So, I am finally settled in DC for 5 whole weeks after what seems like whirlwind travel over the last couple of months. What do I do with my first whole weekend in a long time at home? Finish the kitchen cabinet doors so the kitchen can go back to some semblance of normal? Nope. Sleep, lots of sleep. I progressed from bed to couch for two whole days and it was laziness bliss. Back to reality this coming weekend because those cabinet doors are not going to paint themselves.
Meanwhile, I headed out to work yesterday knowing that there would be some type of paving or patching happening on my street while I was away at work. I read 30% of the announcement so I was prepared...or not. When I got home, my street and the street next to it in the community were completely closed off to traffic meaning that I had to park out on the main street. The street is not set up for a whole bunch of cars to park on it overnight so I had to park 2 blocks away from my townhouse. People, I bought a townhouse with a driveway and garage specifically so I would have easy parking at my home. Unhappy, party of one right here. It is supposed to be back open tonight when I get home and all I have to say is it better be.
You know what is fun? Being hyped up on caffeine and sugar (coffee and M&M's the drug of choice today) while trying to persuade the powers that be that you really need like a 40% increase in your spending budget for next year. It all makes sense in my head...but maybe not theirs. Why am I hyped up on caffeine and sugar? Well, because I made the sensible decision to stay up late last night and just finish the book that I started yesterday when I got home. It all made sense until I looked at the clock at 1:00 AM and realized I needed to get up in 4 1/2 hours...drat.
My birthday was last week and it was the big 4-0. I was actually in Los Angeles working which I have discovered is the best way to celebrate a birthday since I actually then had 4 separate birthday celebrations to compensate. All in all a great way to kick off a new year in my life but maybe not for a co-worker who also celebrated my birthday four times...he threatened to revolt if I had one more celebration.
In five weeks I am off for vacation and I am super excited! The one thing dragging me down is not having yet gone to a beach destination this year and I am super missing my veggie beach time. I am thinking of trying to squeeze in a short trip for Labor day locally where I can drive and take the Snickers to the beach. She will not be amused by the sand on her paws.
I feel bad because I have not yet posted much, if anything pertaining to the DIY part of this blog but I have been so busy on the travel end, it has been put the DIY part of my world on hold. Good news is mom and dad gave me a big ole Lowes gift card for my birthday so there is spending and projects that will develop. That and having at least 4 more full weekends at home means projects galore! Painting, so much painting to do everywhere! I am breaking out the power sprayer...
Spray on Y'all!
Shelley
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
The Joys of Homeownership
So, had to hang around the house and work remote today simply due to the fact that once again, I needed service on my AC unit that is from the dark ages. Seriously, when you look at the yellow energy star rating on the front of the units door, it is practically like I am burning coal with a gas and electric flame.
This time it was only a clogged drain for the condensation off the interior unit. Since that is piped with PVC and glued into place, not something I was going to mess with. Not a huge deal except that it was leaking water everywhere rusting the bottom of the unit and getting water all over the floor (AKA Carpet) and causing a general mess.
Fun fact: The AC repairman hit on me. Not so fun was it was in my house and I find that exceptionally creepy being a single girl. You know where I live so just no.
I am off to Los Angeles for some hotel visits and a convention for a week. Snickers is off to her second home for a week. Seriously, I feel like I currently have joint custody of my dog but am so thankful that I have someone who can take care of her when I am gone. I am hoping while prowling about Los Angeles, I can eat at one or two unique venues while I am out there. Fingers crossed.
Oh, and I turn forty while there on travel. Hmm...
Meanwhile all the cabinet doors stacked all over my living room space are mocking me. I mean, I started this project on Memorial Day weekend! I guess I should set my sights lower on what exactly I can get accomplished in a weekend - even a long weekend.
In other news, the theme for the client event in LA is "Prom Night" and I am so excited I could squeal! Those who do know me (and probably those who just have read some of the things here) know that I have a TON - seriously people, a TON - of formal dresses. I now get to bust out a doozy for Los Angeles and go to prom all over again. I am wondering if I can order boutonniere's and corsages before I get there for me and my team member who is joining me on this adventure.
On a sad note, I finally watched the last 5 episodes of Warehouse 13. I am so depressed they cancelled the show. I loved it and thought it was really well done so will miss it during the supper viewing season.
I know, I am a nerd.
Meanwhile, sharing my Pinterest page for the townhouse. I have so many ideas and the very next project I am going to tackle after finally finishing the cabinet painting is painting the two spare bedrooms. Both will be in Sherwin Williams Light French Gray. Each room will have a city theme of two of my favorite cities: London and Paris. The London room will be called "The Flat" and the Paris will be called "The Pied A Terre". So. Many. Ideas.
Here is the link: Pinterest Townhouse Inspirations
Share, explore, view, and tell me what you think...
Namaste, Y'all!
Shelley
This time it was only a clogged drain for the condensation off the interior unit. Since that is piped with PVC and glued into place, not something I was going to mess with. Not a huge deal except that it was leaking water everywhere rusting the bottom of the unit and getting water all over the floor (AKA Carpet) and causing a general mess.
Fun fact: The AC repairman hit on me. Not so fun was it was in my house and I find that exceptionally creepy being a single girl. You know where I live so just no.
I am off to Los Angeles for some hotel visits and a convention for a week. Snickers is off to her second home for a week. Seriously, I feel like I currently have joint custody of my dog but am so thankful that I have someone who can take care of her when I am gone. I am hoping while prowling about Los Angeles, I can eat at one or two unique venues while I am out there. Fingers crossed.
Oh, and I turn forty while there on travel. Hmm...
Meanwhile all the cabinet doors stacked all over my living room space are mocking me. I mean, I started this project on Memorial Day weekend! I guess I should set my sights lower on what exactly I can get accomplished in a weekend - even a long weekend.
In other news, the theme for the client event in LA is "Prom Night" and I am so excited I could squeal! Those who do know me (and probably those who just have read some of the things here) know that I have a TON - seriously people, a TON - of formal dresses. I now get to bust out a doozy for Los Angeles and go to prom all over again. I am wondering if I can order boutonniere's and corsages before I get there for me and my team member who is joining me on this adventure.
On a sad note, I finally watched the last 5 episodes of Warehouse 13. I am so depressed they cancelled the show. I loved it and thought it was really well done so will miss it during the supper viewing season.
I know, I am a nerd.
Meanwhile, sharing my Pinterest page for the townhouse. I have so many ideas and the very next project I am going to tackle after finally finishing the cabinet painting is painting the two spare bedrooms. Both will be in Sherwin Williams Light French Gray. Each room will have a city theme of two of my favorite cities: London and Paris. The London room will be called "The Flat" and the Paris will be called "The Pied A Terre". So. Many. Ideas.
Here is the link: Pinterest Townhouse Inspirations
Share, explore, view, and tell me what you think...
Namaste, Y'all!
Shelley
Thursday, July 17, 2014
A Thankful Realization
So, I am sitting at home waiting on my Dad's flight to get here to DC (first family visit to the townhouse so I am also a bit stressed) and thought I would share some things that struck me today. I have spent most of the week in meetings and training with our global Brand Performance Support team. It has been good times and truly enjoyable getting to know the whole team better and better as I continue this journey in the new position.
Of course, during the early portion of the day, most of our phones popped up with an alert about Malaysian Flight 17 and the poor souls on board. With my recent travels in China and the opportunity to get to know some of our Asia Pacific team members (as well as having a group of them with us this week), I was struck by the fact that I can focus way too much on the mundane or perceived irritants when in reality, my life is pretty fantastic.
Another thing that struck me as I rapidly approach birthday 40 (10 day countdown) is that life is fleeting and we should take advantage of every moment. It was not my impending birthday that brought this on but the celebration of a 25th birthday right before Dad and I head down to reconnect with our family here in Virginia and celebrate the life of my Dad's uncle who has stage 4 Leukemia.
This man, who I have only gotten to spend a bit of time with (and that is a true shame) recently celebrated his 90th birthday. This life has been filled with love and selflessness and the want to help and support others. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to spend a bit more time with him and all the family and am kicking myself for not doing this earlier either when I first moved to DC or on any of my previous trips to the DC area for work.
Good news is I get to reconnect with everyone and build relationships anew. It does bring back a very fond memory of going horseback riding - english for this girl who had only ever rode western - with my cousin and nearly falling off the horse with the saddle included. Not because of bad riding mind you but because we did not get the saddle secured on tight enough (sneaky horse puffing up it's chest) and as I was riding, the saddle started slipping down one side. I can just picture what I looked like as I started to slowly slide down one side of the horse getting more and more diagonal to the grounds. It was a blast though!
I also enjoyed our team event last night to a local venue that offered bowling and bocce. Who knew that our European friends were so excellent at bowling? I got smoked by quite a few of them. I also watched and then participated on a very competitive (and lumpy) bocce court. Oh, and after sharing the fun that was my China travels, many of our international folks have decided I am probably not the person to travel with (I am though, trust me!)
Finally, during the training program today, one of our really fantastic team members from Austria (I am almost positive he is from there) kept making several great points. But each and every time he spoke, all I could picture in my head (I got home late last night so not enough sleep evidently) was him as a Bond Villain saying, "Not this time, Mr. Bond." It was super funny and super distracting especially since I have heard him speak multiple times. I am not sure what is wrong with me.
So, I guess in essence, I am really lucky in the career, job, family, and friends I have and get to reconnect with. Oh, and I think in action adventure novels when I am especially tired and sitting through an 8 hour class...
PS, I am leaving for Los Angeles next week and there are going to be ALL KINDS of stories to tell from that trip! Then finally maybe I can get the kitchen cabinets finished.
