On The Present

I'm reading "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" right now, a book of essays by Annie Dillard. It's both easy and hard to read, but I'm really enjoying it. Below is a passage that really struck me:

" This is it, I think, this is it, right now, the present, this empty gas station, here, this western wind, this tang of coffee on the tongue, and I am petting the puppy, I am watching the mountain. And the second I verbalize this awareness in my brain, I cease to see the mountain or feel the puppy. I am opaque, so much black asphalt. But at the same second, the second I know I've lost it, I also realize that the puppy is still squirming on his back under my hand. Nothing has changed for him. He draws his legs down to stretch the skin taut so he feels every fingertip's stroke along his furred and arching side, his flank, his flung-back throat.

I sip my coffee. I look at the mountain, which is still doing its tricks, as you look at a still-beautiful face belonging to a person who was once your lover in another country years ago: with fond nostalgia, and recognition, but no real feeling save a secret astonishment that you are now strangers. Thanks. For the memories. It is ironic that the one thing that all religions recognize as separating us from our creator--our very self-consciousness--is also the one thing that divides us from our fellow creatures. It was a bitter birthday present from evolution, cutting us off at both ends. I get in the car and drive home."

Lying Is Not Okay

The U.S. presidential election is starting to really get me down. The Hillary vs. Obama fight seems like an incredibly distant and (in retrospect) relatively wholesome memory. I didn't feel compelled to talk about the election until McCain went and chose Sarah Palin. Maybe I got too comfortable thinking that Obama was a sure thing, or maybe I just overestimated yet again the intelligence and tolerance of Americans. Even now, I instinctively think that the Democrats should keep their hands clean and heads held high with the security of knowing they are running a fair and respectful campaign. And then I realize that the Republicans have no problem with blatantly lying in every form and through every medium. They even lie through misquotation (e.g. Katie Couric, FactCheck.org).

I felt disgusted by Sarah Palin's speech at the GOP convention. Before seeing that catty and belittling performance, I was feeling skeptical about her stances but also a little proud that a woman was on a ticket, even if it wasn't the ticket I was voting for. But now I'm embarrassed that somebody who has exhibited such intolerance and extreme ideological views is connected to me in any way, even if it's just in anatomy. Even more embarrassing is that many women seem to swooned by Palin for the very same tenuous connection. At the end of the day, she is an ideological fanatic. Strong words? Maybe. But look at how little human experiences have shaped her choices. I don't see any evolution in understanding exhibited by her. Yes, I'm going to talk about her personal life. If you and your daughter both get pregnant as teenagers before marriage, wouldn't you reconsider abstinence-only education as the only option? Shouldn't you even entertain that thought given the fact that you might have benefited from slipping a condom or two over a banana when you were 15? Hey, maybe both you and your children would have benefited because you could have had a few more years to learn something about the world before changing diapers and finding yourself newly married.

But back to abstinence-only education - it's a nice idea in theory that if you can control the flow of information, you can control the subsequent actions, but isn't that just one of the most un-American ideas ever? Shouldn't you go live behind the Great Firewall of China if you believe information should be suppressed instead of freely exchanged? And how can Palin delude herself into justifying abstinence-only education when she was most likely getting busy between the sheets at 15 and 16 already anyway? What are we "sheltering" our kids from if they are already doing the thing we don't want them to do? And speaking of un-American, why is it okay to tout small-town values and make fun of community organizers in the same breath? Watching all those cookie-cutter Republicans nearly frothing at the mouth with each cutting remark couldn't make me more anxious about the future of America.

Okay, I have to go to sleep, but more thoughts on the election to come....

Close To Departure

Well, I've been cleaning up my apartment for the last couple hours and packing for my trip! I thought I'd have an easier time packing but it turns out I like to pack way more for leisure than business. I'll email a picture of my packing skillz to my posterous page ;)

I watched Dark Knight on IMAX last night. I won't give anything away, but man, it was awesome. I was really worried that it couldn't live up to all the hype but it was just so well done. The acting by Heath Ledger was so good it was scary (and morbidly sad), and there were some visually breathtaking scenes as well. I would recommend seeing it on IMAX if you have the choice. I went to the showing at the Metreon at 8:30pm and there was already quite a line when I showed up at 7:30pm. Waiting in line wasn't too bad though, and they started letting people into the theatre around 8:05pm. I can't even imagine what kind of money they're going to make off the DVD.

Feeling excited and a little anxious about heading out tomorrow morning. I haven't been on a real vacation in quite awhile now, I suspect it'll take a few days to really decompress and start relaxing. Bought a red bikini at a great local SF shop called "Zoe Bikini" today though...my first non-black swimming suit! :) Zoe was super nice and very patient with my absolute indecision.

Okay, happy week to all!

Quick Update

I went to see Feist at the Greek Theatre last weekend, I thought she was awesome live! She's got a beautiful voice and had this manual light projector show going on in the background that was really cool. I think some might see it as too distracting but I thought it complimented most of the music really well.

