Well, I had been looking forward to last weekend for a long time. I decided it was my weekend to catch up on the past 3 months of sleep. I did a lot of relaxing and slept probably 10-12 hours a night. No Spike or 5 hr energy was consumed within this time..
After the weekend I felt great and ready to take on the week. Until Monday afternoon when I was tired again... So I started reading that it is impossible to repay sleep debt. Turns out I'm pretty screwed..
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20100115/sleep-debt-hard-to-repay
I love this life, but it is extremely exhausting traveling every week for work and not sleeping and traveling every weekend for fun and not sleeping.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
RIP Passport
05/07/2001 – 10/01/10
I am sad to say goodbye to a loyal travel companion and holder of many memories. The past 10 years we’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together, and we’ve created memories I will never forget.
Summary of my Passport’s life:
- Germany: Frankfurt – 8 stamps
- Germany: Stuttgart – 1 stamp
- Ireland: Shannon – 1 stamp
- Mexico: Baja Californai – 4 stamps
- Mexico: Neuvo Leon – 10 stamps
- Netherlands: Amsterdam – 1 stamp
- Norway: Oslow (Gardenmoen)- 2 stamps
- Peru: Cuzco – 2 stamps
- Peru: Machu Picchu park – 1 stamp
- Russia: Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow (I don’t know how to tell the difference between the stamps) – 60 stamps
- Russian Visas: 4
- South Africa: Johannesburg – 1 stamp
- USA – 24 stamps
- 12 pages more than a standard passport has in it because I ran out of room
RIP Passport
My new passport has a lot to live up to…
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Guest Writer: KYLE ZAK
Kyle came to visit me last weekend, and there was so much that happened that I was too lazy to summarize it myself... so here's Kyle's entry:
Dumb and Dumber take on New England
Last weekend I had a long weekend so I decided to visit Hilary. I booked my flights about a week before, and that’s when the problems began. Turns out I booked a flight for Friday morning instead of Saturday (meaning that I would have to miss my classes on Friday). Luckily, Hilary caught my mistake and since I called Expedia 24 hours within booking, they took care of it without making me pay the nasty $150 fee.
The original plan was for me to get there Saturday, go visit Salem (where they had the witch trials), and then drive up to Mt Washington in New Hampshire. On Sunday we would climb the mountain and then head back to Connecticut.
This did not even remotely resemble our weekend.
The troubles began when we got to Salem and started walking around. It quickly became apparent that Salem is an awful place to visit. Something about the lack of historic buildings and the abundance of Italian sausage and Spongebob balloons really turned us off, so after meeting up with a couple of Hilary’s friends we decided to go to dinner.
On the way there, the navigation system took us through a light that decided to stay red through two whole cycles. We didn’t stick around to find out if the third time was the charm, and after the navigation system took us in a few circles we got to dinner.
Keep in mind that at this point I’ve flown out to Connecticut and driven to Massachusetts to go to a mall and eat at the Cheesecake Factory.
After dinner we left for New Hampshire, heading towards Mt Washington. On the way Hilary’s friends called to see if we wanted to go to a haunted house that was kind of on the way, so we decided why not. When we got to the haunted house we started calling around trying to find hotels in the area, only to find that they were completely booked in the entire “region.” A few phone calls later told us that “region” implies New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, so after the haunted house we drove back down to Boston. The haunted houses were fun, and included Hilary squeezing my hand off, freezing in lines, Hilary’s friend Chris entertaining everyone around us with his stories, and being told that we “smell like Walmart.”
Not wanting to drive the 6-hour round trip to Mt Washington all in one day, we spent Sunday in Boston attempting to follow the freedom trail, which is a clearly marked trail that goes past several historic sites in Boston. Apparently following a red line is above our capabilities though, because we lost it several times.
We then drove back to Connecticut. On the way, Hilary managed to lose her wallet at a rest stop. So, we had to turn around, get back on the toll road, drive past the rest stop another 6 miles, get off the toll road and pay the toll, turn around, get back on the toll road, and drive back the 6 miles. They didn’t have it.
After checking in at the hotel in Connecticut, I went to the lobby to get some toothpaste from the front desk. The guy in front of me was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but unfortunately no underwear. And his pants were quite loose, so there was about a half to three-quarters moon. And the girl he was with? In a wedding dress. I love how these things happen to me.
