Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Friday, October 21, 2011
Airlines -- please let us book Premium Economy from flight aggregators!
Dear airlines: please settle on some standard naming for seat classes. It'd make it a whole lot easier to compare and purchase tickets online.
United has Economy Plus. Delta has recently unveiled Economy Comfort (does this suggest that the other seats in that cabin are Economy Discomfort, or is that just my take? :p). Virgin America calls their slightly-nicer economy seating Main Cabin Select. Many international airlines refer to their upgraded economy section as Premium Economy.
Maybe the airlines perceive this disparate naming, this differentiation, to be a positive thing for their branding. But I think this is awful for consumers.
Right now, if you, dear flyer, want to book a ticket online, you can use a myriad of fine online services to select from Economy, Business, or First Class tickets. But note there's no option for selecting the tier in between Economy and Business! :(
I'm guessing this is because the airlines could raise a fuss if the booking sites lumped this all under "Premium Economy." Perhaps there are also logistical challenges, too; I'm not sure if the fare data shared by the airlines includes straightforward info on premium economy fares, since -- for example -- Economy Plus seating isn't sold directly, but is instead an add-on or premier-flyer upgrade of sorts.
* * *
But dangit, I'd like to be able to easily compare across airlines and book a more comfortable flight, and I sure as heck can't justify paying business class fares! Airlines would likely get more money from me and others if they let me compare and book premium economy fares on flight aggregator sites. Now... how can we convince them to do so?
Monday, January 3, 2011
Hotels: Here's how you can win us over with the little things
Dear hotels,
I've stayed in you a lot. Over the last few years, I've traveled over a quarter million miles and stayed many, many nights away from home, sometimes feeling a bit like that rudderless and sad character in Up in the Air.
But, hotels, you can do little things to make me feel more comfortable, and with that, you're much likely to win more of my business in the future.
I've stayed in you a lot. Over the last few years, I've traveled over a quarter million miles and stayed many, many nights away from home, sometimes feeling a bit like that rudderless and sad character in Up in the Air.
But, hotels, you can do little things to make me feel more comfortable, and with that, you're much likely to win more of my business in the future.
- Welcome me sweetly
Whether it's a piping hot chocolate chip cookie upon check-in (which I've heard at least one hotel chain offers) or a cup of wine or hot cider, or even a chocolate on my pillow, these little touches would cost you just a whee bit (probably less than a dollar out of my $xxx/night payment), but would make a wonderful first impression on me.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
A heartwarming story about bridging the culture gap
[I wrote this years ago, but had posted it on a site I no longer maintain; I thought it might be nice to share it with you now.]
As many of you may already know, I spent over a year total in Europe during and immediately after finishing grad school in ‘98. My experiences included an amazing mixture of triumphs, tragedies, laughter, adventure, confusion, and pretty much every other emotion one can have… but compressed in time and on foreign soil.
While I regret not keeping any semblance of a diary during my time in Europe, I still carry a wealth of knowledge and emotions in me… much of which bubbles to the surface at random times. For whatever reason, one event came to mind tonight, and it made me smile.
During my initial 3 month internship in Europe, I was dying to ‘taste’ as much of the continent as I could. My workplace was next to a train station, and nearly every other Friday I’d bring a small suitcase to work, and spin the virtual Europe-roulette-wheel (and consult the weather forecasts) to pick a travel destination for the upcoming weekend. I’d then leave straight from work, typically take an overnight train, spend Saturday and Sunday at my destination, and arrive back—sleepy eyed and exhausted—to work Monday morning.
Spontaneity and adventure sometimes gave way, however, to frustrating circumstances… including nasty weather, obnoxious hostel (and hostile) roommates, and in some cases, lack of an available nearby hostel at all. Such was the case when I arrived in Luxembourg one weekend… forcing me to scour surrounding smaller cities for lodging. When I finally discovered a hostel with vacancies in a far outlying town of the main city, I was none too thrilled to find myself alone at this hostel… except for a gaggle of giggling teenage German tourists from what turned out to be a church group outing. They ate at their reserved table for dinner within the hostel, and I ate, basically alone and lonely, by myself in another corner… understandably not wanting to butt in on a chaperoned group of young’uns.
To my annoyance, they’d occasionally look at me with eyes that seemed to mockingly ask, “What is that weird, tired looking guy doing at OUR hostel?” but aside from that, I ate in peace, and then—noting it was too early to retire for the night despite my fatigue—wandered out into the cobblestone streets to find something to do or see.
There wasn’t much. But lo and behold, before long, I heard a familiar gaggle of giggling a ways behind me, and, almost as if in a cartoon, that very same group of young kids shushed quickly when I peered back at them. Imagine my surprise then, when one of the girls broke from the pack and shyly approached me.
“Hallo,” she said, not quite sure of herself, but with quiet yet visible support from her friends behind her.
Still shocked, I blurted out an American “Hi there” instead of a matching Hallo.
“You’re English?” she asked.
“No,” I replied, “American.”
Her face lit up with a big smile, which compensated for the moment of silence between us.
She told me she was from Germany, which I knew, but I never could have anticipated the next turn in our conversation.
“Are you… by yourself?” she asked? I answered affirmatively, still confused by this situation… and I’ll never forget what came next:
“Do you want to be our friend?”
Such sweetness and innocence and courage! I could have hugged that kid right there.
Instead, though, I delved into one of the most honest and memorable conversations I had during my time Europe. The friends of this girl, Christina, immediately sensed that I DID welcome a chat with them. And so, as they approached, they fired off a sometimes cacophanous bunch of questions in German for Christina to translate to me, and then waited eagerly for my response and acting-spokeswoman Christina’s translation.
A few of the questions were admittedly ignorant but nonetheless amusing in their simplicity: “Do you [Americans] really eat at McDonald’s all the time?” and “Are all the streets in the States very big?”
Before long, it was clear that most of what these kids knew of America they had gleaned from their exposure to the dominant American media. And that, indeed, scared me. Baywatch is SUPER-big in Germany (and apparently leads at least a few Germans to assume we’re all Malibu-stylin’ and beach going tansters). David Hasselhoff may be a laughingstock amongst some of the ‘hipper’ Germans, but he’s still a beloved actor and recording artist for much of Deutschland. In other words… given what we ‘export’ to Europe, we should all be afraid… be very afraid!
But before long, as the kids got braver with their English and started addressing me directly, I began to delve deeper into their opinions and prejudices.
“So what do you think of Americans?” I asked plainly.
They were none too shy or slow with their responses. “Creative!” “FAT!” “Sportive!” “Lazy!” “Funny!” and “Friendly!” seemed to be relatively agreed-upon adjectives. But the latter one spurred some deeper discussion, with one boy arguing that, “Americans don’t like Germans. They’re friendly to themselves but not to us. From the War.”
I should have been prepared for this. Even at parties with college-aged folk, the issue of the Holocaust often came up. What did Americans think of Germany? Of Germans? Of the War? And why? Was it fair to perpetuate the Guilt? Those that brought up this subject with me often did so almost randomly, over beers and fries, though with sometimes pretty intense curiosity and passion.
This same curiosity, combined with innocence, was so clearly present in these young kids. On one hand, they saw America as everything “cool”... but still so distant geographically and emotionally. There was a marked admiration for, yet confusion about and partially even disdain for Americans, perhaps no different than that reflected by our own general ignorance of other cultures.
But here there was such a heartwarming yearning from them to connect to me, to connect with the America I was an impromptu representative for. They continued asking me questions for nearly an hour, and drew closer to me all the while until I was almost surrounded. “You are nice!” gushed one of the girls out of the blue, prompting some titterings in German that I understood more than they realized. Not long after this, Christina—by now pretty emboldened and unshy—asked, “Can I have your address?”
“Sure,” I replied, amused and flattered, though I couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”
“Because Julia likes you!” Christina replied with a huge grin, followed by a horrified look on a quickly clued-in Julia, “And she won’t ask you!”
Silly kids. Playful, wondering, movie-watching, tall, short, blonde, brunette, crush-having, sneaker-wearing kids.
At that moment I was reminded… that deep down we’re pretty much all the same, everywhere. There’s a child-like curiosity and goodness in everyone that never really dies. Sometimes it gets hardened a bit or repressed or shouted over, but it’s still there.
I had been tired and lonely and frustrated before I met these kids. And there are certainly times nowadays, too, when I’m feeling like that. But when life accentuates separation and distance, I look back on my encounter in Luxembourg and similar experiences and am reassured that friendship and understanding are still inherently valued. And though I never did hear from Julia, thinking of her and her friends especially makes me smile :-D
As many of you may already know, I spent over a year total in Europe during and immediately after finishing grad school in ‘98. My experiences included an amazing mixture of triumphs, tragedies, laughter, adventure, confusion, and pretty much every other emotion one can have… but compressed in time and on foreign soil.
While I regret not keeping any semblance of a diary during my time in Europe, I still carry a wealth of knowledge and emotions in me… much of which bubbles to the surface at random times. For whatever reason, one event came to mind tonight, and it made me smile.
During my initial 3 month internship in Europe, I was dying to ‘taste’ as much of the continent as I could. My workplace was next to a train station, and nearly every other Friday I’d bring a small suitcase to work, and spin the virtual Europe-roulette-wheel (and consult the weather forecasts) to pick a travel destination for the upcoming weekend. I’d then leave straight from work, typically take an overnight train, spend Saturday and Sunday at my destination, and arrive back—sleepy eyed and exhausted—to work Monday morning.
Spontaneity and adventure sometimes gave way, however, to frustrating circumstances… including nasty weather, obnoxious hostel (and hostile) roommates, and in some cases, lack of an available nearby hostel at all. Such was the case when I arrived in Luxembourg one weekend… forcing me to scour surrounding smaller cities for lodging. When I finally discovered a hostel with vacancies in a far outlying town of the main city, I was none too thrilled to find myself alone at this hostel… except for a gaggle of giggling teenage German tourists from what turned out to be a church group outing. They ate at their reserved table for dinner within the hostel, and I ate, basically alone and lonely, by myself in another corner… understandably not wanting to butt in on a chaperoned group of young’uns.
To my annoyance, they’d occasionally look at me with eyes that seemed to mockingly ask, “What is that weird, tired looking guy doing at OUR hostel?” but aside from that, I ate in peace, and then—noting it was too early to retire for the night despite my fatigue—wandered out into the cobblestone streets to find something to do or see.
There wasn’t much. But lo and behold, before long, I heard a familiar gaggle of giggling a ways behind me, and, almost as if in a cartoon, that very same group of young kids shushed quickly when I peered back at them. Imagine my surprise then, when one of the girls broke from the pack and shyly approached me.
“Hallo,” she said, not quite sure of herself, but with quiet yet visible support from her friends behind her.
Still shocked, I blurted out an American “Hi there” instead of a matching Hallo.
“You’re English?” she asked.
“No,” I replied, “American.”
Her face lit up with a big smile, which compensated for the moment of silence between us.
She told me she was from Germany, which I knew, but I never could have anticipated the next turn in our conversation.
“Are you… by yourself?” she asked? I answered affirmatively, still confused by this situation… and I’ll never forget what came next:
“Do you want to be our friend?”
Such sweetness and innocence and courage! I could have hugged that kid right there.
