* skip the big meal and get to sleep if it's bedtime at your destination
* forgo the alcoholic beverages; they're dehydrating, and you'll get drunk
faster in the air
* use an eye mask, ear plugs, soothing music, or sleep aids to help
you're welcome. :-)
Monday, May 9, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Testimonial from Eve Smith
As a Senior Instructor at the University of Macau, and someone who occasionally does consulting work for the U.S. State Department, my schedule keeps me too busy to properly attend to the details of researching accommodations and other travel deals. However, as I am not a trust fund baby, and budgets are tightening everywhere, I've been having to look harder for deals.
I recently booked a trip to the Ukraine, requiring a one night stop-over in Paris. Imagine my surprise when I realized that the BUDGET accommodations in Paris were running around 200 EUR per night! For a week, maybe; but a night?! After a moment of barely contained panic, I consulted “the well-travelled guru” to find an amount that would fit into the per diem with which I was working.
Lorna Rockey assured me she could work within my budget. I was utterly astonished when she found me a place commensurate to the standards I have come to expect in a hotel, informed me it was in a great area for cafés and sight-seeing, and would only cost me a little over 50 EUR per night.
Thank you Lorna! I will definitely be consulting the Guru with future travel plans. :)
Eve Smith, as she mentioned, is a senior instructor at the University of Macau.
remembering my precious mother...
i love you mama, and miss you so very much. happy mother's day.
One lamp - thy mother's love - amid the stars
Shall lift its pure flame changeless, and before
The throne of God, burn through eternity -
Holy - as it was lit and lent thee here.
~Nathaniel Parker Willis~
One lamp - thy mother's love - amid the stars
Shall lift its pure flame changeless, and before
The throne of God, burn through eternity -
Holy - as it was lit and lent thee here.
~Nathaniel Parker Willis~
Saturday, May 7, 2011
de-planed for NO good reason...
in the words of the 60's rock group the Youngbloods,
"Come on people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together try to love one another right now."
is it really that difficult? apparently. :-(
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/05/07/muslims.kicked.off.plane/index.html?hpt=T2
"Come on people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together try to love one another right now."
is it really that difficult? apparently. :-(
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/05/07/muslims.kicked.off.plane/index.html?hpt=T2
Sunday, May 1, 2011
15 items or less...
i had something happen today that i allowed to disturb my peace. i say "allowed" because everything that happens in life sets up a series of personal choices as to how we will react.
the day had already started out stressed. i didn't get a lot of sleep, and had to be up early for the closing talk at a seminar i had attended all week on "building a better future". as i left my house, i noticed little snowflakes falling.
it's May 1st, could winter just finally be over in Minnesota please?
anyway, the seminar ended in an uplifting way(putting me in a somewhat better mood), so i decided to stop and get some groceries on my way home.
at the store, i grabbed a few items and headed for the check-out.
the lines were long, so i went to the "15 items or less" line. there was only one woman ahead of me, who had about 30 items that she was already putting on the conveyor.
i politely said, "you do realize this line is for people who have 15 items or less, right?" i was at least expecting a sheepish apology, but no such luck. she began to berate me and tell me to shut up several times.
i was like, "WHAT? oh no you didn't!".
she began pontificating about how i didn't know how to be a human being or treat one, at which point i sardonically said, "well at least i can read."
it only digressed further south from there. :-(
SHE WENT OFF! she was going on and on, and with each insult her resolve in doing the WRONG thing only grew stronger.
what surprised me even more, is that i felt like kitty genovese(if you don't know the story, just wikipedia it). there were at least 3 cashiers listening to her entire diatribe, but NO ONE would say a thing. all sorts of shoppers saw her hurl insults too, but none of them chose to do anything either.
when she finally left, i asked the cashier why she hadn't said anything. she responded, "i did say something to her." i asked, "what did you say?", at which point shockingly she said, "i told her to go ahead and come through because my line wasn't busy." flabbergasted i said, "then why didn't you tell me that or say something to her so that that entire scene didn't have to go down?"
she just laughed. however, i didn't find it remotely amusing.
as i left the store, i thought about several things:
first, i knew that there were MUCH bigger battles to fight, and realized i had just wasted my time and energy on the wrong one.
second, i wondered what would cause the woman to be so knee-jerkingly reactionary. i realized she was wearing a hijab(islamic headscarf) and was african. i wondered if she's been discriminated against a lot in Nordic minnesota, and therefore just goes around on the offensive feeling the need to defend herself. that made me sad, because i put so much effort into bridging cross-cultural communication.
lol, she would probably never believe that!
third, i was reminded of how our culture has slipped into a coma when it comes to doing the right thing. no one ever wants to get involved, and that's really tragic(again, reference the kitty genovese story).
then i brought the it home. i thought about how when any of us do the wrong thing(and we KNOW it's the wrong thing), then, like a trial lawyer we aggressively defend it even if it hurts others. i've been guilty of it, but when i was the recipient today, i realized how awful rationalization really is.
