Oh dear. TSA is a never ending source of, “Seriously???” moments. In the last year, stories ranging from hilarious to horrifying have appeared, and now the agency famous for its comedy of errors has struck again.

According to CNN, a TSA agent found a, shall we say, “personal item” in the luggage of a traveler. On the “TSA has searched your bag” paper, he wrote the woman a special note: “Get your freak on girl.” OMG. I mean, O. M. G. Can you imagine? It’s hideously inappropriate, offensive, disgusting….. and yet mildly hilarious. While you gasp in horrified laughter, you wonder what kind of idiot could possibly think this would be acceptable. And did he think he wouldn’t get found out? Has he done this before, and just not been caught?

The officer in question is facing dismissal, of course. But when the woman who received the note tweeted the pic to her followers, she said she wanted to raise the issue of what this means in the grander sense of things.

“As much as this is a funny and titillating story, when I put the note on Twitter for what I thought was a relatively limited audience, I was hoping it would open up a bigger conversation about privacy rights (or lack thereof) in post-9/11 America. It unfortunately hasn’t done that, and instead has turned into a media circus,” she said.

I think she raises a valid point. While personally I have had never had a terrible interaction with the TSA (just mildly annoying ones), there are clearly several bad apples that are creating issues for everyone else. Most of the agents are probably doing the best they can, but there seem to be many systemic issues flowing from the top down.

So, Readers, what do you think this says about privacy rights these days? Or is the idea that we have any privacy the biggest joke of all?

(P.S.: Home Warrior had an awesome name suggestion for this post, which was hilarious, but I just couldn’t do it: “Not-so Good Vibrations”. Hah! He is on a roll. Remember “Snakes on a Plane?“)

I have a new obsession, and its name is navy. Beautiful, beautiful navy. Three months ago I would never have believed that the pants I am drawn to all the time are navy pinstripes. Sounds stuffy! Boring! But three months ago I was wrong. Everything changed at a bridal shower for a friend. Now, a navy pencil skirt and navy polka-dotted blouse may not sound like traditional attire for a bride, but she looked amazing–pulled together, chic, and classic. And it started my new-found goal of finding the perfect navy pants. Not only are they gorgeous, but navy pants go with all colors–purple, yellow, turquoise, green….. This weekend I will be checking out a few pairs–the Ann Taylor Curvy Pinstripe Trousers in Navy and the Gap Perfect trouser pants in Navy. Hopefully next week I will sporting a brand new pair! Here is the entire outfit. Love!!

The Banana Republic Lourdes Pleated Blouse was not at all what I had in mind when I started looking, but as soon as I saw it I knew it was the one. This would be beautiful with navy slacks (as well as gray, brown, or taupe).

Love the cut of these navy Gap Perfect trouser pants. They look comfortable, classic, and best of all the reviews say you can throw them in the washer. Win!

I would finish off the outfit with shoes in a deep plum and a bracelet in a contrasting color, maybe yellow. If you think you’ll get cold, a plum colored cardigan would top it off nicely.

ETA: The comment below makes a good point. I don’t think wearing an entire navy suit is a great idea, as the potential for being mistaken for a flight attendant is pretty high. But navy slacks with a colorful or printed top can work beautifully. The trick, in this instance, is using color to keep your outfit from being too serious.

I recently got a great travel story from a close friend. She and a coworker were going to Philadelphia for a meeting, tried to rent a car, and, well, adventures ensued…..

They arrived late in Philadelphia, and had to wait in a very smoky spot for shuttle to rental car place. To add to the atmosphere, it was lightly raining. They finally got their rental car, but had trouble finding the exit.  After driving around in the parking lot, they spotted the exit. Hooray! That much closer to my warm hotel bed, she remembers thinking. The arm at the exit was up, and as the person in the booth did not appear interested in talking to them, they drove on through.

As the car cleared the dreaded ‘do not reverse over these spikes’ threshold, the attendant began shouting, “Hey lady!” and asked her to ‘back in.’ She wasn’t about to do that, and explained why.  The attendant said “Oh, they won’t do anything, don’t worry.” (Are warning bells going off in your head? Because they sure were in mine as I listened to this story!!) My friend protested, but acquiesced after the attendant’s assurance – saying to her traveling companion, “This is ending a life held belief!” Sure enough, the back tires crossed the line and all seemed well.

Then the arm fell is a rush and whacked the hood of the car, effectively pinning them precisely on the spikes.  A soft hissing began and they soon heard a rush of air.  At first they thought it was the hydraulic arm, explaining the malfunction.  This is the moment the attendant began assuring them, “Don’t worry, it’s not your fault.”  My friend assumed she meant the whacking on the hood, which most definitely was not their fault. (My friend pauses in telling the story. “Did I mention it was raining?” she said. “And at this point it’s after midnight, and we had to be up at 7!”)  Soon, a helpful young man arrived, released the vehicle, backed it all the way in and drove it off.  The hood seemed fine and my friend’s companion said, “A good thing there is no damage!”

“Well, there’s the tires,” the attendant said. That’s when my friend saw them.  Completely flat.