Instead, though, I delved into one of the most honest and memorable conversations I had during my time Europe. The friends of this girl, Christina, immediately sensed that I DID welcome a chat with them. And so, as they approached, they fired off a sometimes cacophanous bunch of questions in German for Christina to translate to me, and then waited eagerly for my response and acting-spokeswoman Christina’s translation.
A few of the questions were admittedly ignorant but nonetheless amusing in their simplicity: “Do you [Americans] really eat at McDonald’s all the time?” and “Are all the streets in the States very big?”
Before long, it was clear that most of what these kids knew of America they had gleaned from their exposure to the dominant American media. And that, indeed, scared me. Baywatch is SUPER-big in Germany (and apparently leads at least a few Germans to assume we’re all Malibu-stylin’ and beach going tansters). David Hasselhoff may be a laughingstock amongst some of the ‘hipper’ Germans, but he’s still a beloved actor and recording artist for much of Deutschland. In other words… given what we ‘export’ to Europe, we should all be afraid… be very afraid!
But before long, as the kids got braver with their English and started addressing me directly, I began to delve deeper into their opinions and prejudices.
“So what do you think of Americans?” I asked plainly.
They were none too shy or slow with their responses. “Creative!” “FAT!” “Sportive!” “Lazy!” “Funny!” and “Friendly!” seemed to be relatively agreed-upon adjectives. But the latter one spurred some deeper discussion, with one boy arguing that, “Americans don’t like Germans. They’re friendly to themselves but not to us. From the War.”
I should have been prepared for this. Even at parties with college-aged folk, the issue of the Holocaust often came up. What did Americans think of Germany? Of Germans? Of the War? And why? Was it fair to perpetuate the Guilt? Those that brought up this subject with me often did so almost randomly, over beers and fries, though with sometimes pretty intense curiosity and passion.
This same curiosity, combined with innocence, was so clearly present in these young kids. On one hand, they saw America as everything “cool”... but still so distant geographically and emotionally. There was a marked admiration for, yet confusion about and partially even disdain for Americans, perhaps no different than that reflected by our own general ignorance of other cultures.
But here there was such a heartwarming yearning from them to connect to me, to connect with the America I was an impromptu representative for. They continued asking me questions for nearly an hour, and drew closer to me all the while until I was almost surrounded. “You are nice!” gushed one of the girls out of the blue, prompting some titterings in German that I understood more than they realized. Not long after this, Christina—by now pretty emboldened and unshy—asked, “Can I have your address?”
“Sure,” I replied, amused and flattered, though I couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”
“Because Julia likes you!” Christina replied with a huge grin, followed by a horrified look on a quickly clued-in Julia, “And she won’t ask you!”
Silly kids. Playful, wondering, movie-watching, tall, short, blonde, brunette, crush-having, sneaker-wearing kids.
At that moment I was reminded… that deep down we’re pretty much all the same, everywhere. There’s a child-like curiosity and goodness in everyone that never really dies. Sometimes it gets hardened a bit or repressed or shouted over, but it’s still there.
I had been tired and lonely and frustrated before I met these kids. And there are certainly times nowadays, too, when I’m feeling like that. But when life accentuates separation and distance, I look back on my encounter in Luxembourg and similar experiences and am reassured that friendship and understanding are still inherently valued. And though I never did hear from Julia, thinking of her and her friends especially makes me smile :-D
Saturday, November 28, 2009
A handy spreadsheet for calculating foreign currency values
I decided to take a bit of this long weekend to prep for yet another overseas trip (this time to Sydney, which I really like!).
Digging into my Travel (real-space, not electronic) folder, I found a plethora of Australian bills and coins from my last trip, along with a ton of other bills and coins from nine other countries. Eeep! After sorting them all out, then I wondered: how much is all of this worth?
$368.89 as it turns out. Nice! (especially if I can find a local bank to actually change the money with little fees and decent rates, but that’s another issue).
Then I began thinking… hmm… if I prettied this spreadsheet I made and generalized it a bit, it might be useful to other folks, too! So here it is:
As you’ve probably noticed, that sheet—while actually reflecting my newfound wealth AND updated in near-real-time—is read-only for you. Bummer. But fear not! You can load the full document here, select FILE, then COPY, and voila! You now have your own neato spreadsheet. And by the way… you only need to change the stuff highlighted in yellow; the rest should be automatically computed for you.
A couple things I found fascinating in building this sheet:
Digging into my Travel (real-space, not electronic) folder, I found a plethora of Australian bills and coins from my last trip, along with a ton of other bills and coins from nine other countries. Eeep! After sorting them all out, then I wondered: how much is all of this worth?
$368.89 as it turns out. Nice! (especially if I can find a local bank to actually change the money with little fees and decent rates, but that’s another issue).
Then I began thinking… hmm… if I prettied this spreadsheet I made and generalized it a bit, it might be useful to other folks, too! So here it is:
As you’ve probably noticed, that sheet—while actually reflecting my newfound wealth AND updated in near-real-time—is read-only for you. Bummer. But fear not! You can load the full document here, select FILE, then COPY, and voila! You now have your own neato spreadsheet. And by the way… you only need to change the stuff highlighted in yellow; the rest should be automatically computed for you.
A couple things I found fascinating in building this sheet:
- GoogleLookup flawlessly looked up the currency code from the countries specified! Formula: =googlelookup(A1,“currency code”) (A*=each country name). Took a little experimenting for me to figure out the right search phrase :-D
- And then there’s the neato Google Currency Conversion lookup thing. Formula: =GoogleFinance(CURRENCY:CUR1CUR2) where CUR1 is the original currency and CUR2 is the currency you are converting to. Thanks to a helpful comment on Friendfeed from Daniel Dulitz, I realized I could use CONCATENATE to make this more generalizable / non-hard-coded for both currency values.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Another crazy international work trip... and my thoughts on work travel
Tomorrow morning, I’ll be traveling internationally for work once again.
And boy, I certainly do have a love-hate relationship with work travel!
Why work travel rocks:
- Get to know colleagues better.
- Much easier to get collaborative projects moving when in person than over VC or e-mail!
- Frequent flyer miles!
- Experience little fascinating pieces of foreign cultures and learn more about my own in the process.
- Get to see wonderful far-away friends.
- Acquire lots of photos and fun stories to tell :-D
Why work travel sucks:
- Tons to do ahead of time (in addition to “regular” job)! visa, vaccinations, presentation/interview prep, etc.
- Away from local friends; often not there when they most need me.
- Expense reports in multiple currencies (this time: seven!). Pure hell. No seriously, doing calculations with various exchange rates, credit card fees, etc… really really sucks.
- Screaming babies and loud morons in 15 hour economy flights.
- Jetlag (seven different time zones in 30 days).
- No pause button for e-mail.
- Traveling can be lonely.
On the whole, though, I’m grateful for the opportunity to travel for work. Unlike some of my friends who have to dress up to face frustrated clients when they travel, I typically have the pleasure of working on awesome projects with friendly and fun colleagues when I travel. And I also am damn lucky with the cities I get to visit: Sydney, Stockholm, Seattle, and even super cities that don’t start with ‘S’. Granted, I suffered through crazy-freezing Stockholm and icky-damp London in the heart of winter, but still… :-D.
* * *
So where to this time? Here’s where!
Anyway, if you’ve been to (or live in!) any of the places above, feel free to share your recommendations for things to see, place to eat, etc. :-D.
* * *
I’ll leave you with a photo of a train station from beautiful Howth, Ireland, where I spent an uncommonly sunny weekend day in between work days in Dublin last year. Feel free to check out more of my photos of Howth :-D.
And boy, I certainly do have a love-hate relationship with work travel!
Why work travel rocks:
- Get to know colleagues better.
- Much easier to get collaborative projects moving when in person than over VC or e-mail!
- Frequent flyer miles!
- Experience little fascinating pieces of foreign cultures and learn more about my own in the process.
- Get to see wonderful far-away friends.
- Acquire lots of photos and fun stories to tell :-D
Why work travel sucks:
- Tons to do ahead of time (in addition to “regular” job)! visa, vaccinations, presentation/interview prep, etc.
- Away from local friends; often not there when they most need me.
- Expense reports in multiple currencies (this time: seven!). Pure hell. No seriously, doing calculations with various exchange rates, credit card fees, etc… really really sucks.
- Screaming babies and loud morons in 15 hour economy flights.
- Jetlag (seven different time zones in 30 days).
- No pause button for e-mail.
- Traveling can be lonely.
On the whole, though, I’m grateful for the opportunity to travel for work. Unlike some of my friends who have to dress up to face frustrated clients when they travel, I typically have the pleasure of working on awesome projects with friendly and fun colleagues when I travel. And I also am damn lucky with the cities I get to visit: Sydney, Stockholm, Seattle, and even super cities that don’t start with ‘S’. Granted, I suffered through crazy-freezing Stockholm and icky-damp London in the heart of winter, but still… :-D.
* * *
So where to this time? Here’s where!
- Tue Feb 17: Departing for SINGAPORE (via Hong Kong)
- Thu Feb 18: Working with teammates in Singapore Office, doing an interview with press about Search; grabbing dinner with friends and heading to a jazz club
- Fri Feb 19: In the Singapore office, then in the evening,flying to HYDERABAD
- Sat-Sun : Exploring Hyderabad (it's my first time in India!), prepping for the week's upcoming conferences
- Mon Feb 22: Working on projects with Hyderabad Search Quality colleagues
- Wed Feb 24: Flying to BANGALORE, doing interviews with press, prepping for two conferences
- Sat Feb 28: Doing three presentations at a Search conference; in the evening, flying to CHENNAI
- Sun Feb 29: Attending an informal Search conference in Chennai; flying to TOKYO in the evening (overnight)
- Mon Mar 02: Working on projects with Search Quality Googlers in Tokyo
- Sat-Sun : Visiting KYOTO with a friend to unwind a bit
- Mon Mar 09: Speaking at a TOKYO Google press event re: search issues
- Tue Mar 10: Flying back to the U.S.
- Wed-Sat : Undoubtedly trying to get over jetlag and attempting to catch up on e-mail
- Sun Mar 15: Flying to DUBLIN (thankfully direct this time!)
- Mon-Wed : Working on projects with Search Quality Googlers
- Thu Mar 19: Flying to REYKJAVIK (via London) for a marketing conference
- Fri Mar 20: Giving a presentation on Google and Search at the conference
- Sat-Sun : Exploring Iceland, then flying back to the U.S.
- Mon Mar 23: In BOSTON, likely visiting Google's Cambridge office; also hanging out with friends
- Tue Mar 24: Flying HOME!
Anyway, if you’ve been to (or live in!) any of the places above, feel free to share your recommendations for things to see, place to eat, etc. :-D.
* * *
I’ll leave you with a photo of a train station from beautiful Howth, Ireland, where I spent an uncommonly sunny weekend day in between work days in Dublin last year. Feel free to check out more of my photos of Howth :-D.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Two Brazil short stories - The Galloping Vendors and the Patient Kindness of Strangers
The Galloping Vendors
There had just been again weeks of violent unrest in the world, but I was quite a few countries away, together in a sprawling São Paulo street market with a colleague and our big happy-but-guarded driver. The three of us were amiably ambling amidst a big, colorful, confusing, and crowded set of not-quite-straight rows on uneven pavement and outdoor shops and inside shops and coconuts with straws and colorful scarves. And music CDs and sunglasses and an amusing, sometimes perplexing mishmash of electronic items. Much of this, if not most, of dubious officialness.The majority of these items were sitting on wood planks, next to which sat oft squat, loud, tanned, tired yet eager vendors.
