epic transportation fail

today, i was supposed to make a complicated trip to see an australian friend who happens to be visiting the US. suffice to say, i didn't make it. let's break down the segments of this trip that needed to happen:
1. take a train from wheaton into the city.
2. catch another train from the city to a southern suburb.
3. get picked up by a friend and drive 2.5 hours to final destination.

okay, perhaps its not all that complicated. but when you factor in train schedules and the distances between train stations--it becomes more so. SO. here's what really happened.

i show up on time for my first train, but it is running late. very late. the train that was supposed to come before it hasn't come yet. but a few friends of mine are in the station, so we chat and guess where the train could be. a middle-aged woman passes us and mentions that there is a hostage situation at a bank around the station before ours, so the trains are held up. a hostage situation?! WHAT?
one of our little group offers to drive us all into the city after we decided it was not worth waiting on the train. so we pile into his van and head out to brave chicago traffic. there is still hope that i can reach the second leg of my trip upon arrival to the city.

we get downtown amidst five o'clock, friday night, downtown TRAFFIC. it takes us a complete turn around the loop to figure out where the my train station even is. in the middle of this navigating, i get a call from my roommate who updates me on the hostage thing a bit, and says she heard there might be problems with the southbound train lines. she was right: all the southbound trains were delayed. in the station, the PA system seemed to be saying that trains were starting to move again, but i could not gauge how far behind they were or if it was worth it to stay or not. i am an hour and a half behind schedule, so i call my would-be ride and last leg of the journey and tell her to go on without me. give our friend a hug and a kiss and an apology.

i ended up spending the evening with my ride and his friend from home. we had a great time that never would have happened otherwise. i think that's the first time ever a plan has gone that horribly wrong circumstantially, and what bizarre (and tragic) circumstances! the heck!
i'm going to go out on a limb and say this: my plans have this funny way of just getting messed up. (particularly if there are trains involved). on this particular trip, i did everything right. i packed up perfectly, i got cash before i left, turned off my computer, was on time for the train, yada yada yada. and the TRAINS mess up. other times, the error is mine and the plan goes to pot. my plans just have this nice way of not working.