My goal: to be A16

Southwest Airlines has made changes to its seating procedures. Now, when passengers check in, they are assigned not only a letter position, but a number as well. This new process eliminates the urge of passengers to stand in line waiting as they can now line up according to number when numbers are called to board the plane.

Exactly 24-hours to your scheduled time of departure, online check-in is opened to passengers. And when I say "exactly," I mean "exactly." My flight for today departs at 8:35 pm. Yesterday, at exactly 8:34 pm, I was at my computer. I was gauging the exact 24-hour marker with my atomically timed cell phone and the atomic clock on my laptop. As soon as it turned 8:35 pm, I was going to be ready to check in and grab that "A1" position. It's a ridiculous desire, but for some reason, it was, and is, important to me.

My confirmation code and my name were entered and my clicker finger had settled on the mouse button. I was set. Then at the very moment the clocks turned, I clicked the button and I was certain I had acheived A1 success! Instead, this is what I got:

A20?! How does this happen?! I was perplexed. Is it really possible that 19 other people could have beaten me to #1? Could that be so?! Not only was I utterly confused, but I was disappointed and shamed. And then my emotions turned to anger. That just couldn't be! It doesn't seem possible that at that very moment there were 19 other people vying for that #1 spot!

So, this morning, still aghast at the previous evening's events, I called Southwest Airlines for an explanation, at which point, it almost all made sense, . For those of you who don't know, Southwest actually has somewhat of a First-class program. For those who travel frequently, Southwest reserves the first A1-A15 positions for them. To be A1 on a flight, you have to be a frequent flyer.

That is a valid reason. I now feel much comfort in my concerted efforts of last night. I did my best...

...but obviously my best wasn't good enough...A16: the new goal.