Going for GOLD!

On last week's "Quest", our hero learned a lot from just 1 flight. We pick up at the Atlanta Bread Co, 1 week later...

I looked pretty pimp today. Seriously. I bought a nice shirt and tie, and with the facial scruff I am sporting  (I shaved everything underneath my chin), I look professional yet rugged. Alright...I know. I'm from Boston. How rugged can I be? It isn't like I live in Montana.

I wish the Atlanta Bread Co. didn't put so much damn foam in the cappuccino. I get a medium, err Tall, and I normally have to take a big sip of foam before I can take another sip to actually get at the espresso. When I fly my wife/kid out here for a weekend, I'm definitely going to search for a true coffee shop where the microfoam is exquisite.

As for the past few flights, they worked out ok. Most importantly, I did not have to check my carry-on. I think it would have fit in the contraption since I moved my stuff around. I actually ended up sitting next to the in-laws of a retired hockey player from the Boston area, so we had lots to talk about.

On Monday, I did show up early enough to grab coffee, however it was useless. I ended up at McDonalds and got their sausage+egg+cheese McMuffin. It was garbage. The homefries were ok, and the coffee was barely drinkable. It may be my fault though. It was so early and I felt dehydrated so I only felt like a water. We will give Mickey D's a pass on this one.

I stayed at a Hyatt House this week as opposed to last week's Courtyard Marriott. They had a decent FREE breakfast spread, along with a FREE M-Th Happy Hour that served hot food (Wednesday night they grilled), and free MGD or Miller Lite on draft (or red/white wine if you prefer vino).

I cooked steak on the grill on Monday, which was excellent, and cooked a Celeste in the microwave on Tuesday. Queue Bananarama, A-Ha, Tears for Fears. While at the supermarket, I couldn't pass up the novelty of coke in a glass bottle, so I bought a couple of those as well. They are much sweeter here than they are at home. Either that or my tastes are changing dramatically. Chicken Tikka Masala for Wednesday, and leftovers on Thursday night. Not the best I've had, but it did the job. I followed it up with The Dark Knight Rises on Wednesday. Definitely a solid day.

On to the TRAVEL!

My co-worker leaves 2 bags at the hotel. 2!!!! I was going to let my guest blogger talk about this, but since she is grounded at the moment (not flying due to lack of being assigned an engagement), she hasn't had much to say. Sorry pal.

One thing I have never heard of that makes total sense is leaving a bag at the hotel. What would one leave in said bag? The following is a list of things that may make your life a hell of a lot easier because A)You wouldn't have to deal with some of the lovely features the TSA has brought to your regularly scheduled flying program; B)It reduces the amount of stuff to the point where you may not have to check a bag if you normally would; and C)The hotel leaves the bag in your room, so it is there waiting for you, like a dog awaiting it's master.

Things you could include in said bag:

• Toiletries
• Gym Clothes
• Bulky ANYTHING
• Standard cooking stuff (if you are staying at a Hyatt House, Residence Inn, etc.)

This is a small list, but look at what I have single-handedly taken out of your carry-on bag:

Toiletries: No more zip locked bags that need to come out. AND, it'll be nice to have a full size deodorant, won't it?

Gym Clothes: This is a given. First, you have a gym bag staying there, so it'll only smell up whatever is in the gym bag, which is more gym stuff. Sneakers are huge, because they take up so much damn room in the suitcase.

Bulky ANYTHING: Toiletry bag for one (we all have one); Jackets; Pillow from home because the ones that the hotel just aren't the same. A pair of jeans? You get the idea.

Standard Cooking stuff: I bought  a sea salt and pepper grinder and gave it to my co-worker; How about a decent knife? Sure, they supply them, but how good are they really? Any number of specific spices you like to use; Leftover non-perishable food stuffs that you were not able to use; The list could go on forever.

Please bear in mind that a lot of this would be bought while on the road. No one is going to let you on the plane with a 10" chef's knife. I'd rather buy a new pair of sneakers and leave them then have to shuttle them back and forth. 

On a separate note, I may have done something a little rash. I log in the day before a flight to secure a seat. Two days ago, I scheduled my flights for the beginning of August. I got lucky on pricing, however one of my flights does not have me in a specific seat. Sure, I'll change it the day before I fly, but I still like knowing that I have a seat when booking. Since I am impatient on getting my status which may/may not prevent situations like this from happening, and due to the opening ceremonies for the Olympics starting today, I have decided I am going to go for Gold. Status, that is.

