... and back

So, I leave for NY city last Monday, and my plane was 1.5h late to board.
No problem, I can have some tea at the airport.
Then my plane sat on the runway for another hour.
Not a worry, traffic will be so light from NYC to NJ at that time that I will get to my hotel and still get a good night sleep.
The renal car company rented my car out from under me and told me "sucks" leaving me to stand there at 1:30 AM in 90 deg heat with 300lb of luggage.
But after a few calls to the company in which the clerk and the people on the phone spend most of the time lieing to me and echother I finally get a car.

OK, you know, if there where lines painted on the roads in NY, then driving in it would not be that bad.

So, I get to the hotel at about 2:30 and checked in at 2:45 which sucked for my 9AM site visit.
But my GF had a 6-pack waiting in the fridge for me. She rocks.

Get to work, get set up and everything is going smooth in 4h I finish the first of 3 room. "Hay I may be able to get out on a flight tonight!!!"

Unplug my equipment go to the next room and all my box will do is beep at me.
Talk to the people who make it and they ship me a part FedEx that will get to my hotel first thing in the morning.
OK, more like 6 in the evening after spending all freaking day waiting by the phone.
Put the part in drive to the site and do the second room.
Great, I will do the 3rd in the morning and only be one day late.

Can't sleep at night, but whatever, I am all set up and ready to go. I have the 3rd room done by 10:30.
Pack up and head to JFK.
OK, midtown traffic is NUTS. Once you figure it out it is kind of fun. I made a game out of it.
One point for cutting somebody off, -1 for getting cut off.
2 points either way for a reversal (they where going to cut you off, but you get it first, or they cut you off, but you get them back, and -2 for them doing you)
Anytime you score on a taxi that is a one point bonus.

But I still get to the airport and have a nice flight back (except the woman who wanted my to close my shutter so her kid in the next isle could see here TV better, sigh. And the 40 year old woman who would kick my seat if I reclined it)
Pick up my luggage, taxi it back to the office, haul it upstairs and start to unpack it.


THE LAPTOP IS NOT THERE!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a TSA slip saying they inspected the bag and a very poorly packed (I packed it well) piece of very expensive equipment.
Broken equipment.
Not too bad, I was able to fix it today.

So, I of course immediately call TSA and tell them what happend.
They say, "My gosh sir, that is horrible, we will immediately look into it."
No they say fill out a form and in 30 days we MAY get back to you. But in the meantime you should contact the airport lost and found they might have the item that "you lost"

The number they gave me said quite clearly that this was for items LEFT IN THE AIRPORT PROPER, NOT for checked items.
The form they sent me to download is called
"CLAIM FOR DAMAGE, INJURY, OR DEATH"
And in fact has not a single space for missing items. But it does have spaces for lots of things that are immaterial, none of there business like my marital status and some are items that I do not have access to right now like the resibet for the laptop, and insurance info which counts for both.

So, now I have to go back and take the data again.
Sigh, sob, cry.

P.S. I wrote this post on hold with TSA.

P.P.S. OK, yes I checed my laptop (works actualy) I also checed 300lb of stuff, most of it WAY more valuble than the laptop. I travle with a LOT of stuff, so I check it.