Thoughts: December 7

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Most of this blog entry will be dedicated to my thoughts regarding upcoming holiday travel, but first I just wanted to take a moment to lament the end of one of my favorite things about NYC: Cafe Sutra. Today I planned to meet a beautiful young lady there for coffee only to see it's cheery facade closed behind it's iron security gate and a sign saying 'Lasso Cafe coming soon.' Seriously? Lasso cafe? To the living room I never had, I will miss thee and thy comfortable chairs. RIP.

Now... on to the holidays. Part of the reason I haven't written much in the last month is because I've been focusing on making it to the holidays: first Thanksgiving, and then Christmas and New Year's. Thanksgiving meant a wonderful visit to Houston, and for Christmas and New Year's I will be celebrating amongst friends and family in Arizona. Between all these flights and finishing off my student loan this month, I haven't had a whole lot of extra cash floating around. I've got a pretty fixed routine, and can recommend planning out a 'spending' schedule if anyone out there is trying to rein in what they're paying out. Mondays and Thursdays are regular 'free' days for me - I usually come home and work out and watch my Netflix movies. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are 'low spend' days because of pool. Friday's pretty flexible; Saturday is typically 'low spend' due to sleeping in, working out and getting chores done. And Sunday finished off the week with flexibility. Anyhow... that how I've been passing the time week in and week out until the holidays arrive.

In terms of flying, here's my main thought. When I flew home from Houston, I saw an open seat in the front row of coach and snagged it. Good call, right? Wrong. With all of the airlines charging riders to check their bags, more customers than ever are going to be trying to cram their stuff into overhead bins. That means that the last fliers to board the plane will likely be s.o.l. for overhead space. (Luckily, I was able to squeeze my duffle bag under the seat in front of me in first class. I counted at least 9 people who weren't so lucky and made me wonder: Do those people have to pay to check their bags?) Now, no one wants to board first because it usually means you're in the back of the plane where the turbulence rocks hardest, the restrooms smell foulest and the wait to get off is longest. So that means that if you're flying - shoot for a seat in the middle of the section, i.e. near the wings. You'll experience less turbulence, have a moderate wait to deboard and will have a better chance of getting overhead space.

That's all for now.