Travel and a Misplaced Phone
While traveling alone this past Christmas, I misplaced my phone.
I had it on the drive to the airport. But when you arrive at 0’dark-thirty along with everyone else traveling for the holiday, it can be a bit of a cluster at the terminal. While approaching, we made a move for my drop-off sooner than I had anticipated. It was dark, and it was raining, and there were cars everywhere. In order to keep it moving, I jumped out, grabbed my bag, said my goodbyes, my ride pulled away, and I ran into the abyss.
Once inside the airport, there were a lot of people, the noise level was high, and the lines were very long. Security was attempting to keep the crowds calm, but the energy was palpable. I have frequently flown alone, so I wasn’t overly concerned. I knew to stay focused and to follow the herd.
As I approached the kiosk to print my luggage tags, I went to grab my phone, which, of course, was where I had stored my itinerary, boarding pass and gate numbers, but it wasn’t there. I looked again. It had to be there. I looked again. It still wasn’t there. This is when I began talking to myself. “Don’t panic. Breathe. Look harder.'“ Attempt number two. It. Still. Wasn’t. There. “Focus. You are getting on this plane regardless of the phone.” Due to the chaos surrounding the airport this particular morning, I did not have time to get out of line and go looking for it. It was time to prioritize. And my priority was getting to my destination for Christmas.
Using my credit card, I was able to access my travel information at the kiosk. And yes, they could have done this for me with my ID at the ticket counter, but that would’ve meant standing in an even longer line. While checking my bag, I asked the ticket agent to please call my phone, but I knew it was silenced, and, of course, no one answered. I finally went back outside to see if it was laying in the street. It was not there. I then checked in with two different ticket agents and security to see if anyone had turned a phone in. I did not find it outside and no one had turned one in. At this point my hope was it was still on the seat of the car.
As I made my way through security, I had plenty of time to contemplate next steps. I was beginning to feel isolated, alone and really upset that we’ve become so dependent on these devices. I was not prepared for this to happen. I’m organized! At this point I was more annoyed than anything. Thank goodness I wore my watch that day or I wouldn’t have even known what time it was.
Important lessons learned and some key takeaways to share about this adventure:
Memorize your most important phone numbers
I did not know one single telephone number. I was completely disappointed in myself, and I’m still embarrassed to admit it. How could I now know any phone numbers? I used to be able to keep track of dozens of numbers! Whatever means necessary, I encourage you to memorize them. To help me memorize phone numbers, I’ve actually began entering the numbers into the phone directly rather than just looking up the contact. I have also written down three important numbers and now have them tucked away in my wallet.
Print out your itinerary and boarding pass prior to going to the airport
I know, I know, everyone wants to go paperless, and trust me, I completely support saving as many trees as we possibly can. But it’s important to be prepared as things don’t always go the way we’ve planned. Especially when you are traveling alone.
If someone is meeting you at the airport, make prior arrangements
My son was picking me up. As I have made this trip many times, I did not text or call before leaving because it was early in the morning. He had my flight schedule, and I always text right when I land. Sometimes I check a bag; sometimes I do not. Sometimes we meet at the curb; sometimes we meet at the baggage claim. We did not establish a plan on where to meet exactly prior to my departure. At this point, he had no way to know if I had even made it on the flight.
Make sure your location tracking device is enabled on your phone
So yes, there are these amazing apps and location-tracking features, but here’s the catch: You need a device to find your device and your device needs to be enabled. I had no such extra device. And even if you are lucky enough to have a flight attendant (or a stranger) be kind and let you use their phone, tablet, or computer, you need to know the password for the device you are needing to locate. Which brings us to our next nugget…
Use a password manager
Embarrassingly enough, I had not used one before and was a bit old school when it came to this. Until recently I had all my passwords written on a hidden piece of paper. Not a good idea! Since this recent experience, I have begun using LastPass. It is free, or you can upgrade to a premium version. It will safely store all of your passwords, but you will need to remember one master password in order to access it. It can also store your ID and passport information, as having a digital record of both of these is extremely helpful in case they were to be lost or stolen. A catch: If you sign in from a device it doesn’t recognize, you may need to verify it with your email. But you can’t get into your email without your password! Memorize your email password.
How did my story conclude? I did know the email address of the person who had dropped me off at the airport. And the agent at the gate was kind enough to let me use her phone to send an email right before I boarded my flight. He promptly read the email and utilized social media to contact my son, who was happily waiting for me when I arrived. And, yes, my phone did end up being found (eventually) on the seat of the car.