By the hour next, some of these sellers looked vaguely uncomfortable, nervous. The storm clouds were coming, rain was imminent, and there was palpably a rolling sense of unease.
Fidgeting, bustling, clamoring, much more than before.
Then yelling and a pounding of feet and a thrusting forward of seemingly thousands of people, many of them with those same wooden planks bobbing precariously as the crowd shovingly stumbled, then broke into a run. It looked at times as if they were almost falling forward, haphazardly heading fast away.
At the same time, fast towards… towards speeding police cars zipping and blaring through the streets, seemingly without regard to the vendors, their wares, or the people buying them.
“INSIDE! GO INSIDE!” shouted our driver. “NOW!!!”
I wasn’t quite sure which inside he meant, which side of the street. I was equally unsure of what was happening. Had there been an explosion?
But I didn’t ponder sitting still. I ran as well as I could, dodging it all, ducking thankfully into the same store as my colleague and our driver who could hopefully protect and explain.
* * *
We were okay. The crowd passed, the sirens faded into the distance.
Our driver chuckled softly.
“I’m sorry for the situation.”
A raid. The vendors had not paid the proper taxes.
“I’ve only seen this on the TV. Never happened to me. But what an experience, eh? What a situation!”
He shook his head a bit as we searched for our car. He told me to not take any more pictures, that it was not a good idea, though after the running-of-the-vendors we’d just survived without impalement, I doubted a few additional photos would contribute measurably to any future danger but I complied nonetheless. And I thought, I’m glad I wore those ugly strong American sneakers.
“I’m sorry” he said again. But it was all okay. The added color was scary but memorable and worthwhile. I smiled, knowing that my time in Brazil was just beginning and that I was ready.
 |
| A view of the marketplace before the storm (See more of my São Paulo gallery) |
————————————————————
The patient kindness of strangersMaria and I wanted to go to Sugarloaf Mountain but didn’t quite know how. We made it to the city center by bus, just as we had the days before, but then were a bit stymied. This second bus didn’t seem to be where Cornelius had, admittedly tenuously, thought it would be, said it would be. We waited and walked and then—abandoning any pretense of stubbornness or shyness—began to ask around.
One person sent us to another to another, all in a friendly way. Until we got to the one woman whose name we never got. Perhaps she said it, since she said a lot, quite a lot. When it became quite clear that our limited Spanish and her limited Spanish were not going to mesh productively, she decided upon the show-and-tell method. She herded us to a spot which was noticeably not very near the spots we had spotted before, and then she waited with us.
Waited and talked and talked, pretty much all in Portuguese. Neither Maria nor I speak Portuguese, and I think the woman knew that, but she spoke on rapidly and happily and pointedly despite that unfortunate but apparently-not-show-stopping linguistic gap. Every once in a while she’d pause, and we’d continue to nod, and she’d carry on, obviously as pleased to be with us as we were befuddled-yet-grateful to be with her.
* * *
Twenty minutes and many words and smiles and nods later, the right bus came to take us to Sugarloaf Mountain. We clasped each others hands, I think maybe even hugged, just as we did with the majority of Brazilians we had the distinct pleasure of meeting, and then waved goodbye while speaking the only Brazilian we knew: Obrigado.
 |
| A view from Sugarloaf Mountain (See other photos I took in Rio) |
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Airlines charging by the pound (including your personal weight); good idea?
My friend Greg and I just had a fascinating and extensive discussion about the concept of airlines charging their customers by the weight of their bodies + luggage.
The way we envisioned it, all airlines tickets would be composed of exactly two fees: a seat fee (fixed) and a weight fee (variable). This is hardly our original idea; I’ve seen similar suggestions pondered on the web before. But nonetheless, I thought it’d be interesting to reflect upon some implementation ideas as well as pros and cons.
Implementation
Are weight-surcharges a good idea? Do you think the airlines would be able to successfully implement them? And have I forgotten any key pros or cons?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this :-D
The way we envisioned it, all airlines tickets would be composed of exactly two fees: a seat fee (fixed) and a weight fee (variable). This is hardly our original idea; I’ve seen similar suggestions pondered on the web before. But nonetheless, I thought it’d be interesting to reflect upon some implementation ideas as well as pros and cons.
Implementation
- Get estimates up front.
Ask for estimated weight in airfare comparison sites and airline sites to avoid shock and extra processing work at the airport. - Get money up front.
Collect money for seat fee plus weight fee upon booking. Offer a refund for cases in which people overestimate their weight. Levy strong surcharges (e.g., 25%) for those who significantly underestimate their weight. - Be discreet about each individual’s weight.
Present a total of person-weight + luggage-weight, or even just a surcharge total. - Price the weight fee as a pound/kilogram per mile.
This makes sense, since extra weight costs more on a long trip than a short trip. - Incorporate increases and decreases in fuel costs into the $/weight charge.
Instead of levying a separate fuel surcharge, airlines could simply increase the $/weight charge on all their flights (e.g., from $1.20 per pound-mile to $1.42 per pound mile). - Avoid pissing off frequent flyers re: mileage points
Grandfather in earlier ticket purchases, and for a limited time let people redeem the same number of points for the same class of flights as before. After that, charge something like 15,000 miles for a round trip flight (instead of 25K) + weight fee, or 25,000 miles for a round trip flight inclusive of [x] pounds/kilograms. Establish a ratio so that for the average or median flyer, they’ll get exactly the same $/point(mile) as before.
- Greater fairness in charges
People who are light-weight (in body and/or luggage) will no longer subsidize those whose bulk costs the airlines appreciably more in fuel expenses. - Greater incentive to pack light
This in turn may reduce luggage handling costs (fewer people and machines and conveyor belts needed) and decrease luggage delivery delays. It’s also likely to reduce the cramping of overhead space in planes. - Possible extra push for people to lose weight
Especially those folks who are both obese and frequent travelers will be incentivized to lose weight. This will contribute to their health, and also the comfort of those flying next to them. - Potential optimization in seating
Particularly if airlines request both person-weight and luggage-weight estimates from passengers, they could theoretically optimize seating for safety, fuel efficiency, and comfort (e.g., not placing too large people next to each other). - A potentially big revenue boost in Q4 for airlines
Given the carriage of Thanksgiving food and Christmas gifts, airlines could see a nice bump in their income in November and December.
- A huge outcry from privacy advocates
People might be loathe to tell airlines how much they weight, and would likely be equally horrified at having to step on scales in front of others at the airport. - Uncertainty of final ticket price
Many people—especially those barely scraping enough cash together for a family vacation—might be frustrated by the uncertainty of airfare prices and/or stunned and dismayed by weight overage fees levied at the airport. - Greater inefficiencies at the airport
The last thing we all want is MORE delays at the airport. Imagine the extra time required to weight every single passenger and assess extra charges (or issue refunds)... particularly to those without credit cards (yes, I know it’s hard to imagine, but there are apparently people who pay cash or write checks even for things like airfare!). - Claims of discrimination and unfairness
I bet we all have at least one friend who is quite obese… perhaps even obese and financially challenged. I can imagine that many of these folks would simply be unable to afford flying to visit family and friends with the imposition of weight fees. - A potential mess online
Ultimately, it doesn’t seem that it’d be so outlandish for airfare comparison sites and airline sites to ask for folks’ weight and—using airline-provided $/weight numbers—provide total estimated costs for each flight fare inquiry. But at least initially, there’d likely be a lot of confusion and havoc.
Are weight-surcharges a good idea? Do you think the airlines would be able to successfully implement them? And have I forgotten any key pros or cons?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this :-D
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Where the hell is Matt? -- Huge smiles guaranteed!
Today’s entry is short and wonderful. Behold, in the video below, Matt Harding… “dancing” around the world, one city at a time. At the 54 second mark, watch the video really come alive when he delights countless locales who join in the dancing… and, i guarantee, charms all of you watching, too :-D.
For more information, see www.wherethehellismatt.com.
Also, you really really must see his other videos (linked under his name).
Edited on June 23 to add: Thank you to Bee for pointing out my URL typo! Now fixed :-D
For more information, see www.wherethehellismatt.com.
Also, you really really must see his other videos (linked under his name).
Edited on June 23 to add: Thank you to Bee for pointing out my URL typo! Now fixed :-D
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Adventures in flying, part 13
Once again, I was off to Germany… home of good friends, heavy food, wacky long sentences, and Lufthansa, the airline whose plane I was unceremoniously squished into not like a sardine, but wurst.
I had the foot-munching-tray aisle to my right, and a stupendously larger-than-life and dumber-than-devil-fossils young fella to my left. To his left sat an acquaintance of his, seemingly of equal gelatinousness and dimwittedness. For the purposes of this entry, we’ll call them Slad and Elad, respectively if not respectfully.
* * *
Slad had no sense. No sense of etiquette, culture, space, or time. No sense at all, really. And he was happy to share this nonsense with me, loudly… cheerfully interrupting the safety instructions which were actually melodious and fascinating in comparison.
Slad: HEY!
Me: Hi.
Slad: THEY’RE TALKING GERMAN!
Me: Yeah.
Slad: WHY ARE THEY TALKING GERMAN?
Me: It’s Lufthansa, a German airline.
Slad: [A look even blanker than usual]
Me: ...And we’re going to Germany, so there are Germans on board.
Only the first part had sunk in. And barely at that.
Slad: LUFTHANGLE?
Me: Lufthansa.
Slad: YEAH!? BUT THEY’RE STILL TALKING GERMAN!
Me: [speechless]
About 30 minutes into the flight…
Slad: HEY?
Me: Yeah?
Slad: HEY! UM, I SHOULD TELL YOU SOMETHING.
Me: You’re pregnant?
[er, actually…]
Me: Yes?
Slad: SOMETIMES I GET TIRED. AND I GO TO SLEEP AND, LIKE, LEAN TO ONE SIDE. [gesticulates in the most unfortunate of directions. My direction.]
Slad: SO IF I DO, YOU CAN PUSH ME. IT’S OKAY.
Me: [Nodding, once again quite speechless]
Slad: AND I CAN’T SLEEP WITH THIS ARM REST [pointing to the last barrier between the two of us]. SO I’LL MOVE IT.
Me: Uh, um… I…
Slad: [moving armrest] MRUMPH AAHHHH.
It was about at this time that I chuckled inwardly and looked for the camera. I had finally figured out what was happening; I was now the unwitting future star of “American’s Funniest Videos… in the Sky!”
Except I wasn’t. There was no camera. On the stage that mattered at the moment, there was just me, Slad, and his up-‘til-now mute-and-slackjacked buddy. The audience, if one considered it to exist, was likely amusedly credulous and undoubtedly happy to be more or less apart from the action.
* * *
Another hour later, I discovered that there was loving, needy-yet-giving part of Slad… which was manifested by his tender-but-firm nuzzling of his head on my shoulder, his hands in a further solid embrace upon my upper arm. Adding to the unreality of the circumstances was Slad’s increasingly-window-rattling snort-snores.