Talk soon, y'all!
Shelley
Of course, during the early portion of the day, most of our phones popped up with an alert about Malaysian Flight 17 and the poor souls on board. With my recent travels in China and the opportunity to get to know some of our Asia Pacific team members (as well as having a group of them with us this week), I was struck by the fact that I can focus way too much on the mundane or perceived irritants when in reality, my life is pretty fantastic.
Another thing that struck me as I rapidly approach birthday 40 (10 day countdown) is that life is fleeting and we should take advantage of every moment. It was not my impending birthday that brought this on but the celebration of a 25th birthday right before Dad and I head down to reconnect with our family here in Virginia and celebrate the life of my Dad's uncle who has stage 4 Leukemia.
This man, who I have only gotten to spend a bit of time with (and that is a true shame) recently celebrated his 90th birthday. This life has been filled with love and selflessness and the want to help and support others. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to spend a bit more time with him and all the family and am kicking myself for not doing this earlier either when I first moved to DC or on any of my previous trips to the DC area for work.
Good news is I get to reconnect with everyone and build relationships anew. It does bring back a very fond memory of going horseback riding - english for this girl who had only ever rode western - with my cousin and nearly falling off the horse with the saddle included. Not because of bad riding mind you but because we did not get the saddle secured on tight enough (sneaky horse puffing up it's chest) and as I was riding, the saddle started slipping down one side. I can just picture what I looked like as I started to slowly slide down one side of the horse getting more and more diagonal to the grounds. It was a blast though!
I also enjoyed our team event last night to a local venue that offered bowling and bocce. Who knew that our European friends were so excellent at bowling? I got smoked by quite a few of them. I also watched and then participated on a very competitive (and lumpy) bocce court. Oh, and after sharing the fun that was my China travels, many of our international folks have decided I am probably not the person to travel with (I am though, trust me!)
Finally, during the training program today, one of our really fantastic team members from Austria (I am almost positive he is from there) kept making several great points. But each and every time he spoke, all I could picture in my head (I got home late last night so not enough sleep evidently) was him as a Bond Villain saying, "Not this time, Mr. Bond." It was super funny and super distracting especially since I have heard him speak multiple times. I am not sure what is wrong with me.
So, I guess in essence, I am really lucky in the career, job, family, and friends I have and get to reconnect with. Oh, and I think in action adventure novels when I am especially tired and sitting through an 8 hour class...
PS, I am leaving for Los Angeles next week and there are going to be ALL KINDS of stories to tell from that trip! Then finally maybe I can get the kitchen cabinets finished.
Talk soon, y'all!
Shelley
Monday, July 14, 2014
Monday Funday
So I woke up this morning lamenting the fact that the kitchen cabinet doors are STILL not back on the cabinets themselves. Not that I did not get anything done with them this weekend - far from it. It is just that I had so many other things to do that I did not get around to the actual priming and painting of the cabinets.
What did I get done?
Well, with 17 cabinet doors, they all got a thorough sanding with a palm sander (sorry neighbors!) and de-greasing (seriously folks I don't think the previous owners ever wiped these doors down - yuck!) before a thorough vacuuming and washing down with TSP substitute to prep them for priming and painting. This whole process took around 4 hours - well this and the careful taping of all the hinge hardware so I did not have to remove it. It also happened to be one of those 90+ degree days in DC in the hot sun so I was whipped after this.
Did I stop doing anything for the day? Nope. After a well deserved shower and some lunch, I moseyed upstairs to the guest bedrooms to get one in some semblance of shape so my Dad has a place so sleep this week/weekend. That meant moving around 3 box springs and 3 mattresses distributing into the correct rooms. Also, that meant breaking town my desk space and moving it to the correct bedroom upstairs. That is no easy feat people since the glass top for the desk alone weighs 70+ Lbs. After the multi hours of sanding and then moving furniture around, my arms were mush. I did take the time to make up the bed with all the laundered new bed-things.
I did also hang the shower curtain finally in the guest bath upstairs and put down the floor mat. Toilet, sink, and bathtub scrubbing are for another day people. Then it was well, deserved dinner and an early night to bed. I was tired.
Sunday, dawned bright and early since I really needed to go to the grocery store and the only sane time to go to Wegmans is between 6-7am on the weekends. Otherwise it is like hitting the DC streets at rush-hour. Groceries bought and put away by 8:00 AM...that is the start of a good day. I washed the dishes and scrubbed the kitchen counters all in preparations of being able to temporarily store all the small kitchen appliances so they are not on the floor where I can continuously stub a toe. Painful.
I reorganized the kitchen pantry and took out the garbage before lugging the vacuum up from the first floor. Then I sorted all the junk mail into the recycle bins ready for pick up this week. That cleared up the living room floor (don't judge) enough for me to put the dog toys back in the toy box and vacuum. After that, I lugged the steam cleaner up from the basement floor and ran it over all the traffic areas (and maybe a spot or two where Snickers felt the need to express herself by peeing on the carpet.) Then, I did it all over again on the third floor. Well, all the spaces except for the master bedroom which has become the catch all for everything currently. I need to rectify that.
The only main chore that did not get handled this weekend (other than the cabinet door painting) was mowing the front and back yard spaces. And it is supposed to rain a lot this week. Hopefully by Thursday evening the rain will let up and I can show Dad how my "mower" works. He is fascinated.
I know, boring post and all and no pictures but I don't want to share the kitchen cabinets until I at least have a coat of primer on the doors. It just does not do any justice to look at the cabinet boxes painted without the doors on...you don't get the color effect. Busy week with work so I may not get around to posting until late this week or early next so...
TTFN, Y'all...
Shelley
What did I get done?
Well, with 17 cabinet doors, they all got a thorough sanding with a palm sander (sorry neighbors!) and de-greasing (seriously folks I don't think the previous owners ever wiped these doors down - yuck!) before a thorough vacuuming and washing down with TSP substitute to prep them for priming and painting. This whole process took around 4 hours - well this and the careful taping of all the hinge hardware so I did not have to remove it. It also happened to be one of those 90+ degree days in DC in the hot sun so I was whipped after this.
Did I stop doing anything for the day? Nope. After a well deserved shower and some lunch, I moseyed upstairs to the guest bedrooms to get one in some semblance of shape so my Dad has a place so sleep this week/weekend. That meant moving around 3 box springs and 3 mattresses distributing into the correct rooms. Also, that meant breaking town my desk space and moving it to the correct bedroom upstairs. That is no easy feat people since the glass top for the desk alone weighs 70+ Lbs. After the multi hours of sanding and then moving furniture around, my arms were mush. I did take the time to make up the bed with all the laundered new bed-things.
I did also hang the shower curtain finally in the guest bath upstairs and put down the floor mat. Toilet, sink, and bathtub scrubbing are for another day people. Then it was well, deserved dinner and an early night to bed. I was tired.
Sunday, dawned bright and early since I really needed to go to the grocery store and the only sane time to go to Wegmans is between 6-7am on the weekends. Otherwise it is like hitting the DC streets at rush-hour. Groceries bought and put away by 8:00 AM...that is the start of a good day. I washed the dishes and scrubbed the kitchen counters all in preparations of being able to temporarily store all the small kitchen appliances so they are not on the floor where I can continuously stub a toe. Painful.
I reorganized the kitchen pantry and took out the garbage before lugging the vacuum up from the first floor. Then I sorted all the junk mail into the recycle bins ready for pick up this week. That cleared up the living room floor (don't judge) enough for me to put the dog toys back in the toy box and vacuum. After that, I lugged the steam cleaner up from the basement floor and ran it over all the traffic areas (and maybe a spot or two where Snickers felt the need to express herself by peeing on the carpet.) Then, I did it all over again on the third floor. Well, all the spaces except for the master bedroom which has become the catch all for everything currently. I need to rectify that.
The only main chore that did not get handled this weekend (other than the cabinet door painting) was mowing the front and back yard spaces. And it is supposed to rain a lot this week. Hopefully by Thursday evening the rain will let up and I can show Dad how my "mower" works. He is fascinated.
I know, boring post and all and no pictures but I don't want to share the kitchen cabinets until I at least have a coat of primer on the doors. It just does not do any justice to look at the cabinet boxes painted without the doors on...you don't get the color effect. Busy week with work so I may not get around to posting until late this week or early next so...
TTFN, Y'all...
Shelley
Friday, July 11, 2014
So Little Time. So. Little. Time.
So, for the first time in 3 or 4 weeks I will be at home over a weekend and can continue to tackle projects around the townhouse. My goal is to get a ton of items off the proverbial checklist this weekend with the first being the kitchen cabinet doors FINALLY painted. There is nothing like starting a project and then having to stop midway through due to work and travel and life. I mean, I started this whole painting project back on Memorial Weekend people! It is now almost mid-July.
Never the less, I am busting out the Wagner paint sprayer I bought this weekend in the hopes it speeds up the process. I mean, I want the doors to be completed fast but I also want them to look exceptional as well so it is a give and take. Before I can spray though, I need to tape off the hinge hardware (making sure to number the doors again under the tape so putting them back is a breeze), sand off the terrible poly finish and probably some grime and dirt, and then clean them up before priming.
Good news is the Wagner sprayer I got is one that supposedly does not need you to thin the paint or primer. And, I bought water based primer and paint so that should keep the cleanup of the machine to a minimum. Before I can start any part of this project though, I need to purchase a few items from Lowes that will hopefully make the job a breeze. More on that in the next post.
