Working for a Travel Agency, but not as an Agent, does have some perks. I paid $30 for my IATA card which basically says I work in the industry and if I flash it enough, like some policeman’s badge, I may get some discounts, depending on how nice the customer service rep is.

The first thing I did when I got my card? Sign up for Universal Florida’s Agent site. They offer a free ticket to Universal Stuidos, if you have the gumption to jump through all their hoops.

Which I did. I spent a good 45 minutes taking their agent quiz (43 out of 50) which got me free entrance! Yay! I now know all there is about the Hard Rock Hotel and what night kids can go there to rock out with their aging parents. Thinking about it, would you not want your kids exposed to “hard rock”? Or is there some aphorism that I’m missing here? I digress…

I quickly boasted our luck to our travelling companions that the price going into Universal would be one $112US ticket less. All were happy.

Then I read the fine print. Complimentary tickets take close to 21 days for delivery. I took the test 20 days before. Eep. Every day since then I’ve been scrutinizing the mail like Channing Tatum in Dear John (Which by the way wasn’t super awful, if not overly melodramatic). I digress.

Today, after shutting down my work computer and skipping home from work, SharkBoy meets me for lunch and we return to the apartment for the last time before the limo arrives. Fumbling for my keys, I ask if there had been any mail.

“No,” SharkBoy says. His face is a study in velvet sad clown black light oil painting.

I open the door and on the floor is The Envelope. It arrived!!

So far, this trip is going well!