Last night I called American Airlines (the carrier I am going to try to stick with), and shelled out $140 to do their Gold Challenge. I need to accumulate 5000 points (not miles) in 3 months (mid October) and I will automatically become a gold member without having to fly 25,0000 miles to get gain the same status. I was thinking about doing the Platinum ($280, 10000 points), but I may have some remote work ahead of me, meaning I won't fly every week. If my flights were longer, I would go for the Platinum status.

I know...you think I am cheating. I'm not. I am just trying to play the system like everyone else. Besides, who better to tell you whether Gold status is worth a damn than I? I'll tell you straight if it gets me anything, like, a better seat, or how long it took me to get an upgrade...those types of things. 

It's getting late (7:20am), and I want to get my hours in at the office, so I'm outta here. 

On next week's episode of "QUEST"

1. What is the American Airlines challenge? How does it work? Can anyone do it? What is the difference between miles and points?
2. What types of travel apps are out there?
3. Does your hero cook anything that actually tastes good, and not frozen pizza?

1 Week Down...Many to go

As I sit in the Atlanta Bread Company's dining room, sipping on my Cappuccino @ 7am, I have thoughts about what I've accomplished this week. I know, it is about to get a little sappy, so I will have a fun tidbit at the end. Things that I have accomplished that I truly haven't done before include going out exploring by myself, and striking up conversations with almost anyone. Being a Bostonian, #1 seems normal but speaking to just about anyone is a serious deviation from the norm. I have realized that I am a bit homesick, especially on the first day while skyping with my wife and 6 month old son. But, I think it is always tough in the beginning, which means that I should be fine in the long run.

The tidbit is that around 930, I heard some serious adult like sounds coming from the room adjoining to mine. At first I thought it might have been a loud discussion or argument, but when I started paying attention, I came to understand the activity that was occurring. Apparently a Courtyard Marriott isn't enough to dissuade someone from entering the throes of passion.

On to the TRAVEL!

It was not one of the best starts out of the gate, by any means. The good news is that I was able to change my seat from the back of the plane (middle seat) to a back of the plane (window). That was definitely a positive. The Hertz Gold program is excellent. I took the shuttle to the rental area, saw my name on the board with the lot where my car was located, threw my luggage in and away I went. They also have the transponders attached to the windshield, which I wasn't expecting. Of course, me being an idiot, I paid the first toll out of pocket before I said screw it and slid out the transponder. It'll all get billed out anyway. Now, the bad stuff:

My flight left the airport a little after 6am Monday. I got there at 4:50. I checked in online so I was able to jump right into security. The line was really really long. I hope it isn't like that next Monday. I barely had enough time to get to the gate, which started boarding 5 minutes after showing up. I agree with showing up early so you don't have to worry about security, but Monday was a little on the ridiculous side.


My ticket said I was Group 2. That means families, the disabled, first class and preferred members go first. 30-50 people went onto the plane before my group got called. All of a sudden Group 2 became Group 7. I got lucky enough not to be randomly selected for a check, but the thing that hurt the most was about to transpire. As I am about to board, I hear "We need to measure that bag". Ok. Sure. No problem except that I forgot that my Bose headphones were in the front pocket, and my bag was not slim enough to fit into their contraption. They checked the fucker. I was HEATED. I didn't have to pay for it, which is nice...although it would have been covered under necessary expenses through my company. 

If I have learned anything, it is to make sure your bag can fit in the damn contraption. I moved my clothes around, so hopefully I should be ok. And, I will remember to take my headphones out. The case they are in is solid, so that is why it couldn't be maneuvered.

I'm just about done sipping on my cappuccino. I must say, Atlanta Bread Company is better than Starbucks, HANDS DOWN. 4 hours of work and then I am off to the airport. I checked in yesterday, and while I had already spent $24 to get a better seat, I was able to procure and even better seat: 7C, which is the first row behind first class, and is an aisle seat. I'll be one of the first to get off. BOOYAH!

Tips for the day:

1) If you are going to carry-on, make sure your luggage is thin enough to fit into the agent's stupid metal box thing. If you are doing personal travel, and you know it won't fit but would like to try to bypass the dumb $25 checked bag fee, go ahead and bring it with you, knowing they will check it at the gate. You won't have to pay a thing. If you do want to carry-on, MAKE SURE IT'S THIN!

2) Check in as early as you can. If you aren't near a printer, have the airline email you the boarding pass and print it when you get to a printer. Or, do the phone boarding pass application. I still prefer a paper pass. Normally, I like checking in at the little kiosk, so checking in online (for airlines other than Southwest) is new to me. I can only do one new thing at a time. After I try this online check-in process a few more times, I'll start utilizing my phone for the boarding pass. Save the trees right?