Along with painting the cabinet doors and finally getting them reinstalled, I also need to clean up the townhouse and assemble at least one spare room since my Dad is coming to town next Thursday. I was not planning on assembling a bedroom until I could paint the walls in the spare rooms but I suspect he will want somewhere other than the floor to sleep. It will be bare bones in there though so I can break everything down when he leaves. Well, that and the fact that I have the mattress and box springs but not the bed or bed frame as of yet. I have in my head what I want so until I find it, this is what you get.
I also need to scrub up the spare full bath and do things like hang the shower curtain and such. I also suspect he will want a place to get cleaned up so these are gotta-get-done's this weekend. Good news is that I have all the towels, bath mats, shower curtains, and such. Bad news is that they are not where they should be. Coming soon though, coming soon. I also want to paint this room (sensing a theme here?) so again not too much put together in there until I can get paint on the walls. My hope is that the paint sprayer - which says you can use it indoors on the walls with proper taping and covering - will speed up this whole painting thing everywhere. We will see...
Finally, the spaces that have collected clutter (looking at you basement room and entryway) and are just plain in need of a good scrubbing (hi there kitchen that has not been used in like 5 weeks!) have to get cleaned up as well. And those who know me well know how I hate to clean. My fondest wish in life is to have maid service come in weekly to keep the place sparkly. I think my life would be just about perfect if I had it...and the funds to pay for it.
So that is what I am going to be up to this weekend. All that lovely time I spent in Dallas with friends and family was worth it but man if I only had those two weekends back in DC at the townhouse, how much further could I be along with all of this....
Paint on, Y'all!
Shelley
Never the less, I am busting out the Wagner paint sprayer I bought this weekend in the hopes it speeds up the process. I mean, I want the doors to be completed fast but I also want them to look exceptional as well so it is a give and take. Before I can spray though, I need to tape off the hinge hardware (making sure to number the doors again under the tape so putting them back is a breeze), sand off the terrible poly finish and probably some grime and dirt, and then clean them up before priming.
Good news is the Wagner sprayer I got is one that supposedly does not need you to thin the paint or primer. And, I bought water based primer and paint so that should keep the cleanup of the machine to a minimum. Before I can start any part of this project though, I need to purchase a few items from Lowes that will hopefully make the job a breeze. More on that in the next post.
Along with painting the cabinet doors and finally getting them reinstalled, I also need to clean up the townhouse and assemble at least one spare room since my Dad is coming to town next Thursday. I was not planning on assembling a bedroom until I could paint the walls in the spare rooms but I suspect he will want somewhere other than the floor to sleep. It will be bare bones in there though so I can break everything down when he leaves. Well, that and the fact that I have the mattress and box springs but not the bed or bed frame as of yet. I have in my head what I want so until I find it, this is what you get.
I also need to scrub up the spare full bath and do things like hang the shower curtain and such. I also suspect he will want a place to get cleaned up so these are gotta-get-done's this weekend. Good news is that I have all the towels, bath mats, shower curtains, and such. Bad news is that they are not where they should be. Coming soon though, coming soon. I also want to paint this room (sensing a theme here?) so again not too much put together in there until I can get paint on the walls. My hope is that the paint sprayer - which says you can use it indoors on the walls with proper taping and covering - will speed up this whole painting thing everywhere. We will see...
Finally, the spaces that have collected clutter (looking at you basement room and entryway) and are just plain in need of a good scrubbing (hi there kitchen that has not been used in like 5 weeks!) have to get cleaned up as well. And those who know me well know how I hate to clean. My fondest wish in life is to have maid service come in weekly to keep the place sparkly. I think my life would be just about perfect if I had it...and the funds to pay for it.
So that is what I am going to be up to this weekend. All that lovely time I spent in Dallas with friends and family was worth it but man if I only had those two weekends back in DC at the townhouse, how much further could I be along with all of this....
Paint on, Y'all!
Shelley
Monday, June 30, 2014
DALLAS! It is not just a television show.
So, Snickers and I flew home to Dallas on Saturday this weekend. Even though I now am calling Northern Virginia home, Dallas will always be my real home. This is for a couple of reasons but most especially because my family is all based in the Big D metroplex.
We had an early morning flight and simply for Snickers sake (yeah, right), I upgraded to first class on the 3-ish hour flight.
Snickers did all right on the flight with just a little bit of fussing towards the end. To keep her calm, I ended up holding her carrier in my lap for the last 20 or so minutes and the landing only unzipping so she could stick her head out once we were on the ground. Funny enough, no one other than the guy sitting next to me knew there was a dog on the plane so I deem that a success. That and I honestly think I stress more than she does on the flights - me worried about her behavior on the plane.
After being picked up at the airport by the best of friends due to the parents and all other family still being on a "family" vacation (can you call it that if the whole family is not there?), we made it to the house and started on the all important laundry. After traveling for two weeks and having a full week of business for work, I ended up simply packing mostly dirty clothes.
Then it was a fun girls night out drinking one of my favorite local brews that you cannot get anywhere else:
This fun filled night was topped off by a morning brunch at a great little french bistro style restaurant serving a killer buffet on Sundays with another of the bestests of people. Seriously people, there is nothing like the variety of the food they offer...oh, and $2 mimosas! I topped off a sunny Sunday morning with a bit of retail therapy stocking up on t-shirts for the summer.
Sunday night was dedicated solely to the wonder that is Tex-Mex. Most of you who know me well know I have been belaboring the fact that there really is no quality Tex-Mex food in the DMV. Seriously folks...good, simple Tex-Mex from a family restaurant is such a gift. Which is why the first official meal with the parents was dedicated to the wonder that is our favorite family haunts, Rafa's. I basically ate myself into a food coma.
Well, that is it so far for this week. I have been briefed on the upcoming rib smoke-off that is evidently supposed to take place on July 4th here at the homestead. We will also be blessed with front row seats to the annual firework show that my parents club puts on each year. Which means I will be huddled in the house cuddling my Snickers since she HATES fireworks...ah well.
Sparklers all around, y'all!
Shelley
We had an early morning flight and simply for Snickers sake (yeah, right), I upgraded to first class on the 3-ish hour flight.
 |
| I can see Big Tex from here! |
After being picked up at the airport by the best of friends due to the parents and all other family still being on a "family" vacation (can you call it that if the whole family is not there?), we made it to the house and started on the all important laundry. After traveling for two weeks and having a full week of business for work, I ended up simply packing mostly dirty clothes.
Then it was a fun girls night out drinking one of my favorite local brews that you cannot get anywhere else:
 |
| Oh Revolver Blood and Honey, why can't you sell in Northern VA? |
Sunday night was dedicated solely to the wonder that is Tex-Mex. Most of you who know me well know I have been belaboring the fact that there really is no quality Tex-Mex food in the DMV. Seriously folks...good, simple Tex-Mex from a family restaurant is such a gift. Which is why the first official meal with the parents was dedicated to the wonder that is our favorite family haunts, Rafa's. I basically ate myself into a food coma.
Well, that is it so far for this week. I have been briefed on the upcoming rib smoke-off that is evidently supposed to take place on July 4th here at the homestead. We will also be blessed with front row seats to the annual firework show that my parents club puts on each year. Which means I will be huddled in the house cuddling my Snickers since she HATES fireworks...ah well.
Sparklers all around, y'all!
Shelley
Friday, June 27, 2014
Friday. That is all.
So, I woke up this morning to the blaring of the alarm clock on my phone - don't know why I don't use the giant alarm clock on my night stand but there you go - and as I lie there in bed contemplating the fact that it was once again 5:30 in the morning, I remembered it was also Friday. Friday, people!
And not just any Friday but the Friday before I head back to Dallas for a whole week. I. AM. STOKED. I am crashing at my parents house and I am seriously thinking about asking the neighbors if I can use their pool (what, they have offered it to my nieces before so why not me?) Do you think my mac laptop is waterproof? Do they make a case for a mac that is waterproof?
To keep the happy Friday vibes going this morning, I received the coveted upgrade email from American Airlines...yep, it is First Class to Dallas tomorrow morning! I see a really early bloody mary in my future. The sad thing is that I only upgraded on this flight for my dog. See, I have discovered when she flies with me, she would rather travel in first class (yep, you can tell she is in fact my dog.) So seat 4F on the 7:40 AM flight will be our chariot to Dallas tomorrow.
In other news, I enjoyed watching the USA play in the world cup yesterday during lunch with some of my team and some of the partner companies that were in the office for meetings earlier in the day. I have never been a real soccer fan but find that I am on the World Cup bandwagon when I am around others who like know what is going on in the sport. So, go USA! (and Columbia for our Director of Marketing).
I also took the time finally to mow the front and back yards since they had not been touched since before I left for China. The front was not looking too terrible (well, all is relative since it always looks terrible currently with the weed infestation) but the back yard looked like the great weed forest every time Snickers went out there to do her business. I mean, when she is having to tunnel through the weeds to find a potty spot, things need to be dealt with.
I plugged in one of the batteries (yep, my yard is cut with green technology people!) for the string trimmer and gave it 30 minutes to build up a charge. For those of you who don't know, I in fact use a string trimmer to "mow" my yards. I found this one with a nifty "mower" attachment that is simply a plastic housing on wheels that allows me to keep the trimmer level for a better cut.
I powered through the back yard and almost through the front before the battery started to die...noooo! I made it through in fits and starts for the most part but lesson learned...let the battery charge more than 30 minutes!
Tonight we are on the kitchen rampage so that nothing is left in the house to spoil while we are away for a week. Also, I need to tame the unruly beast that is the junk mail pile by bagging and removing to the garage for the next trash day. Finally, it will be packing time! I have a feeling this will be another trip to Dallas where I pack all dirty clothes. Hey, mom and dad have a washer and dryer so why pack clean?
TGIF Y'all!
