Pet Peeve

i like to think i'm pretty easygoing...but there are a few things that really tick me off. actually, one. so karee's dad, bob, thinks cars should come without cupholders in them. similarly, i think cars should come without horns. i swear...they are the most horrific sound to me. they put me in a bad mood. they ruin my day. every time.

a few nights ago, a car alarm went off in front of my house for 20 minutes. at three am. it was a honking car alarm. i was pissed off for a full 24 hours after that.

another irrational (yes, i can admit that its ridiculous...see how mature i am?) peeve i have is motorcycles revving.

i dont think i was sensitive to either of these sounds until i lived in San Francisco right by the Broadway tunnel and would listen to motorcycle gangs roaring through it all night. god, that was miserable.

Things you dont want to hear on a plane...

so this is an old story, and I bet some of you (ie - my dad) have heard it before...and likely re-told it...but for some of you, it will be brand new.

I flew to DC about a year ago...I dont know what for, but I think it was when we had a family reunion in Baltimore, then i took the train up to Delaware for work. Either way...i was flying from DEN to Reagan National.

So about 3 hours into the flight, the pilot comes on the speakers and says that due to "Extreme Winds", we are running out of fuel and will have to stop in Pittsburg to refuel before we get to DC. People start mumbling and grumbling but we all figure "hey...it would be really terrible to run out of fuel and plummet to our deaths". So we accept this, and i keep reading my educational, historical novel (read: UsWeekly).

A few minutes later, pilot comes back on the radio and says "ok - we've been cleared for landing in Pittsburg...we're going to land, re-fuel, then be back in the air within about 20 minutes. we should make up some time in the air, so probably only be a few minutes late". Everyone sighs a little bit in relief.

A few minutes later, pilot comes back on and says "Folks, we're gonna scrap the re-fueling landing in Pittsburg and just try to make it to DC on this tank". There was a millisecond of dead silence, then people started flipppppppping out. i mean, what kind of idiot pilot was this? telling us we dont have enough fuel (like 5 times), then saying 'were gonna give it a shot"

So....we made it (apprently...coasting in on fumes, if the pilot was to be believed). It was a mildly stressful hour, let me tell you.

That's all for now.

ps - this post was a blatant way for me to avoid doing homework. you're welcome.

6 week break!!

so...since Thailand, i have still had a LOT of trips. more than i really planned on.

I flew to Denver for chris & erin's wedding, which was So much fun...even with the freak windstorm that blew into the reception. no really...it was like a movie. wine glasses toppling, tableclothes flying up and around in the wind.

I flew to Dallas (then drove to Wichita Falls) for my cousin Colin's wedding. Wichita Falls (full disclaimer...it's pronouced "Witch-i-tah" with the emphasis on the Witch....though me and my siblings and Dan kept pronouncing it "wi-cheetah" with the emphasis on the cheetah....we think we're hilarious, dont we??). anyway....WF is not so happening. i think i can check it off my life-list. CHECK! but the dallas airport was the same as always. only negative was the dude playing music on his cell phone at full volume. even though i gave him the stink eye in the waiting area (for litearlly like 20 minutes)....then politely asked him to put in earphones (really....i was nice)...and he still didn't. ugh...very rude.

I flew to San Antonio this past weekend to help celebrate my mom's big award (YAY MOM!!!!). so apparently they haven't updated this yet...but keep your eyes peeled for the winner in 2008...it will be her! http://som.uthscsa.edu/Alumni/distinguishedalum.asp The best part of the event was that they gave Katy (my sister) an MD (on her nametag). so i guess she gets to skip the next few years of her life.....she's already a doctor. Congratulations Katy!! no-one deserves it more than you! you make us proud!

highlights of the SA trip were:
1. Rick bayless was on my flight to SA. there was apparently a Latin American Cooking symposium in SA, which would make sense.
2. las Palapas (see previous entries on SA)
3. nice, on time flights
4. upgrades both ways

Lets see - now...i am a full time student! studying hard...making new friends...and spending way more money than i really should be.

Eveeryone make sure to wish karee a happy (late) birthday...it was yesterday, but we're celebrating tomorrow....

next flight is in 6 weeks for thanksgiving, when i'm flying back to TX. Who is going to be there!

any ideas for what i should post about in the next 6 weeks? business school shenanigans? recruiting? classes? new brown-nosing friends?

Thailand!!!

HI guys!!! Well, if i thought the travel would subside after quitting my job, I was wrong.

I went to Thailand for a week with 15 new friends (a school organized trip). Yes, it was basically like the Real World. We all met at the gate at Ohare...so litearlly we were complete strangers.

Anyway - a 3rd party had booked all of this travel for us (TravelMBA) so we had no say on the airlines or anything...but lo and behold, we were on United. Obviously, I was thrilled. So i cashed in some of my systemwide (intl) upgrades and flew business class the whole way. which was SO nice.

Now, as we've discussed several times on here...International upgrades are not all that fabulous on a domestic carrier (ie - United). if we'd been on on eof the partner airlines, i'm sure the business class would have been so much nicer, but it was decent. at least the seats reclined more than in coach. but i didn't have a personalized entertainment station. the food was ok. not fabulous, but ok.

we flew from Ohare to Tokyo (12-13 hour flight), then had a 2 hour layover in Tokyo, then flew from Tokyo to Bangkok (6 hour flight). needless to say, this was a LONG LONG day. we arrived in Bangkok about 11pm or so, and then headed out for the night. We spent a few days in Bangkok, then a few days in Pattaya (um...look it up...crazy), then back to Bangkok for 2 days, then flew home.

