Adventures of the new girl: week 1- laughter and credit cards

There are so many moments where laughter is a good thing. A necessity. If I have learned anything looking back on week 1 of travel season, this would be it. Let me start from the beginning...
As you all know, I flew to Sacramento on September 11th. A fact that I was less than thrilled about. I know that TSA runs a tight ship, but I could just picture my plane being the one that ends up having some kind of bad person on it. Knowing my luck, I'd probably be sitting by them. (I have quite the imagination. It did not serve me well in this case) The morning before I left, a sweet older man at my church reminded me, 'you won't be flying alone, Katy. You're in the Lord's hands.' I had no idea I'd be reminded of this throughout my travels. This was just the first of many opportunities to remind myself of that truth. So, I checked my two humungous bags, took a deep breath and looked gate 3C I wandered through the airport and evetually found 3C...it was the furthest gate out. I walked for what seemed like a mile on the outside Tarmac, with the awkwardly long display board bag hanging off my shoulder. I boarded the plane, sweating profusely, and worked my way down the aisle, moving carefully so as not to smack some poor unsuspecting person in the head. I found my seat and loaded my stuff overhead and sat down on a sticky leather seat, waiting anxiously to see who my seat buddy would be. To my surprise, a robust woman decked out in patriotic reds, whites and blues, wearing bright lip stick came my way. Her husband, whom she must've dressed, sat across the aisle from her. He was wearing an American flag t-shirt and a straw hat. In the first 5 minutes she called me 'dear' 3 times and told me all about her family. We became fast friends. She talked to me for the entire flight and when it was time to land, she gave me her phone number and made me promise that if I ever needed anything that I would call her. She even offered to have her gay son and his partner let me stay a night at their home. How nice. :) We landed safely, I made a new friend who was proud to be an American, and our plane was not hijacked. So far, so good.
I picked up my rental car, a Dodge Journey, and traveled to my hotel. Upon arrival, I was surprised, not in a good way by my 'home' for the next few nights. It was one of those rooms you lock yourself into, close the windows and don't leave til morning. Not that I was unsafe, but I was definitely not in the lap of luxury. The first two days of school visits were fairs, which allowed me to make friends with other Admissions counselors and 'get my feet wet' in the admissions travel world. The whole week was going perfectly. I had not yet run late to a visit, I was gaining confidence, and was really starting to enjoy myself. Late Thursday afternoon, I stopped for gas. Uh-oh...self pump. I had totally forgotten! I got out, inserted the pump and filled my tank. I felt very proud of myself for accomplishing this task with such ease. When it was finished I printed my receipt and drove away towards where the fair would be that evening, feeling pretty good about myself.
The next morning I left my hotel and stopped at Starbucks on my way to my school visit which was an hour and a half away. When I went to purchase my drink, I couldn't find my Corban credit card. I stepped aside, searched my bag, then felt sick to my stomach as I realized where it was...outside on top of the pump at the gas station where I had pumped my gas the day before! I had not had my card for about 20 hours! Now I had a choice: fight or flight (thank you, Seth). I took a deep breath, whispered a prayer, and got down to business. With the help of Jared, who calmly talked me through how this should be handled, I dialed the visa customer service number to track down the card. Within 10 minutes I was talking to a heavily-accented man over speaker phone explaining my predicament while being stuck in traffic on my way out of town. I pictured some stranger having the time of his time purchasing a lifetime supply of cigars and a Plane ticket to Tahiti. I was going to put a stop to that! In the end, The card was canceled and I was 10 minutes late to my school where only 1 student showed up. However, despite this frustrating start to my day, I found myself in a very odd state of calm. As I prayed, I had a confidence that God was going to take care of all the details. I later called the gas station just to see if they had seen my card. The lady told me that yes, they did have it, and it was still waiting for me if I wanted to pick it up! I will always be thankful for that good Samaritan who found it and turned it in. It was already canceled so I am without a corban credit card for the rest of my trip, but at least now I can rest knowing that there is one less bad person traveling to Tahiti. At least not on my tab. God is so good.
I cannot conclude without some details about my saturday adventure to San Francisco. Wow, what a day! Here is an outline of some highlights of this day:
-Parked in the ghetto area of town called the Tenderloin district. Oops. Don't worry, I have pepper spray just in case. Thanks, mom and dad!
-Met a nice couple from Damascus, Oregon (10 minutes from my house!) that let me cut in line and travel with them to Pier 39
-Got stopped by the 'sexy police'....what, they had a badge, it was legit! ;)
-Ate a clam chowder bread bowl on the pier, overlooking the water.
-Rode a cable car down Nobb Hill- they let me stand on the outside! I've never more felt like Judy Garland in my life. It was a true 'Meet me in St, Louis' moment. It took everything in me not to breakout into song like a musical.
-Enjoyed really rich chocolate ice cream in Ghiradelli Square
-Took a boat ride tour of San Francisco Bay. Went under the Golden Gate Bridge and past Alcatraz. Did you know that six prisoners who attempted to escape Alcatraz are still unaccounted for?? Creepy.
- Took a picture of a man painted in gold who was posing as a statue, not knowing that you have to tip them for any pictures taken. I searched my bag and found no spare change. Desperately, I offered him a stick of gum. He shook his head, puckered up, and pointed to his lips, raising one eyebrow. I laughed and said, 'no way! That's way too valuable!" he laughed and nodded. He settled with the stick of gum.

This concludes week 1 of the adventures of the new girl. I hope I have given you a clear picture of what I have experienced thus far, and a clear picture of how God is taking care of me, from the big to the small things. I am now settled into a cozy couch in the corner of a Starbucks, sipping a hot cup of coffee, reflecting on the events of this past week. I am ready for another week! Let's hope it's a little less eventful, though. Either way, I'm going to face it head on. And I bet I will be laughing.