typical

That was the smoothest rough check in of my life.

Where to check in: Qantas, Terminal 7 at JFK Airport.
Where I checked in: With the nice tattooed lady at IcelandAir (or something)

Tattoos I later found out are birds from a comic strip called [name escapes]

BirdLady: "Are you aware that your bags combined are two kilos over the weight limit?"
Me: "Oops."
BirdLady: "Are you aware that your passport needs to be reprinted because though it went through the wash and readable we can't swipe it through our scanner?"
Me: "Oops."
BL: "Are you aware that your guitar will need to be checked even though it is a softshell case?"
Me: "Oops."
BL: "Are you aware that you didn't authorize a certain section of your Visa and so it might be difficult to link it to your passport?"
Me: "Fuck."
BL: [paraphrasing] "Are you aware that I am super cool and hate my job and think you're cute and see that you have a guitar and a funny hat and since I am super cool and hate my job and think you're cute and see that you have a guitar and a funny hat I am going to let all of this go, fix it all and see you on your merry way to Melbourne?"



Me: [not paraphrasing] "Can I have your name to tell your manager how amazing you are?"

Out of anxiety and nostalgia I ate a McDonald's Happy Meal whilst waiting for my flight. Rare that I eat at "Maccas" as it's called in OZ...but...America. And I had a long wait. [keep justifying] How disappointed I was to see there was no child-friendly box? But I did acquire a fun, girl's toy. It will not be flying with me. My baggage is two kilos overweight.