Monday was the day for me to leave. However, at some point on Saturday, we realized that I had my flight back to Indy booked for Tuesday night. After the lady at the ticket counter told us that it would cost over $350 to get my flight switched, we logged on Hilary’s computer and booked a new flight for about $180. Ha!
Overall, the weekend was a disaster. Fun, but awful at the same time.
Dumb and Dumber take on New England
Last weekend I had a long weekend so I decided to visit Hilary. I booked my flights about a week before, and that’s when the problems began. Turns out I booked a flight for Friday morning instead of Saturday (meaning that I would have to miss my classes on Friday). Luckily, Hilary caught my mistake and since I called Expedia 24 hours within booking, they took care of it without making me pay the nasty $150 fee.
The original plan was for me to get there Saturday, go visit Salem (where they had the witch trials), and then drive up to Mt Washington in New Hampshire. On Sunday we would climb the mountain and then head back to Connecticut.
This did not even remotely resemble our weekend.
The troubles began when we got to Salem and started walking around. It quickly became apparent that Salem is an awful place to visit. Something about the lack of historic buildings and the abundance of Italian sausage and Spongebob balloons really turned us off, so after meeting up with a couple of Hilary’s friends we decided to go to dinner.
On the way there, the navigation system took us through a light that decided to stay red through two whole cycles. We didn’t stick around to find out if the third time was the charm, and after the navigation system took us in a few circles we got to dinner.
Keep in mind that at this point I’ve flown out to Connecticut and driven to Massachusetts to go to a mall and eat at the Cheesecake Factory.
After dinner we left for New Hampshire, heading towards Mt Washington. On the way Hilary’s friends called to see if we wanted to go to a haunted house that was kind of on the way, so we decided why not. When we got to the haunted house we started calling around trying to find hotels in the area, only to find that they were completely booked in the entire “region.” A few phone calls later told us that “region” implies New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, so after the haunted house we drove back down to Boston. The haunted houses were fun, and included Hilary squeezing my hand off, freezing in lines, Hilary’s friend Chris entertaining everyone around us with his stories, and being told that we “smell like Walmart.”
Not wanting to drive the 6-hour round trip to Mt Washington all in one day, we spent Sunday in Boston attempting to follow the freedom trail, which is a clearly marked trail that goes past several historic sites in Boston. Apparently following a red line is above our capabilities though, because we lost it several times.
We then drove back to Connecticut. On the way, Hilary managed to lose her wallet at a rest stop. So, we had to turn around, get back on the toll road, drive past the rest stop another 6 miles, get off the toll road and pay the toll, turn around, get back on the toll road, and drive back the 6 miles. They didn’t have it.
After checking in at the hotel in Connecticut, I went to the lobby to get some toothpaste from the front desk. The guy in front of me was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but unfortunately no underwear. And his pants were quite loose, so there was about a half to three-quarters moon. And the girl he was with? In a wedding dress. I love how these things happen to me.
Monday was the day for me to leave. However, at some point on Saturday, we realized that I had my flight back to Indy booked for Tuesday night. After the lady at the ticket counter told us that it would cost over $350 to get my flight switched, we logged on Hilary’s computer and booked a new flight for about $180. Ha!
Overall, the weekend was a disaster. Fun, but awful at the same time.
dumb dumb dumb dumb......
So I’ve noticed that this blog has shifted from “How to be Homeless” to “Stupidity in Traveling”.
Anyways, this morning I was arriving at the Eastern Iowa Airport with only about 20 minutes until the departure of my co-workers flight, so let’s say that I was driving like we were in a hurry. I made the turn into the terminal a little late, and over shot the turn. Turns out my little Mercury didn't have a good turning radius and I couldn’t make it into my lane. So next thing I knew, I was driving the wrong way down a one way street at the airport…
Well, of course my luck, I got pulled over.
As my coworker is grabbing her bag from the trunk and sprinting into the airport, the police walked up to the car:
“Ma’am, do you have a driver’s license?”
“No sir, I recently lost it… I have a passport in the trunk if you’re interested.”
“Ok, you do have an active drivers license, right?”
“Yessir.”
“Is this your car?”
“No, it’s a rental.”
“Have you been drinking?”
“Nosir, just stupid.”
“Ok have a good one.”
