well, truthfully, I just felt too tired to properly appreciate it. I like drag shows once in a while. You can't live in San Francisco and not see one; heck, all you have to do is walk down 18th in the Castro any night. Still, I enjoyed the production, and the singing was terrific, and the costumes were from the original Broadway production and they were faaaabulous, darling, they really were. There was one actor who was outstanding: Steven X. Ward was a huge scene stealer as the "maid" Claudine. I'm definitely going to consider seeing another play there because the Performing Arts Center has decent acoustics and good seats. And heck, I'll probably rent The Birdcage now that I know the story.
The high point of the evening was learning we definitely won another set of free tickets anywhere American flies. Acapulco is now on for March, and Chile is confirmed for November. I am one happy little agent today. Arriba!
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