Temporarily frozen in a powerfully combimatic state of disbelief, amusement, and horror, I began to contemplate the most efficient and effective methods of extrication.
Elad was also clearly experiencing a combination of emotions, but unlike me, was decidedly unfrozen. In a quick flash, Elad grabbed one of the dirty-and-unsoft airline pillows and aimed to violently wack his compatriot-in-stupidity out of his amorous slumber.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Elad was bereft not only of speech and thought, but also aim. THWWWWACK! went the pillow into my face. I was now, even more than before, very, very awake. In contrast, Slad simply missed a snort-snore beat, which was replaced by a relatively mild gruntle before the rhythms of his sleep began anew.
It was long past time for a heave-ho. I pushed Slad to the left, causing him to flop onto Elad. Elad—stunned at this apparently not-before-experienced leftleaningness of his duncetwin—did the only thing he knew how to do. He shoved back.
A soon-mostly-awake and thoroughly befuddled Slad was catapulted squishily into my lap. Dimly ascertaining that he wasn’t where I wanted him to be, he grabbed my thigh with one hand and—with all his weight—gruntily pushed himself mostly upright.
* * *
I looked around in desperation. A couple sympathetic looks, but no empty seats. I was tempted to tell Slad that there was a big case of beer on the other end of the exit sign, but I deduced that:
1) He’d really fall for it.
2) He undeniably had the heft to easily open or at least gleefully smash through the emergency exit door.
3) I’d have even a more miserable flight at that point.
So what could I do? I rotated through the possibilities in my head:
“Excuse me, but these guys are bear hugging and pillow fighting me!”
No, no, that made it sound very warm and fuzzy. And I was not feeling warm and fuzzy.
“Pardon me, ma’am, but my seatmates are so dumb, I fear that they’re sucking brain matter out of me and it hurts.”
An evocative and perhaps all-too-true observation, but also unlikely to result in a satisfactory resolution.
* * *
Slad: HEY!
Me: Hi.
Slad: WE ALMOST THERE?
Me: Not soon enough. Not nearly soon enough.
I had the foot-munching-tray aisle to my right, and a stupendously larger-than-life and dumber-than-devil-fossils young fella to my left. To his left sat an acquaintance of his, seemingly of equal gelatinousness and dimwittedness. For the purposes of this entry, we’ll call them Slad and Elad, respectively if not respectfully.
* * *
Slad had no sense. No sense of etiquette, culture, space, or time. No sense at all, really. And he was happy to share this nonsense with me, loudly… cheerfully interrupting the safety instructions which were actually melodious and fascinating in comparison.
Slad: HEY!
Me: Hi.
Slad: THEY’RE TALKING GERMAN!
Me: Yeah.
Slad: WHY ARE THEY TALKING GERMAN?
Me: It’s Lufthansa, a German airline.
Slad: [A look even blanker than usual]
Me: ...And we’re going to Germany, so there are Germans on board.
Only the first part had sunk in. And barely at that.
Slad: LUFTHANGLE?
Me: Lufthansa.
Slad: YEAH!? BUT THEY’RE STILL TALKING GERMAN!
Me: [speechless]
About 30 minutes into the flight…
Slad: HEY?
Me: Yeah?
Slad: HEY! UM, I SHOULD TELL YOU SOMETHING.
Me: You’re pregnant?
[er, actually…]
Me: Yes?
Slad: SOMETIMES I GET TIRED. AND I GO TO SLEEP AND, LIKE, LEAN TO ONE SIDE. [gesticulates in the most unfortunate of directions. My direction.]
Slad: SO IF I DO, YOU CAN PUSH ME. IT’S OKAY.
Me: [Nodding, once again quite speechless]
Slad: AND I CAN’T SLEEP WITH THIS ARM REST [pointing to the last barrier between the two of us]. SO I’LL MOVE IT.
Me: Uh, um… I…
Slad: [moving armrest] MRUMPH AAHHHH.
It was about at this time that I chuckled inwardly and looked for the camera. I had finally figured out what was happening; I was now the unwitting future star of “American’s Funniest Videos… in the Sky!”
Except I wasn’t. There was no camera. On the stage that mattered at the moment, there was just me, Slad, and his up-‘til-now mute-and-slackjacked buddy. The audience, if one considered it to exist, was likely amusedly credulous and undoubtedly happy to be more or less apart from the action.
* * *
Another hour later, I discovered that there was loving, needy-yet-giving part of Slad… which was manifested by his tender-but-firm nuzzling of his head on my shoulder, his hands in a further solid embrace upon my upper arm. Adding to the unreality of the circumstances was Slad’s increasingly-window-rattling snort-snores.
Temporarily frozen in a powerfully combimatic state of disbelief, amusement, and horror, I began to contemplate the most efficient and effective methods of extrication.
Elad was also clearly experiencing a combination of emotions, but unlike me, was decidedly unfrozen. In a quick flash, Elad grabbed one of the dirty-and-unsoft airline pillows and aimed to violently wack his compatriot-in-stupidity out of his amorous slumber.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Elad was bereft not only of speech and thought, but also aim. THWWWWACK! went the pillow into my face. I was now, even more than before, very, very awake. In contrast, Slad simply missed a snort-snore beat, which was replaced by a relatively mild gruntle before the rhythms of his sleep began anew.
It was long past time for a heave-ho. I pushed Slad to the left, causing him to flop onto Elad. Elad—stunned at this apparently not-before-experienced leftleaningness of his duncetwin—did the only thing he knew how to do. He shoved back.
A soon-mostly-awake and thoroughly befuddled Slad was catapulted squishily into my lap. Dimly ascertaining that he wasn’t where I wanted him to be, he grabbed my thigh with one hand and—with all his weight—gruntily pushed himself mostly upright.
* * *
I looked around in desperation. A couple sympathetic looks, but no empty seats. I was tempted to tell Slad that there was a big case of beer on the other end of the exit sign, but I deduced that:
1) He’d really fall for it.
2) He undeniably had the heft to easily open or at least gleefully smash through the emergency exit door.
3) I’d have even a more miserable flight at that point.
So what could I do? I rotated through the possibilities in my head:
“Excuse me, but these guys are bear hugging and pillow fighting me!”
No, no, that made it sound very warm and fuzzy. And I was not feeling warm and fuzzy.
“Pardon me, ma’am, but my seatmates are so dumb, I fear that they’re sucking brain matter out of me and it hurts.”
An evocative and perhaps all-too-true observation, but also unlikely to result in a satisfactory resolution.
* * *
Slad: HEY!
Me: Hi.
Slad: WE ALMOST THERE?
Me: Not soon enough. Not nearly soon enough.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Berlin boat tour photos and mini Canon SD700 camera review
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of taking a river cruise of sorts through Berlin... including both the former East and West parts.I shot the photos with my new Canon SD700 camera (which I'm generally pleased but not thrilled with) and posted them on various services.
See my Berlin boat tour photos on...
- Flickr [ set | slideshow ] (strong community, many features, good privacy protection)
- Fotki [ set | slideshow not directly linkable ] (handy admin features, nice hierarchical options)
- Picasa Web Albums [ set | slideshow ] (smart pre-caching, great Picasa integration)
You may note a few funky/overly-general tags (e.g., "Places" and "Geography" and such). This is because I'm having problems debugging a hierarchical-categories-to-IPTC-script. If that doesn't mean anything to you, no worries; it's only a minor annoyance and doesn't affect the photos themselves :-D.
I did slight editing (brightness, contrast, cropping, etc.) using Corel's Paint Shop Pro X (trial version; I'm a paid user of version 8... and God what awful URLs!!!) and organized/tagged the photos using the incomparable and very affordable software called IMatch by Photools.
My thoughts on my new Canon SD700 camera:
- Startup time is wonderfully fast.
- Very easy to use.
- Feels comfortable, solid in my hands.
- Outdoor photos are consistently good, even in lower light.
- Zoom is great, even with movies.
- Movies can be taken even in quite low light!
- Battery life is amazing! I literally shot for hours a day always using the LCD, never once got a low battery warning!
But...
- The image stabilizer helps quite a bit, but still doesn't allow for very-low-light photos.
- Photos -- even at the highest quality setting -- aren't as sharp as I'd like. This is my biggest complaint.
- Battery/SD card door feels flimsy.
- The damn thing is pricey (as "low" as $449 at reputable places).
- I still envy the much thinner/lighter ultra-compacts that my friends have (even though they don't take near-as-nice photos).
* * *
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pics, and I'd love your feedback and shoutouts and such either here in my blog comments and/or in the comments in the galleries themselves. :-D
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Pre-Europe-travel grab bag
WARNING: Mishmash ahead.
Haven’t yet packed, which means this is the perfect time to procrastinate with a blog entry. Or something like that.
I’m leaving tomorrow morning for a two-week work-related trip. See details of that trip, plus enjoy some of my phone, camera, T-Mobile, and other musings below.
My upcoming travels for May 29 through June 11
Luckily, insurance will (at least in theory) be covering most of the cost of everything but one of the phones… and in an almost unbelievably example of “the kindness of strangers”... a colleague in the Atlanta Google office learned of my pathetic plight and IM’d me, “Hey, I don’t really use my Treo much, would you like it?” I said, sure, I’d consider it… what did she think would be a fair price? But no, she said, she was happy to just give it to me. And Fed-ex it to me next-day, just in time for my trip. Wow!
But alas, it didn’t quite make it here in time, and (understandably) none of my local friends just happened to have a spare tri-band phone to loan me. So in desperation, I went to a T-Mobile store and, after learning they only had dual-band loaners, decided to just bite the bullet and buy a phone. The salesman recommended a quad-band Motorola V188; it seemed pleasantly basic and small enough, and I figured $100—even with a required 1-year contract renewal—seemed fair.
Upon arriving back home, though, I noticed that Amazon is selling the same Motorola V188 with the same 1-year contract for… negative $145! That’s right, after the $35 new account fee, you get $110 cash back. So I basically got gypped out of $210! I’m pretty pissed. So I decided to call T-Mobile and I got—as usual—a delightfully friendly and helpful rep (this is part of the reason why I generally do love T-Mobile and didn’t mind renewing my contract). Alas, she said that the Amazon promo is, as it states, only for new customers. I expressed to her that I felt this was sort of a slap in the face for existing customers (especially those loyal ones way past their required contract term). After much time on hold, she offered to give me 30 free text messages (a value of $3). I thought this was pretty laughable, but at this stage in the game (leaving tomorrow), I just didn’t have the time to argue. The uber-moral of the story: if you’re looking to get a new phone, especially one more pricey than the entry-level one I bought today, you’re likely better off going through Amazon.com and just porting over your number.
Oh, and a few opening thoughts about this Motorola, compared to my Treo 650…
- It doesn’t cradle as nicely between my neck and shoulder.
- The speakerphone is decent.
- I don’t like the non-recessed volume buttons… worried about them getting pressed when in my pocket.
- There’s no “are you sure?” when writing a long SMS and accidentally hitting the cancel button. Blegh.
- It feels okay in my pocket. Really light. But I’d probably be more comfortable having a long and thin phone in my pocket.