Trying to squeeze in as much tennis and working out as possible before I leave on Saturday for vacation. I'm worried that I will turn back into a blob after 9 days of vacationing but hopefully there will be a lot of walking and healthy eating involved to make up for it. Except for Bologna, of course, where I plan to eat as much prosciuttio, truffles and burrata as possible! :)

I signed up for a posterous account today because my friend Prasanna suggested it and he takes beautiful pictures of his books that make me envious. You can check it at [my name].posterous.com :)

Hey Fly Clear, Aren't You Supposed to Make My Life Easier?

I had to call Clear support about a month ago to request that my primary authorization be changed from the fingerprint to the retina scan because my fingerprint wasn't matching most of the time. It took about 2 weeks to get the card made on their side, and I'm still waiting on actual delivery of it. What really pisses me off though, is getting my old card rejected while I'm trying to take my 4th flight of the week. The last thing I need right now on a Thursday afternoon is hassles at the airport.

On a lighter note, I heart Portland. I went there earlier this week and stayed the night in downtown. I love how walkable it was, it reminded me a little bit of Boston crossed with San Francisco. I tried to make it to Powell's bookstore but got sidetracked by Nordstrom's before dinner. Oops! Next time I will be sure to hit it though.

T-9 days until vacation takeoff!

Things That Make You Smile

I have to share this YouTube video because it made me laugh and smile like crazy. Hope you enjoy it!



Here's Matt's website if you want to watch more fun times, I really liked the outtakes too: http://wherethehellismatt.com

NYTimes wrote a great article about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/arts/television/08dancer.html

Planning a Vacation is Hard Work

I have spent so many hours researching Croatia, ferry routes, flight schedules, island cities, mileage points, credit card points, hotels, b&bs....aah!! I know, I shouldn't complain about planning a vacation, but damn it's a lot of work. I think I have figured out a way to use credit card points to pay for nearly all of my flights, which is awesome because airfare is ridiculously expensive right now. Here are the places I will hopefully be hitting: Bologna, Pescara, Hvar, Brac, Split, Trogir, Plitvice National Park, Zagreb. Too ambitious? Help me pare the list!

Also, I think I promised updates on a few things:
1) Hertz Lost and Found - I did get back my broadband card! They were willing to send it to me but I ended up having to drive through Orange County a couple weeks later so I just picked it up at the airport.
2) Buying from Zappo's was great. They upgraded the shipping method so that I received the shoes 3 days after ordering them online. I'm still on the fence on the shoes but I guess I need to decide soon whether they're a keeper.
3) Haven't received my bags from Tumi yet. I'm hoping that the backpack I bought will be enough for all my travels through Croatia though. :) Too ambitious? We'll see! If I do end up using just my backpack, I'll include a pic of my expert packing job in an upcoming post.

Big congratulations to my friend Brian who is newly engaged!

Next Stop: Chicago

Google, I Think You're Wrong

I just had my first ridiculous Google Maps moment! Currently planning a vacation to Europe and trying to figure out the best way to manage combining Italy and Croatia together in 8 days. I was going to hit Tuscany and then fly to Croatia, but the flights are super-expensive so I thought I'd explore hitting the eastern side of Italy (Bologna, Venice, etc?) and driving to Croatia instead. Check out this sweet path that Google Maps advised me to take for driving from Split to Dubrovnik in Croatia:



I think I might take my chances on the 4 hour drive within Croatia instead. :)

BTW - I need advice/recommendations on Italy and Croatia. Things to do, cities to visit, places to stay! I'm very much looking forward to getting out of the country and turning off the Crackberry.

Consumer Heaven

I've gone on a bit of an online shopping spree this weekend. I bought from 2 sites I've never purchased from before: Tumi and Zappo's. I'm in some serious need of a new backpack to travel with because my trusty Jansport is finally breaking down. The zipper only really works half the time now, and I have visions of running through the airport not knowing that all my clothes are spilling out behind me.

The main reason I chose those sites to purchase from was their free return shipping policy. That's probably the single most reason I wouldn't normally purchase something online that I hadn't already seen and tried on in the store already. The thought of purchasing something and then having to pay to return it really leaves a lot to be desired. You're essentially paying for nothing at the end of the day!

I'm especially looking forward to getting my shoes from Zappo's because I've read so many stories about their amazing customer service. I'm hoping I'll be totally happy with the shoes, but even if I'm not, at least I will hopefully have a good experience returning them!

BTW - on the topic of paying for nothing, for those who find their way to San Francisco, you may have a craving for burritos. One of the most-recommended places is La Taqueria. I finally got a chance to try it with my good friend Brian a few weeks ago, and it was probably the most expensive burrito I've ever seen because they actually charge you a dollar extra if you choose NOT to have beans. I won't contest that the food is great, but charging me for not wanting something is pretty ridiculous. I'd recommend going to Papalote instead - the food is awesome and you won't find yourself paying more for less.