The trip was awesome, I met some fun new friends, and saw some BEAUTIFUL stuff there. I would like to go back without a party of 16 (i mean...it makes EVERYTHING difficult), and to see some different parts of the country. We didn't get to some of the southern beaches (the really famous gorgeous ones), and we didn't get to the northern part of the country (chang mai, in particular). So now i have a reason to go back! Preferably not during the HOT HOT HOT humid humid humid monsoon season :)

Lets see - what else. Last weekend I flew to Denver for Chris & Erin's wedding (Congratulations!!!!). Flew on American since United was crazy expensive. The flights were delayed in both directions (clearly not AA's fault, but because of the monster thunderstorms that sat on top of chicago all weekend). I have to say, AA wasn't my favorite. Maybe bc i'm so used to Economy Plus on United, but the seats were TINY, the planes are smaller too. so for example, the seat config is 2-3. so on the 2 side of the plane (seats A&B), there isn't space for roller bags because the bins are too shallow. meaning....there isn't really room on the plan for all the luggage. poor design, if i say so :) what else....they had a nice variety of snack packs for purchase (I didn't). otherwise, pretty much the same as any other airline.

I'm flying United again next week to go to Dallas for my cousin's wedding, but that's a quick trip (24 hours) so hopefully no delays!!!

Once the travel slows down (should be another few weeks), then I"ll start posting about obnoxious business school trends and peopls (dont worry, there's tons)

bye!!!

also - SHOUT OUT. my dear friends Steve & Amanda are studying abroad (they're in law school) in Madrid this fall. I put their blog link on the right!!!

Tulsa, Oklahoma

TULSA is quite the metropolitan destination and the airport fit right in. I arrived right on time (yay) and quickly met up with keli's parents. we had about 30 minutes to kill until keli landed, so we wandered around and quickly stumbled across this vending machine. i had to take a picture of course....have you EVER seen this? it delivers piping hot food right to you?! i didn't know whether to be grossed out or totally in love.

has anyone tried one of these before? i'm curious how they heat it all up and deliver it at the perfect temperature? i would have tried myself, but this one was out of order, and i didn't discover there was another one there until too late. sad. maybe next year i'll try it!

the week in oklahoma (at keli's family lakehouse) was great! lots of sun, reading, relaxing, beerade, and fun.

let's fast forward to the departure from tulsa....

so...we were flying out on monday afternoon (keli to DC, and me to Chicago). when we came in from the lake to shower and clean up, i notice i have like 3 missed calls and voicemails from united. bad sign. the first one says my flight is delayed, the 2nd one says my flight is actually cancelled, and the 3rd one is a nice friendly man at the tulsa airport telling me my options. he has rebooked me on a 2pm flight (my flight was at 5 originally), and says the 2pm is already so delayed that even if i arrive at 4...i'll get on it fine. so...ok. nothing to worry about? sounds like i'm all set! great!

we arrive at the airport, keli leaves right on time, and i realize my flight (the 2pm) is now delayed until 7-something. so i go have some food (not the tyson machine), and hang out and read. then i notice its delayed more. apparently (i had no idea) the worst storm in years was pummeling chicago (ie - when i was talking to my friend on the phone...the tornado sirens were all going off downtown, they evacuated wrigley field, trees blowing down all over town, etc....very bad). needless to say, total ground stop in effect.

i honestly have no idea how i killed time - i think i have purged this memory from my mind. all of a sudden, it's 9. we board the plane, back up, and start taxiing. ohhhhhhhhhhh wait...not so fast....captain comes on the horn says ground stop is back in effect, we're going back to the gate. at this point, i would have rather just sat on the plane, as tiny and squished as it was. but that wasn't an option. so back to the gate we go....back to the bar i go. i needed a beer. badly.

finally, we end up leaving at like 1130 or so. the flight was so scary...i have never seen lightning like that. it was just constant. not flashes, but like the lights were on up in the sky. spooky!

so...we land, the cab line is of course a total hell hole (and sorry...i know i'm trying to be fiscally responsible here, but....im not taking the el home at 2am...no way jose). so the cabbie turns onto my street, and it's like we're staring straight into hell. there are trees (big ones...whole entire trees, not little wimpy branches) all in my street...and not a light in sight. that's right folks, no power. (note - the power didn't come back on until WEDNESDAY...which for those of you who can add well....that's 3 days of no power). so i have to use my cell phone like a flashlight to go up my stairs (and most of you know that i'm like the biggest scaredy cat wussy in the WORLD about the dark). then i walk into my spooky pitch dark apartment and crash. the cabbie nicely offered to walk me up to my place....um, pass.

so tulsa....you were good to me during my delay. i think it's pretty weak that your only food-serving establishment closes at 630, but hey...i dont make the decisions. your bar stayed open later, which i appreciated. and your magazine store didn't dissapoint, even if the girl had no idea what she was doing and asked if 'details' was a book. and yes, i know details is for closeted gay men, but i wanted to read about james mcevoy. no dice.

Boston!

overdue post alert! well, i promised you guys some good blogs about my airport experiences, and im finally here to deliver. and lucky you...you're going to get a load of posts today.

first off...boston!

so my flight to boston was pretty uneventful except that it was about 5 hours late due to weather in boston. i was on a 6pm flight, and was supposed to land at like 9 or so but ended up getting more and more and more delayed as the night went on. there were about 5 flights from ohare to boston all delayed...so i at least felt better that i wasn't on the 2pm flight...which was also still there. (sidenote - several days after the flight, i got a 'personal' email from united apologizing for the delay, which i thought was a nice, if generic, touch.)

the interesting part of the story is that there was a huge group of travelers with a lot of kids on my flight....and the kids were all laying on the seats sleeping. each kid taking up 2 seats. so essentially, there is nowhere for any of the adults to sit. i found this to be pretttty unacceptable that the gate agents would allow this, so i just went and sat at another gate, but was kind of fired up about it.

when i arrived in boston, it was pretty late, so i booked it to the cab line and got outta dodge.

however, when i was leaving boston, i had some more time to explore. we got to Logan at about 5am... first thing i notice, the easy check-in kiosks (for united) are all broken. well, that's not true....out of a clump of 5 of them, 2 work. so there is a long line of people to use them. and what i absolutely will never understand is people who take like 20 minutes to check in with a kiosk. i mean....once you scan your credit card, you dont really have anything else to do (except maybe pick a seat). how on earth are people so slow at these???

once we were int he terminal, i got to explore. theres about 3 places to eat (this is the united terminal, which is clearly the stepchild of logan). first weird thing is that this rinky dinky little cafe had one of the most impressive airport salad bars i've ever seen. i even took a photo it was so impressive. lucky you.

pretty hot, huh!?