- It’s so weird to not have a qwerty keyboard for texting or Web surfing. I already miss my Treo and can’t wait to get my replacement!
* * *
I also got a new camera today, the Canon SD700. It is, admittedly, rather a splurge, but I don’t feel too guilty; I tend to spend money on the arts (music, theatre) and photography, and I guess everyone’s entitled to some guilty pleasures. :-D
Online, on the low-end (but still from trustable companies) it tends to go for about $470 (with no sales taxes due up-front). At retail stores near me, it's going for, well, retail: $499 (plus tax). Ouch. I found out that Frys (Tech Gadget Mecca for Geeks) in San Jose had it for $449, and while I'd normally never drive down to San Jose (about 90 miles round trip from my apartment) just to save $50... in this case, I already had plans to go to a BBQ at my friend Merry's house in Mountain View, so it all worked out. They also had a reasonably decent 2gb SD card for $49, which I also snagged.
Of course, the real cost of photography is in time. I still haven't gotten around to processing the 1,800 or so photos from my recent trip to Australia and Singapore; at about a conservative one minute per cropping/fixing/tagging/titling/describing, that's 30 hours out of my life just to post a bunch of photos. Even if I pick the top one-third to post, that's still 10 hours of photofussing just for this one trip. Ack! Seriously, because of this (I know, it's a little silly), I seriously considered whether I wanted the hassle of schlepping, protecting, using, and dealing with a camera + its byproducts. Nostalgia won out, though.
* * *
Anyway, I probably better get packing. I'll try to blog some stuff while I'm away, but it may be a few weeks 'til I'm bloggily back.
Haven’t yet packed, which means this is the perfect time to procrastinate with a blog entry. Or something like that.
I’m leaving tomorrow morning for a two-week work-related trip. See details of that trip, plus enjoy some of my phone, camera, T-Mobile, and other musings below.
My upcoming travels for May 29 through June 11
- LONDON: I’ll be attending the Search Engine Strategies conference in London, where Webmasters, marketers, advertisers, and others that care about making moolah on the Web will be hanging out. You gonna be there, too? Look for me and say hi! :-D. Oh, and just for the heck of it, feel free to check out my London 2001 photos and my London 2002 photos that I took during earlier (non-work-related) visits.
- BERLIN: I’ve gotten gleefully roped into a Google pan-European sales conference. Time for me to learn about new salesy stuff in the company, and I’m looking forward to sharing info about Search Quality and spam fighting with sales-type folks. Alas, every minute is pretty much accounted for, though, so I won’t have much free time to explore. I’ve visited Berlin in the past (fascinating city!), but will look forward to spending more time wandering around nooks and crannies during a future trip.
- DUBLIN: Definitely looking forward to re-visiting Ireland! I had a great time during an earlier visit… friendly folks, charming pubs… and now that the pubs are (at least in theory) smoke-free, I’m even happier! I’ll be visiting Google’s European headquarters here, meeting up with some colleagues over laptops and possibly a pint or three.
Other random stuff
My losing streak continues, sadly. In the last few months, I’ve had TWO cameras and TWO expensive phones stolen. It’s almost enough to make me either become a luddite or hire a personal assistant to thwack me on the head when I’m being particularly absent-minded.Luckily, insurance will (at least in theory) be covering most of the cost of everything but one of the phones… and in an almost unbelievably example of “the kindness of strangers”... a colleague in the Atlanta Google office learned of my pathetic plight and IM’d me, “Hey, I don’t really use my Treo much, would you like it?” I said, sure, I’d consider it… what did she think would be a fair price? But no, she said, she was happy to just give it to me. And Fed-ex it to me next-day, just in time for my trip. Wow!
But alas, it didn’t quite make it here in time, and (understandably) none of my local friends just happened to have a spare tri-band phone to loan me. So in desperation, I went to a T-Mobile store and, after learning they only had dual-band loaners, decided to just bite the bullet and buy a phone. The salesman recommended a quad-band Motorola V188; it seemed pleasantly basic and small enough, and I figured $100—even with a required 1-year contract renewal—seemed fair.
Upon arriving back home, though, I noticed that Amazon is selling the same Motorola V188 with the same 1-year contract for… negative $145! That’s right, after the $35 new account fee, you get $110 cash back. So I basically got gypped out of $210! I’m pretty pissed. So I decided to call T-Mobile and I got—as usual—a delightfully friendly and helpful rep (this is part of the reason why I generally do love T-Mobile and didn’t mind renewing my contract). Alas, she said that the Amazon promo is, as it states, only for new customers. I expressed to her that I felt this was sort of a slap in the face for existing customers (especially those loyal ones way past their required contract term). After much time on hold, she offered to give me 30 free text messages (a value of $3). I thought this was pretty laughable, but at this stage in the game (leaving tomorrow), I just didn’t have the time to argue. The uber-moral of the story: if you’re looking to get a new phone, especially one more pricey than the entry-level one I bought today, you’re likely better off going through Amazon.com and just porting over your number.
Oh, and a few opening thoughts about this Motorola, compared to my Treo 650…
- It doesn’t cradle as nicely between my neck and shoulder.
- The speakerphone is decent.
- I don’t like the non-recessed volume buttons… worried about them getting pressed when in my pocket.
- There’s no “are you sure?” when writing a long SMS and accidentally hitting the cancel button. Blegh.
- It feels okay in my pocket. Really light. But I’d probably be more comfortable having a long and thin phone in my pocket.
- It’s so weird to not have a qwerty keyboard for texting or Web surfing. I already miss my Treo and can’t wait to get my replacement!
* * *
I also got a new camera today, the Canon SD700. It is, admittedly, rather a splurge, but I don’t feel too guilty; I tend to spend money on the arts (music, theatre) and photography, and I guess everyone’s entitled to some guilty pleasures. :-D
Online, on the low-end (but still from trustable companies) it tends to go for about $470 (with no sales taxes due up-front). At retail stores near me, it's going for, well, retail: $499 (plus tax). Ouch. I found out that Frys (Tech Gadget Mecca for Geeks) in San Jose had it for $449, and while I'd normally never drive down to San Jose (about 90 miles round trip from my apartment) just to save $50... in this case, I already had plans to go to a BBQ at my friend Merry's house in Mountain View, so it all worked out. They also had a reasonably decent 2gb SD card for $49, which I also snagged.
Of course, the real cost of photography is in time. I still haven't gotten around to processing the 1,800 or so photos from my recent trip to Australia and Singapore; at about a conservative one minute per cropping/fixing/tagging/titling/describing, that's 30 hours out of my life just to post a bunch of photos. Even if I pick the top one-third to post, that's still 10 hours of photofussing just for this one trip. Ack! Seriously, because of this (I know, it's a little silly), I seriously considered whether I wanted the hassle of schlepping, protecting, using, and dealing with a camera + its byproducts. Nostalgia won out, though.
* * *
Anyway, I probably better get packing. I'll try to blog some stuff while I'm away, but it may be a few weeks 'til I'm bloggily back.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Helpful numbers to save in your phone!
I invite you to go grab your cell phone / mobile phone / home phone whatever and program the following numbers into it:
- 1-800-555-8355 ("555 TELL" -- TellMe)
- 1-800-373-3411 ("FREE 411" -- Free411)
- 1-888-392-7563 ("EZ ASK ME" -- AskMeNow - Initial signup on site required)
- 46645 ("GOOGL" - Google SMS beta - Google via Text Messaging)
NOTE: One or more of these numbers may be U.S.-only... sorry :|
For details on each service, read on...
TELLME
I've been using this service for ages, and it's really gotten me out of some tight jams!
Via interactive voice menus, callers can easily get weather reports, serious and entertainment news, movie info, and much more. But the butt-saving features I've particularly appreciated are TAXI and DRIVING DIRECTIONS. The former will connect you (free of charge) with a local cab company, and the latter gives you step-by-step spoken driving directions between any two points in the U.S. (powered by "Microsoft MapPoint Technologies")
Supposedly, TellMe is ad-supported, but I have yet to hear any ads on the service.
* * *
FREE 411
Tired of paying $1.25 and up to your greedy mobile or landline phone company for directory assistance? Then you'll especially love Free 411! Not only does it find residential and business phone numbers for you, it also connects you free-of-charge (even to long distance numbers!) This service is apparently ad-supported (e.g., ask for Dominos Pizza, get a 15 second ad for a competing pizza place), but I've never heard any ads during the 3-4 times I've used this service.
Voice recognition is pretty decent, but the one time I stumped it, I was transferred to a human operator who was able to promptly get me the number I requested.
Frankly, though, I do wonder how sustainable this is. Will enough companies really pay to have folks redirected to them? If people are asking for Smith Window Washing services, will they really be so easily swayed towards a competitor? I have my doubts. But in the meantime, I'm happy to use this very convenient free 411 service!
* * *
ASK ME NOW
Need to know the capital of Wisconsin? Or find the phone number of a particular Citibank branch? Sure, if you're near an Internet-connected computer, you could probably quickly and easily find this info yourself. But what if you're busy or not near a computer? Yes, I have a Web browser on my Treo phone, but it's slow, the screen is small, and it's generally just a miserable experience trying to navigate Web sites with it.
Well, Ask Me Now is indeed a viable alternative. You call their number, leave a message, and 1-3 minutes later, you get back text messages with the right answer. Or at least AN answer. In my minimal testing, Ask Me Now gave me the right answer to "What is the Capital of Wisconsin?" but gave me the wrong answer to "What is the phone number of the Citibank branch located on Diamond Street in San Francisco?" The person (apparently located in the Philippines) who answered my query clearly just quickly googled for the answer and didn't bother checking on Citibank's Web site, since the correct answer is available in the latter, not the former.
This service costs 49 cents per query, billed to your cell phone account. Supposedly you can get free 'automated' answers, but it's not clear to me what qualifies as free and not-free, even after looking on the company's Web site.
* * *
GOOGLE SMS
Another option is Google's SMS service. Text message GOOGL (46645) to get driving directions, movie showtimes, weather reports, price comparisons, and more.
I've found this service to be both wonderous and frustrating. For instance, when I asked it [What is the capitol [sic] of wisconsin?] it replied back "Did you mean CAPITAL..." and gave me an appropriate Web page... when I would have preferred for it to actually include the answer, not just a link, in the reply. Additionally, when I asked it [Phone number for Citibank on Diamond St in San Francisco CA] it replied unhelpfully: "Looking for map of [query]? Unfortunately map information is not available through Google SMS."
I had better luck with other queries, such as [weather 91360] and [what is the population of belgium].
* * *
YAHOO SMS
Despite multiple attempts, I could not get this service to work. I kept getting an "Invalid..." message, with instructions relating to Y! Messenger, after even using the exact queries listed on this page. Bummer. Any Yahoo people out there wanna help me figure out what's going on here? I've heard good things about Yahoo's mobile offerings and perhaps there's just something small / obvious I'm missing?
- 1-800-555-8355 ("555 TELL" -- TellMe)
- 1-800-373-3411 ("FREE 411" -- Free411)
- 1-888-392-7563 ("EZ ASK ME" -- AskMeNow - Initial signup on site required)
- 46645 ("GOOGL" - Google SMS beta - Google via Text Messaging)
NOTE: One or more of these numbers may be U.S.-only... sorry :|
For details on each service, read on...