Shelley
And not just any Friday but the Friday before I head back to Dallas for a whole week. I. AM. STOKED. I am crashing at my parents house and I am seriously thinking about asking the neighbors if I can use their pool (what, they have offered it to my nieces before so why not me?) Do you think my mac laptop is waterproof? Do they make a case for a mac that is waterproof?
To keep the happy Friday vibes going this morning, I received the coveted upgrade email from American Airlines...yep, it is First Class to Dallas tomorrow morning! I see a really early bloody mary in my future. The sad thing is that I only upgraded on this flight for my dog. See, I have discovered when she flies with me, she would rather travel in first class (yep, you can tell she is in fact my dog.) So seat 4F on the 7:40 AM flight will be our chariot to Dallas tomorrow.
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| Is the taxi here yet, mom? |
I also took the time finally to mow the front and back yards since they had not been touched since before I left for China. The front was not looking too terrible (well, all is relative since it always looks terrible currently with the weed infestation) but the back yard looked like the great weed forest every time Snickers went out there to do her business. I mean, when she is having to tunnel through the weeds to find a potty spot, things need to be dealt with.
I plugged in one of the batteries (yep, my yard is cut with green technology people!) for the string trimmer and gave it 30 minutes to build up a charge. For those of you who don't know, I in fact use a string trimmer to "mow" my yards. I found this one with a nifty "mower" attachment that is simply a plastic housing on wheels that allows me to keep the trimmer level for a better cut.
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| The tool of choice for tiny yards everywhere...and lazy people. Thanks Black and Decker (I paid for this sucker so no promotional consideration was taken...this opinion is all my own) |
Tonight we are on the kitchen rampage so that nothing is left in the house to spoil while we are away for a week. Also, I need to tame the unruly beast that is the junk mail pile by bagging and removing to the garage for the next trash day. Finally, it will be packing time! I have a feeling this will be another trip to Dallas where I pack all dirty clothes. Hey, mom and dad have a washer and dryer so why pack clean?
TGIF Y'all!
Shelley
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Wednesday musings...
So I am in Crystal City for a work meeting today at one of my hotels and they busted out this for our afternoon break:
How cute is that? BTW, did you know why Crystal City is called Crystal City? I was told it was due to the buildings in the areas....being all crystally with their glass windows and such. Don't know if it is true so just throwing it out there.
I am in countdown to the next travel trip this weekend...but this one is an especially good one since me and the dog will be flying back to Dallas for a remote work weekend before the July 4th holiday. I will get to spend time with my family, friends, and my favorite Tex-Mex restaurants. I am going to come back to DC fully tex-mexed out since I refuse to eat any up here since it just does not measure up.
Last night we did a team building at Lucky Strike over in Chinatown. Had a blast but bowled terribly. Snickers was not pleased that I got home late. I know I should have gone home to do things around the house but whatever. It will be another late night tonight so I will really only have two nights to get a ridiculous amount of stuff done at the house.
I realized today that I have not really been home the past three weekends and will be gone the next two so I am woefully behind on the whole DIY front. I mean it is part of the whole theme of this blog after all.
Anyway, I am just free-thinking here. That and I honestly just wanted to share the milk and cookies above with everyone. I am pretty sure I will find myself taking some jars and painting them up with the chalkboard paint sometime in the future - but after I complete some projects that are woefully behind.
Happy Milk and Cookies Wednesday, Y'all!
Shelley
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| Nomm, Nomm.... |
I am in countdown to the next travel trip this weekend...but this one is an especially good one since me and the dog will be flying back to Dallas for a remote work weekend before the July 4th holiday. I will get to spend time with my family, friends, and my favorite Tex-Mex restaurants. I am going to come back to DC fully tex-mexed out since I refuse to eat any up here since it just does not measure up.
Last night we did a team building at Lucky Strike over in Chinatown. Had a blast but bowled terribly. Snickers was not pleased that I got home late. I know I should have gone home to do things around the house but whatever. It will be another late night tonight so I will really only have two nights to get a ridiculous amount of stuff done at the house.
I realized today that I have not really been home the past three weekends and will be gone the next two so I am woefully behind on the whole DIY front. I mean it is part of the whole theme of this blog after all.
Anyway, I am just free-thinking here. That and I honestly just wanted to share the milk and cookies above with everyone. I am pretty sure I will find myself taking some jars and painting them up with the chalkboard paint sometime in the future - but after I complete some projects that are woefully behind.
Happy Milk and Cookies Wednesday, Y'all!
Shelley
Monday, June 23, 2014
While You Were Away...
I always think of the nice pink "while you were away" sheets for phone messages when I travel. It is like I expect to have them posted on my front door when I return home telling me all the cool or not so cool things that happened around my place while I was gone.
Case in point...when I got home on Saturday, and went straight through to let my dog out in the back yard, the gate was open. Did someone stop by to rob me and turn around when they saw the state of my first floor? Did the meter reader stop by and just forget to close the gate? Did we have a violent windy storm that blew the gate open? Inquiring minds want to know.
Also, sometimes I get the feeling that some of my stuff comes alive when I am out traveling and moves around a la Beauty and the Beast. I mean, did I really leave that coffee cup in the downstairs bathroom - the one I never use? I don't think so (though those of you who know me probably would say yes since I have lost my car keys in the freezer before.)
This week is hopefully a calm, quiet week - yeah right - and I can get a few chores done - yeah right - before heading back to Dallas for all of next week on a work remote/holiday week. I really need to do dishes since I neglected them before I left for the second week of my travel mania tour.
I also need to bring up the clean clothes that did not get folded before I left for China, fold them, and put them away. It would make my life simpler if I just did this when washing them but I tend to put off washing until I have like 8 loads of laundry and who wants to fold all of that? I figure if I can fold the equivalent of one load each day this week before heading back out of town, I just might get all the clothes moved up into the master closet! That is the plan anyway.
oh, and my shoes have disappeared lately. I looked in the closet this morning to grab a pair to wear to work and I only had like 4 pairs of shoes on the shelves. Um, I know I have more than that and not all of them were packed to take with me on my trips so where did they go? Oh, they are downstairs near the front door where I kick them off when I get home. Time to grab a few at a time this week and add them to the shelves.
In other news, I picked up Snickers Saturday when I got home from NYC and she has been a bit of a Velcro dog since then. We essentially napped all of Sunday away - the both of us - and she would not let me out of her site until I left for work this morning. Boy is she going to be surprised when I bust out the travel case for the flight this weekend!
Nothing new around the townhouse - not even anything new to my Pinterest account! I have a ton of projects to do and even some of the items to accomplish those projects but I have been mostly gone the last three weekends and will be gone the next two so we are in a holding pattern on house stuff. I am especially ready to finish up the kitchen cabinets and move onto painting the walls and doing something inexpensive for the backsplash. I think having this one room mostly complete for now will give me a boost to figure out if I am really going to paint my stairwells myself (think 20 ft heights in some places people) or farm them out to a painting company.
Ah, well, I have now cleared out the clutter in my head. Maybe I will quick-mow the back and front yards tonight when I get home before I lug clothes upstairs for folding and putting away and doing a load of dishes...then again, maybe not...the lazy gene is strong today!
TTFN Y'all!
Shelley
Case in point...when I got home on Saturday, and went straight through to let my dog out in the back yard, the gate was open. Did someone stop by to rob me and turn around when they saw the state of my first floor? Did the meter reader stop by and just forget to close the gate? Did we have a violent windy storm that blew the gate open? Inquiring minds want to know.
Also, sometimes I get the feeling that some of my stuff comes alive when I am out traveling and moves around a la Beauty and the Beast. I mean, did I really leave that coffee cup in the downstairs bathroom - the one I never use? I don't think so (though those of you who know me probably would say yes since I have lost my car keys in the freezer before.)
This week is hopefully a calm, quiet week - yeah right - and I can get a few chores done - yeah right - before heading back to Dallas for all of next week on a work remote/holiday week. I really need to do dishes since I neglected them before I left for the second week of my travel mania tour.
I also need to bring up the clean clothes that did not get folded before I left for China, fold them, and put them away. It would make my life simpler if I just did this when washing them but I tend to put off washing until I have like 8 loads of laundry and who wants to fold all of that? I figure if I can fold the equivalent of one load each day this week before heading back out of town, I just might get all the clothes moved up into the master closet! That is the plan anyway.
oh, and my shoes have disappeared lately. I looked in the closet this morning to grab a pair to wear to work and I only had like 4 pairs of shoes on the shelves. Um, I know I have more than that and not all of them were packed to take with me on my trips so where did they go? Oh, they are downstairs near the front door where I kick them off when I get home. Time to grab a few at a time this week and add them to the shelves.
In other news, I picked up Snickers Saturday when I got home from NYC and she has been a bit of a Velcro dog since then. We essentially napped all of Sunday away - the both of us - and she would not let me out of her site until I left for work this morning. Boy is she going to be surprised when I bust out the travel case for the flight this weekend!
Nothing new around the townhouse - not even anything new to my Pinterest account! I have a ton of projects to do and even some of the items to accomplish those projects but I have been mostly gone the last three weekends and will be gone the next two so we are in a holding pattern on house stuff. I am especially ready to finish up the kitchen cabinets and move onto painting the walls and doing something inexpensive for the backsplash. I think having this one room mostly complete for now will give me a boost to figure out if I am really going to paint my stairwells myself (think 20 ft heights in some places people) or farm them out to a painting company.
Ah, well, I have now cleared out the clutter in my head. Maybe I will quick-mow the back and front yards tonight when I get home before I lug clothes upstairs for folding and putting away and doing a load of dishes...then again, maybe not...the lazy gene is strong today!
