The dumbest travel move you can make

Sorry to be so MIA (missing in action, not Miami International Airport… and wow, I travel too much if I feel the need to clarify that). Anyway, things have been a bit nuts here.

I’m winding down my project at work, but as anyone in consulting knows, finishing a project is never so much about “winding down” as it is “working your butt off till all hours as you scramble to wrap things up.” Furthermore, my next project is going to be at the same client, so they’re actually having me start working on that now – which means double the work. Yikes! It’s been tough – I cannot wait for my mini vacation this weekend in the Bahamas.

However, that too has started presenting its share of logistical nightmares. I used to keep my passport in my suitcase at all times, but was advised that it wasn’t a good idea to do so because it was easier for it to get lost or stolen. But what’s worse than losing your passport? Oh, that would be leaving it at home because you thought it was in your bag.

Yes, indeed, ladies and gentlemen, I am that idiot who is getting ready to embark on an international trip with no passport. Due to the demands at my client, there’s absolutely no way to make a little jaunt to NYC and back to get it, so I’ve placed my roommate in the unenviable position of helping me with whatever plan I devise. There is definitely a glimmer of hope, but this is all made more complicated given that I’m in DC until tonight, and then in Miami tomorrow morning before my 8am flight.

I’ve tried asking everyone I can think of if anyone is traveling to either DC today or Miami by tomorrow, but no dice there. Shipping services are outrageously priced, which is why I was looking for a friend to play courier in the first place, but the tricky part comes in that my flight is at 8am (meaning I have to leave for the airport by 6am): I have to send it same-day, because the earliest overnight service won’t get to Miami until 8am. And the cost for same-day service? $250.

I contemplated the idea of Greyhound PackageXpress, and was excited that the NYC to DC quote was only $20 (to be delivered to the DC Greyhound station by 2:30pm today), but the website was very industrial and made it seem like it was for businesses only, and I couldn’t get anyone on the phone at either the main line or the DC or NYC offices, so I decided to stick with the safer route. UPS will guarantee overnight delivery by 8 am for $60, and by 10:30am for $30, so I’m going with the latter and changing to a 5:30pm flight to the Bahamas. On one hand, that actually makes things a bit easier for me, as I won’t have to figure out a good wifi connection to get online and do work on Friday – I can just work from my Miami hotel.

So crisis averted – I think. Now the question is whether this is just a blip in the road, or whether this marathon is going to suck?