The First Rule of Scheduling Is...

I spent the second night of Passover at my friend, Nancy's house, a guest at a seder for her family, who have become a second family to me. Nancy and I met in high school and we have remained very close. At the end of the evening I was saying good-bye to her sister-in-law, Marcia, and remarked that we would see each other again in Rochester next month, when Nancy's son graduates from college. Marcia replied, "Yes, I'm looking forward to May 19th." My jaw dropped a foot and I said, "But my airline tickets are for May 12th."

Yes, my friends, I had booked tickets for the wrong date. The graduation ceremonies for the last two years, which I also had attended, were the second weekend in May and I just assumed this one would be, too. I was an eager beaver and booked my tickets in January. I was so pleased with my efficiency and the low cost of my ticket. I sent the email record of my ticket to Nancy so that the rest of our group could book the same flights. They looked at the flights, but not the date.

As a little background to this story, I spent over five years of my professional life being responsible for the schedules for two well-known and very busy people. The first thing I learned on the first day of my scheduling career was to know the date. The second rule of scheduling is to confirm the date. I did confirm the date, but unfortunately it was three months after I bought my ticket.

Happily, the same flights were available for May 19th and the price...almost exactly what I had gotten as my windfall. Thank you windfall. Rochester, here I come, after all!