TTFN Y'all!
Shelley
Friday, June 20, 2014
New York...The City That Doesn't Sleep. But I Do
Final stop in travelmania 2014 but this one is a fun one. But before I get to that, I just have to share how much I love to travel for the sheer randomness of it all.
Bad news, I did not make my upgrade to business class for my transcontinental flight but I was in exit row bulkhead so a lot of good space. If I had made it to business class though, I would have missed a first for me in a flights. There were quite a few Hasidic Jewish travelers on my flight and about halfway thorough the flight was evidently prayer time. Being that we were at the bulkhead space, it was the ideal spot for these travelers to do their prayer routine. I was resting with my eyes closed and opened them to see several men in all black holding onto the bulkhead wall in a bit of turbulence doing their thing....was odd but the flight attendants were very respectful of them as were those of us sitting where they were praying.
Next was in the taxi cab from JFK to my hotel in Times Square...we blasted by a lovely Jewish gentleman driving along in his car (he was wearing a Yarmulke hence the knowing of his religion). He evidently was not going fast enough for the guy behind him who honked and I watched this guy roll down his window and give the honker the bird...gotta love the NYC.
I rolled into the Times Square area around 11:15 PM and it was packed full of tourists as usual. I love the area with all it's lit signs as it reminds me of Trafalgar Square and the surrounding area in London. So what am I doing today while in the big city? Nothing. I got up and had breakfast, greeted our travelers, and sent them off to prowl the city. Me? I am back in my pajamas in my suite and chilling today. Tomorrow I head home and finally get to pick up my pup and cuddle with her in bed. Oh and sleep. Sleep is important. Sleep is probably all I will do on Sunday.
Short post this time but maybe I will have some pictures from NYC to share once we head out tonight. In the interim, here is a photo blast from the past on a previous trip to the Big Apple...
NYC love Y'all!
Shelley
Bad news, I did not make my upgrade to business class for my transcontinental flight but I was in exit row bulkhead so a lot of good space. If I had made it to business class though, I would have missed a first for me in a flights. There were quite a few Hasidic Jewish travelers on my flight and about halfway thorough the flight was evidently prayer time. Being that we were at the bulkhead space, it was the ideal spot for these travelers to do their prayer routine. I was resting with my eyes closed and opened them to see several men in all black holding onto the bulkhead wall in a bit of turbulence doing their thing....was odd but the flight attendants were very respectful of them as were those of us sitting where they were praying.
Next was in the taxi cab from JFK to my hotel in Times Square...we blasted by a lovely Jewish gentleman driving along in his car (he was wearing a Yarmulke hence the knowing of his religion). He evidently was not going fast enough for the guy behind him who honked and I watched this guy roll down his window and give the honker the bird...gotta love the NYC.
I rolled into the Times Square area around 11:15 PM and it was packed full of tourists as usual. I love the area with all it's lit signs as it reminds me of Trafalgar Square and the surrounding area in London. So what am I doing today while in the big city? Nothing. I got up and had breakfast, greeted our travelers, and sent them off to prowl the city. Me? I am back in my pajamas in my suite and chilling today. Tomorrow I head home and finally get to pick up my pup and cuddle with her in bed. Oh and sleep. Sleep is important. Sleep is probably all I will do on Sunday.
Short post this time but maybe I will have some pictures from NYC to share once we head out tonight. In the interim, here is a photo blast from the past on a previous trip to the Big Apple...
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| Empire State people... |
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| Old school Times Square circa 2010 |
Shelley
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
What time is it? What day is it?
So, I am still on my marathon travel schedule here in June but this time stateside and on the west coast. When last I wrote, I was crossing my fingers and toes that I was not going to have the same issue with China Eastern Airlines in Shanghai that I had when trying to depart Beijing....
No dice. In fact, it was worse in Shanghai. I admit it. I shed a tear or two in the Shanghai airport while the ticket agent basically said once again I did not have a ticket or a seat and this time the flight was sold out. I pretty much figured I was not getting on this plane and would not make the last stop of the trip. So frustrating.
I once again called American Express Travel and once again, while the service agent was very nice, there was really nothing that she could do to assist...which was frustrating since I was calling the help line they advertise. We had pretty much arranged to move me to the 4:10 PM flight out of Shanghai back to the states when my trusty translator pushed me through the standby list and I was issued a ticket! Score! Now with 30 minutes until departure I just had to clear immigrations, security, and make it to my gate - including riding a people mover. Let's just say that it is really awkward being the last - and I mean the last - person to get onto an airplane. But I made it. Excellent.
We checked into our hotel with 20 minutes to spare before the tradeshow began. Whew! I was going to survive China. I was so relieved and frankly at that point looking forward to my flights the next day that would take me home - even if I was only going to be at home briefly.
Not. So. Fast.
Me, a traveler who rarely, if ever, has digestive issues began to feel not so good during the tradeshow. Yep, all of a sudden my stomach was no longer excited to be traveling around China with me. Let's just say that my time at the tradeshow was cut short and the scheduled dinner was not a possibility. Dinner that night consisted of dry white toast and a carbonated beverage in an attempt to relieve my testy stomach. After all, I had like 17 hours of flying the next day broken up by two 8-hour layovers. I did not need a sensitive stomach with all that travel.
I broke down and took some Pepto tablets prior to my flights and for the most part, all went well. I evidently was on the first leg from Taipei to Tokyo with a fairly famous Asian pop singer - male - but I had no idea who he was. The funny part was when his handlers were trying to push by everyone so he could be the first off the plane and the flight attendants were having none of it and made sure that we all got off the plan in order of our seats.
I had an interesting layover in Tokyo - the lounge was nice and quiet until several families arrived with smaller kids - one oddly enough wearing bells on his tennis shoes. I ditched the club and went to the gate - this time already in my travel pajamas since I frankly did not really care. Faced with an 11 hour flight, a sensitive stomach, and a still-sore mouth from the food burns, all I really wanted to do on this leg was sleep - though I did have the obligatory American Airlines hot fudge sundae because they are simply just so good. I broke down and took a pain killer to take my mind off the mouth pains - seriously people never burn the roof of your mouth or face the painful consequences.
Magic of all magic...I slept on this flight. And when I say slept, I mean like 5 or so hours. I was flabbergasted when I awoke to see the flight attendants starting the breakfast service signaling that we were only 2 hours from Chicago. I felt...refreshed. I had never felt this good on an overseas flight before. What a wonder sleeping on these flights!
We landed in Chicago and I made it through immigrations, customs, bag recheck, terminal change, TSA security (thank you Pre Check!), and to the Admirals club shower in like 40 minutes. It was a travel miracle. I did change out of the travel pajamas and back into regular clothes after taking a shower and hit Nuts on Clark for the best popcorn on earth before my very last flight of the evening.
Meanwhile, here are some final pictures taken on the whirlwind China trip:
High-five from the West Coast Y'all!
Shelley
No dice. In fact, it was worse in Shanghai. I admit it. I shed a tear or two in the Shanghai airport while the ticket agent basically said once again I did not have a ticket or a seat and this time the flight was sold out. I pretty much figured I was not getting on this plane and would not make the last stop of the trip. So frustrating.
I once again called American Express Travel and once again, while the service agent was very nice, there was really nothing that she could do to assist...which was frustrating since I was calling the help line they advertise. We had pretty much arranged to move me to the 4:10 PM flight out of Shanghai back to the states when my trusty translator pushed me through the standby list and I was issued a ticket! Score! Now with 30 minutes until departure I just had to clear immigrations, security, and make it to my gate - including riding a people mover. Let's just say that it is really awkward being the last - and I mean the last - person to get onto an airplane. But I made it. Excellent.
We checked into our hotel with 20 minutes to spare before the tradeshow began. Whew! I was going to survive China. I was so relieved and frankly at that point looking forward to my flights the next day that would take me home - even if I was only going to be at home briefly.
Not. So. Fast.
Me, a traveler who rarely, if ever, has digestive issues began to feel not so good during the tradeshow. Yep, all of a sudden my stomach was no longer excited to be traveling around China with me. Let's just say that my time at the tradeshow was cut short and the scheduled dinner was not a possibility. Dinner that night consisted of dry white toast and a carbonated beverage in an attempt to relieve my testy stomach. After all, I had like 17 hours of flying the next day broken up by two 8-hour layovers. I did not need a sensitive stomach with all that travel.
I broke down and took some Pepto tablets prior to my flights and for the most part, all went well. I evidently was on the first leg from Taipei to Tokyo with a fairly famous Asian pop singer - male - but I had no idea who he was. The funny part was when his handlers were trying to push by everyone so he could be the first off the plane and the flight attendants were having none of it and made sure that we all got off the plan in order of our seats.
I had an interesting layover in Tokyo - the lounge was nice and quiet until several families arrived with smaller kids - one oddly enough wearing bells on his tennis shoes. I ditched the club and went to the gate - this time already in my travel pajamas since I frankly did not really care. Faced with an 11 hour flight, a sensitive stomach, and a still-sore mouth from the food burns, all I really wanted to do on this leg was sleep - though I did have the obligatory American Airlines hot fudge sundae because they are simply just so good. I broke down and took a pain killer to take my mind off the mouth pains - seriously people never burn the roof of your mouth or face the painful consequences.
Magic of all magic...I slept on this flight. And when I say slept, I mean like 5 or so hours. I was flabbergasted when I awoke to see the flight attendants starting the breakfast service signaling that we were only 2 hours from Chicago. I felt...refreshed. I had never felt this good on an overseas flight before. What a wonder sleeping on these flights!