Believe In Something

I am writing from LA tonight and I realize I am incredibly tired. Not the tired as in, I didn't get enough sleep last night, but the kind of tired that feels accumulated over the last year. It feels heavy and it feels difficult to remove or remedy.

I am realizing that taking a day trip to Dallas is not normal, and neither is sleeping in hotel beds more often than my own.

All of this makes me wonder - why the hell am I doing this? Sure, sales is a bit of a clusterfuck. It's a vicious cycle that keeps you moving for the next win and the next commission. But at the end of the day, I think I do it because I truly believe in what I'm selling. Cheesy? Absolutely. True? Absolutely. I believe that what I'm selling helps companies and is the best damn product out there. I had a meeting today that was heavily focused on competitive differentiation, and it was frustrating because the prospect's response to everything I said was, well competitor X says they can do it too. I had to work so hard to resist the urge to say, "Please just go with them. I'll talk to you again in 3 months." And it made me think to myself, damn, I'm actually pretty lucky to work on a product that really does something. It's not just smoke and mirrors and I actually care about the work.

I'm not sure what the point of this post is, except to say that believing in something is a powerful thing. It makes me get on planes every week and fly to weird places to try to convince people that they can and should do better.

I need a vacation. Any destination suggestions?

I Heart San Francisco

I went out last night with friends and decided to walk the mile home instead of catching a cab at the end of the night. The air was that cool San Francisco summer temperature and there was hardly anybody else around. It struck me that I felt very content, that as much as I may stress about the travel or the work or the future, I was happy to get some quality time with old friends and then walk home through this awesome city where strange and wonderful things happen all the time.

Case in point: on my walk home, I heard the familiar sound of a bicycle coming up behind me. I turned to look, and there was a girl riding atop a clown bicycle. On the next block, she hopped off gracefully, locked it up, and went inside.

Tomorrow's destination: San Diego

Hertz Neverlost, I'll Follow You Anywhere

At some point early on in my travels, Hertz's Neverlost navigation was upgraded in my mind from an accessory to a necessity. The first thing I do now after I find my rental car slot # on the Gold board and slip into my seat is type in my destination. I did the same last Thursday when I arrived at John Wayne airport (SNA). As it calculated the route, I got into drive and started following the woman's voice telling me to get on the 405. I heard the familiar double-beep to exit and then followed accordingly. Looking ahead, I realized Neverlost had led me to....a paid parking lot with no other exit. Oops!

On a separate Hertz note, my broadband card fell out of my bag inside my rental car and I didn't realize it until after I'd gotten through security and was sitting at the gate getting ready to board. I'll post updates on how torturous this process ends up being. I also just reached Five Star Gold status with Hertz - I have a feeling that I'll never see any benefits, but hey, I'll reserve some optimism and see what happens.

Sorry, Mother Earth

I just read this story comparing the greenhouse gas emissions from driving vs. flying. Apparently every time I get on a roundtrip long-haul flight, I'm using nearly 1 ton of carbon dioxide emissions. How appropriate since I am getting on a flight from SFO - BOS tonight...

The Things They Say

The whole concept of public vs. private seems to be lost in airports and airplanes. I once heard somebody blurt out to a complete stranger that she just found out her husband cheated on her that morning as we touched down in San Francisco. The airport with the consistently spiciest chatter is Las Vegas.

Today, though, I got to hear my seatmate gab about how angry she was that her boyfriend didn't introduce her to his ex-girlfriend. Her rationale was that even the married man she previously dated used to introduce her as his girlfriend.

Wow. Enough said?

Betablue: BUST

I found myself on the Betablue plane last Wednesday morning from SFO to JFK. I was psyched to try out WiFi on my cross-country flight and get some email taken care of in that 6-hour void. Apparently it's making headlines that Betablue is now also offering access to Amazon and corporate email. That was already in effect in my flight, as you can see from the screenshot to the left.

Imagine my disappointment when I clicked through to check my email and got the following message:

I got this error message in every category I tried in both Firefox and IE. I think I tried 3 times during the flight with no luck. Has anybody else gotten it to work before?

Below are the rest of the screenshots I took for those interested in seeing what Betablue would offer if it was working...

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

This will be a quick one but I know I've been slacking big time.

Thumbs Up for Southwest Airlines: I love your new comfy chairs with dedicated plugs. You're the only airline that is still doing anything above and beyond for customers!

Thumbs Down for FlyClear: I still love skipping the security line, but why can't you read my right thumbprint properly?!

That's it for now. In Seattle and flying down to Irvine tonight. Can anybody help me find sleep? I seem to have misplaced it.

Flight 014: O'Hare, By Day Or Night

This is what O'Hare looked like when I arrived there at around 3pm CST for my departure. The security line at the United terminal was one of the worst I'd seen lately, and then I had to walk the long walk to Terminal C afterwards. Please, O'Hare, please enter the Clear program so I can use my awesome FlyClear card next time!


