Freyr

So on Friday, two days ago, I put in my two week noticed at my current retail pharmacy job.

It's been, a bit of an adventure. With me leaving, officially none of the pharmacy staff that came in post-store walkout in December 2022 are left. Including the store manager.

I don't talk too much about my Buddhist practice online, but recently I was able to give my experience at our LGBTQIA+ conference as well as attend my first ever conference for my practice.

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On the way back from Ft. Lauderdale on Monday the 14th, I had a connecting flight in Houston before flying into Denver. I arrive at the wrong baggage carousel because there are 4 Houston flights arriving at the same time, two with similar flight numbers. I recognize I'm at the wrong one and head to the right one.

Three bags are left, none of them mine.

I think to myself, "Hm, my bag is lost. What all is in it again?" Clothing and toiletries, minimal packing compared to going to work EVO the week before. Alcohol isn't allowed at the conference center so packing everything in 1 bag was easy, I only needed 1 pair of shoes for 4 days. Everything else I could live without for a few days or easily replace if I did need it.

I go to Southwest Baggage Support and open a ticket, there's another missing bag from the same flight so the employees think it may have fallen off the bag transport between the gate and the baggage claim.

I'm told after 5 days, they'll open a claim to get reimbursed for the bag. I'm also told when I come back to retrieve my bag they'll give me a $150 voucher for the trouble, something I didn't expect them to offer.

Each day at the time I opened the ticket, I got an update. No bag found yet. In 72 hours we'll open a ticket, 48 hours, 24 hours. Saturday, still no bag. A new email pops up that I can submit receipts for the bag and its contents to be reimbursed.

Oh, right. The bag I brought I was given by my parents when I moved out, some of my clothes I've had for several years and the receipts long gone. I could maybe scrounge the toiletries receipts if I dug enough but I know some of those were shredded and recycled already. Whoops.

I accepted volunteering to emcee a Buddhist meeting Sunday morning, and as I go to bed to wake up early for said meeting I check my voicemails. I have one from Monday night.

"Hey this is [ground transportation company] with service from DIA to Fort Collins Colorado, do you have your right bag? We had a traveler grab a bag that wasn't theirs and we found your name and phone number in the bag for contact. Please give us a call back our number is-"

The funniest part of the voicemail to me was going inside my bag for my contact information, as I had a Never Give Up travel tag on the outside of my bag with all my contact information in the event the bag got lost.

I check their website and the service has shuttles as early as 2am. 1am Sunday morning I call, an operator picks up right away, I state my name and that I have a call about my lost bag. The operator asks me to describe it, and then afterwards, "Yep, your bag is right here in the office, I'm going to email management to let them know we had contact and to set up getting your bag back to you."

I go to bed and a few hours later wake up and emcee the Buddhist meeting, then I go immediately to a District Discussion Meeting, then have a call as an LGBTQIA leader in my practice for our upcoming intro meeting.

I call the transportation company again after I get home and follow up on when to expect my bag, what I need to provide them, etc.

"We don't have managers in on the weekend to set up dropping directly at your home, but if you're able to get to the airport we can send it on our next shuttle to meet you there. Next shuttle will meet at 4pm."

I have the rest of the day off and public transit across the city is free, including to and from the airport until the end of the month.

At 4:30pm Sunday the 20th, I get my bag back. Then I go to Southwest Baggage Support and close my ticket, explaining what happened. Despite it not being their fault, Southwest was appreciative I was honest with them and actively closed the ticket (rather than dooming it to being open forever). They gave me the $150 voucher they promised for finding my bag anyways.

5pm I get on a chapter leaders call for my Buddhist practice, riding the train back from the airport.

Been chanting all week my bag was going to come back, and when I got my bag home everything that I had checked in the bag was there. No accidents.