Good news, bad news continued

Since when did doing things like taking a saber to the UK get so ridiculously expensive? Holy pants! I just found out (and I'm glad I found out ahead of time) that taking the good ol' dadao to Londontown would run me $300 each way on the plane. HHHHHWwwhat? The conversation I had with the lady at the airline convinced me that logic cannot triumph over policy:

Me: "I need to take a bag with me on my trip that contains a big steel thing, so my bag measures a total of 86 linear inches. I understand this is going to incur an excess baggage fee."
Rep: "Yes, sir, it will. That's a very big bag. It will be $300 each way."
Me: "Three hundred dollars! Holy moly. Well, it is a snowboarding bag. Do you have a sporting equipment proviso on the policy?"
Rep: "Yes, as long as it is a snowboarding bag or ski bag containing only snowboarding or ski equipment, it can be checked as regular baggage."
Me: "First, I don't have a snowboard, just a snowboarding bag. I have to take a thing that is very long. Second, if I was taking a snowboard, are you telling me that if the bag contained anything at all other than snowboarding equipment, then I'd be subject to the same fee?"
Rep: "Yes, the fee would apply."
Me: "Even if I just put a pair of socks in there?"
Rep: "Yes, if we opened your bag and saw that there was something other than snowboarding equipment in your snowboarding bag, then you'd be subject to the fee."
Me: "That's ridiculous."
Rep: "It's the policy, sir."
Me: "So the charge is $300 each way, correct?"
Rep: "Yes sir, $300 each way to put a bag of that size on the plane. That's a big bag."
Me: "Is there any way around the charge?"
Rep: "No sir, the fee cannot be waived for any reason. That's stated clearly in the policy and on the website. Most people don't take bags that big. Maybe you could fold whatever this thing is that you're taking and fit it into a smaller bag?"
Me: "I can't fold it; it's made of steel. I mean, perhaps I could fold it, but I don't think I could unfold it if I did. Maybe you can help me understand this, though. I'm having a hard time reconciling things here."
Rep: "What can I help you with, sir?"
Me: "I can take two suitcases that measure up to 62 total linear inches at no charge, right?"
Rep: "Yes sir."
Me: "And 62 plus 62 is 124, so I can take up to 124 linear inches with me for no fee provided that I pack it into two bags each no larger than 62 linear inches, but I cannot take one bag that is 86 linear inches despite the fact that it's one fewer bag to handle and 86 is less than 124?"
Rep: "That's correct, sir. I don't make the policy. Most people just don't pack bags that big."
Me: "It's a snowboarding bag. Many people pack this exact bag."
Rep: "Then they pay the fee."
Me: "I apologize for that, then. It's not your fault that your policy fails against logic. Do you realize the policy also states that you can take two fifty pound bags at no additional charge, a total of one hundred pounds, but if you try to bring a single bag over seventy pounds, they won't put it on the plane?"
Rep: "Yes sir, that's the policy."
Me: "That also makes no sense."
Rep: "I don't make the policy, sir."
Me: "Again, I'm sorry. I'm a bit annoyed by the policy and the quandary it puts me in. I'm sure you have to hear more venting about this than you should have to."
Rep: "No, sir, nobody really says anything about it." (Feel free to say something about it here).
Me: "What would you suggest I do, then, because I'm not giving you $300 each way to carry this thing. I could bring another person with me according to current rates on a competing airline for just $30 more than that, and that person would be bigger, more unweildy, much heavier, and likely to carry their own pair of heavy, bulky bags than would be my one bag containing a single big thing that isn't so much big but is inconveniently long but not as long as skis."
Rep: "You should ship it to yourself via some cargo company such as DHL, FedEx, or UPS."
Me: "Thanks."

I looked into packing the saber as my second bag, separately, but the total linear inches are still bigger than 62, so I end up paying $150 each way for that... except that the airline doesn't accept packages in cardboard, so I'd have to go get another, much smaller but still big enough bag for the sword. Then I called FedEx. $115.50 to mail the damn thing to myself. WTF? It came back from China in a bag identical to the one I was going to pack it into for a surcharge of $35. I also found out that some airlines won't even fly a bag large enough to contain the saber, and some others will but not to the following airports: "..., all London airports, ...."

Hello Londoners: sharing is caring?

Good news, bad news

I've had a few recent confirmations about some progress being made on my part with the dadao, which is good news. A corollary to that is that I'm now competent enough to tell that I'm sloppy as all hell with it (sloppy beats clumsy?). It's exciting after all this time to have some confirmation of improvement, though. I've kind of got this lasting mental block that I suck royally with the thing, and evidence that helps me change my mind on that point is always nice.

I'm also training (still hard) in adversity right now. My allergies are killing me, which is kind of a new thing for me. Usually, I barely have them, if at all. This year, however, they're much more aggravating. Furthermore, to kind of let the cat out of the bag, I broke my toe last Saturday, and it kind of hurts, particularly on movements that involve twirling around or stepping particularly sharply with that foot. It seems to be healing remarkably quickly, though, which is really good news because I'm headed to the London intensive here in just a few days (!). It should be a rocking learning opportunity, and I'm stoked, of course. Seeing as I got a little note that Jinbao wants to be "wowed," though, I'm feeling a little pressure. I don't even know if that kind of thing is possible. The "sloppy" that I identify with my dadao training probably isn't going to cut it for him, I'll bet. We shall see... we shall see.