In contrast, the picture to the right is O'Hare at around midnight - utterly empty and calm. I love this picture of the Kids' area at O'Hare, all I wanted to do was crawl into the womb of that plane and sleep there for a few hours. There was something really peaceful about just walking through the terminal that late and seeing the last few travellers still waiting to head out.

I don't particularly like O'Hare - I think the terminals are too far apart and each process is often delayed. I also hate trying to find a plug for your laptop. They've got a bank of seats with outlets in the middle of the terminal but it's not at all obvious and there's often a line of people waiting.

Flight 013: Home Sweet Home

I've gotten the chance to play with some new applications this week in my time off the road. The first is Wix - a really cool site that allows you to create Flash sites through their own UI. While it's still currently in beta and has a ways to go in offering all the touches needed for creating a full custom site, it has a pretty fun and intuitive UI that can definitely help you get a basic site up and running in just a few days. They also state that search engines will still be able to scrape the contents, a big problem that most Flash sites are facing today. I've started a redesign of my personal site through it so we'll see how it goes. I gotta say that it's a hell of a lot more fun than opening up HTML-Kit and starting from zero. To the right is a screenshot of the UI.

The other product I'm looking at is Woopra. Since readership here is still a bit low right now, I don't think I've gotten to experience all the cool features. However, one way it distinguishes itself from all of the other web analytics applications I've seen is that it has a real-time view of who's on your site in that moment. For example, the image on the left shows that 1 visitor is on my site. Sadly enough, it's just me! :) I've read that it's even cooler for those who are on Wordpress though - the plugin will automatically display the name of who's on your site if they are logged in. Cool and creepy, eh?

Flight 012: Garbage In, Garbage Out

There are few things more sad than eating Taco Bell at midnight with your coworker in the lobby of a nondescript motel in the suburbs of Seattle.

This was supposed to be a longer post about nutrition but I think the above says it all. Well, that and the consumption of 3 bacon cheeseburgers in 2 days.

I've decided to get my health back on track though. I've been trying to play tennis consistently for the last few months, and I think I'm going to bite the bullet and join a gym as well! My sister just joined one so hopefully it will be good motivation to have a workout buddy.

I feel like I've been running around nonstop all weekend trying to do everything and I just hit a wall sometime between last night and this morning. I woke up in the middle of the night with a painful sore throat and couldn't fall back asleep for a couple hours because it was so uncomfortable. I suppose this is what I deserve for treating my body so poorly. My main priorities for this week are now to catch on sleep, vitamins, and nothing else.

As of now, I have nowhere to travel this week! I'm scared to say it too loudly for fear of jinxing myself. It's pretty damn exciting though, especially when I'm already feeling under the weather. There's nothing more I want than to come home every night to my own apartment.

A sad thing happened tonight. My one and a half year-old nephew was looking at the magazine I was flipping through and saw a picture of a plane. He pointed to it and said my name. I guess that's how he thinks of me, the aunt who's never around because she's always on a plane! To top it off, his dad told me that he saw a picture of my Blackberry Curve in a magazine and said my name too! Depressing.

Flight 011: Southwest Airlines - "LUV" Is Not In The Air

I am now at the Westin in downtown San Diego for the night. I flew down earlier today on Southwest for a meeting. It was a pretty strange flight. The crew made a point of repeatedly saying that we weren't allowed to put beverages, electronics, or big books in the seat pocket. I think it was stressed more emphatically than any of the safety rules. I tried searching on Google to see if this was another silly measure imposed by the FAA but didn't come up with anything. Therefore the only thing I can think is that the crew didn't want to have to clean out as many seat pockets between flights. This reason seems absurd. I can understand that the cleaning is probably the least pleasant aspect of the job, but it's still part of the job. And isn't the purpose of the seat pocket to store things during flight...such as water bottles, ipods, and books of all sizes? I'm interested to see if it was isolated to this one flight crew or if I'm going to have to hear about how dangerous the seat pocket is through all my Southwest flights now. Next stop is Austin tomorrow so I'll find out soon enough.

In happier news, I've decided to write about at least one new thing every week that pleasantly and surprisingly delights me. The inaugural find is a greeting cards website called Someecards.com. This site is, without a doubt, one of the most hilarious sites I have ever come across. Here are just a few of the gems I found:



As someone who has to create a new expense report every week and tape all physical receipts to pieces of paper, I can truly relate to the sentiment and find it damn funny.



I think anyone who has to create presentations on a regular basis feels the pain here. I sent this to a coworker recently who spent hours preparing for the wrong topic because it was miscommunicated by her manager. Fun fun fun.

I think my goal is to communicate via only these cards for a whole day and see how many people I can offend and entertain simultaneously.

Flight 010: Too Much Information

On my flight from Minneapolis to Chicago O'Hare yesterday, our pilot came on the intercom at the end of our descent to mention that we might have noticed that the plane switched runways at the last minute. He then went on to explain that it was because he was notified at 5 miles away that there was debris on the runway we were initially assigned to. Now, I'm obviously very happy that we switched runways and that the debris was noticed by someone. However, I then had images of debris ripping through the fuselage...and well, you know the rest. It got me thinking about the topic of TMI - too much information. I'm the type of person who wears her heart on her sleeve, which has gotten me in a fair amount of trouble in the past. Even so, I recognize there are many situations where you can provide too much information.