second thing....you know how some airports (primarily in the south....think charleston, charlotte, atlanta) try to up the charm-factor by having rocking chairs in the waiting areas? well, boston is certainly not trying to charm anyone....all the seats were your standard waiting area seats, except for one random stray rocking chair. how on earth do you think it got there? did someone fly it in and leave it? did it come through security? i thought this was totally bizarre...so again...i took a picture. (note - these were taken with my phone, so the quality is probably not so good - you can deal)

other weird thing about the boston airport was that there was a dunkin donuts right next to my gate, and the lady working the counter....had a voice volume of 8 million. as did most of the customers. so i got to hear a LOT of people bitching and moaning about how you can't get good coffee anywhere these days (except dunkin donuts, naturally). one guy had the nerve to scream "I was in San Antonio last week and wouldnt you know it....no dunkins there....those people must DIE". i was too tired to assault him, but i think karma is probably not on his side.

anyway - boston was wonderful. had a blast and would love to go back. i've heard great things about the other terminals there, but didn't have the chance to see them...so now i have an excuse to go back!

Charleston, SC

Hi my loyal readers!


I just returned from a week of family vacation and got to experience a brand new airport (new to me)! CHS - charleston, SC.


Before i get into the details, a comment. When i flew out of ohare, the flights for charleston, SC (CHS) and charleston, WV (CRW) were right next to eachother, and the flights were leaving at right around the same time. talk about confusing. i can't believe they dont have more people accidentally 1) book the wrong city, 2) get on the wrong plane. if i was gate control at Ohare, I would probably put a little space between those gates, but i guess they have a method to their madness.


Now, the airport.


Overall - I arrived and had about 30 minutes until my family arrived, so i got to explore the airport a little. um, 30 minutes was about 25 minutes too long. the airport is lovely, but pretty teeny. I think there were 5 gates in my terminal (term A). Within Terminal A, there was a magazine shop, a sam adams bar, and attached to the bar, a bagel cafe. i pretty much just bolted to baggage when i landed, so i didn't really explore. dont worry - i had plenty of time to explore when i departed. we'll get to that

Baggage - Slow. i know, i know...shocking. It was slow and it was small. there were 2 carousels for the whole airport, and the area around them was very cramped. lots of crazy behavior exhibited at baggage claim (the crazies who canNOT bear to wait 10 extra seconds and must push and shove to access their bag rather than waiting for it to circle to them).

Car Rental - EXCELLENT. not ONLY have they not implemented the dreaded 'rental car center' shuttle....but they dont even have rental car buses. the cars are literally parked like 10 feet outside the terminal. so you just stroll right over with your luggage and load on up! the Avis man was very nice and friendly and gave us a nice big car. 2 thumbs up!

Distance to City - Excellent. Just about 10 minutes to drive downtown. Even in the rain. EVEN including a small detour (aka - getting lost).

Now, we spent a week in South Carolina, then I was flying out of CHS back to ORD (on a direct flight, thankfully). So I get the helpful email from United that we're already running an hour behind, so i time my arrival appropriately. Then i sit and wait. I have a nice seat where I can see the plane at our gate...and there are some mechanics working on the door of the plane. After awhile, a mechanic walks out with a ROLL OF DUCT TAPE and all the passengers (who are staring out the window) start stirring nervously. they cancel the flight within like 2 minutes. mass panic ensues.

**Now, I have to think that many of these people have been reading this oh-so-widely-read blog, because some of them had the United Reservations # in their cell phone (a tip i recommended a while back). So they start calling all around me, and they've all been rebooked on the 545am flight the next morning. So...then i finally talk to the lady on the phone, and turns out I have been rebooked on a flight that same night to IAD then continuing on to ORD. i waved goodbye to all my new friends, as they left to go back home, and settled in for my flight in just about an hour. i was very excited to hear I'd be getting home that night, but a little confused as to why noone else was on this flight? curious, huh?

So....finally I board to DC, fly there (no problems whatsoever), then in DC i get to my gate, and it's completely packed to the gills. DC has the helpful screens with lots of info about your flight (ie - arrival time, list of standby passengers, list of upgrades available, etc). So i can quickly tell that there are 81 people on the standby list. EIGHTY-ONE. and united had just rebooked me on there and given me a seat.

now i know i bitch and moan about united, but come on....how can i possibly break up with them when they treat me THIS well? i can't. i cut a line of 81 people and had an aisle seat in economy plus. woo!!!

once i arrived back in chicago (late late late), i go to claim my luggage...and...nothing. i suspected my luggage might not be onboard, but the lady at the counter was just so incredibly stupid, i have to comment. She says 'your bag was checked onto flight XXX (whatever my original flight from charleston was), that flight landed several hours ago, so its here somewhere!" now you brilliant readers will recall that this flight was cancelled. so i tell her this. she reiterates "the flight landed and your bag is here". i say 'Maam, the flight never left, it's sitting on the ground in South Carolina". "oooooooooooohhhhh, well then yes, your bag is not here"

Fast Forward to Saturday about 5pm....my bag arrives at my house in Chicago. This actually wasn't that big of an issue, since i was at home (where i have lots of other clothes & toiletries) and not on the road. however, i did get an important tip out of the experience - pack your glasses in your carry -on, not your checked bag. those of you who dont wear glasses/contacts - i'm jealous...and in the words of katy's hilarious friend heston, "you are so lucky to have the gift of sight". haha

Next up - I'm flying to Boston on Thursday evening, so I am excited to see that airport too. I know its going to be big and exciting :)

SERIOUSLY overdue update

Hi my (hopefully) loyal readers!

It's been a long break, I know. Here's the update.

After we got back from Eastern Europe, I flew to San Antonio for walker's (my brother) high school graduation! Then I was back in Chicago, and very excited to get back to my forbidden fruit cotton apparel. In fact, I dont think i've worn any of my wickaway clothes from the trip once since i got back. I have moved into an apartment in Chicago and am enjoying living alone and getting to know my new city - which has been easy since i was unstaffed for the 5 weeks after i got back! So basically, I've been getting paid to not work. It's a rough life, I know. Unfortunately, the employment gods have turned against me once more and I am back on a project (but only for the next few weeks....and it's local).