3) If at all possible, get yourself into a hotel that has a lobby and does breakfast. I don't do inns, like a Days Inn. I prefer a place that has a lobby. That being said, my hotel had a bistro. Sure, it's good that I can go down and grab a beer, but I don't want to have to pay for breakfast. I prefer it to be included in the price. If it is included in the price, then your per diem (or however your company does food expenses) can be used for lunch and dinner and you don't have to worry so much on how much you are spending.

On next week's episode of "Quest"

Did the stupid gate agent check your hero's luggage on the flight back to Boston?
Does your hero show up early enough to actually grab a cup of coffee before leaving  Boston on Monday?

AND

Our blogger stays at a hotel where he can cook for himself. Did he cook a perfect beef bourguignon, or did he burn the place down?

STAY TUNED!

Carry-On My Good Man

I suppose that as part of this blog, I should talk about necessary accessories that will make a traveler's life easier/more difficult. After I received my job offer in the mail and turned in my resignation at my prior job, I went a little nuts in the travel department and bought a bunch of things I would need for travel. Let's discuss the absolute basic requirement.

#1 on the list for anyone and everyone that is in this line of work should be a decent carry-on bag. If you watched Up in the Air, you would know that you lose an average of X amount of minutes per flight just on luggage. Multiply that by x amount of flights that you took during the year. Divide that number by 60 to get the amount of hours, and then divide again by 24, and you have the amount of days you have lost just by waiting for your luggage. It adds up quick. If that doesn't dissuade you from checking luggage, then maybe the $25 fee per bag will. If not that, then maybe the thought of the airline losing your luggage will. You don't lose luggage when it is by your side at all times. US Airways has lost my luggage. TWICE. I just got lucky that happened when on my return leg. One of the times, I got a call from UPS who stated that my bag was underneath my deck in the back (because it was raining).

There is news that a lot of airlines are now charging for carry-on luggage. $25. I know that people would rather pay $25 and have the airline actually provide a service (i.e. take bag, stow bag, deliver bag at final destination), but I think if I had to pay, I'd rather have the bag with me...just in case. Besides, if you are flying on business, the $25 will get reimbursed anyway.

Tangent: While with my last job, I was sent to Dallas for a conference on principles that make the workplace more efficient, dealing with difficult associates, and smoking decent brisket. Ok, I lied about the brisket. I got picked up by a co-worker who lived right down the street from me, and we flew from Boston to Dallas on American (the airline is a non-factor in this story). The day before the flight, I say to my co-worker "Let's carry-on our luggage. It'll save the company money, and we won't have to wait when we get back to Boston. We can just go home". He agreed. Fast forward to the second night into our trip, and he meets up with his cousin who lives in Dallas. Next thing I know, he is checking a bag full of fake Prada and Gucci purses. So not only is he peddling illegal wares, he is also causing us to do exactly what I said we shouldn't do, and added another 20-30 minutes to the time we touched down to my bed hitting the pillow. What a donkey. I should have just driven myself.

My suggestion is to carry-on. If you are traveling for less than 1 week, carry-on. If you have time to spare such as being on vacation and you have money to burn, then check. Otherwise, carry-on. And when you do check, look at what you are bringing. Fill up your suitcase as you normally would, and then discard 1/3rd of your stuff. It'll make your suitcase lighter, and you won't end up needing any of the stuff you tossed. Besides, the last thing you want is to have your suitcase weigh more than the allotted 45lbs and you pay more than the initial bag fee. Ouch.

As part of this blog, I said I would give some names where I deemed relevant. I went to the Tumi store in the Wrentham Outlets and bought myself a Tumi 22 inch wheeled suitcase with suiter. I know I didn't have to spend that much on a carry-on, but I wanted something with style that will also last a long time. I hear great things about the Eagle Creek packing system. My mother swears by 4 wheels and having them be able to turn 360 degrees. If you have money to spend, see if you can buy a set that has the briefcase/small bag attach to the larger wheeled carry-on. It'll make life easier when breezing through the terminal. I've never owned a hard-shelled suitcase, so I can't say as to whether or not they are worthwhile. If you feel more secure in a hard-shelled suitcase, then by all means. I guess it comes down to your budget, your comfort level and your style. I wanted something a little more professional looking, so I went with the Tumi. I could have easily gone with Briggs and Riley, but I preferred the Tumi. Samsonite and TravelPro didn't have anything that truly piqued my interest. Their prices were better, but you can tell that the quality isn't the same as the Briggs or Tumi. I have a TravelPro bag that I utilize for checked luggage, and that has lasted over 6 years, but like lots of things, when you get older, you need to upgrade. So I did. Now if I can get my hands on a Calatrava, I will have truly upgraded. Anyone want to loan me $20-25k?

