Communication Breakdown

Did I ever tell you that I have psychic moments? I try to block out this ability as much as possible as there have been a couple of times they foretold of events that were traumatically unpleasant, and which came true. I prefer to be blissfully ignorant as to know beforehand is to assume the responsibility before it happens(even though you can't do anything about it!!) and deal with the guilt after (like I said, even if it had absolutely nothing to do with you)...

However, there are times when I do get flashes about things that I worry or concern myself about, and that's ok. Well, I was having my dunch (dinner+lunch) when I suddenly knew that my laptop was being lost. My hotel wouldn't allow me a late checkout as they were fully booked, so I had to leave all my luggage with the concierge, including my work laptop. That wasn't an easy decision for me as my work laptop could be equated to my life (spending 8-10 hours on it everyday and it gives me access to all the work and emails that I've used those hours in creating and refining) so I walked off with a finger on my mental alarm bell.

As I left my room at about 10 am and since I was on the executive floor, I checked out via the executive reception and got them to carry my bags and laptop down to the storeroom instead. I made the lady call the concierge and inform them that I had 2 bags AND a laptop so that they wouldn't miss it. I emphasized that my laptop was a top priority and left the hotel.

Five hours later, I was biting into my sandwich in Bondi mall, and suddenly knew that my laptop was lost. I asked God, my subconscious, or intuition even, if this was serious (a stupid question as it obviously was!), and was told that it would be no problem. These 2 facts were conflicting, but surprisingly I was relatively comforted by the assurance that it would not be a big deal. No point to worry too before I was confronted with the actual loss.

I made my way back to the bus station, but decided that I may need extra time for unexpected situations and hailed a cab instead. The cabbie found out I was on my way to the airport and was passing through the hotel to pick up my bags and offered to take me all the way. I thought it was a good idea and happily told him to wait outside my hotel while I picked up my bags.

The concierge had all of my 2 bags for me almost immediately, and no laptop. They invited me into the storeroom where there were 2 laptops - both tagged with a different room number and not mine. I spent a good 20 minutes there searching for it with no result, while they sent someone up to the room I had been staying in (which was now occupied with new guests) but still no laptop. They communicated via walkie talkie, and I heard the feedback before the concierge came and told me. I was worried BIG TIME now. I should have lugged my laptop with me to Bondi beach and Borders and the shopping mall even if it would have killed me... I resigned to my fate, went out and told the cabbie I wouldn't be able to let him take me to the airport as I had to locate my laptop, or file a complaint or declaration of loss with the hotel. He was concerned, flabbergasted that Swissotel could have blundered so badly, and a little disappointed that he had lost a longer fare.

Well, I got back there in the store room and started scouring every nook and cranny just in case my laptop had shrunk and hidden itself in between some cracks in the wall. When my quest was unfruitful, I ended up standing in front of the store room entrance, lost and trying to rack my head for action steps to take in the event of a lost laptop (all the emails I deleted about what to do should you lose your laptop came back to haunt me) and drew a blank. I must have looked bad, and a tall, cute blond who had just taken his shift at the concierge desk came up to me looking concerned and asked if there was anything wrong. Before I could answer, the head concierge shouted across that they were helping me look for my lost laptop. Immediately after he said that, the walkie talkie came alive again and the person at the other end reported that they had finally found my laptop in Lost and Found, brought there by housekeeping.

Apparently, whomever it was that took the call that I had 2 bags and 1 laptop to be carried down to the concierge didn't pass on the message and they only took down my 2 bags. While preparing the room for the next guests, housekeeping had seen my laptop and put it in the Lost and Found department. So much for a 5 star service hotel. The tall blonde sympathised with what I had to go through while they brought the laptop down and got a cab for me. To top off the adventure, the cabbie that took me to the airport took AUD30 from me for a AUD27 cab ride and drove off. It was also then that I found out you had to pay AUD4 just to get a trolley to help you push your luggage into check in. Oh well. At least I still had my intuition and psychic moments to guide me through this life. *frowls and grins*