Anyways, this morning I was arriving at the Eastern Iowa Airport with only about 20 minutes until the departure of my co-workers flight, so let’s say that I was driving like we were in a hurry. I made the turn into the terminal a little late, and over shot the turn. Turns out my little Mercury didn't have a good turning radius and I couldn’t make it into my lane. So next thing I knew, I was driving the wrong way down a one way street at the airport…
Well, of course my luck, I got pulled over.
As my coworker is grabbing her bag from the trunk and sprinting into the airport, the police walked up to the car:
“Ma’am, do you have a driver’s license?”
“No sir, I recently lost it… I have a passport in the trunk if you’re interested.”
“Ok, you do have an active drivers license, right?”
“Yessir.”
“Is this your car?”
“No, it’s a rental.”
“Have you been drinking?”
“Nosir, just stupid.”
“Ok have a good one.”
Sunday, October 3, 2010
4 Month Homeless Anniversary
So I've been officially homeless now for 4 months..
Those of you who questioned (or discouraged me) from doing this, I'm going to have to say a quick "told you so".
I frankly can't say that I'm "saving money" so much as "freeing up money to do other fun things".
Here's a summary of some of the things I've done these past few homeless months:
- go boating in North Carolina
- get overserved after the Red Sox game in Boston
- turn day into night drinking in NYC
- attend weddings (Stephanie/Derek and Michelle/Jason)
- create Blackout Weekend 2010 in San Francisco
- see Ziggy Marley at a music festival in Boston
- take adventure vacation in Norway
- catch up with old friends for a night in Chicago
- go back to Purdue for a football game
- take a weekend trip to Disneyland
**sidenote: another contributing factor to all my weekend fun is that I have not gone to Russia for work since early July, which frees up a lot of my weekends.
and next weekend Kyle is coming to visit, and then I'm headed back to Michigan for my cousin's wedding. And after that, who knows what is to come..
I'm definitely going to continue being homeless, the question is whether I'm going to continue this blog or not. If you still read it, could you let me know (you don't even have to tell me your name).
Those of you who questioned (or discouraged me) from doing this, I'm going to have to say a quick "told you so".
I frankly can't say that I'm "saving money" so much as "freeing up money to do other fun things".
Here's a summary of some of the things I've done these past few homeless months:
- go boating in North Carolina
- get overserved after the Red Sox game in Boston
- turn day into night drinking in NYC
- attend weddings (Stephanie/Derek and Michelle/Jason)
- create Blackout Weekend 2010 in San Francisco
- see Ziggy Marley at a music festival in Boston
- take adventure vacation in Norway
- catch up with old friends for a night in Chicago
- go back to Purdue for a football game
- take a weekend trip to Disneyland
**sidenote: another contributing factor to all my weekend fun is that I have not gone to Russia for work since early July, which frees up a lot of my weekends.
and next weekend Kyle is coming to visit, and then I'm headed back to Michigan for my cousin's wedding. And after that, who knows what is to come..
I'm definitely going to continue being homeless, the question is whether I'm going to continue this blog or not. If you still read it, could you let me know (you don't even have to tell me your name).
Friday, October 1, 2010
A New Level of Random
When I got to the Dayton airport at 6:00am this morning, I was planning to fly back to Hartford via Chicago. I stepped up to the United ticket counter... but the reservation was not found. So I rechecked my blackberry and to my surprise, I was flying Continental (not United) .. oops. As I printed out my boarding pass, I found out I was flying through Cleveland (not Chicago) .. oops.
The flight from Dayton to Cleveland was so short and I was in such a deep sleep, that I was Grumpy Pants McGee when they made me wake up. And I was pouting that I didn’t have anything to do this weekend while I was waiting to board my flight to Hartford when I realized.. my sister lives here, maybe I should hang out with her for the weekend. So I frantically texted her and of course she said I could come. So I got out of line to board and headed over to Hertz.
Now unfortunately, my bag still went to Hartford, but I guess I'll just get that on Sunday when I am back.
The flight from Dayton to Cleveland was so short and I was in such a deep sleep, that I was Grumpy Pants McGee when they made me wake up. And I was pouting that I didn’t have anything to do this weekend while I was waiting to board my flight to Hartford when I realized.. my sister lives here, maybe I should hang out with her for the weekend. So I frantically texted her and of course she said I could come. So I got out of line to board and headed over to Hertz.
Now unfortunately, my bag still went to Hartford, but I guess I'll just get that on Sunday when I am back.
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