We landed in Chicago and I made it through immigrations, customs, bag recheck, terminal change, TSA security (thank you Pre Check!), and to the Admirals club shower in like 40 minutes. It was a travel miracle. I did change out of the travel pajamas and back into regular clothes after taking a shower and hit Nuts on Clark for the best popcorn on earth before my very last flight of the evening.
Meanwhile, here are some final pictures taken on the whirlwind China trip:
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| My Shanghai View and all I got to see of the city before going to the airport... |
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| My View in Taipei - look there is McDonalds! |
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| More view but with mood lighting provided by the spinning earth... |
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| Taipei - land of the scooters...and they were everywhere! |
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| And land of traffic...I am not sure who is going where or who has the right of way here... |
Shelley
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
When in Rome...learn to speak the language.
As written last night on the plan and transcribed today when I am awake:
So the trip through China for work is progressing. We are currently in flight from Beijing to Shanghai as I write this (for later posting as wi-fi has not made it to the China carriers we are using). Hong Kong was great and I only which I had some time to check it out more thoroughly but we really did not have any free time on our stop. I did get this shot the next morning after I wrote the last post from the Executive Lounge at the hotel. It is of Kowloon over the harbor:
Meanwhile, this was the side view out of my hotel room at the Conrad in Hong Kong:
When I last wrote, I had just arrived to Hong Kong and was trying to keep my eyes open as long as possible. Two days of jet lag later, I finally got a full nights sleep in our 27-hour stop in Beijing. I mean, it was one of those nights of sleep where you wake up in a complete startled haze no knowing where you are or what you are doing. Must have been the comfort of the new friend I picked up:
Beijing was great but with only 27 hours and 8 of those sleeping and the rest in transit to/from the airport or inside our hotel in meetings all day, not much for me to see. I did have the opportunity to try some new dishes that I don't think I ever would have taken the opportunity to eat had it not been at a luncheon (and frankly not knowing what they were). For example, ever had pickled jellyfish? Here is what it looks like:
It was surprisingly tasty if a bit sour. There wasn't anything I was just completely disgusted by the taste of but there were a few items I probably would not try again. All in all, those who know me well know I will try anything at least once.
One of the courses was some type of deep fried prawn ball that one of my American colleagues joked reminded him of fair food. The batter was slightly sweet and reminded me of funnel cake surrounding the prawn and drizzled with a spicy sot of mayo. Sounds odd but was really good. Dessert was a dark sugar honey cake and I so need the recipe! It was served by these sort of coconut jello pieces in the shape of hearts. They were really tasty.
Here are just a few shots of Beijing that I was able to get in the brief moments I was out of the hotel:
UPDATE: Called AMEX travel this morning to have them call China Eastern to confirm that I would not have the same issue tomorrow morning on the flight from Shanghai to Taipei...no dice. There are all kinds of things happening in the background but no one can guarantee that I will not have the same problem due to another carrier needing to send some type of paperwork 24 hours in advance of the flight. They can see my ticket and see me attached to the ticket but I could have the same problems. Good news is my Malaysian translator has already said he would stick by me and make sure I got on the plane. Hugs all around...
So the trip through China for work is progressing. We are currently in flight from Beijing to Shanghai as I write this (for later posting as wi-fi has not made it to the China carriers we are using). Hong Kong was great and I only which I had some time to check it out more thoroughly but we really did not have any free time on our stop. I did get this shot the next morning after I wrote the last post from the Executive Lounge at the hotel. It is of Kowloon over the harbor:
Meanwhile, this was the side view out of my hotel room at the Conrad in Hong Kong:
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| Sorry for the iPhone shot through a dirty window... |
When I last wrote, I had just arrived to Hong Kong and was trying to keep my eyes open as long as possible. Two days of jet lag later, I finally got a full nights sleep in our 27-hour stop in Beijing. I mean, it was one of those nights of sleep where you wake up in a complete startled haze no knowing where you are or what you are doing. Must have been the comfort of the new friend I picked up:
Beijing was great but with only 27 hours and 8 of those sleeping and the rest in transit to/from the airport or inside our hotel in meetings all day, not much for me to see. I did have the opportunity to try some new dishes that I don't think I ever would have taken the opportunity to eat had it not been at a luncheon (and frankly not knowing what they were). For example, ever had pickled jellyfish? Here is what it looks like:
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| Pickled Jellyfish anyone? |
One of the courses was some type of deep fried prawn ball that one of my American colleagues joked reminded him of fair food. The batter was slightly sweet and reminded me of funnel cake surrounding the prawn and drizzled with a spicy sot of mayo. Sounds odd but was really good. Dessert was a dark sugar honey cake and I so need the recipe! It was served by these sort of coconut jello pieces in the shape of hearts. They were really tasty.
Here are just a few shots of Beijing that I was able to get in the brief moments I was out of the hotel:
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| That is the Conrad Beijing in the background. Some of the most unique architecture! |
The chaos
started when we arrived at the airport in Beijing this afternoon. A group of like 10 of us were taken around to
the group desk at China Eastern airlines to check in..fabulous! We were going
to speed through this process....yeah, until the ticket agent could not find my
reservation. No problem as I had the confirmation number on my travel app and I
had thought ahead and printed out my flight arrangements from AMEX travel. That would solve the problem, right?
Nope.
Complicating the matter was the fact that the ticket agents did not speak English and when I called the travel help desk, she did not speak mandarin. Lucky for me that two colleagues from Singapore and Malaysia both were able to translate and stuck by my side until we could convince the ticket agents to solve the problem.
Complicating the matter was the fact that the ticket agents did not speak English and when I called the travel help desk, she did not speak mandarin. Lucky for me that two colleagues from Singapore and Malaysia both were able to translate and stuck by my side until we could convince the ticket agents to solve the problem.
What was the
problem? Well, apparently my ticket was
issued all right but there was no name associated with it. All in all, I can laugh about it now that I
am somewhere around 30000 feet up and on my way to our next stop but it was
probably the most stressful time I have ever encountered while traveling. Huge props to traveling with gracious
colleagues who were sticking by me no matter what.
Consequences are
that I am writing from seat 71D but I am going so that is a win in my book. oh,
and the in-flight meal is something with fish so imagine 300 or so servings of
that and the smell in this metal tube.
Now I am going
to kick back and watch the trippy monkey cartoon they are showing as the
in-flight entertainment. It is a total
propaganda piece and the English sub-titles are hilarious. I get two whole
nights in Shanghai - no free time though - before a final day and night in
Taipei. I think I might just pray to this animated monkey god on the video
screens that my next China Eastern check-in goes smoother. Well, that and I am
going to call AMEX travel in the morning and have them scour their system to
confirm all is well with my next reservation.
Xie Xie (pronounced "che che") y'all!
Shelley
UPDATE: Called AMEX travel this morning to have them call China Eastern to confirm that I would not have the same issue tomorrow morning on the flight from Shanghai to Taipei...no dice. There are all kinds of things happening in the background but no one can guarantee that I will not have the same problem due to another carrier needing to send some type of paperwork 24 hours in advance of the flight. They can see my ticket and see me attached to the ticket but I could have the same problems. Good news is my Malaysian translator has already said he would stick by me and make sure I got on the plane. Hugs all around...
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| It's Shanghai People! And late so I am going to bed. |
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Seriously what time is it again?
So, I have officially made it to China - specifically Hong Kong. It is "hazy" today in Hong Kong which means that you cannot really see your hand in front of your face or like walking into a Vegas casino before people wizened up and stopped (or reduced) smoking indoors. It is also eleventh million degrees with a humidity percentage of like 99.9%...I think if you could squeeze the hazy air, you could make water.
But I am in Hong Kong! Holy buckets!
Flights were mostly uneventful getting here. Mostly. That whole American/US Air combo took a surprise turn this morning at Reagan when they moved my shuttle on American Eagle from gate 34 to gate 35. Sounds easy right? Not at 6:00 AM when NO ONE knows that it has moved but my trusty AA app. Even the gate agents in terminal B did not know the flight had been moved. See, gate 35 is in terminal C...and the typical shuttle bus that runs between the two terminals does not fire up until 7:30 according to the airport authority. Now, those of you who know me know I always get to the airport super early if my choice and it worked out exceptionally well when I had to go through security - non TSA Pre Check security because that is also not open that early - at both terminal B and terminal C. Not super convenient.
THEN, when I got to JFK, I had to transition from terminal 8 to terminal 7 so you guessed it...another security search. I was an extra secure passenger by the time I reached the Cathay Pacific Lounge. By this time it was 8:30 AM and I had not eaten anything yet. I mean, it is hard to get motivated about having breakfast at 2:30 AM when you wake up to head to the airport. So, following the lead of some of my eventual fellow passengers, I grabbed this:
Yep, that is a ramen bowl and a glass of Sauvingon Blanc eaten with chopsticks. And it rocked. I saw these in Seoul as well at the airline lounge so super popular evidently for the asian flights. My flight was to take off at 10:15 am so around 9 am I decided to head out of the club and to the gate which was just a brief walk away. Happily they started boarding early which meant I could get on and get all my stuff situated! Even better, we boarded mid-cabin which meant that I could turn left and not have a ton of people walking by as I tried to get situated.
Let me preface this next image by saying that I have the best bosses in the world who understand and respect the hardship it is to travel on long-haul flights in coach. Why do I say this? Because I was able to buy this trip in mostly business class - with the exception of the shorter inter-China flights! So this is what I walked to as my living space for 16 hours...
People, what you have to understand is that this space is stupid large for an airplane. And super private! In my business class cabin, there were only 8 of us in these beauties and there were separating walls. There were storage nooks and crannies everywhere. If you look on the counter, you can see my travel pajamas - you heard that right - that I take with me on long-haul flights. I had two windows, a 15 inch television that worked amazingly well (including showing live feed from the video camera mounted under the plane!)
