I am tired

[LissaC]

By the way, I'm not one to eat out often, but every week I used to eat out at least twice: friday as team lunch at work so we always went out, saturday is eating at my grandma's. Some weeks I would have 3 or 4 meals outside the house. I only "broke" out of quarantine in June, from March to June I only left the house once a week to get groceries and take out the trash. So that was a full three months eating in every single meal every single day. I do love cooking but I got to a point where I was so fed up with cooking. Even the sound of the pots and pans wheezing annoyed me beyond all reason. I felt like I had cooked every single recipe from every existing cuisine in the world and food was no longer exciting. In the end I put together a spreadsheet with recipes I've tried and liked and recipes I'd like to try but even just looking at the spreadsheet bored me!

This forum did help rekindle my relationship with cooking and food. And I'm a moderator for a portuguese travel forum, but the forum is almost inactive now. I had work to do on the forum everyday and the moderator chat also provided some distraction but no one is traveling or planning trips now and even the mods spend a lot of time away from the forum. It's really good to be here.

caseydog that's one thing I'd love to try, flying first class. If I ever do it I want it to be on one of the emiratis airlines

 

[caseydog]

By the way, I'm not one to eat out often, but every week I used to eat out at least twice: friday as team lunch at work so we always went out, saturday is eating at my grandma's. Some weeks I would have 3 or 4 meals outside the house. I only "broke" out of quarantine in June, from March to June I only left the house once a week to get groceries and take out the trash. So that was a full three months eating in every single meal every single day. I do love cooking but I got to a point where I was so fed up with cooking. Even the sound of the pots and pans wheezing annoyed me beyond all reason. I felt like I had cooked every single recipe from every existing cuisine in the world and food was no longer exciting. In the end I put together a spreadsheet with recipes I've tried and liked and recipes I'd like to try but even just looking at the spreadsheet bored me!

This forum did help rekindle my relationship with cooking and food. And I'm a moderator for a portuguese travel forum, but the forum is almost inactive now. I had work to do on the forum everyday and the moderator chat also provided some distraction but no one is traveling or planning trips now and even the mods spend a lot of time away from the forum. It's really good to be here.

caseydog that's one thing I'd love to try, flying first class. If I ever do it I want it to be on one of the emiratis airlines

I know the feeling, and ElizabethB said the same basic thing. We all like to cook, but after six months of HAVING to cook, some of the motivation fades. I miss the days when I could say, "I don't feel like cooking tonight, I'm going out."

As for First Class on flights, I only do that on longer flights. First Class from Dallas to Houston is a complete waste of money/points. First Class from Los Angeles to New York is worth it. I've never done First Class on Emerates, or any of the other Middle East or Asian airlines. I've heard they are the best! First Class from Dallas to London on British Airways was nice. My wife was with me, and she grew up in rural Oklahoma, so she was thrilled by the experience. Before the plane took off, the flight attendant came through the First Class cabin asking, "Would you like a glass of Champagne?" My wife kind of froze up, so I answered, "Yes, please." Seeing my wife so giddy made me so happy.

CD

 

[JAS_OH1]

The beaches are fantastic - lots of sandy beaches and they aren't crowded if you know where to go. Kent has a large coastline. And yes - you could certainly find places where they serve drinks with little umbrellas on the coast. Seafood too. Maybe not that many palm trees though.

We have a couple of bars up here on the lakes that have fake palm trees out on their decks.

 

[JAS_OH1]

LissaC I could see you taking flying lessons and getting your pilot's license one day.

 

[LissaC]

LissaC I could see you taking flying lessons and getting your pilot's license one day.

Well I do love flying but I'm a bit afraid as well, especially during take off and landing, I guess it's a bit of an adrenaline rush.

 

[TastyReuben]

We've had good, bad, and indifferent experiences in First Class. For me (someone who loves the destination, but hates the journey), it's as much about access to the lounge before the flight as much as the bigger seat and the service. I never drink much alcohol on a long flight, and airplane food ordered from a printed menu and served on china is still airplane food, but the lounge is usually much quieter than the gate, and there's room to spread out away from people.

I have a little psychological quirk (surprised, anyone?) where I want each step of a trip completed (or at least started) as quickly as possible, so it's extremely important that I board as soon as possible and get off the plane as soon as possible once we land. Even if I know I'm sitting for a few hours waiting on a connection, I get highly anxious if I can't get off the plane after we land, and I get equally anxious waiting to board.

 

[JAS_OH1]

Well I do love flying but I'm a bit afraid as well, especially during take off and landing, I guess it's a bit of an adrenaline rush.

I get a thrill when the plane takes off and lands but I am not scared. I think that would be the hardest part of becoming a pilot, that and storms.