I made this mistake at work about a year and a half ago when I let the head of another business unit know that I was not interested in moving to a position on his team. I went on to explain that I felt it would be a step backwards for me. I thought it was a civil conversation that resulted in a mutual understanding. Little did I know that it would turn into a gigantic clusterf*ck resulting in me sitting with 2 execs chastising me for acting entitled and disrespectful to the "chain of command." Honestly, the phrase "chain of command" was used more than once. I couldn't believe I was hearing this at a company with less than 40 employees at the time. Talk about disappointing.

I've also seen the perils of TMI in my personal life. Take, for example, the case where you find out that your friend's significant other is less than perfect. Had you asked me 10 years ago where I stood on this issue, I would have been adamant that honesty is the best policy in every situation. Since then though, I've seen friendships fall apart over bad relationships and experienced it first-hand myself. I had an interesting conversation with a close friend about this issue recently and she made a great point: if your friend already knows her boyfriend or husband has done questionable things in the past, what's the point of raising it again? Clearly some comfort level with his faults has already been established so isn't it just damaging to your own personal friendship to aggravate a sore point? These days, if I have a concern, my policy is to just say it once and never again. Is that right though? I have no clue - I think it balances my need to say something with my wish to keep the friendship on an even keel.

Flight 009: Decompression...and another Destination

Because I'm away from home so much, I often feel like I have to make the most of my personal time once I get home. What does that mean? Well, sometimes it just means spending a lot of time at home sleeping and relaxing. More often than not though, it means that I want to go out with friends and stay out late getting drunk and silly. Is it fun? Yes. Is it healthy? Hmm, not sure. I had a big night out on Friday, and while it was a great time and exactly what I wanted, I was more tired and worn out on Saturday than when I initially returned home from traveling. I guess the upside is that I definitely stayed in and did nothing Saturday night except catch up on expenses and watch some good old mind-numbing TV. But the source of wanting to go out really stems from this desire to shake off the work and meetings of the week. It's hard to delineate between business and personal time when you get home from a trip and open up your laptop again in the living room. I find that I need to go out and be away from my computer and emails before I can really shut things down.

I flew first class on United for the first time today out of necessity because there were no other seats left. It was an interesting experience since it's always seemed like such a special treat for the few elite, but in reality, it's not all that different from economy and you're still on a plane for the same amount of time. Now if somebody could make first class go faster, I would definitely shell out more money for that. What I did like was boarding first, getting some free snacks, and getting off the plane first as well. However, combine Southwest's A-List with Jetblue snacks and you've got pretty much the same experience. I don't think I'll ever fly first class domestically for personal travel because I can't see how the perks are at all worth the cost. However, the experience did serve to remind me of just how warm and fuzzy great service can make you feel. The flight attendant who was serving us in the first class area used our first name any time she said anything to us. For example, "Gary, would you like any fruit?" "Tom, are you connecting to another destination today? I can tell you which gate you'll be flying out of." It's such a little touch but it goes a long way in making somebody feel a little more memorable, and consequently, special. I usually try to use people's first names in meetings so that they know I didn't forget them, but I'm going to try a little harder moving forward.

I'm sitting on the ground at Denver airport now waiting for my flight to depart for Minneapolis. I'm conflicted about this airport. The pros are that it's clean, has moving walkways, free WiFi, and many food choices. However, the cons are that it skimps on electrical outlets (thus the sitting on the floor), requires trams to get to baggage claim & ground transportation, has offsite car rental, and is incredibly far from the actual city of Denver. Oh well, just a few more minutes here and I will be on my way to Minneapolis for a whopping 20 hours of fun & business.

Flight 008: Pat-Me-Down Tulsa

It's a great feeling to make a flight that gets you to your destination hours earlier. There's only one direct flight from Tulsa to San Diego, but it leaves at 3:35pm and my meeting didn't end until 2:30pm so I figured I had no chance of making it. I decided to just check the status after my meeting though, and it was delayed an hour! While my coworker drove us back to the airport, I was able to cancel my Southwest refundable ticket and book myself on the ExpressJet flight using my handy Verizon broadband card. I love the flexibility of Southwest refundable tickets - I probably end up changing my flight at least every other week.

Because I booked my flight so last-minute though, I had to go through the special pat-me-down security aisle. I think Tulsa's got the most stringent pat-down process I've seen in any airport. The woman before me was seriously unhappy - she had on this long, flowy skirt so it was hard to run the scanner around her body and between her legs. By the time the TSA lady asked her to put one leg out to make it easier, she started yelling and looking kinda psycho, saying "fine, why I don't I just hike my skirt up for you," which she then proceeded to do. Yow, I saw way too much in that instant! She had a nice little audience comprised of the TSA lady, the TSA male supervisor, 2 TSA cops and me by the time she was cleared through.