TELLME
I've been using this service for ages, and it's really gotten me out of some tight jams!
Via interactive voice menus, callers can easily get weather reports, serious and entertainment news, movie info, and much more. But the butt-saving features I've particularly appreciated are TAXI and DRIVING DIRECTIONS. The former will connect you (free of charge) with a local cab company, and the latter gives you step-by-step spoken driving directions between any two points in the U.S. (powered by "Microsoft MapPoint Technologies")
Supposedly, TellMe is ad-supported, but I have yet to hear any ads on the service.
* * *
FREE 411
Tired of paying $1.25 and up to your greedy mobile or landline phone company for directory assistance? Then you'll especially love Free 411! Not only does it find residential and business phone numbers for you, it also connects you free-of-charge (even to long distance numbers!) This service is apparently ad-supported (e.g., ask for Dominos Pizza, get a 15 second ad for a competing pizza place), but I've never heard any ads during the 3-4 times I've used this service.
Voice recognition is pretty decent, but the one time I stumped it, I was transferred to a human operator who was able to promptly get me the number I requested.
Frankly, though, I do wonder how sustainable this is. Will enough companies really pay to have folks redirected to them? If people are asking for Smith Window Washing services, will they really be so easily swayed towards a competitor? I have my doubts. But in the meantime, I'm happy to use this very convenient free 411 service!
* * *
ASK ME NOW
Need to know the capital of Wisconsin? Or find the phone number of a particular Citibank branch? Sure, if you're near an Internet-connected computer, you could probably quickly and easily find this info yourself. But what if you're busy or not near a computer? Yes, I have a Web browser on my Treo phone, but it's slow, the screen is small, and it's generally just a miserable experience trying to navigate Web sites with it.
Well, Ask Me Now is indeed a viable alternative. You call their number, leave a message, and 1-3 minutes later, you get back text messages with the right answer. Or at least AN answer. In my minimal testing, Ask Me Now gave me the right answer to "What is the Capital of Wisconsin?" but gave me the wrong answer to "What is the phone number of the Citibank branch located on Diamond Street in San Francisco?" The person (apparently located in the Philippines) who answered my query clearly just quickly googled for the answer and didn't bother checking on Citibank's Web site, since the correct answer is available in the latter, not the former.
This service costs 49 cents per query, billed to your cell phone account. Supposedly you can get free 'automated' answers, but it's not clear to me what qualifies as free and not-free, even after looking on the company's Web site.
* * *
GOOGLE SMS
Another option is Google's SMS service. Text message GOOGL (46645) to get driving directions, movie showtimes, weather reports, price comparisons, and more.
I've found this service to be both wonderous and frustrating. For instance, when I asked it [What is the capitol [sic] of wisconsin?] it replied back "Did you mean CAPITAL..." and gave me an appropriate Web page... when I would have preferred for it to actually include the answer, not just a link, in the reply. Additionally, when I asked it [Phone number for Citibank on Diamond St in San Francisco CA] it replied unhelpfully: "Looking for map of [query]? Unfortunately map information is not available through Google SMS."
I had better luck with other queries, such as [weather 91360] and [what is the population of belgium].
* * *
YAHOO SMS
Despite multiple attempts, I could not get this service to work. I kept getting an "Invalid..." message, with instructions relating to Y! Messenger, after even using the exact queries listed on this page. Bummer. Any Yahoo people out there wanna help me figure out what's going on here? I've heard good things about Yahoo's mobile offerings and perhaps there's just something small / obvious I'm missing?
Friday, October 21, 2005
My review of Song Airlines (Delta's low cost subsidiary)
My former colleague, Mark Jen, recently wrote about his rather positive experience flying Song Air, the discount wing of Delta Airlines... and this reminded me that I hadn't gotten around to the review I had planned to write last month.
The background:
I was searching for an inexpensive flight to New Hampshire to attend a Lindy Hop dance camp, but quickly discovered that there seemingly ARE no discount flights from San Francisco to New Hampshire, much less Burlington, Vermont. So, figuring I could at least catch a musical, visit some friends, and stay in a swanky hotel, I decided to fly into the more-discount-flight-options city of New York, NY. As it turns out, my friends were out of town, the musical was so-so, and the hotel was a disappointment. But I digress.
In the end, the cheapest AND most time-convenient flight available was from Song Air, so -- at around $325 after taxes -- that's what I booked.
On-time performance and stupid airline behavior:
My plane was an hour late getting out of the gate for reasons I don't recall. We were actually all sitting on the plane for that hour, and since this was a red-eye flight, I figured no sweat, I'll just catch some shut-eye in the meantime.
Ah, but no, that'd be too logical. The stupid crew had other ideas, blaring really lousy alternative music crap through the main speakers during the entire waiting period. More specifically, they were playing stuff from a new album by The Wallflowers, with whom they apparently have some dumb distribution deal or something like that. How do I know? In their promos, they bragged how Song wasn't just an airline, but also a record label. Oh joy. Just what I want. In an industry where airlines can't even manage their flight schedules or other core aspects of their business, I want to see lots of footage of their execs and such hobnobbing and doing recording deals with lame music artists.
Well, fine, I'll just request a pillow from the crew, maybe two, to press up against my head so the music's less loud and I can sleep. Ah, no pillows on board, even for a red-eye (I was told that they're too expensive to clean and store).
In-flight entertainment (for the trip home):
Strikingly mediocre... really a disappointment. Sure, they've got lots of TV channels, but no guide to help you see what's on. You have to slowly and repeatedly scan through all the channels to get an idea of what's being shown.
Trivia game? Sure, but not very well implemented. And pretty lame questions, nearly all about entertainment-and-sports oriented stuff (no science, no history, etc...) Oh, and no prizes. You'd have thought they could have thrown in a free beer or $1 off a sandwich to the winners, eh?
Movies? Yep, but you gotta pay. I think it was $5 a pop. What a rip.
Music? Sure. But EVERY fricking time I navigated to the music screen or one of a few other sections, I got a 1-2 minute stupid Song Air ad that could not be skipped or stopped.
In the end, listening to my MP3 player and reading a book ended up being much more efficient and pleasant.
Food:
Well, when they say that they've got honestly tasty food, they're actually not kidding. The jerk chicken sandwhich I ordered was indeed delicious! Only downside: $7 or $8 (I forget), and it came with NOTHING else. Not even a cheapo bag of potato chips. So in the end, the sandwhich made for a scrumptious but not very filling appetizer. The salad my seat neighbor ordered (for the same price) looked a bit more filling... and, according to her, was also really tasty.
Overall...:
Compared against other airlines, Song Air was a reasonably priced option... especially given my relatively late (a few weeks in advance) booking, so I suppose I shouldn't be quite so harsh in my evaluation. But -- despite the fewer multimedia and food amenities -- I still think Southwest is a more comfortable and friendly airline overall and if pricing between the two were similar for a given flight, I'd take Southwest. Actually, I'd probably pay $100 more to go on a European or Asian airline if they were available, because their flights are typically WAY better than any American airline I've ever flown... but I guess I'm not very likely to get an Air France flight from SFO to NYC anytime soon, eh? Bummer.
The background:
I was searching for an inexpensive flight to New Hampshire to attend a Lindy Hop dance camp, but quickly discovered that there seemingly ARE no discount flights from San Francisco to New Hampshire, much less Burlington, Vermont. So, figuring I could at least catch a musical, visit some friends, and stay in a swanky hotel, I decided to fly into the more-discount-flight-options city of New York, NY. As it turns out, my friends were out of town, the musical was so-so, and the hotel was a disappointment. But I digress.
In the end, the cheapest AND most time-convenient flight available was from Song Air, so -- at around $325 after taxes -- that's what I booked.
On-time performance and stupid airline behavior:
My plane was an hour late getting out of the gate for reasons I don't recall. We were actually all sitting on the plane for that hour, and since this was a red-eye flight, I figured no sweat, I'll just catch some shut-eye in the meantime.
Ah, but no, that'd be too logical. The stupid crew had other ideas, blaring really lousy alternative music crap through the main speakers during the entire waiting period. More specifically, they were playing stuff from a new album by The Wallflowers, with whom they apparently have some dumb distribution deal or something like that. How do I know? In their promos, they bragged how Song wasn't just an airline, but also a record label. Oh joy. Just what I want. In an industry where airlines can't even manage their flight schedules or other core aspects of their business, I want to see lots of footage of their execs and such hobnobbing and doing recording deals with lame music artists.
Well, fine, I'll just request a pillow from the crew, maybe two, to press up against my head so the music's less loud and I can sleep. Ah, no pillows on board, even for a red-eye (I was told that they're too expensive to clean and store).
In-flight entertainment (for the trip home):
Strikingly mediocre... really a disappointment. Sure, they've got lots of TV channels, but no guide to help you see what's on. You have to slowly and repeatedly scan through all the channels to get an idea of what's being shown.
Trivia game? Sure, but not very well implemented. And pretty lame questions, nearly all about entertainment-and-sports oriented stuff (no science, no history, etc...) Oh, and no prizes. You'd have thought they could have thrown in a free beer or $1 off a sandwich to the winners, eh?
Movies? Yep, but you gotta pay. I think it was $5 a pop. What a rip.
Music? Sure. But EVERY fricking time I navigated to the music screen or one of a few other sections, I got a 1-2 minute stupid Song Air ad that could not be skipped or stopped.
In the end, listening to my MP3 player and reading a book ended up being much more efficient and pleasant.
Food:
Well, when they say that they've got honestly tasty food, they're actually not kidding. The jerk chicken sandwhich I ordered was indeed delicious! Only downside: $7 or $8 (I forget), and it came with NOTHING else. Not even a cheapo bag of potato chips. So in the end, the sandwhich made for a scrumptious but not very filling appetizer. The salad my seat neighbor ordered (for the same price) looked a bit more filling... and, according to her, was also really tasty.
Overall...:
Compared against other airlines, Song Air was a reasonably priced option... especially given my relatively late (a few weeks in advance) booking, so I suppose I shouldn't be quite so harsh in my evaluation. But -- despite the fewer multimedia and food amenities -- I still think Southwest is a more comfortable and friendly airline overall and if pricing between the two were similar for a given flight, I'd take Southwest. Actually, I'd probably pay $100 more to go on a European or Asian airline if they were available, because their flights are typically WAY better than any American airline I've ever flown... but I guess I'm not very likely to get an Air France flight from SFO to NYC anytime soon, eh? Bummer.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Pricey hotels... sometimes you DON'T get what you pay for
A few weeks ago, I decided to splurge and book a night at a "four star" hotel via Priceline so I could get a good night's rest before taking a long bus ride to Swing Out New Hampshire.
If this Hilton Hotel in Manhattan is four stars, I'd hate to see what a one star place is like.
Okay, so I got at least the 'bare minimums':
- A clean room
- A decent shower
- A relatively comfortable bed
But beyond that... I fail to see why anyone would pay an arm and a leg to enjoy the "four star'ness" of this hotel.
