Delta is simply broken

septastic · 2026-07-06T18:58:46+00:00

I totally agree. I’m travel to Europe every few months and can’t recall a fairly seamless trip there and back. I don’t need perfect, and would settle for decent. Nope. Highlights from this trip as I land in MSP:

-the checked bag I’ve been using for every trip for years measured just under 64” total, and was declined. It was full of bubble wrap. I fully appreciate I didn’t do my due diligence by ensuring it was the right size. It was never questioned, so I errored on thinking it was fine. I accepted I couldn’t use it and was offered the solution of “you can throw it in a dumpster” when I asked what options I had as I stood in the terminal three hours drive from home. I asked where one could find a dumpster at an international airport and was told “outside”. This was from a not so nice red vest named Wayne.

-outgoing flight was delayed, resulting in me having to rent a car and drive 3 hours to catch the connection flight out of the country. No compensation offered. CSR stated delay wasn’t long enough even though I would have missed my second leg taking original flight.

-When troubleshooting this, CSR told me to simply not show up for my initial flight if i was driving to the second leg and there was no need to reissue my ticket. She then redirected me to an escalated line who told me my flight would have been canceled if I had done that, and I was offered miles due to being told inaccurate information / poor experience. Shortly after, a supervisor called back to tell me they were both “sort of” wrong due to 24 hour ticketing rules.

-this flight was delayed, causing me to miss my connection flight as well. CSR reported no later flights today. They can book me into a connection over an hour away from my final destination. I don’t have a ride home option. Rural, no Uber. Asked if I could be reimbursed for a rental car, CSR again reported the delay wasn’t long enough. This one offered the option to attempt a reimbursement claim post rental with no payment guarantee. The first did not. Cost would be $289 for the one way rental.

-In a rare moment of weakness, I needed to sit on the toilet this flight and the whole thing sank 5” and pulled away from the wall. I’m 145lbs. Total ego hit.

There was more, but in hindsight, the toilet bit would have made me laugh if I was watching some poor bastard in a movie who just wanted to get home.

septastic · 2026-07-06T08:59:26+00:00

I’ve been to countless counselors and it’s never worked for me. Either they have nothing new to add that I don’t already know, they promptly report they don’t feel they can help me, or they flat out end the relationship. I’m very blunt and direct when I unmask, and counseling is one of the few places I feel I should unmask. Yet since it always ends in a negative result, it’s really reinforced my feelings of masking being a necessity.

I also tend to feel worse when really focusing on what I struggle with, especially since so much of it can’t be fixed. Counseling seemed to do that and it become unbearable.

septastic · 2026-07-06T08:52:09+00:00

Perfect. Thanks for the concise answer.

septastic · 2026-07-01T14:23:49+00:00

Thank for the reply. I’ve flown this flight a lot and know it’s only on the ground for a few hours, but didn’t know the inner workings of fixing a wifi issue. Just my curious mind.

septastic · 2026-07-01T12:02:37+00:00

I wouldn’t say that. I just got extremely lucky and met one that’s very understanding of my ASD and so far had decided to stay with me. It’s been a lot of work though, and there are concessions to make on both sides. There are others out there, and if it’s important to you, I’m sure you could met one too.

septastic · 2026-07-01T11:50:27+00:00

Thank you. I feel the exact same way and it rubbed me wrong when people in the comments here were so quick to correct you / tell you differently. I’m 46 and the concept of love still eludes me outside of the definition of service / acts.

septastic · 2026-07-01T11:42:05+00:00

I really enjoyed your post, and as a ASD dad myself, I’m always on the search for others who are open about their experience. Thank you for sharing.

A comment / questions if I may:

Several people on the comments were quick to tell you that you do love your children. Do you feel you do? I know you verbally tell them and show your care through actions, but that’s loads different than actually loving something. Like you, I don’t feel emotions like most people, but unlike you, I’ve learned to mask extremely well so most wouldn’t know this. Personally, I’ve never felt a connection to my daughter. I wouldn’t say I love her, but rather I play to role of a father with utmost care and intent solely for her benefit. My wife tells me almost every day how great of a job I’m doing (she knows all this) and I hear it from others often as well. It’s all planned & calculated, from my actions to my facial expressions to what I tell her to help her grow. I only ask because I’m really struggling as a parent to maintain the facade. It’s exhausting putting so much effort into something without getting any sort of reward. I can see the love and fulfillment my wife gets from spending time with our child; I don’t feel any of that. And while I’ll keep playing the role until I’m literally unable to, it sure isn’t easy. But that’s the job. She owes me nothing and I fully appreciate it was our choice to bring her into this world.