Anyway, Tulsa was brief and very cloudy. If you ever find yourself there, I would highly recommend staying at Hotel Ambassador. It's not much to look at from the outside, but the rooms are really nice inside. At the end of the day, hotels matter a lot to me because they make the difference between my getting sleep or tossing and turning all night, which in turn impacts how my meetings go. So I don't mind having my company shell out a few more bucks so I can be more comfortable :) Things that are important:
1. cleanliness - I have a deep fear of encountering bedbugs so I have to do a pre-inspection of every bed...kinda obsessive, I know
2. comfortable bed
3. room service - the last thing I want to do is drive around a foreign city at 10pm looking for fast food
4. toiletries - not a big deal, but I love the W Hotel's Bliss products
5. WiFi - not so important anymore now that I have my broadband card but I hate hotels that don't offer WiFi

Flight 007: Hotlanta

I had a short night of sleep before my meeting in downtown Atlanta. As you can see from the picture, there is still a lot of damage to be fixed from the tornado that ran through downtown Atlanta last week. All of those white spaces on the building are places where the windows broke from the pressure. I can't imagine how much glass was on the sidewalks in the aftermath, I'm glad it happened at night! After my meeting I headed straight back to Atlanta airport to hop another flight to Tulsa by way of Houston. Atlanta airport is huge -- I would definitely give yourself enough time to get through security, hop on the tram, and then walk the distance to your gate.

I had a little bit of a flight scare for the first time ever. As we began our descent into Houston, the panel next to me started vibrating like crazy. Everybody around me looked over, including the flight attendant who promptly headed toward the cockpit without saying a word. I gotta say that I was pretty zen about the whole thing though. I figured there was nothing I could do so I just tried to ignore it, haha. The guy next to me thought it might have been an engine thing because our row was aligned with the engine on the left wing but he asked the flight attendant as we left and he said it was an A/C pack issue, whatever that means. Anyway, I'm happy to say that I made it to Houston in one piece.

Flight 006: Up In the Air

Planes are great for catching up on sleep and reading. I got a refreshing 30-minute nap in the first part of my flight to Atlanta and then started a book called "The Female Brain" that was suggested to me by a friend. It's certainly interesting to read about how dramatically our ever-changing hormones affect our mood and reality. However I couldn't help but feel like the author's classification of how hormones manifest into different female behaviors was a little too stereotypical. Do little girls really naturally gravitate toward socializing together that much more than little boys? Do women really end up in less math & science careers because we have an uncontrollable hormonal affinity for more social occupations? Perhaps I'm just on the light end of the estrogen scale, but I know that I'm pretty happy in my tech profession and still manage to find time to socialize as well. I'm not sure I have any other explanations for the disparity myself besides the typical cultural gender stereotypes, but so far I'm still a little skeptical with the theories proposed.

Here's an excerpt that bothered me, for example, regarding teenage girls: "The hormones that affect their responsivity to social stress are going sky high, which is where they get their off-the-wall ideas -- and clothing choices -- and why they are constantly staring at themselves in the mirror. They are almost exclusively interested in their appearance, specifically whether the boys who populate their real and fantasy worlds will find them attractive." I mean, come on, I remember having other interests outside of looks & boys in high school and didn't feel like I was that atypical. It just seems a little trivializing to generalize teenage girls in this way. Likewise, it also generalizes that boys essentially become mute in high school because "sexual pursuit and body parts become pretty much obsessions."

One passage that I did find really interesting was about how a child's emotional and stress hormone reactions get their earliest shape while still in utero. That means that mothers who are stressed out during pregnancy can pass those traits on to their babies before they've even given birth. It might seem like common sense, but I still think it's both amazing and scary that the nurture process essentially begins at conception.

After reading about 60 pages, I decided to move on to the daunting task of clearing out my Google Reader. I am excited and proud to say that I read (skimmed) over 500 items and am now back at 0! Of course that number will not be at 0 once I land, but for now, I will take great satisfaction in this happily suspended offline moment in time.

It turns out that I happened to be in SNA airport at the same time as my coworker, but we didn't discover it until I'd already boarded my flight! I wonder how often that happens, where I'm in the same airport as somebody else I know but we're just too wrapped up in our Blackberries and destinations to notice.

Speaking of SNA (also known as the airport in the OC), I think I might have found my new favorite airport!
Pros: Onsite Hertz car rental, good selection of food & drink, seating available with electrical outlets, no trams or commuter rails, very clean. It's a well-known fact that one of my favorite foods is tater tots, and the Oasis restaurant inside the airport serves tater tots with breakfast dishes! I heart SNA.
Cons: Just one complaint - I was in the priority boarding line that looked relatively short but it took a really long time to get through because there were few scanners open and they funnel all of the airport/airline staff through the same priority line, which kind of defeats the purpose. I'll have to see how it goes next time before I judge too harshly though.

