Gettin' Outta Dodge - YQR

After 3 delays totaling 3hrs, I left -34C behind on an evening flight.

Sad to say bye to Rick & pets, especially my soul-mate Sam 🐕. There were tears. Looking forward to spending time with Naila and seeing new lands.

Our Air Canada gate agent was a friendly and warm badass. We chatted. I was one of the names called to double-check all my documents were in order. Was Air Canada spying on me? Did they know how much angst was involved in me getting my travel visa for Vietnam? Did they know I got it with only hours to spare and my backup plan was to go anyway and hope it showed up somewhere along my path (which I know now is ridiculous as it was checked at every airport).

This gate agent announced she wanted to fill this plane as quickly as possible so we could get on our way and then proceeded to be as efficient and bossy as a drill sergeant. She juggled with ease and very clear instructions, dealing with too much carry-on for the flight, people who didn't have documents ready as they approached, and cracked the whip to keep the line moving. Everytime some did something studpid, she'd make an announcement to correct said behaviour in the rest of us 😆 . Really if everyone loaded a plane like this traveling would be easier.Read more