so i said a little prayer asking God to help me to stop excusing anything i know is wrong, and to aid me in trying to always quest after THE Truth, not my truth.
progress, not perfection.
the day had already started out stressed. i didn't get a lot of sleep, and had to be up early for the closing talk at a seminar i had attended all week on "building a better future". as i left my house, i noticed little snowflakes falling.
it's May 1st, could winter just finally be over in Minnesota please?
anyway, the seminar ended in an uplifting way(putting me in a somewhat better mood), so i decided to stop and get some groceries on my way home.
at the store, i grabbed a few items and headed for the check-out.
the lines were long, so i went to the "15 items or less" line. there was only one woman ahead of me, who had about 30 items that she was already putting on the conveyor.
i politely said, "you do realize this line is for people who have 15 items or less, right?" i was at least expecting a sheepish apology, but no such luck. she began to berate me and tell me to shut up several times.
i was like, "WHAT? oh no you didn't!".
she began pontificating about how i didn't know how to be a human being or treat one, at which point i sardonically said, "well at least i can read."
it only digressed further south from there. :-(
SHE WENT OFF! she was going on and on, and with each insult her resolve in doing the WRONG thing only grew stronger.
what surprised me even more, is that i felt like kitty genovese(if you don't know the story, just wikipedia it). there were at least 3 cashiers listening to her entire diatribe, but NO ONE would say a thing. all sorts of shoppers saw her hurl insults too, but none of them chose to do anything either.
when she finally left, i asked the cashier why she hadn't said anything. she responded, "i did say something to her." i asked, "what did you say?", at which point shockingly she said, "i told her to go ahead and come through because my line wasn't busy." flabbergasted i said, "then why didn't you tell me that or say something to her so that that entire scene didn't have to go down?"
she just laughed. however, i didn't find it remotely amusing.
as i left the store, i thought about several things:
first, i knew that there were MUCH bigger battles to fight, and realized i had just wasted my time and energy on the wrong one.
second, i wondered what would cause the woman to be so knee-jerkingly reactionary. i realized she was wearing a hijab(islamic headscarf) and was african. i wondered if she's been discriminated against a lot in Nordic minnesota, and therefore just goes around on the offensive feeling the need to defend herself. that made me sad, because i put so much effort into bridging cross-cultural communication.
lol, she would probably never believe that!
third, i was reminded of how our culture has slipped into a coma when it comes to doing the right thing. no one ever wants to get involved, and that's really tragic(again, reference the kitty genovese story).
then i brought the it home. i thought about how when any of us do the wrong thing(and we KNOW it's the wrong thing), then, like a trial lawyer we aggressively defend it even if it hurts others. i've been guilty of it, but when i was the recipient today, i realized how awful rationalization really is.
so i said a little prayer asking God to help me to stop excusing anything i know is wrong, and to aid me in trying to always quest after THE Truth, not my truth.
progress, not perfection.
Testimonial from Our Own Sherpa Don
I was a little overwhelmed, at first, to go on a trip to Las Vegas. “Sin City” isn't exactly the cheapest place to travel—especially if you don't know where to eat or stay. Nevertheless, I put my total trust in the Guru, and tagged along into uncharted waters.
My allotment of spending money wasn't much; actually it was just enough to hopefully eat modestly, buy a few small trinkets as souvenirs for my co-workers, and dabble in some gambling. Hope for the best, expect the worse (my motto not only in travel, but life in general).
In the end, I was astonished at how the Guru's Vegas tips aided me in successfully subsisting on my meager budget! Though I didn't win much gambling, I won enough to keep me afloat, and got all my drinks for free. This meant even more money for me to use on tasty, economical food on the Strip (yes, all of our meals were eaten on the Strip); and for better souvenirs to acquire for my friends back home.
When all was said and done, I spent a mere 150 US$ on all food and other necessities while in Vegas, even though my expected expenditure was far, far higher! Couple that with the unbelievably cheap airfare and accommodations that the Guru found (and a free Cirque du Soleil show to boot), a trip that should've totaled well over 1,000 US$ only cost me 550 US$.
‘Wow!’ is all I can say to that.
Sherpa Don, as you know, tags along with the Well-Travelled Guru; and he resides in Saint Paul, MN, United States.
Testimonial from Kathryn Nelson
I love to travel, but as a barista, I didn't know how I was going to be able to afford a trip to Egypt. The airline ticket alone would have cost me a fortune, and I didn't have time to search for flights.
Amazingly, Lorna found a ticket price that I couldn't believe! It allowed me to come home from Egypt with money in my pocket. Who can ever say that after an international trip? Thank you, Well-Travelled Guru! :)
Kathryn Nelson is a barista and a humanitarian from Minneapolis, MN, United States.
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