I mentioned US Airways losing my luggage twice. It's true. They did. They also found my luggage and sent it back to me, albeit being underneath my deck. However, I like US Airways. I was hoping to continue with them, but they don't have a direct flight out of Boston to my destination. I traveled with them constantly while working at my first job and except for a few hiccups, they really were pretty decent in the grand scheme of things. So while it may seem as if I am trying to CYA a little bit by not completely ripping the airline a new one, I am being honest when I say I would definitely fly them again (unless they routed me through the Philadelphia airport. That place should be condemned. It reminds me of that stretch of highway in Jersey that is littered with factories that claim they are 95-98% cleaner, yet it smells like, well, Jersey).

Backstory

As I sit here with my personal laptop and my work laptop, AND smart phone, I realize that things must have been easier for the forefathers of my current quest. There was free sex, cheap drugs and nips of alcohol didn't cost $5 while cruising at 30k feet. Flights had multiple course meals that had delicious food from Michelin starred chefs. Did the chefs have stars back then? Let's just assume "YES".

What do we have now? Long security lines; X-rays where people in far off and distant lands (people not in the current purview of the flyer being scanned) can you see parts you wouldn't show until at least the 3rd date; a la carte food options; rude airline employees and fees to choose an aisle seat. It's nuts. It's crazy. It's today's flying norm. Flying used to be half the fun of the trip, but it is becoming more and more of a bus ride, if anything. There must be something an average joe like myself can do in order to make this experience more rewarding...right?

I decided to become a consultant. I'm no George Clooney though. I mean, I am, but I'm not. Right? Right? Did I just lose everyone? If it was David Schwimmer in "Up in the Air", I would have hit that joke to a T. Oh well. Let's just say that instead of flying place to place to place like Georgey, I am going to fly to the same place almost every single week for the next 8-10 months. And then, I'll be put onto a different project and start the whole cycle over.

While discussing this new job with my wife (with whom I have a 6 month old son, and YES, we weighed the options: in this economy, we need as much money as we can get ahold of in order to put ourselves into a better situation....wait, why am i explaining this to you? I shouldn't have to give you my reasoning, should I? Shit. Maybe I do. Sorry. My apologies. Where was I?) While discussing this new job with my wife, I thought to myself "Self, you will get status eventually, but when you start traveling, you should be good for at least a window/aisle seat in the middle of the plane most of the time". I was wrong. Dead wrong. But more on that when we get to my "motive".

I got the go ahead from the PM of my company stating that I can start booking flights and other required travel arrangements. Here are the variables:

*I can only book up to 4 weeks in advance
*I can only book flights for the cheapest airfare available
*I can stick with an airline if, and only if, it is within a reasonable amount of money to a cheaper carrier
*Hotels are through a client rate (there are ways to get better hotels through bartering, or so I am told)
*Hertz Gold through my company
*X amount of dollars per day for food

Fast forward, errr, rewind to when I was told I could book 2 weeks in advance. I know I said I could book up to 4 weeks, but I need to visit with the client to discuss a schedule before I can truly start booking. I was hoping to keep airlines, hotels, etc anonymous, but I'll try to be reasonable without giving too much away.

*I am flying out of Boston [insert another person from Boston sigh here]
*I will be traveling less than 1k miles, but more than 700 miles per segment
*I will be traveling to the same place for 8-10 months until my next work engagement
*I will be doing the standard 3-4-5 (3 overnights, 4 days on site, 5th day remote)

My goal is to attain status at 1 hotel and 1 airline as fast as possible. During this process, I will be:
*documenting how credit cards can help gain miles/points
*researching how some mileage cards may in fact be useless
*trying to gain access to airline lounges and scoffing at their costs
*talking about Frequent Flyer Challenges, and whether other airlines do them along with American
*gauging how my individual airline is doing in terms of customer service
*debating as to whether or not I need to change airlines and start over

Motive:
Remember when I said I was "DEAD WRONG"? I was wrong because I booked 2 round-trips back to back and got middle seats in the ass back of the plane for 3 out of the 4 flights. I ponied up $24 just to get a window seat on a return segment because I wasn't given an option to even a crappy seat. There is a potential to change seats when I get to the airport/check-in at home, but I'm balking at extra fees if they are required for me to migrate.

So there's my story. Now you are caught up to speed. My first flight isn't until next Monday, so stay tuned in case something changes. It won't though. I'll probably fly out on Monday and forget to update on how things went and it won't be until 3 weeks from now when I remember that I wrote this blog. But hey!!! Here's hoping!