I have visited several new airports since my last update, so i'll give you my thoughts on those. i know i know - you've been DYING to know.

Istanbul, Turkey (IST) - The Istanbul airport was pretty crazy. Our flight home to the US was at like 5am so we had to get there at the crack of dawn, which obviously was so much fun. To even enter the airport, you have to go through security, which we hadn't seen before. They have huge xray machines for the bags (since you have to run your checked baggage also) and then once through, you're in the main check in lobby. This raised several questions.

First, I think you're allowed to check weapons (guns, knives, etc), aren't you? So what's the point of security to get into the airport if you can still bring a gun inside and then check it later? Maybe these xray machines weren't looking for guns, but more for bombs and chemicals? I dont know - i didn't really want to get into that conversation with the charming non-english speaking man carrying a machine gun (although i'm sure he knew "gun" and "bomb" and i would have gotten the special turkish treatment for even saying those words)

Second, this airport is pretty nice (considering). They had an incredible lounge that we hung out in (thanks Lufty) pre-flight, and the breakfast buffet in that joint was just riduculous. Really everything you could ever want - including a close replica of the insanely yummy doughy cheese balls from the Zagreb train station. We downed some liquids, grabbed some rolls & mini-nutellas, and parked it. The rest of the airport was very modern and clean (granted there was hardly anyone there it was so effing early).

Third, not sure if this was a poor translation or a cultural difference, but there were some signs in the restrooms that were extremely strange. They said (in Turkish, with an English translation below). "Please help us conserve water, flush twice". Anyone??

Split, Croatia (SPU) - Not TOO much to see here - but still an interesting experience. We took basically every available form of transportation in and out of Split while we were there since we were there twice (train in, bus out, ferry in, plane out). The airport is REALLY far from the city, but Croatian airlines offers a bus service 1 hour before each flight (and you pay the equiv of like....well i can't remember but it was less than $10.00 US). The bus takes about 30 minutes (so of course you're freaking out that you are going to miss your flight, then you remember that everyone on your flight is on the bus with you....so doubtful they'll let the plane take off empty). Anyway - once you arrive at the airport, you check in, check your luggage, then go through security and you're....well, that's pretty much it. Once you go through security you're in a space with like 10 chairs (literally.....), and then a door outside (where you have to walk to the plane and go up the roller stairs). there's no water fountains, there's no shops, there's no cafe, there's no banos. The airport was pretty modern otherwise. very clean and everyone was very nice. although the security lady gave me a hard time when i had to leave the secure area to use the restroom before we boarded. i mean, what do they expect? They trick everyone into waiting in this empty room and then keep you there for like an hour. it was very crowded and we were seated near a couple that was....VERY in love. like as in all over eachother. charming.

For those of you who want out other thoughts on Croatia - you should check the other blog...we had lots of wonderful experiences there!!! There are also some thoughts on the FRA airport, and Budapest airport (even though we didn't ever get past the main lobby there....long story), and probably Dulles (though i can't remember much since i'd been flying for like 23+ hours at that point).

Hmm - otherwise...since i've been back, I've spent time in the DFW airport, the PHX airport, SAT airport, ORD airport, and BWI airport. All places i've blogged about before, from what i can recall.

Next up - several new airports for me!! I fly to CHS (Charleston, SC) on friday and will be there for a week. After that - BOS (Boston) airport (which i've been to but it's been years), and then TUL (Tulsa airport) whcih i go to every year and highly doubt i've blogged about despite it's exotic locale, then I'm goign to Thailand for a week, so i'm sure you'll get some good tales out of that adventure!

After that - I start school and will have to start traveling on Miles instead of with real money - thankfully i have a lot of those to tide me over until i start making a paycheck again. :)

So - I've had some questions of what I should blog about while i'm in Business School (since i wont have the exciting traveling lifestyle anymore - yay). Any ideas??????

The Trip!!!

Hi all my faithful readers!! I am SO sorry...i meant to post the link to our Trip blog on here before i left,but slipped my mind...SOOOOOOOOO here it is now. this should give you plenty of reading material as i compose my next brilliant airport observation (of which i have MANY from the trip!!!)

http://caraandabbyineurope.blogspot.com

Major updates

I've been MIA for awhile. Here are the highlights.

1. I've moved! (yes, again) I'm now living in Chicago. yay. due mainly to....

2. I'm going back to school in the fall. yay! More info to come...

3. Me & Cara leave for our big trip in precisely 12 days. Melissa will be accompanying us on the first 1.5 weeks or so, and Jac will be meeting up with us in Krakow (roughly days #5-8). Cara & I will be blogging while we're there (WAY more often than i do now...). And i'll definitely update before we leave!!

4. Travel Comment of the day...Ohare bathroom doors go all the way to the floor, which is unusual. Also - they have those plastic toilet seat covers (the kind that swirl around to cover the seat...not the paper kind you take out of the dispenser and place on the seat yourself). i enjoy this. however, ohare has a major lack of both electrical plugs & water fountains.

5. Also - i know i have spoken about the bathroom facilities in the PHL airport. well, there is a long hallway that goes between terminals that has a neat bathroom feature. its by the ABP and the Express Spa, for those of you familiar with PHL. The bathroom stalls are roughly 4x size of regular stall, and has a step (like a 1 foot tall step up) for you to rest your things on. now, its still made of tile, so its kind of still the floor, but its raised up, so i feel like its' LESS dirty than the floor. logical? or am i just convincing myself.....anyway - i place my computer bag and my rollerbag on the step, and feel like they're staying cleaner. also - these huge stalls have individual sinks & mirrors. whic means you can wash your hands & face & brush teeth, reapply makeup and fuss over your hair in relaxing solitude. :)

6. General Comment of the day...why why why do men insist on wearing leather jackets???? ok i know some of you will disagree with me here...but hear me out. There are definitely some leather jackets that are LESS awful than others. see this guy (below). the blazer cut is infinitely more flattering than the bomber cut. now, i think foreign men, trendy metrosexual men, and gay men can pull this off. Regular frat-guy types cannot and should not try to wear leather jackets.