The moral of the story? When the signs say, “Do not back up as severe damage will result to your tires,” they are not kidding!! Don’t back up! Cling to your long held beliefs that the sign is not lying.

Over the last week and a half, I was driving around Texas for some reason or another 7 out of 9 days. That was a lot of driving time, for sure. Driving isn’t my main way of traveling for work, mostly I fly, so this was a bit out of the ordinary. I fly again this week, to Ohio again for several days (which I’m a little nervous about due to the crazy experience I had there last time). Hopefully it will be just fine.

But this story is about a trip a couple of weeks ago. First, some background. My mother and I live in the same town, and despite my constant travel have usually been able to get together a couple times a month.  However, she was promoted a few years ago, and now travels almost as often as I do. At least half of her trips are car trips, if not more, but she does fly periodically. For the past several months one of us has been gone virtually all of the time, so haven’t been able to see each other very much at all. Then, two weeks ago, I was heading to Nashville Wednesday at 6:30, and she was headed to Philadelphia at 5:45. I left early for the airport, and got to spend twenty minutes with my mom for the first time in a month.

Of course, it was great to catch up! Though I’m not sure what it means that the only time we see each other is at the airport…… I guess we’re both just road warriors…..

Readers, have you ever timed a flight so you can see a friend or family member at the airport?

A month ago, a coworker was traveling to visit a client. When she landed at her home airport, she rummaged through her bag for her car keys. Couldn’t find them. Starting to freak out, she pulled everything out of her purse. They weren’t there. Super frustrated, she opened her wallet to get a friend’s work phone number and found her keys, hooked on the change pocket.

Last week, I was traveling with a friend to a conference. After a long drive and almost seven hours of meetings, we finally made our way to the hotel. We checked in, dropped our stuff off in the room, and headed down to the bar for a beverage. After a quick glass of wine and some conference debrief, we went back to the room. Walking out of the elevator, my friend started looking in her purse for the room key. Couldn’t find it. Similar story to above–she took everything out of her purse and the keys still weren’t there. This time, however, it turned out we left them at the hotel bar. Oops.

The moral of these stories (and several other stories people have told me over the years) is that it is super important to have a designated place for keys. It doesn’t matter if they are car keys or hotel room keys, or if you are a man or a woman, knowing where your keys are can save a lot of headache. I have a specific zipper pocket in my purse where I keep my car keys, and I keep my hotel room key in the outside pocket. Getting into the habit of putting your keys in a specific place doesn’t take too long, just be deliberate about it.

Note: I strongly recommend that the designated place for your car keys is in your personal item, NOT your suitcase. I have heard too many horror stories of airlines losing bags with car keys to ever want anyone to go through that.

Readers, do you have a place for your keys? Where is it?

Last week on my way to Nashville, the last seven or eight passengers to board had to check their bags. This has become fairly standard, as more and more people try to carry-on to avoid checked-baggage fees. I get it, I really do. It sucks to pay $40 or more extra per trip. But as much as the flight attendants say it, there will never be room for everyone’s bag. There are ways, however, to make sure there is room for many, many bags. (Pictured: Samsonite Women’s Xspace 30″ Expandable Spinner, available on Amazon for $159)

The key? Put your bag in the right way. It is the biggest single thing you can do to make sure the most passengers can fit thier bags in the overhead. It can be slightly confusing, because on some aircraft the bags have to go in wheels first, on some they have to be handle first, and on a few planes they can only fit sideways. (In the past, I’ve always had a hard time getting my bag to fit wheels first on Southwest planes, so I’ve had to put it sideways. Last week on my flight home, though, I was able to make it work. So I guess it really depends on the plane.) On some planes, i.e. the Super 80s that American uses all the time, the bags will only fit on one side. The most important thing is to listen to the flight attendants! If you fly all the time, you probably know on any given plane how your bag will fit. But if you don’t fly as much, or you’re on an unfamiliar aircraft, pay attention!

You’ve heard it all before, and you’ll probably hear it every time you fly. The overhead bins are shared space. So do your best to share!!

I have been having a heck of a couple of weeks. Traveled every week in October, including that trip over to Manila, and spent the last two days driving all over Texas. Everything has gone surprisingly smoothly, except for one thing.

My computer.

For the last several months, my system has been randomly blue screen-ing or shutting down. The last few weeks it’s been doing it every day. I finally got it to our IT department (no easy feat since I’m a remote employee) and they said the word that computer users dread hearing. It’s……the motherboard. They have to order a new motherboard, which means I won’t have a computer for several days. In this age of computer everything, that’s a hard pill to swallow. I have our ancient slow personal computer to use, luckily, but all of my blog stuff is on my computer that is currently in another city.

So I appreciate your patience with my posting for a few days. I will do the best I can but who knows how things will turn out.

Fun fact: My IT department said that computers who travel a lot don’t last as long. Interesting, right? Lame, but interesting.