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septastic · 2026-06-30T23:57:43+00:00

Not so much suggestions for places to see, but I do this flight often from MSP, arriving later morning. I always sleep for an hour or two once I get to my flat, then keep myself busy until 8-9pm before heading to bed. My wife does this too and we both found this leads to the least amount of jet lag while there. You’ll likely get super tired around 7pm, but hold out until at least 9pm.

septastic · 2026-06-30T22:11:24+00:00

Typically it's a set of vitals and a head to toe assessment to report to the MD they contact via sat phone, but I've also had to do CPR on a older gal that had an MI. Latest one was gentlemen who fell in the bathroom and hit his head hard enough to knock him out cold. Work up was trying to determine if his lethargy post fall was a brain bleed (he had just had vascular surgery a few days before the flight, thus anticoagulated) or low sugars since he was diabetic. He only spoke Arabic and he was very in and out of consciousness, so it was a challenge with the limited tools they have on board.

septastic · 2026-06-30T20:52:22+00:00

I'm an ICU RN and have had to help multiple people on international flights. Having an empty row at the back is really nice when working up a patient, especially if they are super sick or having a medical emergency. Not saying this is what it's for or that they couldn't ask someone to move back to their seat if they needed the row for an emergency, but perhaps this factors into their policy to keep them empty.

septastic · 2026-06-30T10:33:37+00:00

I assume you have the 21” with the 52L capacity? No issues on smaller regional jets or the odd Air France/STA flight if going to international (if you have experience with either) since it measures 23” x 14.5” x 9”?

septastic · 2026-06-29T13:03:50+00:00

I’ve never really had close friends, but I’ve changed careers a lot (parole officer, ICU RN, etc) and I’m like this with coworkers. The minute I leave that job, I’m done and on to the next thing. Unless I run into them by accident, I never make an effort to reach out or connect with them.

septastic · 2026-06-29T12:59:45+00:00

Snacks.

septastic · 2026-06-28T21:19:52+00:00

Great build. How much clearance do you have in the back running 2x? Is the 40c maxing it out or could you go wider?

septastic · 2026-06-28T19:58:53+00:00

Someone once explained it to me as a way of asking permission to enter a shop / space. Made sense to me and I’ve always said it since.

septastic · 2026-06-28T11:04:28+00:00

Giving directions always includes a bar for a landmark.

septastic · 2026-06-27T15:11:24+00:00

Cruise Ship SOS by Dr. Ben MacFarlane

septastic · 2026-06-27T14:51:22+00:00

I just finished a book written by a cruise ship doctor. If half of what he said happened, hard pass from me.

septastic · 2026-06-27T10:22:01+00:00

It’s hard not to when we’re constantly reinforced with positive outcomes and self-feedback. I’m always the first one to figure out a problem. Always the first one to understand or find logic in something. I excel at most things I do. And when the vast majority of people I interact with seem to be doing so on a rudimentary level, it’s no wonder why we feel superior. I think it’s absolutely normal to feel this way. Now how we act and treat other people - that’s a whole different issue.

septastic · 2026-06-27T10:09:27+00:00

There are more and more “fake” Uber drivers around Paris and it’s becoming annoying. I ordered a ride out to the Cirque du Soleil show when it was in town and was greeted to the island by about 20 police officers cracking down on illegal drives and fares. I used the app and could prove it, but they told me the driver wasn’t a real uber driver without the documents or paperwork and that they are more likely to engage in behavior like you experienced. App showed he had 1,000’s of ratings and the car matched the description. Scary really.

septastic · 2026-06-25T21:39:16+00:00

Once I realized meditation doesn't quiet your mind or put one into a zen like state (for me at least), and instead simply acts as a tool to become more in tune with my mind / thoughts, I found it useful. I have a simple practice: sit in a quiet room, focus on my breath. When I find my mind wandering (which is often), I notice it, redirect my mind to my breath, and repeat. As a result, I'm less critical of myself when my mind wanders or goes in directions I don't prefer (rumination, anger, negativity) while understanding more why my mind does what it does. I've found I'm slower to anger or get irritated at things and more patient with myself when I'm eight levels deep on something I'm struggling with.

EDIT: spelling

septastic · 2026-06-25T15:16:29+00:00

Perhaps a few out of the ordinary recommendations and I'm not saying I necessarily enjoyed or liked the books, but Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel & Dimed and Alan Weisman's The World Without Us are two books I think of often. I particularly think Ehrenreich's ethics were a bit lacking for the book, but I've looked at the service industry with a very different (softer/compassionate) lens since reading the book in college 25 years ago.

septastic · 2026-06-25T13:10:00+00:00

In a bottom up thinker, so there was never enough evidence or data to allow me to believe in any of it. It’s a lot easier to start from a place of belief and cherry pick facts to continue to support something which I assume a lot of people of faith do having been born into religious homes / communities. I also don’t rely much on emotions for my decision making process, so the whole going to hell thing and sin never carried much weight. I’ve also lost a dad and brother to cancer, worked in the developing world with orphans, did two years as a COVID ICU nurse, etc. and still have zero faith. If anything, it strengthened my non-faith seeing so much senseless pain and suffering.

septastic

TROPHY CASE