Travel

Custom Order!

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Are you a custom order guy? Or gal? You know the person who orders something off the menu, then changes like 5 things about it. Lets say extra crispy this, hold the that, not allot of this, and cut the crusts off. And then you get upset with staff when they mess up your order that NASA scientists would mess up? If so, get over it. Don’t be like my mom, or Danny and get upset about it. What did you expect?

I have a theory, and it is usually accurate. Well usually. It goes like this, you can make ONE change to any order. After that you are asking for it to be messed up. You want no lettuce and no mayo, ask for no mayo because you can pull lettuce off something. if you ask for both removed you will get both. This theory is except if it is Kai going to BK for me at the drive through! Then no matter how small the change is, they will mess it up. But I digress.

Why I am going off about food order changes? Tonight I have learned (well I knew it already but I let myself believe it was not true) change requests no matter what industry you are talking about cause chaos. Why you may ask? It goes to another theory I have. Well make it a law, it is that certain. It goes like this. 95% of the people out there are stupid. They are. I am not pessimistic. Prove me wrong! Really I want you to!

Today I flew home from Portland. I got to the airport really early so I asked to see if I can fly standby on the earlier flight. They (US Airways) said the earlier flight was booked but they would put me on standby. Boarding time comes around for the early flight and I am in luck, there are extra seats. As they give me my boarding card I ask for the second time “will my luggage get on this flight ok”? I am reasured by the gate agent that she is calling the luggage people right now and it will be taken care of. There was 20+ minutes to departure so no issues. Sure enough we waited on the ground for a while. I figure, plenty of time to put my bag on.

I get to NYC and proceed to get my bag. Well it doesn’t come off the carousel. Why you may ask? Well change is the answer. A simple change like modifying someone’s flight to an earlier one caused the system to be messed up. It was a simple change, one that you would think happens all the time, but it got messed up anyway. You may be saying “Scott, it was just one bag. Maybe they made an honest mistake”. That is a good theory. It gets flushed down the toilet when I tell you a lady with 2 missing bags (and a 2 year old) also lost 2 bags on the same flight for the same reason. The US Airways people called it a communication issue in Portland. I laughed and told them I can’t understand that because the gate agent said they were going to call right as I asked. So either one person is retarded or someone didn’t do their job.

The moral of this story. If I is food or flights, change is just a way of asking for your plans to be messed up.

Oh, and on another note. I do technology for a call center. We go to great lengths to make sure the customer always has choices, and can always get to a live person. it is possible to operate a Call Center like that, so NO ONE should tell me it is ok to have an IVR that does not have any way to get to a live agent. US Airways, a bit of a heads up. If I press 0, I better get a f–king live agent. if I press 0 several times I better get an agent, not an automated response telling me to try back later when I have my proper information. I am going to goto sleep tonight knowing that you are in chapter 11 for a good reason!!!

Yes I am pissed. But the agent at LGA was at least halfway decent, and I did get my luggage 7 hours later. I did however miss returning my Tux, and will have to pay the late fee when I return it.

Flight Blogging

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Off to Maine for the weekend. So far the flight so good. LGA (can’t spell it out, so there) is actually not that busy Saturday mornings at 7AM. I did not need to get to the airport 2 hours early. I am early almost to a point of neurosis. Rich picks me up from the airport in a bit when I land. Then it is off to the inn. Hopefully there will be more to do, or less time to do nothing than I originally thought.

On the plus side the place I am staying says they actually have free WIFI. I will see if it works when I get there.

The September Wedding (Not Mine)

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I have finally finished my travel reservations to my friend Rich’s wedding. I am happy that Rich is getting married. I love his bride to be (not that way, but she is awesome so I am happy for him), but I am not such a fan of traveling to Maine. I am never the one to be all excited for great scenery and a rustic atmosphere. I think that is what I am getting on this trip. I am more a fan of resorts having large pools and WIFI. Sorry, but I am not going to change that.

I bet the wedding will be amazing. I believe Amanda is doing allot of her own decorations. You hear that and probably think cheap or crapy. The truth is neither. She is/was a set designer. She can decorate like no one else I know. I am curious how she does up the place.

I am in the wedding party. That means a tux, and rehearsal dinner lobster bake. Mmmm lobster bake! Sorry lost track thinking about liquid butter and lobster. Where was I? Oh yeah, I am in the wedding party. I think that besides the normal wedding party responsibilities, it is a rule that I must hook up with a hot single brides maid. I am told it is a rule in most states, and a law in Maine. Amanda claims it is not. I think she just feels I am too good for her friends or family! That is my theory! In any case it will be an interesting 3 day weekend, especially if work goes live with a major project that weekend that was originally scheduled for weeks ago!

