Last week I talked about my back from over packing.  My suggestion is to create a list of items and attach conditions to them.  Certain things I need every business trip such as my laptop, socks, underwear, chargers, but other things I only need certain trips such as my passport and Charles Schwab ATM card are only needed for international trips.

Also apply multipliers.  I bring underwear and socks in a # of days + 1 fashion because ya never know.
I bring shirts equal to the number of days, but I may only bring 2 or 3 pairs of slacks and 1 set of workout clothes…2 if i’ll be gone more than 4 days.

When I go on personal trips things are skewed because suddenly I need jeans, I may need sandals, etc, and I have to do those trips as a one-off (except for underwear and socks).

I don’t have this formally written down because I hate lists and organization, but I try to mentally go through the list.  I also triple check that I have my passport when going to Canada.  I always have my passport card in my wallet and recently I’ve been driving across, but I still like to know I have the book too *just in case*.  I check before I leave my house, I check while I’m still driving, then I check again after I’ve parked my car.

Sometime early last year I switched from a laptop backpack to a laptop purse.  This was partially due to being sick of people asking if I was on my way to college.  Yes, I thought I’d take a random trip on a Thursday in July to head back to college.  I guess since I’m enrolled in a masters program now I shouldn’t be too offended, but never the less I decided I wanted to look more professional.

Fast forward to December.  I started getting really bad lower back pain on the left side of my back.  I figured it was because I was being sedentary instead of running or the position I lay on the couch when I work from home.  Now that I’m back on the road the second I swung (probably the first mistake) the laptop bag on my left shoulder and the pain erupted I knew what it must be.

There is a concept in politics called a “zero-based” budget where instead of basing each new budget off the previous budget the whole thing must be rewritten.  I think I need to take the same approach to my “laptop purse” which is really my home away from home.  I wish I had my luggage scale since I’m sure the thing weighs at least 18 pounds.

Some items include:

• Laptop
• Laptop charger
• portable hard drive
• cell phone USB cord/wall adapter
• wallet
• old boarding passes from who knows how far back
• good headphones
• freebie airline headphones in case I forget my good headphones
• gum
• arm strap for phone during exercise
• multi-sided nail file
• business card organizer
• various papers from long ago for work procedures I only do at home
• GPS

You get the point.  Mainly it only needs things I like to have near me during a flight (laptop, earphones) and things I need to take to work (laptop/charger, portable hard drive). Since my body only likes to carry the load on my left shoulder (I feel very awkward/unbalanced on my right) I’m not sure if I just need to alternate shoulders, or if I need to switch back to a backpack.  The pain does go away and I get fairly good relief just by exercising so maybe this pain in the back is really my conscience telling me to work out.

I love my eBags purse, but it may be time for a smaller laptop bag so I don’t have as much room to grow.

I read the Charlotte Observer and as I was perusing articles they had one with the top gifts for someone who travels.  Most of the products I was familiar with, but they did have something that I’ve wanted and just never investigated: completely flat dishes/spoon.  I’ve been trying to get more food from the grocery store since I am getting sick of eating out every night, but I’ll buy cereal and milk and nothing to eat it with.  Some hotels leave bowls and tablewear out all night in the breakfast area, but others don’t.  I’d prefer reusable stuff anyway (hint, hint, Road Warriorette, these would be a great green tip).

So if my Santa is out there, go to http://fozzils.com/products.html and check out the Orange (for Clemson) solo set.

I don’t talk a lot about clothing because I hate shopping, I rarely think things look good on me, and I’m just not a fashionable person.

I do, however, have to wear clothes so it becomes a necessary evil.  I blame years of Catholic school uniforms for eliminating any chance of fashion I may have had.  Instead I like classic  cuts.  Nothing frilly, no wild prints, just clean lines.  This makes shopping a chore because of course most brands like to cater to trends because that is what most people want.

I recently found a website called MyShape (this link should start you with a $25 credit).  It allows you to enter your measurements, clothing tastes, and favorite brands (to gauge your style).  It then spits back your shape.  You can filter their whole catalog based on your shape or your shape and style preferences.  There is also an option to purchase without picking a size.  I decided to try that on my first order just to give this the ultimate test.

I wanted a black dress to wear out to clubs on Friday nights.  I like sleeves and also want something that flatters my hips instead of emphasizing them.  I saw a dress I liked and didn’t understand the sizes listed so I opted for the sizeless option (they choose the correct size for me).  We shall see how this works out sometime next week.

There are constantly stories about TSA luggage screeners, airline baggage handlers, and random people stealing items or whole bags.  If you have jewelry, electronics, or other items of value keep them with you in your carry-on luggage.

Also, if you are flying on a regional jet and need to gate-check your bag please make sure you remove your laptop or other items that can be damaged.

If you have expensive perfume or other liquids over 3.4 ounces those items will need to be checked, but laptops, iPads, Wiis, PS3s, and the like can all be taken through security and onto a plane.  TSA will make you run laptops, PS3s, blu-ray players, and other items like that in a separate bin so if you are taking that in the box be prepared to unpack it.  For the most part TSA does not require Kindles and iPads to go separately, but LAX apparently does.

Try to claim your checked bag as soon as safely possible so someone else doesn’t have a chance to grab it and take it before you even know it came onto the belt.