Over here in the US they have a website that sells discounted vouchers for restaurants, experiences, etc. I bought my MIL a flying lesson voucher for her birthday a few years ago. She used it in autumn of 2018. The experience gave her a 1.5 hour flying simulation on the ground which explains the gauges and other things, then she went up for 2 hours with an experienced pilot as his co-pilot. He let her fly the plane for a good while and he completely took over for take-off and landing. I think that would be a lot of fun. Maybe in a few years when it's safe to be around people again I will do it myself.

 

[caseydog]

My best friend has a major fear of flying. If he wants/needs to go 1,000 miles for some reason, he drives. He will do a ten hour drive instead of a two hour flight. I don't know why he does that, or even how he does that. But, he doesn't know how I get on a plane about 100 times a year.

CD

 

[JAS_OH1]

My best friend has a major fear of flying. If he wants/needs to go 1,000 miles for some reason, he drives. He will do a ten hour drive instead of a two hour flight. I don't know why he does that, or even how he does that. But, he doesn't know how I get on a plane about 100 times a year.

CD

My MIL's partner is like that (FIL is deceased but I sometimes refer to her "boyfriend" as an "in-law" as they have been together for 10 years and it's just easier than explaining). She used to fly out to Arizona to see her sister regularly, but her partner doesn't like to fly. He has gone a few times with her but he has horrible anxiety. Before COVID, she would rent a house in Florida near Siesta Key each winter for a month to six weeks and she wanted to fly down and back, but he insisted they drive instead. What sucks is if they go anywhere for short trips and he won't fly. Takes 2 travel days on each end and the trip is only for a week? That is totally lame. Of course now they don't go anywhere...

He also hates heat so if the temps got above 85F he didn't want to go outside, which makes for a crappy beach vacation, IMO. I don't particularly enjoy temps above 85F unless I am at a beach or pool, and then that's temperature you want it to be!!!!

 

[caseydog]

I have a little psychological quirk (surprised, anyone?) where I want each step of a trip completed (or at least started) as quickly as possible, so it's extremely important that I board as soon as possible and get off the plane as soon as possible once we land. Even if I know I'm sitting for a few hours waiting on a connection, I get highly anxious if I can't get off the plane after we land, and I get equally anxious waiting to board.

Really, I would have never guessed.

I hate to admit it, but I'm a bit like you when it comes to travel. I leave the house too early, just in case I get a flat tire on the way to the airport. Then, I have to wait WAY too long to get on the plane. Unlike you, though, I have a bad habit of spending that excess time at a bar, drinking alcohol.

BTW, a tip for future First Class flyers. Always ask for the pasta dish. Never ask for the meat option, even if it Filet Mignon. It will be dry and tough. Like chicken? NEVER ask for airline chicken, unless you have a food fetish for leather.

CD

 

[LissaC]

I will leave the house 6 hours before the flight time just because I love airports and love sitting in them. Of course it does depend on the airport, Lisbon's T2 is the low cost terminal where I always fly from if I'm flying inside Europe (Lisbon to London 28€ return? Oh yeah!!!!) and that terminal is horrible, ugly, crowded, no places to sit and you can't even see the planes!

I love reading reviews of 1st and business class on this blog,and yes, the 1st class food looks good!!!

EDIT: I know plane food isn't supposed to be great but I actually like it and I only ever flew economy. Once on a TAP flight the flight attendants took a liking to me and gave me all of the leftover chocolate

 

[TastyReuben]

My best friend has a major fear of flying. If he wants/needs to go 1,000 miles for some reason, he drives. He will do a ten hour drive instead of a two hour flight. I don't know why he does that, or even how he does that. But, he doesn't know how I get on a plane about 100 times a year.

CD

That's the biggest reason why, at 50, my brother left his six-figure corporate job for a $12/hr bench electrician position. He always burned vacation to drive wherever he had to go (all over North America), and it got to the point where he didn't have enough vacation time. His nerves couldn't take flying, and he was drinking way too much and taking way too many pills trying to cope with it, and he finally just quit altogether.

I hate to admit it, but I'm a bit like you when it comes to travel. I leave the house too early, just in case I get a flat tire on the way to the airport. Then, I have to wait WAY too long to get on the plane. Unlike you, though, I have a bad habit of spending that excess time at a bar, drinking alcohol.

That's exactly how I am, and I have zero issues sitting in an airport. I'll have a beer and make it last, I'll get something to eat, I'll peruse the shops, and I have a lot of nervous energy anyway, so I'll walk one end of the terminal to the other.