Early Flight

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With a noon check out, and a 7PM flight Jay and I had no idea what we were going to do. We both were tired of the pool, so we decided to call Continental and see if we could fly standby on an earlier flight. Our luck held out and there was a noon flight and a 1:30 flight. We got to the airport with plenty of time for the early flight and there were plenty of seats. I am now sitting in an exit row seat (with the row all to myself). We left almost on time, and I should be home by like 6-7PM. Much better than the after midnight on the original flight.

I needed vacation, but when you are ready to go, there is no need to wait around for 6 extra hours. Now I can get a few hours of unwinding at home before I goto bed and then work on Thursday.

Continental gets some points (not many) for not charging for standby. Some airlines do that now. They lose points for the tight seats. I am not fat nor tall, and I and not comfortable in the seats. Even the exit row doesn’t even give you more legroom. You used to have huge amounts of legroom on the exit row. Minor complaints I know. I am just thankful for a direct flight.

Off The Grid Vacation

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I actually made it the entire vacation without doing any work! I only used my computer twice. Once when we got to the hotel (and I was waiting for our room to be ready) and once to pull up flight information. No DVD’s, no email, no work. I am almost addicted to email but it does feel nice to go “off the grid” for a while.

I did exactly what I said I would do, nothing. Except for the scuba on Saturday I sat around the hotel, the pool, ocean, etc and did nothing productive. It was almost boring, but I enjoyed every minute of it. My mobile phone didn’t work due to some fluke registration problem. I could see the local wireless network but my phone wouldn’t register with it. It wasn’t worth it for me to call the carrier and T-Mobile (for a fee most likely) and figure out the issue. So I got an unexpected reprieve from stupid people calling my mobile. For $20 a day for wireless internet I decided that my vacation needed less internet and more sun tan lotion. I actually needed more lotion than I used, since I got a bit burned in some places.

Jay and John (mostly John) thought I was lazy or a party popper when I didn’t want to go anywhere, but I gave everyone fare warning what I planned on getting out of this vacation, and I got it. When Jay took his 2 1/2 hour (each way) van ride to the Mayan ruins I slept in, had a massage and relaxed with a book. I felt great. I wanted to see the ruins but not in 100 degree heat and 5 hours of travel. To me the massage was a better use of my money.

We went out of the hotel for dinner twice. once to a decent seafood restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. I had a massive crab cake, and not much else since I wasn’t hungry. We saw a crocodile while we sat eating dinner out on the deck. it was awesome. We also saw the sunset on the Cancun lagoon. that was also very cool. The other night out we went to Jimmy Buffet’s Margeritaville. It was cool. I didn’t realize they actually have good food.

The other nights we hung out by the hotel. Spent some time in the lounge / bar. We drank, played cards, smoked cigars, and had an all around good time.

I had only like 2 1/2 days of sun. That was plenty for me. I got burned on parts of my legs, feet, and scalp. How do you put lotion on your head if you have hair? The worst is mainly over, so I am not too upset, except for the slight burn line I have right near my hairline. It is starting to peel so it will go away soon. This is why I don’t sun so much. you always miss a spot with the lotion, and when you do it hurts. The lying in the pool was cool though. they had parts of the pool that were only a few inches deep so you can lie in them and cover allot of your body with water and sun. you stayed cool, and still got a tan. it was great. The ocean water and the pool water was so warm it was almost like a bath. You could stay in it almost all day. Pruning was the only factor that limited your stay in the pool. The pool-side bar allowed you to drink while hanging out. Always a favorite of mine.

So to sum it up, my first true vacation in 2+ years was a success. I didn’t think of work, or do anything technical all week. A win for me! Now I need to plan on the next vacation. And to respond to everyone who asks (jay and john for 2) why I travel to other countries and don’t go very far from the hotel, I have one statement to make. Anyone in NY can goto the Jersey shore, or Maine, or any other easter state. Even if I don’t do very much on a tropical island, I am somewhere I have never been, and away from many of the annoying people in NY. By just going to Mexico you get people with a different attitude. Everyone outside of big cities in the US are so much more laid back. For vacation I need that, even if I don’t travel and see the local sites. And lets face it, all the local sites in the hotel zone in Cancun are American chain restaurants. There was McDonalds, Outback, Chillis, Pat Obrian’s, etc. It was like I was at a US strip mall. I didn’t mind, but to get true local culture you had to travel like Jay did, and I wasn’t going to do that. So I enjoyed my perfectly tranquil sheltered vacation.

Flying Again

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I am off to Cancun for 5+ days of vacation. I am happy the trip has finally arrived. I am traveling heavy this trip. I had to check 2 bags since I am bringing my scuba stuff with me. I don’t have that much scuba gear yet, but it is enough to warrant a bag all to itself already. I also have my normal carry on bag, and my clothing bag. For my clothes I went out and bought a new carry on roller bag. I checked the bag this trip but I was lacking that luggage type. I used to borrow my parents one all the time, but I figured I would just get myself one.

