I’d like to start this post with a public apology to everyone on the same flight as me to Perth yesterday. You all got to share in my extremely shitty transit.

Now, I’m not normally one for checking the daily movement of the little guys against my chart. Unless something else is happening in the background- like a transit perfecting by one of the bigger bullies or a lunation or something- contacts by the Moon, Mercury and Venus usually act as no more than a good or bad hair day guide. If other bigger stuff is happening in the background, they can provide the trigger, but that is the subject for another post entirely.

I also know all the rules about how Mercury causes most problems at or around the station- especially if he makes contact with somewhere in your chart at that point in time. And yes, a Mercury retrograde is just a day or so away.

This one is in Sagittarius, so an especially big message would be going out about travel- a Mercury retrograde travel warning, if you like- and making sure that all bases are covered from a travel perspective.

I think because I was originally supposed to take this trip last week (it is for work in my partition job) that I didn’t think about Mercury when I had to re-schedule.

Nor did I notice that stationing Mercury at 19 Sagittarius is exactly square my Ascendant, exactly trine Venus and exactly square Pluto.

So, what happened?

I left the house at 5.30am for an 8am flight to Perth- on the other side of Australia. On the approach to the airport, something was going wrong with the traffic lights into the domestic terminal, so traffic was banked back for kms. No problems, I had plenty of time.

At the airport Virgin’s automatic check in system was down due to a technical glitch. No problems, despite choosing the wrong queue, I breezed through the express lane.

In security, the same people who had held up the express lane check in were now unpacking their bags on the security belt. Whatever. Still time for a coffee before boarding.

And then disaster strikes. My flight disappears from the board. A 3 hour delay, which becomes 4, which becomes 5, which becomes a request to re-check in for new seating as we have been switched to a smaller plane. No problems, I still draw an exit aisle. Sweet.

We finally take off 5 ½ hours late. On board because of the switcheroo, we got one of the planes that usually does the 1 hour shuttle to Melbourne- not one of the bigger ones that does the 5 hour flight to Perth. As such, there is no TV, no audio & the catering trolley runs out of everything other than chocolates and chips by row 12. I was seated in row 13.

On arrival at Perth, we are greeted with the news that our bags weren’t loaded onto the new plane. Hellooooooo surely someone noticed there was nothing in the luggage hold?

So, that meant a quick trip to the shops to stock up on overnight essentials.

Having said that, I was luckier than some.

• I had an almost fully charged computer with TV shows and movies
• Here in Perth I had access to a friend who could lend me the chargers required to stay in touch.
• Unlike some unfortunate souls arriving home in Perth, I hadn’t locked my car keys in my luggage. Ouch!
• In the downtime I managed to finish 2 missing chapters in the manuscript that time forgot.

My bags arrived in the early hours of the morning, so at least the world is spared a make-up free face and relatively frizz free hair.

Perhaps if I had taken more notice and planned it all better, I wouldn’t have been inconvenienced at all…but then I would still have those two chapters that had simply, before yesterday, not wanted to be written.

Which is, I guess my point about Mercury retrogrades. Sure shit happens. You can take all the care in the world, but sometimes things need to be re-scheduled and sometimes you cop the tail wind of someone elses shitty day. Whatever. I got stuff written that needed to be written and which under normal circumstances would not have been written. And I bought a cute pair of PJs to veg around the house in that otherwise wouldn’t have been purchased. It’s not all bad.

Anyways, more on Mercury Retrograde when I get home. For now, have a read of this post on the Pollyanna approach to Mercury retrogrades.

And finally a great big sweaty, stinky, virtual hug to my BMF- who smashed his first marathon on Sunday morning. I’d tell him just how proud I am of him, but that would be embarrassing.