Who am I, and What am I doing Here?

As I say in my my Inaugural Post, I’ve had a methamphetamine-caliber addiction to travel, airlines, airplanes, and airports. When I was six, I visited the flight deck of an American Airlines DC-10 while delayed at the gate, in New York’s John F. Kennedy airport (JFK), and the Captain let my younger bother and me sit in his seat, and even offered us some of his French fries. I used to beg my dad, much to the irritation of my three siblings, to take me to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on Sundays to watch runway action, and to collect airline timetables and luggage tags. With my lifelong interest, I figured it was time to channel the addiction and marry it with my love for writing.

I’ve been traveling regularly for about the last two years, since finding the website FlyerTalk.com. Before, FlyertTalk, I traveled once or twice a year, and hoped to find a job, after college, that paid me to travel. Armed with only an English degree, that dream died quickly (the memories of the Accenture rep at the career fair turning his back on me after telling him my course of study, are still vivid). FlyerTalk, provided the panacea, and taught me how to travel regularly, on very little money, with very little time. The smoldering addiction of my childhood and formative years, turned into a raging, full-blown addiction. In the two years, I’ve logged about 200,000 miles, mostly on United Airlines. Flying regularly has unlocked worlds: new destinations, airline elite status, flying first class, and airline lounges. I discovered  whole community of people that shared similar passions, and simply, well, loved to talk airplanes and travel. I crammed a whole new set of jargon, acronyms, and elitist airline lingo into my mind. Most of all, I stumbled upon new sets of perks and opportunities, previously reserved, I thought, only for road-warrior business travelers, and people armed with wads of cash. Travel became a great equalizer.

Travel has now grown from an interest, into a hobby. I spend a lot of time talking with friends and acquaintances about the perks traveling recreationally. Many think I’m crazy for enjoying flying, but, people always seem interested, and intrigued. This blog provides a place for both those intrigued, and those rabidly interested in traveling. It’s a simultaneous gain: those simply intrigued and who dislike flying can observe, and learn, without actually stepping on an airplane, and those who love to fly, can join the converstation of enjoyment of mutual experiences. Welcome one, welcome all.

Overall, I want to look at travel and the travel industry with humor and a critical eye. I want to undermine complacency, and question the decisions made by airlines and hotels. I want to write about my favorite places, funny experiences (attacked by prostitutes in Bratislava, anyone?), and excellent flights. Most of all, I hope people learn how travel can become a great equalizer, and how people can reap all of its benefits.

Please feel free to comment on any of the posts, or send an e-mail to waapblog@gmail.com (hopefully, we’ll have a more professional e-mail address at some point in the future).

Um, so, You Never Really Answered the Question: Who are You?

I always enjoy blogs that provide some background information on the writer. It’s nice to know your blog writer isn’t sitting in a shack in the woods with felony battery charges in 17 different states. So, here’s about me:

Name: Gray Roberge
Age: 24
Current Occupation: Student, at the Columbia University Postbaccalaureate Pre-Medical Program.
Previous Jobs: Legal Assistant (wow, thank god I do not work there any more), moving man, cow-eye dissector, baseball announcer
Current City: New York, New York.
Hometown: San Francisco, California (man, and do I miss it!).
Interests: Besides the obvious, baseball, public transit, city planning, supermarkets, psychology, literature, literary criticism, evading public transportation fare inspectors in other countries
Favorite Cities: San Francisco, Washington, DC, Boston, Berlin, Tokyo, Bucharest

And, here’s a picture of me, taken in Berkeley, in front of a plumbing company truck. I think that about sums it up.

Your Fearless Leader