Yesterday I went to Macy’s to get my luggage. And while I was there I looked for (and bought) some more bathing suits, shorts, and a tee shirt. Allot of the stuff was on sale since the summer clothing season is over and they are working on fall stuff. I for one cannot stand that I can’t get a good selection on tee shirts and shorts in the first week of August. It is hot and I realized I don’t have enough stuff. I don’t want to think about fall coats until it gets cold. That is a shopping trend that I will never understand.

After shopping I went home and packed. Then Jayson came over. He stayed over by me since it was easier to goto Newark from my place in the morning. We went to this diner by my house. The food was ok, but the service wasn’t, so I don’t know if I will go back.

The trip to the airport was uneventful. We got from my apartment on the upper east side to the Holland tunnel in like 20 minutes. There was no traffic. It was weird, but that is what I get for leaving at 5:30 AM. We checked in with plenty of time to spare, and had a nasty food court breakfast. Jay had these hash browns that looked inedible. We will never know if they were since he didn’t eat them.

We are in the back of the plane since we booked our travel relatively late. Only 4 rows to the back. I normally hate that, but I am dealing. On our return trip we don’t even know our seats yet so we may get screwed with middle seats in the back of the plane. We will find out then.

Our flight is not that full. We were sitting in a full row of 3 people (jay in the middle) and the lady in front of us was sitting by herself. So of course I moved up for the extra room of not having someone in the middle seat. Jay also got to spread out since I moved. I also wanted to move since a bunch of trashy college age guys were sitting behind us.

My friend John is flying out a bit later than us, so we will meet him at the hotel this afternoon. We have no set plans for today except it involves sun and sand.

Another Traveler

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My friend John has decided to come along to Cancun for 3 days. I was surprised that he is going since he never said he wanted to travel when I asked all my friends constantly over the past year who wants to go some where, and secondly he wasn’t invited!

Our group of friends are very open about stuff. No one really invites anyone. The word is just passed around and it is implied that anyone is invited. If you don’t find out about a gathering it is your fault for not communicating to someone and finding out what is going on. We are weird like that.

After hearing of our travel plans, John found time to travel. I think the free hotel may have been a motivating factor for him! Not wanting to pass up another drinking buddy we (I, since jay didn’t make the reservations) made sure John is not sleeping on the floor of the hotel! he will meet us later in the day friday at the hotel. By the time he gets there jay and I plan on being tan at the ocean.

Vacation Planning

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It has been over 2 years since I last took a week off (almost a week actually) and went on a vacation. Contrary to what Kai and everyone thinks my Cisco conference 2 weeks ago was not a vacation. On that note I have finally broke down (not mentally) and planned a trip. I am no getting excited to go. I cashed in some (a ton) points to get a free hotel for a few nights.

The hotel and plane reservations are all set. Now all I need to do is get some tropical clothing (no Hawaiian shirts for me) and maybe a little (very little) exercise. My SCUBA diving plans are now back on the table. I am scrambling to get a diving class setup for the trip.

I’m Back Home

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I got home late last night, actually by the time I got to my apartment it was today. The flight home was uneventful. Jetblue is still aces in my book. I listened to music on my Powerbook for about 30 minutes and spent the rest of the flight watching the History & Sci-Fi channels. Mind numbing TV to calm the masses on long flights, hmm why didn’t anyone else think of that? Man it worked. I got ticked off every time the interrupted the TV to make an announcement. Who cares if we hit some chop, or a wing fell off, etc. I want to get back to my modern marvel’s, and this week in history!

I got to the airport early enough to catch some food. I like a flight when everything goes according to plan, and you have time to relax and not rush. I even caught a cab with less than 5 minutes wait to and from the airport. Why can’t all travel be like this.

I even unpacked already. That is a feat for me, since I normally leave the luggage sitting around for days (weeks) before I put it away and do laundry. I am so proud of myself!

Cisco Networkers

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I am off to the Cisco Networkers conference in Las Vegas. I plan on doing allot of reading, watching and learning of new networking “stuff”. I also plan on meeting up with with Joe and Karen for a while. Joe is out in Vegas for the same conference. And yes since it is Vegas I will be relaxing a bit also.

My first stop (even before the hotel) is to Sean’s house. I will get to see baby Scott, and hang with Sean and Kelly for a while. I think we are going to BBQ, but I am not sure.

I am staying at a new hotel (for me), the Paris. I heard it was nice, and I got a decent deal. From what I hear I can take the monorail from the hotel right to the convention center. I will see how things go tomorrow. I hope the hotel has WIFI, but from what I hear the conference will have it everywhere.

More news as the trip develops.