Something went right

So many things have gone wrong over the last few months when it comes to the planning of my trip to Beijing for the Winter Olympics.

There was the numerous attempts to send money to pay for the accommodations, which kept getting returned for minor reasons or were held up because of a wrong letter or number somewhere on the application. There was the two cancelled flights that led to a scramble to find a way out of the country. There were the worries that the COVID testing facilities that I had submitted for Chinese consulate approval would not be approved. And there was the worry that after all the work, one of the COVID tests I needed to take before I left would come back positive.

After all those things had gone wrong, it was about time that something went right. And this weekend, things went right.

First and foremost, the COVID testing provider I chose, On-Site Medical Services, proved to be incredible. They are set up in a trailer in the parking lot at the Mall of New Hampshire and despite the massive snowstorm on Saturday, they were open for business. In fact, they took me early and before I reached the Epsom Traffic Circle on my way home, the results were texted to me and they were negative.

I went back the next day and while I had a short wait in line, the experience again was quick and as painless as something can be when you have a q-tip inserted in your nose, and I was out of the parking lot pretty quickly. And this time, the results were on my phone by the time I got to the Alton traffic circle. And again, they were negative.

So, something went right.

The next process was making sure that all the information I needed was submitted properly to the people at Beijing 2022. When I got back to the office, I went on the app and downloaded photos of my Olympic ID, my COVID tests, vaccine card and the rest of the fun stuff I had to submit. This was the next big hurdle, as without this stuff being approved, I couldn't get into China.

Based on the experiences of some people I'd seen in an online chat board for members of the media regarding issues leading up to Beijing, I was not expecting the process to be terribly easy. However, less than an hour after I had submitted the information, I got an e-mail saying it had been accepted. I opened up the app and sure enough, the QR code we need for entrance to China was the needed green.

So, something else went right.

I was also able to check into my flight from Boston to Paris without any problems and I spent Sunday night getting all of my stories submitted for the week and buttoning up everything at the office. My original plan was to do all that on Monday, but with the flight moved up a day, I had to get it all done last night. And it is done.

Now, it's time to pack.

There was a short line for the COVID testing on Sunday, but On-Site Medical Services made the whole process simple and quick.