Flight 005: Flight Anxiety

I've got a killer week ahead of me: 4 cities in 4 days around the US. I swore I'd never do it again the last time I did it a month ago, but somehow I find myself with another itinerary full of nonstops and layovers, Marriotts and Hiltons, and growing quantities of laundry and sleeplessness. To say that I'm dreading it would be an understatement. People think that it's fun to visit new cities on business, but a visit to me consists of discovering such fun facts as whether the car rental is offsite or onsite, whether NeverLost is really going to keep me from getting lost, and if traffic congestion still allows me to make my departure flight in time. If I'm lucky, I'll get 1 dinner out on the town instead of grabbing room service and multi-tasking with work.

What I hate the most though, is that I'm already feeling anxious about all of this before I've even taken off on my first flight yet. There's got to be a way to compartmentalize work so that it doesn't affect the times when I'm not working and trying to relax. I can't imagine that I'm the only one though. Actually, I know I'm not because I've got enough stressed-out friends & coworkers who feel the same way. It seems like a sad statement about our lives and culture when we can't stop work from bleeding into everything else. Maybe Step 1 is cracking down on the Blackberry in off-work hours. Enough complaining though, it's time to do laundry and start packing!

This week I'll get to discover more fun airports: SNA - ATL - TUL - SAN. Happy Sunday.

Flight 004: Tips to Make Your Flight

I have done a fair amount of scrambling in the last year to make flights. From that I've learned a few essential tips to share.

1. Pack Light
Good = Never check any luggage in. The last thing you want to do is miss your flight because you were waiting in line to check in luggage.
Better = Use a backpack instead of a carry-on roller. Yes, everybody might think you're going back to school instead of a meeting, but are you really going to care when you're huffing and puffing your way through an airport? I have had to sprint with both, and it is infinitely easier to barrel through crowds when everything you have is securely on your body instead of weaving its own dangerous course behind you.

2. Get a Security Line Routine
It really helps to know exactly where you put your driver's license, credit card & boarding pass each time. For me, it's my back pocket. I also know that my laptop and toiletry zip-loc go together in one bin, shoes & jacket in the other. There's only so much you can speed up and automate in the security line, but getting a routine helps.

3. Get Directions
A couple days ago when I was flying back from San Diego to Oakland, I cut it just a little bit too close. My flight was at 9pm and I returned my car to Hertz at around 8:35pm. I forgot that Hertz is not on-site at the airport so then I had to take the shuttle to my terminal. The shuttle really takes its sweet time making its way through the commuter terminal first. When it finally stopped at Terminal 1, I jumped out and started sprinting in the direction of the terminal. However, little did I know that San Diego airport has a Skybridge to cross the street, so I wasted a lot of energy running in the wrong direction. This was a crucial mistake because I had a limited amount of energy for running to begin with. Therefore I had to then walk a good distance to catch my breath and get my boarding pass. I then had to do the "excuse me, my flight's in 10 minutes, could I go ahead of you" routine through about a line of 20 people. No bueno. The good news is that I made my flight although I felt like I wanted to vomit from running for the first 20 minutes up in the air.

Flight 003: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

*** Vitamin + Fiber = GROSS   Let me state that I really like Vitamin Water. I know it's a silly product because it's just water with calories that tastes a little fruity, but I like the way it tastes and it somehow makes me feel like I'm being a little bit healthier when I drink it with burritos and fried chicken. However, I couldn't find Vitamin Water at the place where I bought my breakfast sandwich today in Oakland Airport, so I decided to try Vitamin+Fiber water. Its tagline is "Taste the INVISIBLE fiber!" You may think I jest, so here is proof. Sure, I probably should have known better, but I didn't want juice or coffee and it was the only alternative. Anyway, here's the thing - you open it, you put it to your lips, you tilt your head back, you taste some peach flavors, and then suddenly you realize there is crap in your mouth. Little itty bits of crap. When I read INVISIBLE, I somehow translated it to mean "you won't know you're drinking fiber." This is not the case. In case it's not clear, Vitamin+Fiber Water was the Ugly part of my day.

*** My itinerary for today: Burbank (meetings) -> Santa Monica (dinner) -> San Diego (hotel). In the process of driving to each location, I realized that I drove by 4 different airports: BUR, LAX, SNA, SAN. There's something wrong with that although I haven't quite put my finger on what it is yet. But that's the Bad, because SoCal traffic sucks.

*** 2 Good things:
1) I recently signed up for FlyClear and got my card. I flew out of Oakland airport this morning but had been told previously that Oakland wouldn't have a Clear line until April. Therefore I was really disappointed to see that the security line extended out to baggage claim in Terminal 2. But then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blue cube shining like a beacon: the Clear line is open! I walked to the empty line with my head bent down, gave my fingerprint, and was taken straight to the bins in front of everybody. I know that it sucks for everybody else, but since I have to spend a good part of my life in airports, I'm really happy that I got Clear.
2) I have friends in random places. Travelling lets me see these friends more and mix some pleasure in with business. I got to have dinner with an old friend tonight and it made the whole trip exponentially better.

