Hate Crime

Oh, so the other day I was thinking about my blog, and thinking that I never have anything happen to me that is blog worthy... (Remember people, I live in Dewey...) And then I had a moment of sudden realization. Realization that I was a total idiot for not remembering this rather large thing going on in my life. So to shed some light on it, let me tell you a story.

Once upon a time I went to Salt Lake, and after a difficult trip, which included breaking up with my lover... I flew back home. (The best part was staying with my sista friend, Kristen!!) So I was a little distraught to go back to Arizona. I'm pretty sure that there were some tears involved... But I had to go. You know, family was there, and good stuff like that. So I get to the airport, and check in with my luggage. Nothing out of the ordinary. I was worried that my flight would be delayed because of the weather. "Of course not," I thought. "That sort of thing never happens to me." I continued ignorantly. Foolish girl. Well, my flight was not delayed. Everything was going well, and according to plan. I landed, and had kind of a funny feeling. I attributed it to being back in the state of Arizona. But pushed it aside, determined to be happy, and focus on seeing my wonderful family again. So I went to the baggage claim to go get my luggage. The only problem was: it was not there. Yes, dear readers. Southwest lost my luggage. It was a moment of, "Are you kidding me right now?" And just like those Prescott Valley people, they were quite serious. "Oh dear..." was all I could think. There may have been a few colorful words in there too, but we can sum it up with "Oh, dear." So I go and talk to the Southwest Baggage Official People. They give me the normal, "Well are you just a moron?" deal first. I assured them that I did check baggage, and that I was looking on the right carousel, and that it was indeed not there. Once we got past the moron phase, I had to give them all of my information. That was fun. I was ready to give a blood sample too. Luckily my blood was not necessary. Just my patience. Which after seeing how the man in line before me was clearly lacking patience, I decided to give a little extra. It worked well. They gave it one more pointless search around the baggage area. My bag was no where to be found. Sadly, I got on my shuttle, and tried to ignore the jabs about the lack of luggage from the shuttle driver. I think he was disappointed. It meant no tip for him. I had two hours to think and reflect how losing that bag was a perfect way to end the trip. That was a fun ride home... Then once I finally got back to Dewey I had to figure out what all was in my precious bag. Many VERY sentimental items. Basically my entire wardrobe was in there. I couldn't figure out what I wanted to wear, since after all, the original point of the trip was to see my lover. So I took almost everything to have choices. That was smart... All of my clothes that I bought in New York, my scriptures, my make-up, my bag from Disneyland, my drugs, (That was fun...) My phone charger...basically everything I owned. It was horrible. I won't lie.

I prayed, and prayed. I called Southwest everyday for a week to see if they had any news for me. It was never good news... So on the fifth day some lady called, and was like: "Sorry. They only award $50 in replacement. But still send in your information to get your claim." Luckily I hung up the phone before I really freaked out. My freakin' Wicked Hoodie was $60!!! That would be oh, so helpful!!!! I was so mad. I wanted to egg Southwest...or something undesirable. Something. I prayed instead. I just figured that this really sucked, and I would have to make it work. So I made arrangements to go with my mom down to Phoenix to go shopping. Because of course, Prescott has NOTHING!! (Unless you are a cowgirl, which I am most definitely NOT) So we went shopping, and I tried to replace my closet. Well $700 later, I almost have everything replaced. It has been insane. I still have to try and get my stuff from New York replaced. I have no idea how much that will cost. OH MY WHAT FUN!!! So thank you, Southwest. Now I REALLY have to get a job up in Rexburg. But I found out something about myself. I am not really a freak-out-in-your-face-when-you-ruin-my-life kind of person. That is one positive. And I got some cute new clothes. And I was able to make many jokes out of this. So that was good. I was grateful. I would never, EVER want to do this again though. I wasn't that grateful. So I sent a letter to Southwest, with a list of everything in my bag and a picture. I really hope that they find it. The odds are not exactly what you would call good, but I'm hopeful. So the moral of this is that I was a victim of a hate crime. (Well I hated it!!!) This is the picture that I sent in. So if you see anything like this, let me know. Thank you, and goodnight.