Ever since I can remember, I have been in love with shoes. Throughout junior high and high school, my mom would constantly get on to me about my extensive shoe collection. In college, my roommates were aghast at the precarious mountain of shoes in my closet. And one of the ways in which I knew the Home Warrior was The One (besides how much he loves his dog) is that when he saw my extensive shoe organizing system, he didn’t bat an eye. True love. However, as much as I love shoes, as a general rule I don’t wear heels. Why would a self-avowed shoe fanatic separate herself from the vast majority of fabulous footwear? you ask. About six years ago I fell and sprained my right knee and ankle, and ever since have had some real balance issues. As in, falling on a regular basis with no apparent reason. So, despite my bottomless well of passion, no heels for me. Combine balance issues with constant travel and a lot of work presentations, and you’ve got a girl who has learned to appreciate flats. In fact, I would say that I love flats-cute ones, that is. And contrary to popular opinion, there are a zillion pairs of cute flats out there. Pointy, ballet, peep-toe, simple, bejeweled…. Virtually everywhere you go there is a cute pair of flats waiting for you.

Unfortunately, cute doesn’t necessarily mean comfortable. It baffles me that so many of these shoes, specifically designed to be comfortable, hurt to wear. People buy flats in order to be on their feet for long periods of time, yet shoe manufacturers insist on making adorable ballet flats with absolutely no support. Or they make fabulous jeweled pointy-toed flats with a paper-thin sole. I wore one of these so-called comfortable shoes last week, and could literally feel every rock on the sidewalk on my feet. After complaining to Home Warrior that I don’t care how cute they were, I am throwing these <expletive deleted> shoes away as soon as we get home, he said something so smart. “Why don’t you put some of those gel soles in it? They made my dress shoes way better.” The man is brilliant.

Gel soles are awesome. They are a girl’s best friend, a traveler’s best friend, a presenter’s best friend. Whether you are male or female, wear heels or flats, a home warrior or a road warrior. If you have a pair of shoes that you like, but doesn’t have enough support or cushioning on the bottom, add some gel inserts. There are a ton of varieties that range from padding under the toe to a little extra cushion throughout the foot to full-on arch support. They come in a range of prices, and are available everywhere from shoe stores to Walgreens to Target. My favorites are the classics from Dr. Scholl’s, the “For Her Comfort Insoles”. They are around $12, fit in most shoes, and have saved many a pair of shoes from getting thrown out.

So the next time you wish your shoes were just a little more comfortable, try gel insoles! Trust me, your feet will thank you.

Building slightly off of last Friday’s post about miles and points…..

Due to the nature of my travel, there are not a lot of opportunities for me to volunteer to get bumped off a flight. Lately, a ton of the flights I’ve been on have been oversold, but I don’t volunteer. Usually I have to be somewhere at a certain time, so there’s not a lot of travel flexibility. Last week, though, I got my chance.

I was flying to Nashville, on the next to last flight out. The flight was oversold by several people, and they asked for people willing to take the next flight. I thought, My event isn’t until 11 tomorrow. I could get in a little later. I’ll sit in the airport for a bit and take a travel voucher! So I made my way to the desk to volunteer. The gate agent told me I was second on the list, to not board with my group, and she will let me know if she needs me. While the plane boards, I finish some work for the day, thinking idly about what I want to do with my voucher.

Except when the plane was finished boarding, the gate agent called my name, handed me a boarding pass, and said she didn’t need me after all. I was bummed, but figured I was no worse for the wear. Until I got to the end of the jet bridge and realized that not only was I not getting a voucher, but the overhead bin space was full and I was going to have to check my bag. To end the night, my connecting flight was delayed, and getting my bag took thirty minutes in Nashville. Lame.

Voucher-knowledgeable Readers, is this par for the course? It just seemed as though I was going through a lot of additional aggravation for volunteering to help, which disinclines me to volunteer in the future…. Is it worth it?

Yesterday in Nashville I had a great time chatting with a friend over a fabulous dinner at Ellendale’s (seriously, that place is great, check it out!!). She has been traveling sporadically for work for a while, but the travel has been more often and consistent the last few months. When the check came, she commented that it annoyed her that she didn’t have a corporate card yet like I do. “But it’s better not to have one!” I said, very surprised. “You get more points that way!”

“Points?” she asked.

Oh dear. Now, I am not the points-master at all. There are a zillion blogs on the topic, with some really awesome ones on Boarding Area like Mommy Points, Deals We Like, Loyalty Traveler, and Aadvantage Geek (just to name a very few). But let me tell you, the first thing I did when I was hired for this travel-heavy job was apply for the Citi Aadvantage card. That extra 1-2k points per month can really add up! When my friend told me she has to purchase her airline tickets as well, first I was jealous, and then I said, “Get a miles card NOW! You usually get extra points when you buy airfare with them!”

If you have to have a card to pay for work stuff, you may as well get as much out of it as you can. There are tons of options, like the Citi Aadvantage card I use, the AmEx Platinum that so many of my readers love, and others. Seriously, if you travel for work, please get a card that gives you some sort of rewards. You deserve it!

ETA: Thanks to commenter Hiker T for an excellent point. Make sure if you are considering a rewards card, you find a great signing bonus. Consult any of the blogs I mentioned above for current promos, or if anyone wants to post one here that works too.