But then there are the plan...potato sack...awful ones. like...below. WHO thinks this is flattering?? (hint - no girls do).
Women out there - lets try to get the word out. I know i dont have many readers, but i think if we put out minds to it, we can rid the world of these crimes against fashion...starting with bombers.

**My apologies to these lovely male models. i'm sure you're nice people, but perhaps you should think twice before agreeing to wear something disgusting when you know it will be put online.

What a wonderful gift!!!

SO has anyone read "the Secret"? you know, that ridiculous theory of 'if you put it out there, it will come back to you'? I've kind of always thought it was a joke. but apparently I was wrong.



THis morning I logged into my Smith Barney Account (which is only used for my Accenture shares), and guess what i found? A lovely gift waiting for me. Smith Barney felt like I deserved some kindness and love, and nicely transferred $577, 366,234.25 into my account! Just for fun! Becuase I deserve it!



Any suggestions on how we should spend our new money???

I'm gonna fly like an Eagle? (Guest Blog - Jackie)

First off, let me say that I everytime I fly the American Eagle puddle jumper from DC to Boston, it's as if the travel gods take all frustrations out on me.

My first AE experience included this crazy flight attendant who I SWEAR was fired by the airline right before this flight. She was slamming things in the galley, spilling drinks all over the place, and had locked the bathroom because it was broken (ok, this is not technically her fault), but I ask you, is it even legal to fly a plane with a broken toilet?! Regardless, this first round with AE was enough to make me vow never to take them again.... until, that is, US Air decided to price gouge.

So.. enter my second experience... I head to DCA (Ronald Reagan airport) last night around 5pm (flying Sunday night b/c of multiple morning meetings today). I check in for my flight and am told by the automatic machine that I need to speak with a gate agent for a seat assignment (not unheard of). When I get to the gate agent I'm told they "appear to me in an oversold situation... and they will be asking for volunteers to give up a seat and, only then, they MAY have room for me. Well.. after 6 loudspeaker attempts to get 2 people to give up their seat to Boston, I'm called up to the podium. Thinking I'm being called up to pick up my new boarding pass, I'm STOKED... this, however, was not the case.

Things play out as such:

AE Guy: So... we're not getting people to volunteer, and you're the last one to book this flight (5 days in advance, but whatever). We're going to have to bump you unless you volunteer.

Me: What does this mean?.... do you mean that if I volunteer to give up a seat I TECHNICALLY do not yet have, I get the $200 voucher?

AE Guy: If I bump you, it's $100, if you volunteer, it's $200.

Me: What flights do you have to get me out of here?

AE Guy: Do you live here?

Me: Yes

AE Guy: 8:05am tomorrow?

Me: Uhm... no, I have morning meetings which is why I planned on flying tonight in the first place...

AE: Guy: 10:10am, 3pm, 6pm, 7:15pm, but you connect at LaGuardia...

Me: No connecting. Let me make a call and I'll be right back. *** I call my manager and leave, on his VM, my plan to fly Monday night ***

Me: OK

AE Guy - let's do it. Book me on the 6pm tomorrow night..... and.... who's paying for my parking

AE Guy: ***shakes head to indicate no***

Me: I sure as shit don't think I should have to pay for my parking (yes, verbatim)

AE Guy: How about this... I'll give you $250 in vouchers and $10 meal ticket for the airport - that should cover your $10 in parking

Me: Done.

Post signing away on the voucher and what not, I have this brilliant plan that I will grab some food at the airport and take it home with me to enjoy while watching the Oscars. As you know, however, airport food is less than awesome. I wasn't in the mood to sit down and a have a meal at the airport (hello, I had Oscar fashions to view), so I hop in line at the fail safe "Panda Express." Don't act like you don't also love their Orange Chicken. It's delicious. Anyway, so my total is $9.85, and I had the woman my shiny, new, $10 food voucher.

Things go as such:

PE Lady: You can't use this here, it's good for this airport only.

Me: I know... I just got it at the American Airlines counter...

PE Lady: No, you can't use it here. You can use it in Jacksonville only.

Me: Jacksonville?! I JUST got this voucher here! Why Jacksonville?P

E Lady: Because that's what it says, Jacksonville.

Me: WHERE DOES IT SAY JACKSONVILLE?!?!

PE Lady: Right here ***pointing at text on the voucher***

Me: That says "JACQUELINE"... it's my name

Man in Line: HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA

PE Lady: Where does it say Washington?!!?*** I scan the crap out of this voucher and find it... it's SO small***

Me: Right there...P

E Lady: Oh.

So... in short, I hate American Eagle and would advise no one to fly them.

I have no good stories left

so i was in Delaware last week. It was boring and it snowed a lot. and (like an idiot) i packed my tall side-buckled black wedge-heeled boots (they are basically the sassiest thing i can get away with at work...any hotter and i'd be looked at suspiciously). I did not count on having to walk roughly 2 miles a day in them. my feet (needless to say) hurt. but i looked hot, so it's a fair trade.



the buildings i work in in downtown Wilmington are actualy about 4 huge buildings (each a city block) that are all connected via 2nd floor walkways. so you can see all the street activity every time you walk around. but all the things we do are in different buildings, so i did a lot of walking. anyway - i dont think i'll have to go back for a while, which is exciting. I've just finished a 7-week traveling stint to multiple cities and have a little break for a few weeks. i know i shouldn't rub it in...most of my friends that travel are still going every single week, so i feel lucky to have my schedule, although in my defense, it's way harder to go to a different city every week than to go back and forth to one each week. anyway - moving on.



i'm back in denver now - just spent a lovely weekend with the fam. i saw atonement this weekend and gotta say....not TOTALLY impressed. i haven't read the book so i can't provide too much brilliant analysis, but i didn't really think it deserved all the critical acclain it's gotten.



also - i just (finally...i know) saw Juno. i liked it. but...(i hope what i'm about to say doesn't earn me eternal hatred and scorn from those Juno crazies out there)...i thought some of the writing was straight up ANNOYING. like...the writer was trying a LITTLE bit too hard to make the dialogue sound young and hip. but hey, what do i know...i'm not a 16 year old....anyway - she won the Oscar and flashed all of us home-viewers her undies. I guess that's not unexpected from a former stripper...

