I know I haven’t posted for a few days, that was entirely due to laziness. The rest of the trip to Tignes was pretty uneventful, unless your idea of adventure is being told a certain lift was open, getting to the bottom of a very long run and finding out it was actually closed and then getting to ride a piste smasher all the way up to the top an exciting day. It was fun though. Especially since one of the guys in our group had a bunch of “Skiing? It’s a bit sh*t” stickers with him and put it on top of the piste smasher. I have come to the realization that I really need a travel buddy with me when I go anywhere. For my own safety half the time. The other half it’s mainly for amusement and to help the time pass by faster. Waiting wasn’t nearly as tedious and boring when I had 6 other people with me.
The rest of the time I spent in Manchester was shopping and relaxing. Got presents for the two and a half babies in the family, Sam bought me a nice jacket so I “wouldn’t have to wear that Columbia thing anymore” and a sweater shirt/dress from his mom.
All in all, the rest of the trip to this point has been fairly smooth. I don’t want to say entirely smooth since it’s 9:10 and my 9:30 flight to Heathrow has already been delayed by 20 minutes. Jerks won’t even put up which gate it’s going to be at. So right now I’m just kinda chillin’ in the lounge area.
I am happy (I guess) to report that the rest of my journey was uneventful. No more delays, no long, arduous waits in the terminal, no mechanical troubles, and yes, I did have my passport. But that was about two and a half days ago. Right now I am sitting at work, bored out of my mind since we have two extra people and barely enough work for the six people that are supposed to be here. However, it has given me some time to sort and upload my pictures from my trip, the few that I took. It’s also allowed me to do a little job searching, which would greatly help with the little funk I’m currently in.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Just to clarify before I actually write my post, at this time, I have no internet connection. I’m posting this later than I’m writing it.
So it’s day 2 of our trip to France. Nothing too exciting happened yesterday. I had one of my episodes yesterday in line waiting to check in for the flight. That was fun. I scared Sam half to death because it was a full blown episode, you know, cheeks went super pale, got super hot and then broke out in a cold sweat, dizzy, nausea, the whole shebang. That finally passed as soon as I tried to make myself throw up. Almost missed our flight because no one wanted to go to the gate until last call. When we got to Geneva, our bus driver was early (thankfully) and he was an Englishman, so his driving was mad and it felt a lot like being on a roller-coaster.
Today, we woke up to a lot of wind. When we were supposed to be on our way to the mountain, we found out that the lifts were delayed because of wind. So we sat around for another hour or so. We finally were able to get some news, and the lifts were closed for the day. So being in a hotel full of anxious snowboarders, what happened? They decided to go and hike up the mountain in a place where there was a little bit of snow. And I decided to go with them, at first. As soon as we got to the mountain, I started feeling wonky again. So I went back to the hotel. Now, I’m sitting in my hotel room with no internet connection, my battery and my ipod are both running low on battery, I have no book, and I already too a nap. Oh, and as dumb as this may sound, I’m locked in my room. Funny thing, I have never seen the type of lock that’s on the inside of this door and no matter how hard I try to open it, the only thing that happens is that the knob keeps spinning or comes out.
Update: I let the people at the front desk know about it, and they said I could have some free beer tonight!
So it’s day 2 of our trip to France. Nothing too exciting happened yesterday. I had one of my episodes yesterday in line waiting to check in for the flight. That was fun. I scared Sam half to death because it was a full blown episode, you know, cheeks went super pale, got super hot and then broke out in a cold sweat, dizzy, nausea, the whole shebang. That finally passed as soon as I tried to make myself throw up. Almost missed our flight because no one wanted to go to the gate until last call. When we got to Geneva, our bus driver was early (thankfully) and he was an Englishman, so his driving was mad and it felt a lot like being on a roller-coaster.
Today, we woke up to a lot of wind. When we were supposed to be on our way to the mountain, we found out that the lifts were delayed because of wind. So we sat around for another hour or so. We finally were able to get some news, and the lifts were closed for the day. So being in a hotel full of anxious snowboarders, what happened? They decided to go and hike up the mountain in a place where there was a little bit of snow. And I decided to go with them, at first. As soon as we got to the mountain, I started feeling wonky again. So I went back to the hotel. Now, I’m sitting in my hotel room with no internet connection, my battery and my ipod are both running low on battery, I have no book, and I already too a nap. Oh, and as dumb as this may sound, I’m locked in my room. Funny thing, I have never seen the type of lock that’s on the inside of this door and no matter how hard I try to open it, the only thing that happens is that the knob keeps spinning or comes out.