Just a snapshot of the spiders in my brain, this is what one aspect of a travel day is like:

(Gets in TSA approved line):

"What if they forgot to put the TSA thingy on my pass? What if I pull up my pass on my phone and it won't come up? What if they check my passport against my driver's license and it's expired? OH MY GOD, WHY DIDN'T I CHECK MY LICENSE BEFORE WE LEFT?! What if I forgot my license? What if they ask me a trick security question and I don't know the answer? What if I'm here on the wrong day? What if my bag is too big? What if this is the wrong line? OH MY GOD, IS THIS EVEN THE RIGHT LINE?"

And that's just the three minutes to get past the TSA guy. Imagine that for absolutely every step of traveling.

I will leave the house 6 hours before the flight time just because I love airports and love sitting in them.

My wife is like that. Through a weird set of circumstances, she ended up working as a gate agent for one of the regional airlines when we lived in Minnesota, and she absolutely loved it. She loved all the behind-the-scenes stuff, and because it was a small regional airline, she had to be qualified to park the planes as well, and she really liked doing that. They used to call her The Jetbridge Jedi because in her four years as a gate agent, she was the only one with a spotless record for attaching and detaching the jetbridge. Everyone else had at least one accident.

 

[LissaC]

(Gets in TSA approved line):

"What if they forgot to put the TSA thingy on my pass? What if I pull up my pass on my phone and it won't come up? What if they check my passport against my driver's license and it's expired? OH MY GOD, WHY DIDN'T I CHECK MY LICENSE BEFORE WE LEFT?! What if I forgot my license? What if they ask me a trick security question and I don't know the answer? What if I'm here on the wrong day? What if my bag is too big? What if this is the wrong line? OH MY GOD, IS THIS EVEN THE RIGHT LINE?"

And that's just the three minutes to get past the TSA guy. Imagine that for absolutely every step of traveling.

And when you get to security: "OH MY WHAT IF I ACCIDENTALLY STUFFED DRUGS IN MY BAG? Why am I in the body scan? WHAT IF THE SAUSAGE I HAD FOR LUNCH WAS STUFFED WITH COCAINE???"

 

[TastyReuben]

And when you get to security: "OH MY WHAT IF I ACCIDENTALLY STUFFED DRUGS IN MY BAG? Why am I in the body scan? WHAT IF THE SAUSAGE I HAD FOR LUNCH WAS STUFFED WITH COCAINE???"

I don't know if you've ever seen Jack Lemmon in (the original) The Out-Of-Towners, but when he's on the plane waiting to land, that's me the entire time I'm traveling. I tried to find a clip, but I couldn't.

 

[caseydog]

That's the biggest reason why, at 50, my brother left his six-figure corporate job for a $12/hr bench electrician position. He always burned vacation to drive wherever he had to go (all over North America), and it got to the point where he didn't have enough vacation time. His nerves couldn't take flying, and he was drinking way too much and taking way too many pills trying to cope with it, and he finally just quit altogether.


That's exactly how I am, and I have zero issues sitting in an airport. I'll have a beer and make it last, I'll get something to eat, I'll peruse the shops, and I have a lot of nervous energy anyway, so I'll walk one end of the terminal to the other.

Just a snapshot of the spiders in my brain, this is what one aspect of a travel day is like:

(Gets in TSA approved line):

"What if they forgot to put the TSA thingy on my pass? What if I pull up my pass on my phone and it won't come up? What if they check my passport against my driver's license and it's expired? OH MY GOD, WHY DIDN'T I CHECK MY LICENSE BEFORE WE LEFT?! What if I forgot my license? What if they ask me a trick security question and I don't know the answer? What if I'm here on the wrong day? What if my bag is too big? What if this is the wrong line? OH MY GOD, IS THIS EVEN THE RIGHT LINE?"

And that's just the three minutes to get past the TSA guy. Imagine that for absolutely every step of traveling.


My wife is like that. Through a weird set of circumstances, she ended up working as a gate agent for one of the regional airlines when we lived in Minnesota, and she absolutely loved it. She loved all the behind-the-scenes stuff, and because it was a small regional airline, she had to be qualified to park the planes as well, and she really liked doing that. They used to call her The Jetbridge Jedi because in her four years as a gate agent, she was the only one with a spotless record for attaching and detaching the jetbridge. Everyone else had at least one accident.

Wow, a lot to digest here.

1. If you are okay with sitting/walking through airports, you obviously haven't spent any time at LaGuardia. The Cincinnati airport is no luxury resort, but it is about 1000 times better than LaGuardia.

2. TSA is not a big deal, until you test positive for explosives. I work around old cars, and they spew a lot of unburned hydro-carbons. The TSA people were very professional, and really polite. If you test positive for explosives, kiss off the next hour. Oh, and don't freak out when they take you to a little room, and frisk you in a very personal way. They do tell you what they are going to do, before they do it, but they don't buy you dinner and a movie first. Again, I have to say that the TSA people were very professional, and treated me with great courtesy. They had a job to do, and I understand that.

CD