Two things I learned though...
1. No matter how nice the seats are, they just are too stiff for me to get comfortable enough to really sleep on when fully reclined.
2. The airline provided nice headphones for me to use during the entire flight but no directions on where to plug in their speciality jack (hint, it is in the cabinet up there next to the chair buttons where the headphones are stored but n the wall nearest the seat and flush with the wall so you cannot see it.)
We stared off with brunch so I started off with a nice champagne to drink:
I really try to limit the amount of alcohol I drink and bulk up on water consummation simply because I am already typically dehydrated so it is magnified 10 fold at 35,000 ft.
During the first half of the flight surprisingly I got 2 hours sleep (drug induced by nyquil so I fully expect to crash while typing this) - so that is 2 out of 8 ours in people. For my DFW friends, think about the flight to Hawaii and only being halfway done. Yeah. Anyway at this time, the cabin crew turned on the mood lighting as all of us in the window seats had pulled our shades down and it was pitch black. It was time for Dinner:
I had to have my obligatory bloody mary and guys - this one was exceptional! I far outpaced the small cut of beef I had. I should have just had the prawn appetizer and then the cheese and fruit plate but I thought I would give the entree a try. Yeah, no.
Anyway, it was back to watching a movie - two only on this flight unlike Seoul where I watched 5-6 on the flight to and from. I think I listened to just about every type of music they had on board and learned that Hong Kong Pop is not my thing. I read, and tried to sleep a bit more but no dice.
In the end, it was a great first leg to my trip. I am in HK (at the Conrad - company hotel plug!) for only really 1 1/2 days and working most of that as is. But the hotel is lovely and they upgraded me to the executive level which meant I checked in upstairs in the executive lounge.
It is now 4:03 PM which means it is 4:03 AM eastern and I can tell. I am going to try to push it for another few hours keeping busy and having a bit of room service and then it is lights out for this person. We get started mid-day tomorrow and then it is off to the races! I will post when I can this week and especially share any unique pictures or experiences I encounter...
Keep Flying Y'all!
Shelley
But I am in Hong Kong! Holy buckets!
Flights were mostly uneventful getting here. Mostly. That whole American/US Air combo took a surprise turn this morning at Reagan when they moved my shuttle on American Eagle from gate 34 to gate 35. Sounds easy right? Not at 6:00 AM when NO ONE knows that it has moved but my trusty AA app. Even the gate agents in terminal B did not know the flight had been moved. See, gate 35 is in terminal C...and the typical shuttle bus that runs between the two terminals does not fire up until 7:30 according to the airport authority. Now, those of you who know me know I always get to the airport super early if my choice and it worked out exceptionally well when I had to go through security - non TSA Pre Check security because that is also not open that early - at both terminal B and terminal C. Not super convenient.
THEN, when I got to JFK, I had to transition from terminal 8 to terminal 7 so you guessed it...another security search. I was an extra secure passenger by the time I reached the Cathay Pacific Lounge. By this time it was 8:30 AM and I had not eaten anything yet. I mean, it is hard to get motivated about having breakfast at 2:30 AM when you wake up to head to the airport. So, following the lead of some of my eventual fellow passengers, I grabbed this:
Yep, that is a ramen bowl and a glass of Sauvingon Blanc eaten with chopsticks. And it rocked. I saw these in Seoul as well at the airline lounge so super popular evidently for the asian flights. My flight was to take off at 10:15 am so around 9 am I decided to head out of the club and to the gate which was just a brief walk away. Happily they started boarding early which meant I could get on and get all my stuff situated! Even better, we boarded mid-cabin which meant that I could turn left and not have a ton of people walking by as I tried to get situated.
Let me preface this next image by saying that I have the best bosses in the world who understand and respect the hardship it is to travel on long-haul flights in coach. Why do I say this? Because I was able to buy this trip in mostly business class - with the exception of the shorter inter-China flights! So this is what I walked to as my living space for 16 hours...
 |
| Yep, I have already cluttered it up! |
Two things I learned though...
1. No matter how nice the seats are, they just are too stiff for me to get comfortable enough to really sleep on when fully reclined.
2. The airline provided nice headphones for me to use during the entire flight but no directions on where to plug in their speciality jack (hint, it is in the cabinet up there next to the chair buttons where the headphones are stored but n the wall nearest the seat and flush with the wall so you cannot see it.)
We stared off with brunch so I started off with a nice champagne to drink:
I really try to limit the amount of alcohol I drink and bulk up on water consummation simply because I am already typically dehydrated so it is magnified 10 fold at 35,000 ft.
During the first half of the flight surprisingly I got 2 hours sleep (drug induced by nyquil so I fully expect to crash while typing this) - so that is 2 out of 8 ours in people. For my DFW friends, think about the flight to Hawaii and only being halfway done. Yeah. Anyway at this time, the cabin crew turned on the mood lighting as all of us in the window seats had pulled our shades down and it was pitch black. It was time for Dinner:
 |
| Bloody Mary - it's what's for dinner |
I had to have my obligatory bloody mary and guys - this one was exceptional! I far outpaced the small cut of beef I had. I should have just had the prawn appetizer and then the cheese and fruit plate but I thought I would give the entree a try. Yeah, no.
Anyway, it was back to watching a movie - two only on this flight unlike Seoul where I watched 5-6 on the flight to and from. I think I listened to just about every type of music they had on board and learned that Hong Kong Pop is not my thing. I read, and tried to sleep a bit more but no dice.
In the end, it was a great first leg to my trip. I am in HK (at the Conrad - company hotel plug!) for only really 1 1/2 days and working most of that as is. But the hotel is lovely and they upgraded me to the executive level which meant I checked in upstairs in the executive lounge.
It is now 4:03 PM which means it is 4:03 AM eastern and I can tell. I am going to try to push it for another few hours keeping busy and having a bit of room service and then it is lights out for this person. We get started mid-day tomorrow and then it is off to the races! I will post when I can this week and especially share any unique pictures or experiences I encounter...
Keep Flying Y'all!
Shelley
Friday, June 6, 2014
Timing is everything...
So, yesterday my body decided it was an opportune time to get sick...like, headache, temperature, stomachache sick. You know, like I don't have a care in the world and there is not a 16 hour flight to a foreign country in my immediate future. After bravely driving into work and having a meeting, I conceded defeat at 10ish in the morning and headed back home where I dosed with copious amounts of dayquil and nyquil.
Seems to have mostly done the trick and I am feeling better today but am so woefully behind in everything that I need to do that I will be up supremely late tonight prior to flying...and flying... and flying. Should be a fun and sleep deprived evening. Maybe that means I will sleep for a time on the plane. But probably not.
In other news, my house is still a mess on the "main" floor but I was able to finally recycle all the mail that I finally started getting delivered once the post office and I became friends. The previous owners of my Townhouse got even more mail than I normally do...and now I am getting the mail for both of us. I have tried the return to sender and all types of ways to get the post office to stop delivering their mail but have conceded defeat on that. So my recycling bin will just look like I am exceptionally popular.
The dog made the trip into the office with me...with a side trip to the doggie day care. She was having none of it when they tried to escort her away and into the play room without me coming with her. Always breaks my heart a little to hear her cry for her mom. That and the fact that I will not see here again until the 22nd of this month is a bit hard to take. She is pissed at me currently anyway as even in my sickness yesterday, I still gave her a bath. Bathing Snickers is actually a bit of fun as I just fill up the ginormous garden sized tub in the master bath, plop her down in it and let her paddle/swim around to get wet, pick her up and suds her up with shampoo, and then redeposit her in the bathtub to let her swim herself free of soap. All in all good fun for me - even if she does not like it.
Anyway, just a bunch of rambling thoughts today and a bit of dayquil induced nonsense thoughts but that is what is currently happening in my head - I know, sad right? - so you all get the benefit.
Oh, and props to Grace at Hilton Anaheim for helping me squeeze in a pedicure halfway through this travel marathon! I have a short bit of downtime so I am having a mini-treat while I am on the road!
Happy Trails, Y'all!
Shelley
Seems to have mostly done the trick and I am feeling better today but am so woefully behind in everything that I need to do that I will be up supremely late tonight prior to flying...and flying... and flying. Should be a fun and sleep deprived evening. Maybe that means I will sleep for a time on the plane. But probably not.
In other news, my house is still a mess on the "main" floor but I was able to finally recycle all the mail that I finally started getting delivered once the post office and I became friends. The previous owners of my Townhouse got even more mail than I normally do...and now I am getting the mail for both of us. I have tried the return to sender and all types of ways to get the post office to stop delivering their mail but have conceded defeat on that. So my recycling bin will just look like I am exceptionally popular.
The dog made the trip into the office with me...with a side trip to the doggie day care. She was having none of it when they tried to escort her away and into the play room without me coming with her. Always breaks my heart a little to hear her cry for her mom. That and the fact that I will not see here again until the 22nd of this month is a bit hard to take. She is pissed at me currently anyway as even in my sickness yesterday, I still gave her a bath. Bathing Snickers is actually a bit of fun as I just fill up the ginormous garden sized tub in the master bath, plop her down in it and let her paddle/swim around to get wet, pick her up and suds her up with shampoo, and then redeposit her in the bathtub to let her swim herself free of soap. All in all good fun for me - even if she does not like it.
Anyway, just a bunch of rambling thoughts today and a bit of dayquil induced nonsense thoughts but that is what is currently happening in my head - I know, sad right? - so you all get the benefit.