Update: I let the people at the front desk know about it, and they said I could have some free beer tonight!
Friday, November 4, 2011
It's a beautiful day, think I'll leave the country, maybe.
Be prepared to do either a lot of reading or a lot of skimming, because this is a long one.
My third trip to England. Although I have yet to have a completely smooth trip, this time it is totally and completely my fault. Yes. I, a woman, am taking responsibility and saying that I am not perfect. I forgot my passport and ended up missing all of my original flights.
Here’s the kicker to that situation. When I was cleaning out my purse to transfer everything to another one about a month ago, I deliberately put my passport aside so I wouldn’t lose it/forget it if I ended up taking another purse. I was not thinking, very tired from working three jobs, and got everything else ready in ten minutes before leaving for work. Those might have had something to do with it, but I was still an idiot for forgetting it. Luckily I have the best family ever and my sister sped to meet my aunt and me halfway between Kansas City and Omaha. My aunt was amazing and sped to meet my sister and try to make it to the airport on time (oh yeah, I realized I didn’t have my passport 3 hours before my flight and it took me about 30 minutes to get a hold of anyone). We did make it before the plane departed, but only by five minutes and it was already away from the gate. So, they were able to get me on new flights, but only to London. I pretty much told them if they could get me across the ocean, I could figure out a way to get to Manchester.
There are several situations in life that I think people need to at least have a plan B for if things don’t go the way they are supposed to. I believe that missing a flight is one of those situations. In my case, it’s not something I would have given a thought to if it had not happened. Although it’s not the best situation, it is a lesson for me. Don’t forget your frickin passport!
When I was waiting for my first flight from Kansas City to Chicago, I looked up train and plane tickets to see what would be cheaper. Flying within England is cheaper and the actual travel time is faster. Which was good for me because I’ve never been on a train before (that’s on my list of things to do before I’m 30) and I would’ve been completely lost. So I found flights that ended up being $72. That I could handle (with a little help from my mom till payday). Since I didn’t have enough time to book before they started boarding, I waited until I got to Chicago. Once in Chicago, I tried booking on my new smartphone, but couldn’t view the full page, so I had to pay $7 to use the internet (grossly overpriced in my opinion, but what can you do? I was still able to access the internet in London, so that was good).
So now I get to wait for my flight to Manchester to start boarding. It’s delayed, of course.
Travel tips
Any one that knows me well, knows that I don’t usually have a problem doing things that make people give me funny looks. Waiting for a flight in an airport after having been on planes for the last 11 hours is absolutely no exception. Today my little travel tip has to do with a little thing I call an airport shower. I was feeling very gross after running around the London Heathrow airport carrying my snowboard bag FULL of stuff, my duffle bag with all my clothes for the trip, and my backpack that had things like and ipad, a computer and two camera’s in it, not to mention all the snowboarding magazines I brought over for my boyfriend. Needless to say, I was sweaty and stinky. So, after going through security, I found a Boots shop (kinda like Walgreens). I was able to get some dry shampoo, facial cleansing wipes, and face wash (I already had deodorant and a toothbrush and some toothpaste with me.
You can probably figure out how this airport shower went, but in case not, it’s super easy. I found the nearest bathroom and commandeered a stall for a little while. The facial cleansing wipes I used all over my body. It has cleanser in it, it’s gentle on the skin, and most importantly since I didn’t have a towel, it dried quickly. Since my duffle bag was my carryon, I changed my clothes (including my socks). As soon as I was done in the bathroom stall, I moved to the sink. Sprayed in the dry shampoo, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and popped my contacts in. I always like having a hat with me too, especially since I just cut my hair and hadn’t had the chance to straighten it at my aunt and uncle’s house. Voila, not as smelly and a little cleaner. I did get a lot of strange looks from people in the bathroom, but by that point, I really didn’t care.
Airline Critique
I’ve decided that I’m going to start critiquing the airlines I fly with just to try to help people out with making their own travel arrangements.
Continental - I’ve flown with them most often, just out of convenience. They’re ok. The staff isn’t the friendliest or the most helpful. The in flight entertainment is good though. You get to pick what you watch/listen to and when it starts. The meals are adequate.