So remember: valuables in carry-on.  Keep you eye on your stuff at all times.  Most people handling luggage are honest, but that doesn’t mean you should throw valuables in their face.

Flying Pasties

Where there’s a problem someone is always innovating a solution.  TSA wants to see you naked so Flying Pasties created a product to block your goodies from the virtual strip searches.

I will continue in the “avoiding at all costs” camp and I will opt for a pat down instead of going through a WBI, but for those of you who think you have nothing to hide might still want to hide your unmentionables.  Some on FlyerTalk report many people still get a pat-down after the WBI so what’s the point?

Using my knowledge of TSA I would assume wearing these would lead to a pat-down anyway or a stern conversation from TSA about mocking their security procedures.

Please note that Wimpie on FlyerTalk states:

For effectiveness, you need leather for the backscatter machines. A nice piece of thick leather down the pants cannot be seen through, as leather is much more dense than ordinary skin.

For the MMW scanners, conductive fabric with a tight weave or metalized fabric will do the trick. They won’t even alarm the WTMD. Check lessemf.com for fabric selections. I guarantee that the copper polyester taffeta will foil any imaging by MMW. (I am an RF engineer with 35 years experience)

This one is thanks to the ladies from http://www.wickedgoodtraveltips.com/

As a woman traveling weekly I have to balance safety and convenience.  The safety people say “Never leave your key in the folder/envelop with the room number” because if someone finds your packet they know the room number AND have the key.

The convenience part of me says “I can barely remember what city I’m in.  How can I remember the room number if I separate them?”

The Wicked Good Travel ladies said to compromise: keep the key in the key jacket, but tear off the number and put that in your wallet so they are separate, but still accessible.

I had 2 weeks of office weeks due to projects pushing back so today is my first day back out.  Since the last time I flew they have closed the A Checkpoint in CLT and it is Monday so I was afraid of security lines.  I left my house 2 hours before my scheduled departure and tried to see if there was anything I could do about my 3 hour layover in CVG.  The other options required departing 40 minutes before my scheduled departure so I was afraid I wouldn’t clear security in time and stayed with my original itinerary.

Got through security, waiting for my flight, boarding my flight.  The suspension sounded pretty bad with every bump on taxi sounding like an old car, but I’ve had flights like that before and thought nothing of it.  After takeoff it turns out our landing gear never went up.  Since our takeoff weight was higher than landing weight we had to fly around for about 30 minutes before we could actually land.

I stood in line and tried to fix my connection, but the Delta website didn’t realize we had returned to CLT and just thought we were delayed into CVG so I called the Gold Medallion line.  Delta was able to interline me to a direct flight on US Airways (see previous posts about original mileage credit), but now CLT is under a tornado watch and has severe thunder storms so the ramp is closed.

…hopefully I get out of here eventually

It’s interesting. For the first time for quite a while I’m not only home, but I’m actually home for 2 straight work weeks! Conversations to friends all start with “Grace is actually home during the week.”  No, I don’t talk in the third person, they usually just talk to my husband during the week because they know it’s futile trying to plan around my schedule.  I don’t even know what to really do with myself.  I have time to run errands, get paperwork done, and all that other stuff that is difficult to do on the road.  I’ve gone to the gym twice already and I’ll probably go again tonight.  Most importantly, I can actually go to Karaoke this Friday!  Yipee.  I love Karaoke but I haven’t been in a while.  I need to work on my routine because this year is my last year of eligibility for American Idol.

I’ve started leaving a blanket in my car so if I have a red eye I’m prepared, but I left it at home since my upgrade had cleared.  That meant the plane was super freezing.

If you aren’t in first class now-a-days your odds of having access to a blanket on the plane is getting lower and lower.  US Airways will charge you $7 for one, but many airlines have just cut them completely.  Better buy in the airport if you didn’t BYO.

I was going to call this: You aren’t the only person on the plane but figured I’d take a softer title instead.

On a recent Airtran flight from MDW to ATL we were delayed quite a bit leaving MDW and thus our 40 minute connections quickly became 15 minutes.  I always sit towards the back of the plane to get zone 3 seating so there is space for my overhead.  This also means that short connections get even shorter when the plane is slow to deplane.  The lady the row behind me was very adamant that Airtran needed to make an announcement that people without short connections should remain seated so she could make her flight.  The flight attendants did eventually make this announcement which appeased her, but when everyone began deplaning she got upset.  She didn’t believe that many people would also have such a close connection.  I explained that’s how hub work.  She said that Chicago is a hub too and no one was connecting.  I said MDW isn’t a hub for Airtran and therefore people aren’t usually connecting there because they connect in ATL.

So to my point: every day there are situations out of your control: traffic accidents leading to delays, people not showing up when they say they will, internet downtime.  Sure, they suck.  I hate them too, but there is nothing a passenger can do about a plane delay that will make it any less delayed.  The only thing you can do at that point is exactly what I did: find out the gate your next flight is at and run like the wind to that gate.  That’s it.  The flight attendants can’t get it any faster, the pilots would if they could, but usually either the FAA or airline controls are preventing them from going anywhere.

Breathe in, breathe out, and wait for your window to open.