Anyway - in MAJOR exciting news. Jackie is going to be a guest poster on our blog here to discuss her recent airport delay and triumphant win over the evil workers at DCA.

SA & TV

Hello everyone! Happy Valentine's Day (and Happy Birthday to our little romance-baby Jackie...who is currently celebrating her bday in Brussels after a mad dash around Europe for the past 2 weeks for work - poor baby)

Anyway - i'm in Denver, having just spent a week & a half in San Antonio with the fam. Here is the rundown of being in SA for 10 days.

Highlights:
Saw 5 concerts at the rodeo.
Wore my boots more than I ever have (and they're finally comfy!)
Ate delicoius rodeo food (corn dogs, lone star light on TAP)
Spent mucho QT with the fam
Had an unhealthy amount of tacos
Went on nice healthy, relaxing walks more days than i was expecting
IT was betwen 60-80 degrees every day

Lowlights:
I lost my camera
I gained 30 pounds

Now i'm back in denver for the rest of the week, and going back to Delaware next week (exciting).

I dont have a ton of new information to share with you all, but thought i would leave you with some new Television Show recs (based on my excellent taste). Maybe next time i'll discuss old tv faves (the ones i've been watching for more than the past 2 months or so)

- Make me a Supermodel (no explanation needed - this is basically a re-tooled version of ANTM, but with more realistic modeling scenarios & it happens essentially in real time. All of the action on the show takes place about a week behind when they air it. So the show tonight will feature everything that happened in the past week or so. At the end of each show, the judges pick the bottom 3 contestants, and you (the public) get to vote online or via text (like Idol) for who gets the boot. then next week, that person gets booted at the start of the episode, and the cycle repeats. Bonuses are that 1) it's co-ed, 2) it's realistic - ie they tell them they're fat, etc, 3) tyson beckford is a host. this show is on Bravo on Thursdays

- Rock of Love (season 2). Ok i admit i never watched the first season, but i saw an ep of this one in a hotel in phoenix and OMG i'm addicted. these women are absolutely insane. Its genius. They're basically trying to out-trash eachother and win the (oh so worthy) heart of Poison's Bret Michaels. There are some chicks on this show that are just wayyyyy out there in crazy town and he eats it right up. There is also some extremely entertaining fashion and hairstyles on the show. it's basically an x-rated version of the 'bachelor' (which had gotten boring anyway). this one is oh VH1 on sundays.

- How to look good Naked. This sounds like porn, but it's not. it's hosted by Carson Kressley (of Queer Eye fame). He takes a different girl/lady every episode. Usually she's a little overweight (but not always) and has major body-image issues. He spends a week with them making them realize they aren't fat and disgusting and are beautiful and wonderful and perfect. by the end of the week, he's convinced them of their hotness and they usualy agree to a nude (tastefully nude...and strategically covered) photo shoot. really, a great feel-good show. also - often times he takes them for a bra-fitting (bc most of them are squeezed into the WRONG bra) and he calls the woman at the bra place the 'bra whisperer', which i find hilarious. This show is on Lifetime (not sure of the day)

- Millionaire Matchmaker. Full disclosure - i've only seen this once and i didn't even see the whole episode, BUT it was pretty entertaining. I need to watch a little more before i give a review. but it's on Bravo also if you want to check it out.

that's all for now!!!!!!

over-organized....but still chaos

So I arrived at the Philadelphia airport on monday night...to go out to wilmington, DE for the week for work. My coworker, Jessica, and I...we stay downtown in wilmington...and usually just walk to work in the morning (it's about 4 blocks). anyway - so we dont usually get a rental car in Delaware. meaning....we get a car service to take us from phl airport to delaware (about 30 minutes or so).

Anyway - I haven't been to PHL in a while, so i must have forgotten about the way their airport is run. But this time...i was paying close atention so i could tell all of you what a mess it is. I'm going to make it a step-by-step reenactment.

1. so...you have to call the car service in advance and make a reservation. i typically use 'delaware express', and they've been great every time. so i called on monday morning (when i was still in denver) and made a reservation for that evening. 2 ppl (jessica was flying in separately), gave them my flight # and time.

2. When you arrive, you walk all the way down to baggage claim. there is a booth with a grumpy old man sitting there. there is also a phone with a list of #'s (you know...for the courtyard marriot...just dial 11, for the delaware expres...just dial 24, etc). you pick up the phone and the man hollers at you....WAIT!!!! YOURE NOT DOING IT RIGHT.

3. so you hang up the phone. the man says 'did you get your luggage??" (n/a), 'are you ready to go?' (yes), 'did you make a reservation?' (yes). ok...then he gives you a carnival ticket (or a raffle ticket....you know what i mean....the ones that have a 6 digit number on the side.

4. THEN...you can pick up the phone and call #24. Delaware express answers.....they say 'where are you....what terminal....do you have your luggage....are you ready...... (yes, same questions. also...why did i give you my flight # if you have to ask me again what terminal i'm in). then you have to give them your raffle ticket #.

5. THEN...you stand around for 15 minutes (i timed it), all the while getting solicited by illegal cab drivers and such. you're in the baggage claim chaos so it's really crowded and annoying. then....the drivers pull up outside (in a separate line from the cabs). they come in....and go talk to the grumpy man....they say 'i'm here for #210989' or whatever your raffle ticket says.

6. THEN....the grumpy man gets on his intercom and screams out the number.....even while he's STARING STRAIGHT AT ME. so he clearly knows who i am....and i'm the one waiting for the car.

7. then the driver approaches you and takes your stuff and confirms AGAIN your name and raffle #.

anyone else see the ridiculousness in all of this. it's like the grumpy old man is someone's relative and can't lose his job. his position is ENTIRELY useless. it adds like 4 steps to the process and is completely skip-able. why couldn't i call Delaware Express on the phone, tell them i'm here...then when they come in they holler out my name? or call my cell? it was ridiculous.

although (in old man's defense) - during my 15 minute waiting period...a girl about 20 years old walked up to his booth and completely broke down into tears. she was exhausted and frustrated (i've been there) and needed directions. he was really nice and helpful with her...so maybe that's why they keep him around????