United Airlines - First time flying with them. They are very helpful. The staff is polite and willing to help. The in flight entertainment’s not the best, you have 9 channels to choose from and they play the same thing repeatedly. You don’t get to choose when you start watching the movie/listening to music. The meals are ok, but small.
If anyone has critiques of other airlines, please feel free to share!
My third trip to England. Although I have yet to have a completely smooth trip, this time it is totally and completely my fault. Yes. I, a woman, am taking responsibility and saying that I am not perfect. I forgot my passport and ended up missing all of my original flights.
Here’s the kicker to that situation. When I was cleaning out my purse to transfer everything to another one about a month ago, I deliberately put my passport aside so I wouldn’t lose it/forget it if I ended up taking another purse. I was not thinking, very tired from working three jobs, and got everything else ready in ten minutes before leaving for work. Those might have had something to do with it, but I was still an idiot for forgetting it. Luckily I have the best family ever and my sister sped to meet my aunt and me halfway between Kansas City and Omaha. My aunt was amazing and sped to meet my sister and try to make it to the airport on time (oh yeah, I realized I didn’t have my passport 3 hours before my flight and it took me about 30 minutes to get a hold of anyone). We did make it before the plane departed, but only by five minutes and it was already away from the gate. So, they were able to get me on new flights, but only to London. I pretty much told them if they could get me across the ocean, I could figure out a way to get to Manchester.
There are several situations in life that I think people need to at least have a plan B for if things don’t go the way they are supposed to. I believe that missing a flight is one of those situations. In my case, it’s not something I would have given a thought to if it had not happened. Although it’s not the best situation, it is a lesson for me. Don’t forget your frickin passport!
When I was waiting for my first flight from Kansas City to Chicago, I looked up train and plane tickets to see what would be cheaper. Flying within England is cheaper and the actual travel time is faster. Which was good for me because I’ve never been on a train before (that’s on my list of things to do before I’m 30) and I would’ve been completely lost. So I found flights that ended up being $72. That I could handle (with a little help from my mom till payday). Since I didn’t have enough time to book before they started boarding, I waited until I got to Chicago. Once in Chicago, I tried booking on my new smartphone, but couldn’t view the full page, so I had to pay $7 to use the internet (grossly overpriced in my opinion, but what can you do? I was still able to access the internet in London, so that was good).
So now I get to wait for my flight to Manchester to start boarding. It’s delayed, of course.
Travel tips
Any one that knows me well, knows that I don’t usually have a problem doing things that make people give me funny looks. Waiting for a flight in an airport after having been on planes for the last 11 hours is absolutely no exception. Today my little travel tip has to do with a little thing I call an airport shower. I was feeling very gross after running around the London Heathrow airport carrying my snowboard bag FULL of stuff, my duffle bag with all my clothes for the trip, and my backpack that had things like and ipad, a computer and two camera’s in it, not to mention all the snowboarding magazines I brought over for my boyfriend. Needless to say, I was sweaty and stinky. So, after going through security, I found a Boots shop (kinda like Walgreens). I was able to get some dry shampoo, facial cleansing wipes, and face wash (I already had deodorant and a toothbrush and some toothpaste with me.
You can probably figure out how this airport shower went, but in case not, it’s super easy. I found the nearest bathroom and commandeered a stall for a little while. The facial cleansing wipes I used all over my body. It has cleanser in it, it’s gentle on the skin, and most importantly since I didn’t have a towel, it dried quickly. Since my duffle bag was my carryon, I changed my clothes (including my socks). As soon as I was done in the bathroom stall, I moved to the sink. Sprayed in the dry shampoo, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and popped my contacts in. I always like having a hat with me too, especially since I just cut my hair and hadn’t had the chance to straighten it at my aunt and uncle’s house. Voila, not as smelly and a little cleaner. I did get a lot of strange looks from people in the bathroom, but by that point, I really didn’t care.
Airline Critique
I’ve decided that I’m going to start critiquing the airlines I fly with just to try to help people out with making their own travel arrangements.
Continental - I’ve flown with them most often, just out of convenience. They’re ok. The staff isn’t the friendliest or the most helpful. The in flight entertainment is good though. You get to pick what you watch/listen to and when it starts. The meals are adequate.
United Airlines - First time flying with them. They are very helpful. The staff is polite and willing to help. The in flight entertainment’s not the best, you have 9 channels to choose from and they play the same thing repeatedly. You don’t get to choose when you start watching the movie/listening to music. The meals are ok, but small.
If anyone has critiques of other airlines, please feel free to share!
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