Here's the skinny on my Hilton hotel stay:
Contrast this Hilton experience with my evenings spent in a Best Western, which typically costs less than half what I paid:
- Free breakfast
- Friendly service
- Cheerful, if somewhat kitschy room d?cor (not to mention actual window shades)
- Free Internet access
- Affordable in-hotel dining
And mind you, it's not just the Hilton that deserves slogging, IMHO. I stayed at the uber-trendy Hotel 71 in Chicago a while back on company business, and was thoroughly unimpressed with that place, too. Uncomfortable chairs, sterile styling (though I suppose that's quite a matter of personal taste), no hot tub or swimming pool, and a concierge that was no more helpful than those I've dealt with at budget hotels (who often seem at least more eager to please).
I don't care if I win the lotto tomorrow. Next hotel stay, I'm being a cheap-ass bastard... and I'm sure I'll be rewarded for it in more ways than cost-savings.
* * *
Related links:
- New York Times: "If Parks Offer Free Internet, Why Can't Pricey Hotels"?
If this Hilton Hotel in Manhattan is four stars, I'd hate to see what a one star place is like.
Okay, so I got at least the 'bare minimums':
- A clean room
- A decent shower
- A relatively comfortable bed
But beyond that... I fail to see why anyone would pay an arm and a leg to enjoy the "four star'ness" of this hotel.
Here's the skinny on my Hilton hotel stay:
- The check-in folks were helpful but not all that friendly.
- My room completely lacked any interesting d?cor or character. Worse yet, there were no blinds to keep out the sun, making a mid-day nap after a red-eye quite unpleasant.
- I gritted my teeth everytime I went to and from my room due to the fricking elevator TV screen blaring CNN's Katrina disaster coverage. I hope you'll forgive me for digressing for a moment... but CNN is to a thoughtfully informed citizenry what spam is to one's diet. We may think we want it, we may even think it nourishes us, but in the end it makes us feel bloated and sick. CNN is just a teensy tiny bit less evil than Fox, IMHO. Both are Infotainment and Shock Schlock masquerading as news and real debate, and having the former blared in the Hilton elevator made me want to shatter some glass and/or shout "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"
- $1.50 to place a local call, $2.50 to call Directory Information, $5.25 for half a grapefruit, and $5.95 for hot oatmeal (no, I wasn't stupid enough to actually rack up any such expenses).
- $20 for one day of Internet access, despite being assured via their corporate number that Internet access was complementary. I successfully contested the charges.
Contrast this Hilton experience with my evenings spent in a Best Western, which typically costs less than half what I paid:
- Free breakfast
- Friendly service
- Cheerful, if somewhat kitschy room d?cor (not to mention actual window shades)
- Free Internet access
- Affordable in-hotel dining
And mind you, it's not just the Hilton that deserves slogging, IMHO. I stayed at the uber-trendy Hotel 71 in Chicago a while back on company business, and was thoroughly unimpressed with that place, too. Uncomfortable chairs, sterile styling (though I suppose that's quite a matter of personal taste), no hot tub or swimming pool, and a concierge that was no more helpful than those I've dealt with at budget hotels (who often seem at least more eager to please).
I don't care if I win the lotto tomorrow. Next hotel stay, I'm being a cheap-ass bastard... and I'm sure I'll be rewarded for it in more ways than cost-savings.
* * *
Related links:
- New York Times: "If Parks Offer Free Internet, Why Can't Pricey Hotels"?
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Delightful, quirky travel journal - have a look
My Australian friend Alicja has been keeping a charming blog (with pictures!) detailing her travels around the world. Since I haven't had time to write much interesting stuff lately, I'd like to send you on over her way. I was particularly amused by her ruminations on America :-).
Oh, and hey, please don't forget to come back here eventually!
Oh, and hey, please don't forget to come back here eventually!
Saturday, October 25, 2003
Big, Friendly Austin, Texas
It figures that in Austin, Texas, even the graffiti is big and friendly.
Edited on January 11, 2003 to add:
Wow, little did I know that this picture above was the soon-to-be-famous Frog Mural!
Edited on January 11, 2003 to add:
Wow, little did I know that this picture above was the soon-to-be-famous Frog Mural!
Sunday, September 28, 2003
A fascinating look at Morocco
My friend Abeth, who is American with Egyptian heritage, recently spent many months teaching and traveling around Morocco, and with her permission, I've decided to share some of her observations with you.
As I've noted before here, everything you see (aside from quotes) on BLADAM is my own writing unless I note otherwise, and I do hope you don't mind the occasional 'guest columnists' :-)
And now... on with Abeth's comments!
---
[...]
I've been writing bits and pieces of final updates in my head for a while now but have not been disciplined enough to sit down and get it out to where you all can share the joys of my contemplation. So, here I go. . .
I've had quite a few people ask me to tell them stories about Morocco. I'm not very good with the general question--my mind goes blank. Or I horribly share only the things that were difficult for me in living in such a different culture than what I'm used to. I don't need to harp on that. You know the outdoorsy/active/independent woman that I am and suffice it to say that there wasn't much outlet for my interests where I was living. But I learned through it (things that I'm still trying to digest and assimilate) and am quite glad that I did go. I had experiences overseas that I never would have had if I had stayed in my beloved SF [San Francisco] bay area. I'd like to share some of those with you now if you will so indulge me. . .
Commonplace experiences in Morocco which you don't see everyday back in the States. . .
One of my last days in Casablanca I was walking home from the public pool on one of the main thoroughfares and was able to witness the king's entourage come into town towards his palace. I even saw him waving from one of the dark Mercedes! And the woman beside me on the street blew him a kiss after he passed. Then, as most of the other cars had passed, she began to cross the street, to the consternation of one policeman standing nearby because he had not yet given us the signal. Instead of listening to him and getting back on the curb she argued with him (wish I could understand the arabic). Now, here in the States, we wouldn't THINK of talking back to the police unless we wanted to get further into trouble. But that was a regular occurence there (when pulled over or told to do something, etc). And this woman won. A second police basically hushed his colleague and waved her on.
Basically, everything is up for discussion and debate. It's funny to be back here where we don't haggle prices, we just ACCEPT THE TAG. Now, I'm not a big haggler. It's not my cup of tea. But I had so much fun watching my brother haggle in arabic when he came to visit or my roommate so smoothly and humorously make her price offer seem like the most reasonable thing in the world. I believe it is an art form, this ability to mentally price something and not yield to anything other than that ideal.
Oh, wait, you can't debate having to eat TONS OF FOOD when you visit someone for a meal. The first course comes, a pastilla (chicken/nut/pastry thing that is sooo good) and I eat half and am full. But, that's FAR from the end. Next comes a tagine, or two, or three (hearty meat/vegetable or fruit/oily dish). Maybe a salad or something. Bread thrown at you to help you eat these other dishes. And if you take the slightest break you will be happily commanded to "Eat, eat!" and probably have more pushed your way. Then maybe some fruit and cake or ice cream or some other sweet course. Don't forget mint tea! Believe it or not, I never got sick of it. It's a soothing ending to a big meal but could also be consumed any other time, like when shopping for carpet! My brother, Kameel, and I spent a long time--a couple hours, I believe--carpet shopping one day out in the desert and were treated to the mint tea hospitality. We walked out with some good deals after much haggling and just plain chatting over many cups of tea. . .
We drove through the mountains from there--some beautiful scenery. Needed a bathroom break (all the mint tea perhaps) so stopped at a little cafe in some Berber village where a beautiful rosy-cheeked teenage girl was manning the counter and keeping her brothers in check as well. She was a kick to talk to (well, Kameel had to translate for me as she didn't speak French, just Berber and Arabic). She was convinced Kameel should change places with her--let her go back to CA and do his accounting job and he could stay and work in the fields in the mountains where the sun just never goes away (this seemed to irk her greatly). Now, the one thing I couldn't figure out was how she worked out there in the very pointed heels she was wearing. 'Twas a mystery to me. But, oh she had a lot to share about all the things she contemplated out there, and how much she wanted to be elsewhere. Unfortunately, we really couldn't help her with her desire to escape. But we did have the chance to provide taxi service through the mountains for 4-5 others. . .
We picked up one man who sat stiffly in the back, clutching his belongings, dressed in traditional djalaba. He was quite serious and didn't seem too interested in Kameel's and my efforts to start a round of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." The young woman we picked up, on the other hand, pretty much laughed at everything we said and did. She was helpful in trying to communicate with the stiff older gentleman, too. When Kameel asked him where we should drop him off and he didn't respond right away, she shoved him and yelled it again in his ear. Now, we're talking about a little woman about 5 ft. tall. She was small but spitfire. We introduced her to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and she was absolutely thrilled! "Give me a thousand of these!" she said emphatically in arabic. Ah, yes, another convert!!!
You surely get all kinds as you travel throughout the country (or even just in Casablanca). It's really interesting when you see older mother-looking women dressed in traditional garb and covering the head, walking arm in arm (a typical walking position--even for men, holding hands is another option) with what looks like a daughter who is dressed in the latest hoochie-mama European skin tight fashion. So what is acceptable and what isn't? That is something I still haven't figured out.
I was told I couldn't skate along this one street near the beach because I did "slalom," the police explained. However, an entire 4-person family can ride on one moped with one helmet between them. A boy can grab onto the back of a big truck and hitch a ride, or maybe hold onto the edge while on a bike, whichever suits the fancy. The employees of Marjane (the equivalent of a supermarket/small Target) skate throughout the store to get their work done. Or, if you have problems getting your car out of a tight parking spot, you always have the option of getting about 4 men together and physically lifting the vehicle to scootch it a little bit to the right (yes, I witnessed this myself and couldn't stop laughing after we finally got in the car and drove off). Only, Morocco. . . Merci, Maroc! C'etait super!
Where else can you witness a conversation occuring in the three languages at the same time? So, though I am not returning to Morocco, there is a piece of it in my heart forever. In particular are the wonderful children I had the privilege to teach this year (even as they taught me) and the amazing people who helped me get through a tough year of adjustment. There are sure incredible people (Moroccan and otherwise) to be found in Casa.
As for what I'm doing now, well I'm back in the SF bay area for the month of August. You can reach me on my Mom's cell phone at [number] or at this e-mail address. My next step in September is to get my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certifcate through a month-long program in Greece, specifcally the island of Crete. Then, who knows? I will look for a teaching position, probably somewhere in Greece, but my options are open. . . wherever I am, I hope I'll get to see some of you!
If you read all of this, I must thank you for indulging me. There is still a lot I'm in the process of digesting about my trip. I learned a lot about myself and life. And, as with evey mind-opening experience, I learned that I have a lot to learn. I send out my love to you, my fellow students in this school of life! Keep in touch. . .
As I've noted before here, everything you see (aside from quotes) on BLADAM is my own writing unless I note otherwise, and I do hope you don't mind the occasional 'guest columnists' :-)
And now... on with Abeth's comments!
---
[...]
I've been writing bits and pieces of final updates in my head for a while now but have not been disciplined enough to sit down and get it out to where you all can share the joys of my contemplation. So, here I go. . .
I've had quite a few people ask me to tell them stories about Morocco. I'm not very good with the general question--my mind goes blank. Or I horribly share only the things that were difficult for me in living in such a different culture than what I'm used to. I don't need to harp on that. You know the outdoorsy/active/independent woman that I am and suffice it to say that there wasn't much outlet for my interests where I was living. But I learned through it (things that I'm still trying to digest and assimilate) and am quite glad that I did go. I had experiences overseas that I never would have had if I had stayed in my beloved SF [San Francisco] bay area. I'd like to share some of those with you now if you will so indulge me. . .