Some non-travel Thoughts....

Well, after the overwhelming response to the post about our Eastern Europe trip...i'm going to switch gears here. After all, I originally intended this blog to be about random general knowledge, and not about travel exclusively...and since that's all I did for a few years, that's all you ever heard about. no more!!!

1. My Fan - as you know, I work from home usually...when i'm not traveling, that is. I sit in my bedroom at my desk. MY ceiling fan is squeaky...and i'm not sure how to fix this. I think it was Dan (my sister's boyf) who told me a story about how he once tried to put WD40 on his fan to fix it...and (you know where this is going...) when he turned it back on, it was a WD40 shower in his room. i would prefer if that didn't happen. so usually i can just tune the squeaky out....but no more. it's driving me crazy.

2. My New Favorite Drink - Pisco Sour. it's peruvian, apparently. We went to a Peruvian restaurant the other day and I tried this. WOW it's delicious. I think the ingredients are too complex and weird to buy them for making at home, so I'll have to stick to ordering in restaurants. Please dont get grossed out by the fact that there is an egg in tehre....i promise you couldn't even tell.

3. Keli sent me a link to an online geography quiz which i have been ROCKING on. Seriously, I would recommend not clicking this link as it will directly impact your work productivity...in a negative way. i'm serious...dont do it. http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq

4. Monogrammed Correspondence Cards - I decided i was an adult and needed to get these (well, i got them to write some thank you notes after some recent interviews). i bought some online from Neiman Marcus and they were VERY discounted and are very beautiful and lovely. They're on cream colored paper & have my name written in navy block letters. ooh la la.

5. Netflix - I'm the WORST netflix member. well, actually if you work for netflix, you probably love me bc i'm the person who keeps her movies for like 2 months at a time...so they make lots of money off me. this is one of my new years resolutions...to be better about returning my netflix on time and getting new ones.

that's all - more travel commentary next time. happy holidays!!!!

Eastern Europe...ideas?

So...I haven't had to travel at all lately!! I almost went down to Phoenix this week, but decided at the last minute that I didn't really need to go and I'd rather stay at home this week...especially since I'm leaving on Saturday morning to fly to San Antonio for the holidays!

Let's see - since I dont have an airport update, why dont I tell you all about an upcoming adventure I have! In late April, me & my roommate are heading to Eastern Europe for about a month to explore and have a little adventure! I'll tell you our plans then yall can give us ideas on where to go, eat, stay, tour, etc. We're open to any/all suggestions. We're flying into Prague & out of Istanbul...and the whole rest of the trip is still open! Our tentative schedule is:

Prague
Krakow
Vienna
Budapest
Croatia
Montenegro
Bucharest
Istanbul

What you got? Lets hear em!

Raleigh!!!

Hello my lovely readers who have probably all vanished by now. I haven't had to travel too much recently, but did go to the RDU (Raleigh-Durham) airport about 2 weeks ago and realized I hadn't graced you with my review just yet. so here goes!!!

So there is a daily NonStop from DEN-RDU, but it's in the middle of the day, which I couldn't swing...so I had to take the connection through ORD. my 1st flight was uneventful, BUT....my 2nd was not. It was one of those tiny planes (where you have to walk outside to board...no jetway). Anyway -it's windy and cold at ORD, so the pilot annouces we're 35th in line for take0ff. all of a sudden the man behind me rings his call button and asks the stewardess for the pilot. He is transporting a bone marrow donation from Germany to a patient in Chapel Hill, NC (about 20 minutes from RDU). He had been flying for over a day already, had missed 2 connections, and was (i guess) running out of time to get the donation to the patient. So.....all of a sudden, we were FIRST in line for takeoff, and we were on our merry way. it was very exciting.

Anyway - the Airport. Very nice and clean (looked very new). Baggage was INCREDIBLY speedy (again, my bag was 1st off the carousel). The Hertz bus was independent (not part of the "rental car center" we've previously discussed). There seemed to be great dining options (including Jersey Mikes), although since I landed at midnight, they were all closed.

On my outbound flight a few days later, I saw even more of the airport. There's an Express Spa (the hot new airport amenity - there's also one in Philly), several good food options, book/magazine options, and a bagel place. Overall, I was very impressed with the RDU airport.

That's all for now. I am only flying to/from San Antonio for th rest of the year, so i'l probably go back to 'things that happen on planes' type of posts, hope that's ok with you all (all 1 of you!)

Washington Reagan & Baltimore

Have been a busy little bee since I last updated. Flew back from Geneva to Denver (via Frankfurt). Had possibly the worst flight of my entire life (and lucky for me...it lasted 10.5 hours). Anyway - that flight was so awful I dont even want to think about it.

Then...I flew from Denver to Washington (DCA)...then took the train up to WIlmington for work, then flew out of Baltimore after spending the weekend up there for a wedding (complex trip, but very worth it).

Airport Observations:

DCA - Washington Reagan
Pros:
1. Great Location, nice and close to the DC and NOVA areas.
2. Metro Accessible
3. There is a "Potbelly Sandwiches" in the airport, and the smell wafts around, so it smells great everywhere
4. 800 million miles closer to the DC area than Dulles.
5. Nice and Clean and relatively new ( i believe?), so everything is shiny and relatively well designed (ie - hallways are very wide)

Cons:
1. Luggage took forever
2. I didn't fly out of DCA, but previous experiences have had horrible security lines and no status shortcuts (boo)
3. Terrible shopping options (only 1 book/magazine store)



BWI - Baltimore
Pros:
1. The security line (while long) moved VERY quickly.
2. It's the only airport I've ever been in where the ID checking woman actually took the time to look closely at my ticket/id/face.

Cons:
1. Far away
2. When i used to live in DC, we would sometimes fly out of BWI to save money. on weekdays, you can take the metro, to the train and get to BWI for less than $10. however, when you come back...the trains dont seem to run on the weekends (unless my memory is wrong) and then you have to take a $100 cab ride home. non ideal.
3. the security is LONG. I flew out of Terminal D and the security line was approx 500 people long. (see Pro #1, however)

That's all i got people!!! FLying into RDU (Raleigh Durham) on Thursday, so expect thoughts on that one soon!!!