It's seriously time for bed now. Heading home tomorrow night.

Flight 002: The Night Before Departure

I never appreciated being home so much before. At this point, I find myself going into the office mostly for the social aspect. It's nice to actually go to lunch with friends instead of quickly grabbing a bite alone at the closest Starbucks, Subway, Chipotle, or (fill-in-generic-commercial-food-here).

As I was browsing through my Google Reader today, I came across a posting that proved my iPhone point! Check it out - Karl Rove uses an iPhone. Need I say more? Found it off Valleywag - http://valleywag.com/tech/politics/karl-rove-uses-an-iphone-286619.php.



Yes, I read Valleywag - so what? :) I've recently finally organized all the content I read into Google Reader and it's helped me reduce all the crap going into my mailbox. However, I now find myself with hundreds of items to read every day and I can't stand the idea of the number just going up and up if I slack off.

I signed up for Twitter today after reading in multiple places on what a "killer app" it is. I'm sorry to say that I just don't get what all the hype is about yet. I'll keep sending out the minor details of my life until I have no followers left though . . .

I did discover an app recently that has brought me much delight: Digsby. It would be doing a disservice to compare it to Trillian because it's so much more. I've used Trillian for so long now that I liken it to the abusive boyfriend that makes you think all men suck. Digsby is the guy who picks you up off the ground and dusts you off. Or something like that :) Anyway, I would highly recommend Digsby to any Windows user who has multiple chat accounts and doesn't want to run AIM, Y!M, MSN, etc. simultaneously on their machine. It allows you to double-sort on your contact list and includes not only more IM protocols (e.g. Google Talk, Jabber) but also social networks (Facebook, Twitter) and email (gmail, y! mail, imap, etc). Check it out and tell me what you think.

Back on the road tomorrow headed for SoCal.

Flight 001: The Beginning

Here's my first attempt at converting all my miles into something useful. I hit 2-3 cities on average each week and have gotten to see a lot of America in the last few months. I'm Asian and female, which makes me somewhat of an oddity among the seemingly endless flood of white male road warriors traveling alongside me every week. Speaking of which...I think I've figured out that iPhone's target market is aging males who are trying to reclaim some status of "coolness" that they questionably once had back in their glory days. I've lost count of the number of guys I've seen walking around with those little white earbuds tucked snugly inside their ears and tapping away on their sleek touchscreens.

Anyway, in the future, I'll write more detailed posts on where I go and what I see, but for now, here's a quick hit on 2008 so far:

LAX (Los Angeles) - One of my worst nightmares of an airport - leave ample time for transfers and even more patience for delays and off-airport car rental pickups/dropoffs.

BUR (Burbank) - I love having the car rental on site but no Hertz Club Gold screen is the worst. Isn't the point of Club Gold that you never have to wait in line? However, Burbank has the best damn bacon cheeseburger I've ever had in any airport so that alone bumps it up on my list.

SEA (Seattle) - Flying southwest here is great but having to take those trams to the remote terminals for other airlines (alaska,not sure which others) really sucks.

SAN (San Diego) - Ah, what's not to love about awesome weather and onsite Hertz car rentals? I've never had a problem with security lines here and the SFO-SAN route on Southwest makes me a very happy girl. 3/31/08 Update: San Diego airport is not as sweet as I thought - car rental is offsite. Minus 2 points.

OMA (Omaha) - Whoa! Umm...I see white people. All kidding aside, this airport was small and not memorable which means that it neither wowed nor sucked. And yes, Omaha is known for its ethnic diversity but everyone was exceedingly friendly, especially at the Hilton Omaha.

IAD (Washington-Dulles) - Dulles is perhaps the only airport that sucks more than LAX. It's poorly laid out and requires you to herd onto outdated shuttle buses to get to your terminal most of the time. And if you're lucky enough to not have a flight leaving from one of the remote gates, you will find yourself getting exercise on your 1 mile trek to your "closer" gate, whether you like it or not. I would pretty much fly into any other airport but this one.

JFK (New York City) - Ah...how I love Jetblue but hate Terminal 6. Actually, departing from JFK is often times quite smooth and stress-free. However, trying to locate your car service for pick-up is an entirely different story. It is consistently a zoo at the Arrivals area so I'd recommend trying to meet your party at Departures instead.

OAK - Oakland airport has never been my favorite because it requires me to take the unpredictable Bay Bridge back home to lovely San Francisco. However, I find myself flying out of there more and more because 1) I park onsite for $22/day and 2) it experiences far fewer weather delays than SFO. It's also gotten a lot better in the last year or so in terms of food and general amenities.

SFO - I love SFO simply because it's damn close to me. However, it is notorious for delays to any kind of blip in the weather - fog, rain, drizzle, perhaps a cloud passing across the sun momentarily . . .

Seeing this list of airports is making me re-evaluate whether I need a blog....or a personal life. Hmm. Until next time, happy flying!