Commonplace experiences in Morocco which you don't see everyday back in the States. . .
One of my last days in Casablanca I was walking home from the public pool on one of the main thoroughfares and was able to witness the king's entourage come into town towards his palace. I even saw him waving from one of the dark Mercedes! And the woman beside me on the street blew him a kiss after he passed. Then, as most of the other cars had passed, she began to cross the street, to the consternation of one policeman standing nearby because he had not yet given us the signal. Instead of listening to him and getting back on the curb she argued with him (wish I could understand the arabic). Now, here in the States, we wouldn't THINK of talking back to the police unless we wanted to get further into trouble. But that was a regular occurence there (when pulled over or told to do something, etc). And this woman won. A second police basically hushed his colleague and waved her on.
Basically, everything is up for discussion and debate. It's funny to be back here where we don't haggle prices, we just ACCEPT THE TAG. Now, I'm not a big haggler. It's not my cup of tea. But I had so much fun watching my brother haggle in arabic when he came to visit or my roommate so smoothly and humorously make her price offer seem like the most reasonable thing in the world. I believe it is an art form, this ability to mentally price something and not yield to anything other than that ideal.
Oh, wait, you can't debate having to eat TONS OF FOOD when you visit someone for a meal. The first course comes, a pastilla (chicken/nut/pastry thing that is sooo good) and I eat half and am full. But, that's FAR from the end. Next comes a tagine, or two, or three (hearty meat/vegetable or fruit/oily dish). Maybe a salad or something. Bread thrown at you to help you eat these other dishes. And if you take the slightest break you will be happily commanded to "Eat, eat!" and probably have more pushed your way. Then maybe some fruit and cake or ice cream or some other sweet course. Don't forget mint tea! Believe it or not, I never got sick of it. It's a soothing ending to a big meal but could also be consumed any other time, like when shopping for carpet! My brother, Kameel, and I spent a long time--a couple hours, I believe--carpet shopping one day out in the desert and were treated to the mint tea hospitality. We walked out with some good deals after much haggling and just plain chatting over many cups of tea. . .
We drove through the mountains from there--some beautiful scenery. Needed a bathroom break (all the mint tea perhaps) so stopped at a little cafe in some Berber village where a beautiful rosy-cheeked teenage girl was manning the counter and keeping her brothers in check as well. She was a kick to talk to (well, Kameel had to translate for me as she didn't speak French, just Berber and Arabic). She was convinced Kameel should change places with her--let her go back to CA and do his accounting job and he could stay and work in the fields in the mountains where the sun just never goes away (this seemed to irk her greatly). Now, the one thing I couldn't figure out was how she worked out there in the very pointed heels she was wearing. 'Twas a mystery to me. But, oh she had a lot to share about all the things she contemplated out there, and how much she wanted to be elsewhere. Unfortunately, we really couldn't help her with her desire to escape. But we did have the chance to provide taxi service through the mountains for 4-5 others. . .
We picked up one man who sat stiffly in the back, clutching his belongings, dressed in traditional djalaba. He was quite serious and didn't seem too interested in Kameel's and my efforts to start a round of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." The young woman we picked up, on the other hand, pretty much laughed at everything we said and did. She was helpful in trying to communicate with the stiff older gentleman, too. When Kameel asked him where we should drop him off and he didn't respond right away, she shoved him and yelled it again in his ear. Now, we're talking about a little woman about 5 ft. tall. She was small but spitfire. We introduced her to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and she was absolutely thrilled! "Give me a thousand of these!" she said emphatically in arabic. Ah, yes, another convert!!!
You surely get all kinds as you travel throughout the country (or even just in Casablanca). It's really interesting when you see older mother-looking women dressed in traditional garb and covering the head, walking arm in arm (a typical walking position--even for men, holding hands is another option) with what looks like a daughter who is dressed in the latest hoochie-mama European skin tight fashion. So what is acceptable and what isn't? That is something I still haven't figured out.
I was told I couldn't skate along this one street near the beach because I did "slalom," the police explained. However, an entire 4-person family can ride on one moped with one helmet between them. A boy can grab onto the back of a big truck and hitch a ride, or maybe hold onto the edge while on a bike, whichever suits the fancy. The employees of Marjane (the equivalent of a supermarket/small Target) skate throughout the store to get their work done. Or, if you have problems getting your car out of a tight parking spot, you always have the option of getting about 4 men together and physically lifting the vehicle to scootch it a little bit to the right (yes, I witnessed this myself and couldn't stop laughing after we finally got in the car and drove off). Only, Morocco. . . Merci, Maroc! C'etait super!
Where else can you witness a conversation occuring in the three languages at the same time? So, though I am not returning to Morocco, there is a piece of it in my heart forever. In particular are the wonderful children I had the privilege to teach this year (even as they taught me) and the amazing people who helped me get through a tough year of adjustment. There are sure incredible people (Moroccan and otherwise) to be found in Casa.
As for what I'm doing now, well I'm back in the SF bay area for the month of August. You can reach me on my Mom's cell phone at [number] or at this e-mail address. My next step in September is to get my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certifcate through a month-long program in Greece, specifcally the island of Crete. Then, who knows? I will look for a teaching position, probably somewhere in Greece, but my options are open. . . wherever I am, I hope I'll get to see some of you!
If you read all of this, I must thank you for indulging me. There is still a lot I'm in the process of digesting about my trip. I learned a lot about myself and life. And, as with evey mind-opening experience, I learned that I have a lot to learn. I send out my love to you, my fellow students in this school of life! Keep in touch. . .
Thursday, January 30, 2003
I can breathe clearly now, the smoke is gone
In a shock to smokers and anti-smoking advocates alike, Ireland's government has announced a ban on smoking in pubs, effective January 2004.
This is, from what I understand, a first throughout all of Europe. Indeed, I selfishly wish other European countries that I frequent (such as Germany and Sweden) would join Ireland in banning smoking in public places, because I'm sick of having to deal with it while having a pint with friends. The sustained ickiness of eating in a smoker-friendly restaurant was made all the more clear to me when I had a scrumptious six course meal in Paris with friends last summer. I was surrounded by historic ambience and beautiful women... only to have the experience largely tainted by the intense smell and taste of smoke over the course of an otherwise pleasant three hours.
Of course, I'm rather spoiled here in California, which banned smoking in all public places (including bars and restaurants) years ago. But to me, the restrictions -- whether mandated by law or by the establishment owners themselves -- make perfect sense.
Can you imagine a world in which it was legal for people to walk by and spit in your food? Or for someone to grab you by the neck and stick your face 10 inches from their car exhaust pipe (while the car was running)? Didn't think so.
Why, then, do people find it a violation of THEIR rights when they're required not to smoke in public? I realize that there's a long history associated with smoking, but hey... folks didn't think anything ill of slavery for many centuries either. Luckily, we evolved.
Beyond the whole public-courtesy and legal issues, I still am perplexed as to how -- in a modern country like Ireland -- 30% of the people still smoke! Indeed, throughout my European travels, I've been both amazed and saddened to meet so many amazingly articulate, intelligent, and attractive people... who think nothing of lighting up a cigarette. True, a few did at least grimly acknowledge or even apologize for their "nasty habit," but others smoked with a nonchalance that one might have while straightening a tie or looking at a watch. Just part of everyday life for them, ho hum.
I consider myself libertarian on many issues and ultimately, I would have preferred for the free market to stomp out smoking... making it inconvenient, unwanted, uncool. Sometimes, however, the free market is apparently impervious to common sense, common decency, and even critical behavioral changes that would add billions of dollars to the nation's GNP. It is times like those in which I must reluctantly but appreciatively applaud lawmakers for making choices that society is too short-sighted to make itself.
This is, from what I understand, a first throughout all of Europe. Indeed, I selfishly wish other European countries that I frequent (such as Germany and Sweden) would join Ireland in banning smoking in public places, because I'm sick of having to deal with it while having a pint with friends. The sustained ickiness of eating in a smoker-friendly restaurant was made all the more clear to me when I had a scrumptious six course meal in Paris with friends last summer. I was surrounded by historic ambience and beautiful women... only to have the experience largely tainted by the intense smell and taste of smoke over the course of an otherwise pleasant three hours.
Of course, I'm rather spoiled here in California, which banned smoking in all public places (including bars and restaurants) years ago. But to me, the restrictions -- whether mandated by law or by the establishment owners themselves -- make perfect sense.
Can you imagine a world in which it was legal for people to walk by and spit in your food? Or for someone to grab you by the neck and stick your face 10 inches from their car exhaust pipe (while the car was running)? Didn't think so.
Why, then, do people find it a violation of THEIR rights when they're required not to smoke in public? I realize that there's a long history associated with smoking, but hey... folks didn't think anything ill of slavery for many centuries either. Luckily, we evolved.
Beyond the whole public-courtesy and legal issues, I still am perplexed as to how -- in a modern country like Ireland -- 30% of the people still smoke! Indeed, throughout my European travels, I've been both amazed and saddened to meet so many amazingly articulate, intelligent, and attractive people... who think nothing of lighting up a cigarette. True, a few did at least grimly acknowledge or even apologize for their "nasty habit," but others smoked with a nonchalance that one might have while straightening a tie or looking at a watch. Just part of everyday life for them, ho hum.
I consider myself libertarian on many issues and ultimately, I would have preferred for the free market to stomp out smoking... making it inconvenient, unwanted, uncool. Sometimes, however, the free market is apparently impervious to common sense, common decency, and even critical behavioral changes that would add billions of dollars to the nation's GNP. It is times like those in which I must reluctantly but appreciatively applaud lawmakers for making choices that society is too short-sighted to make itself.
Monday, January 27, 2003
Colorful food in Brussels, Belgium
Food that is tempting to touch and taste that I discovered in one of the main squares of beautiful Brussels, Belgium during a visit in 1998.
Thursday, January 23, 2003
Enjoying a sunny weekend in Rome
A few years ago, I got an internship in Germany, and -- eager to use my 3 month unlimited Eurail pass as much and as soon as possible -- I decided to take a weekend trip to Rome (why Rome? I don't recall, actually).With none of my fellow interns willing to tag along with me, I braved my first big train trip alone. I managed to get frightfully lost there because I was stupid and cheap and relied upon a free "Map of Rome" that was sponsored by McDonald's of all places.
My lost meanderings were every bit as interesting as my planned wanderings, though. And I got an extra 4 hours of exercise!
One additional tidbit: The men in Rome (and, from what I've gathered, in Italy overall) are just like they're often described in terms of how they pursue women... particularly blondes. I saw women being chased (playfully), wooed, serenaded, kissed, begged, and proposed to -- and that was just in the two days I visited Rome! Incidentally, upon meeting and befriending a trio of delightfully friendly and attractive German-Spanish sisters on the train, I was initially shocked when one of them asked me to "be her boyfriend" while walking together around Rome. Afterwards, I understand what her intent was, but alas, it didn't help. She got propositioned by would-be suitors in my presence nonetheless.
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