Oh, and props to Grace at Hilton Anaheim for helping me squeeze in a pedicure halfway through this travel marathon! I have a short bit of downtime so I am having a mini-treat while I am on the road!
Happy Trails, Y'all!
Shelley
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
The To Do list has become a To Do book...
Ever have that feeling where your to do list has migrated from a list into a book? Yep, I had that issue this morning when I started looking at what I needed to do from work and personal sides before heading overseas. It especially hit hard when I started drafting an email to our team Coordinator that I thought was going to be super quick and ended up with me creating a spreadsheet of people and attaching websites, etc. Seriously what was I thinking?
The personal to do list left before I head out for travelmania is specifically longer today than yesterday simply because I was my usual lazy self and skipped doing anything chore-like last night. I just was not feeling it people and if the mood is not right, it will take me FOREVER to do chores. But, even if the mood is not with me tonight, it has to get done.
On the list is laundry as likely 75% of my washable clothes are dirty (and for those of you who know me, that is a significant amount of clothing!) I got a jump start and threw in a load before leaving the house (now that I am relatively secure in the fact that the washer will not leak water all over the carpeted basement). This means I only have like 5 or 6 loads left plus the folding and storing of said clothes. Crap. There is something bad about having your closet on the third floor and your washer/dryer on the first. Clothes just never seem to migrate to the closet as fast as they should.
Dishes are also on the docket along with bagging up trash. Friday is the last trash pick up day before I head out anything and everything trash related must be put out. It is terribleness to come home to a house with trash in the cans. Dishes are not as bad but visually look like world war 3 in my kitchen. With the cabinet doors still off and the small kitchen appliances forming a kind of electrical island in the middle of my kitchen floor, chaos abounds in this space. I am just going to have to deal with it until I can get those pesky kitchen cabinet doors completed.
I have started on my packing list. Yep, you heard me...a packing list. Most people just select things from their closets, add to suitcase and thar she blows. Not me. I have to put things in a spreadsheet format accounting for each day as well as morning and evening for each day. It is the only way I will make sure to pack everything. Seriously. I have forgotten an entire day of clothes before when trying to pack without a list.
And this list is major since it covers two separate back to back trips. Essentially, I will separate each day into piles (that is a lot of piles people) and for those for the second trip, they will just stay lined up on the bed ready to be deposited into my suitcase after the first haul is emptied. Goal would be to use a small suitcase for both trips but I am pretty sure that is not going to happen. We shall see....
I am also starting to contemplate what in the world I am going to do for 16 hours of straight flying. In an industrious world, I would build and revise three separate presentations, read up on the business culture of China, learn Mandarin, and knit a throw blanket. Reality says I will work up one - maybe two - of the presentations I need to put together and then spend the rest of the time lazing about reading and watching movies. Bonus industrious points if I watch the movies in Mandarin with subtitles...
Anywhoo, I feel like I am overcompensating posting on this blog simply because I am pretty sure that I will have zero to -5 free time in China to update. I also do not know if their internet filters will allow for posting. So those of you that have chosen to read this will probably get a break from my musings at least while I am overseas. I promise to share all the wonderful goodness when I get back tho.
Finally, I have to share this photo because I am going to miss this munchkin very much while I am traveling.
She is in exceptional substitute-mom hands while I am gone but still. Good news is she gets to strap on her flying wings at the end of the month along with me again.
Happy Planning Y'all!
Shelley
The personal to do list left before I head out for travelmania is specifically longer today than yesterday simply because I was my usual lazy self and skipped doing anything chore-like last night. I just was not feeling it people and if the mood is not right, it will take me FOREVER to do chores. But, even if the mood is not with me tonight, it has to get done.
On the list is laundry as likely 75% of my washable clothes are dirty (and for those of you who know me, that is a significant amount of clothing!) I got a jump start and threw in a load before leaving the house (now that I am relatively secure in the fact that the washer will not leak water all over the carpeted basement). This means I only have like 5 or 6 loads left plus the folding and storing of said clothes. Crap. There is something bad about having your closet on the third floor and your washer/dryer on the first. Clothes just never seem to migrate to the closet as fast as they should.
Dishes are also on the docket along with bagging up trash. Friday is the last trash pick up day before I head out anything and everything trash related must be put out. It is terribleness to come home to a house with trash in the cans. Dishes are not as bad but visually look like world war 3 in my kitchen. With the cabinet doors still off and the small kitchen appliances forming a kind of electrical island in the middle of my kitchen floor, chaos abounds in this space. I am just going to have to deal with it until I can get those pesky kitchen cabinet doors completed.
I have started on my packing list. Yep, you heard me...a packing list. Most people just select things from their closets, add to suitcase and thar she blows. Not me. I have to put things in a spreadsheet format accounting for each day as well as morning and evening for each day. It is the only way I will make sure to pack everything. Seriously. I have forgotten an entire day of clothes before when trying to pack without a list.
And this list is major since it covers two separate back to back trips. Essentially, I will separate each day into piles (that is a lot of piles people) and for those for the second trip, they will just stay lined up on the bed ready to be deposited into my suitcase after the first haul is emptied. Goal would be to use a small suitcase for both trips but I am pretty sure that is not going to happen. We shall see....
I am also starting to contemplate what in the world I am going to do for 16 hours of straight flying. In an industrious world, I would build and revise three separate presentations, read up on the business culture of China, learn Mandarin, and knit a throw blanket. Reality says I will work up one - maybe two - of the presentations I need to put together and then spend the rest of the time lazing about reading and watching movies. Bonus industrious points if I watch the movies in Mandarin with subtitles...
Anywhoo, I feel like I am overcompensating posting on this blog simply because I am pretty sure that I will have zero to -5 free time in China to update. I also do not know if their internet filters will allow for posting. So those of you that have chosen to read this will probably get a break from my musings at least while I am overseas. I promise to share all the wonderful goodness when I get back tho.
Finally, I have to share this photo because I am going to miss this munchkin very much while I am traveling.
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| Snickers with her favorite toy |
She is in exceptional substitute-mom hands while I am gone but still. Good news is she gets to strap on her flying wings at the end of the month along with me again.
Happy Planning Y'all!
Shelley
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
T Minus...
3 days to go (well 3 1/2 since it is just after noon today) before I take off on a trip of epic proportions. We are talking 11 flights of various lengths - shortest of just over an hour and longest at just over 16 hours. All this will be accomplished in 15 days. Yep, that is almost 1flight per day people.
So in honor of my upcoming flying bonanza, I thought I would share with you some of my tricks to staying sane on flights short and long:
I also have a club membership to my carrier of choice. I showed a fellow traveler the wonderful benefits to using their really nice showers during layovers recently coming back from Seoul. People, after a 13 hour flight and during a 4 hour layover, there is nothing like being able to take a shower and get back to feeling human again before another 3 hour flight. Nothing.
Great. NOW I all I can think of is what am I going to pack for the 15 or so days I am traveling. I have a sneaking suspicion that laundry is what's for dinner tonight.
Happy flying Y'all!
Shelley
So in honor of my upcoming flying bonanza, I thought I would share with you some of my tricks to staying sane on flights short and long:
- Upgrade on those long flights if you can manage it. seriously people when you are on a flight that is over 8 hours and cramped in a small seat that does not really recline with other people sandwiched in all around you...that is miserable. So upgrade. It is worth the expense if you are paying out of pocket.
- In order to upgrade, try to do all your flying with one airline or it's travel partners. Gaining status with an airline makes upgrading easier and at certain levels of status, you will receive free upgrades. Do it people.
- Noise Canceling. cannot say enough about noise canceling headsets on long haul flights. If you have not upgraded where the airline provides them for you, bring your own. Don't have any? Invest people. There are multiple different companies at all price points. Just make sure they are comfortable for long wearing (I can't do in the in-ear ones for longer than an hour but some people can.) Oh, and always pack spare batteries. Voice of Experience speaking right there.
- It is Cold. Or Hot. Layer it up people. You hear this so often but it is essential to being comfortable on a flight. For example, on my flight to Dubai, I was sitting next to the big exit door and even though I had on socks, my feet froze on the first flight - even with a blanket. I was so uncomfortable on that flight and kicking myself for not bringing my 2nd set of socks like normal. You cannot control the temperature on the plane (other than that annoying little wind machine they call a vent) so control as much as possible your temperature with layers.
- Travel Pillows are your friend. On most long haul international trips, you are "given" a blanket and pillow. That pillow is excellent for lumbar support and not much else. To make sure you do not wake up (should you, unlike me, be able to sleep on a plane) with the worlds worst neck pain, bring a travel pillow. I use mine for arm rest padding when I am not trying to fruitlessly sleep.
- Entertainment. Y'all if you are relying on the airline to provide your entertainment, be prepared to be bored to tears. Even when I fly in business, I always come prepared with books loaded on my iPad, things to work or read on my laptop, etc. Nothing like having the in-fight entertainment work for everyone else but you for 14 hours straight.
- And finally, pack a snack. On most long haul international trips you will be fed multiple times but have you seen that stuff? I typically will only eat the tray set up in coach - the salad, roll, and maybe dessert on an off day. Otherwise it is snack food central. For domestic longer trips, no food for you so pack something to tide you over.
I also have a club membership to my carrier of choice. I showed a fellow traveler the wonderful benefits to using their really nice showers during layovers recently coming back from Seoul. People, after a 13 hour flight and during a 4 hour layover, there is nothing like being able to take a shower and get back to feeling human again before another 3 hour flight. Nothing.
Great. NOW I all I can think of is what am I going to pack for the 15 or so days I am traveling. I have a sneaking suspicion that laundry is what's for dinner tonight.
Happy flying Y'all!
Shelley
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