More from Geneva!!!

Was planning to wait until I got home to update you all on Geneva, but I have a few free minutes here so thought I may as well get to it!

My stay here has been so awesome so far. Those of you who know Jac know that she's so fun and we've had a great time. Let's see if i can do it justice!

Thursday: I arrived in Geneva after a stopover in Frankfurt. Frankfurt airport was pretty good, from what I saw of it. Actually, there was one weird thing.... so i deplane from my inbound flight from Denver, i walk around for a little to stretch my legs, then i camp out in the Lufthansa Gold lounge for an hour or so. Then i try to find a water fountain (with no luck), so i buy a huge bottle of water. (those of you who know me will remember that idrink an obscene amount of water.....what can i say?? my body requires a lot of fluid i guess??). anyway - it's huge. so i walk to my gate and notice there is a security check directly in front of my gate. JUST my gate...no other gates. the woman sees my huge water and tells me i can't take it in...so i step back and drink the whole thing. i was pretty dehydrated after my long flight and just chugged the whole thing. actually, it kind of hurt. haha. but....the real qustion is....WHY was there an additional security check in front of my gate? I was still in the secure terminal? the gates on either side of me weren't being checked? it was very odd. Anyway - on my Frankfurt-Geneva flight, we were served a little cheese sandwich and a mini-twix, both of which i basically swallowed whole. i guess i was hungrier than i thought? arrived in Geneva and claimed luggage, then walked to Jac's office (approx 5 mins walking from the airport - the airport is litearlly right in the middle of an office park...weird!!!). then jac luckily was able to take the rest of the day off and we took the bus home together!!! great start to the trip! we then went to drop off her laundry at the laundromat, and visited the grocery store. i dont know about you, but i think it's totally fascinating to grocery shop in other countries. like....i can't stop looking at all the options. the produce is way fresher looking than in the US, for one thing. the cheese department (karee...i'm talking to you!!!) is like.....the size of china. i swear, it's enormous. and they have a Weight Watchers variety for EVERY cheese. they have WW brie. i'm not kidding. i think i want to move here. any country where WW can see fit to sponsor a triple cream cheese is a-ok with me!!!

ANyway - we made raclette (i took pics and will post when i arrive home tomorrow) and drank wine and it was fab!

Friday - jac worked all day and i worked on my B School apps. 2 submitted friday so that was exciting!!! then around....6pm, she came home, we went to go feed her friend's cats (jac was cat-sitting this weekend) around the corner, then stopped at a cute bar by their house for happy hour. had 2 drinks then went back home bc Allison was arriving!!! Allison went to college with us also and was coming down from Strasbourg, France, where she's lived for the past 5+ years since college. me and Jac took train to airport to meet her and her dog (Belle) and we all came home and had fondue and drank wine and chatted and had lots of fun.

Saturday - went wine tasting in Dardegny (i hope i spelled that right), a small town outside of Geneva. Jac has blogged about it before so you can read about that on her site. Had lots of delicious swiss wines and met up with Jac's friends. Had a delicious lunch at a tiny little cute restaurant, then came home and took a much-needed power nap. Then we went to a little neighborhood pizza place where we were seated next to a lunatic family. Really. Crazy people. the woman was kissing everyone in the restaurant and i was terrified she was coming to me next. allison kept translating everything for me though, so i was relatively safe. in any case, very eventful. apparently (thank you Jac) the waiters in Switz get really offended if you dont eat all your food. YET they make you order an entire pizza all for yourself. since i couldn't finish mine, the waiter didn't come to clear our table for like.....an hour. literally. that was interesting......how is everyone here not WAY fatter??

Sunday - we toured around Geneva, went to see the Jet d'eau, (sp?), went to starbucks (allison was in need since they dont have them in strasbourg), then went to the big cathedral. jac & i thought it would be fun to 'climb the tower'. which......yes, it was fun. but let's just say it's several days later and my dogs are still barking. our legs were like jelly when we finished that, but i got some great pics!!! stay tuned for those!! Allison had to leave sunday late afternoon, so me & jac came home and cooked dinner, had some wine, and sat on her porch and people watched.

Monday - decided to take a little day trip to Yveron Les Baines, a small town about 50 minutes away (via train) from Geneva. THey're known for their thermal springs, and we decided to go for the Thermal Hot Springs Spa there, which sounded Super fun. Anyway - since it's freezing, i obviously didn't pack a bathing suit. and i def wont fit into Jac's, so we debated whether i should 1) buy one, 2) wear a black bra/undies and pretend it was a suit, 3) acclimate to euro and join the nudefest. we were both pretty nervous about this, since we're shy americans and dont really want to prance around in our birthday suits often. ANyway - as luck would have it, there was a sporting goods store right in town when we arrived and i bought a suit. phew. and Oh my god thankfully, because there was NO nudity at this place, so i would have stood out pretttttttttttttttttty obviously. hahah. the thermal spa was really cool, and we somehow managed to go upstairs and enjoy the japanese baths and the really really hot tub (most of the 'hot' tubs weren't really all that hot). when we were leaving we discovered we were supposed to have paid more for that, but didn't. oooooooooops. anyway - we took the train back, then both worked for a little, then went to dinner at this cute little place in the old town. we sat next to a couple speaking english and jac & i played the "are they on a date? if so, what # date?" game about them. we determined it mush have NOT been a great date since at 1 point they were both on their cell phones. didn't their mothers ever teach them it's rude to talk on the phone at the table? apparently not. we also spent about 10 mins trying to guess her accent. we decided she was from a non-english speaking country, but had been taught english by a south african. her accent was so weird!

anyway - now i'm at jac's apartment, about to run out then she & i are meeting for dinner in a few hours. i leave tomorrow morning. i'm so sad to leave her - i've had such a great time, and geneva is such a cute, charming city. its' pretty easy to get around and navigate, which is another bonus.

also - i've now spoken to 8 french people on my own. EIGHT!! huge accomplishment. please, just indulge me here :)

ok more to come later. bye!