Category Archives: Considerations

Considerations

Waiting for the Perfect Time

I’ve needed a vacation for a while. I’ve been waiting for the perfect time, the time when work, client, financial, and familiar obligations all are at a minimum. A time that was perfect for my plans.

I’ve come to realize that there is never a perfect time. Or rather, the perfect time is now. Sometimes we have plans that seem like they would work perfect, but they just don’t. It’s after one realizes that life is whizzing by that one just gives it a go.

A trip to Paris right now may not be at the perfect time, but I’d rather go to Paris at a time that isn’t perfect than not go at all. I’m still going to have the fun and experiences of going to Paris! I can deal with any client or financial responsibilities when I get back.

Aimer la vie!Le seine

This post was originally posted on 08/13/2015 at:
https://www.sunnyspiritmn.com/waiting-for-the-perfect-time/
Considerations

Traveling Styles

I usually travel solo. I do what I want when I want.

I’m planning a cruise with a friend in January. She’s a very detail-oriented planner. That’s fine. But I’m learning I have a very different traveling style from her, and it’s likely different from most people.

She sent me her flight plans and asked me what flight I was taking.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I might catch a flight from MSP to Miami, but I might hop through Atlanta or Detroit, depending on how it looks at the time.”

Obviously my friend was kind of stressed by this. My traveling style of completely easy going and skewed by non-rev flying.

I went through the list of flights. Detroit was not even an option. The direct flights were pretty full, so it looks like I’ll be going through Atlanta.

Some people probably don’t understand how someone can plan a trip and not know on which flights they’re flying.

For me, it’s the only way to travel.

fb_img_1477195652584

Considerations

Travel Tips: How to Stay Healthy, Vacation Longer

It’s important to stay healthy when on holiday. You don’t want to feel miserable, and you certainly don’t want to spread your illness to another part of the world and other people trying to enjoy their own vacations. Being healthy and feeling good will help you get the most out of your time away.

If you find yourself under the weather while traveling, chances are, it’s because you lack immunities to some local bug. And to be honest, you probably got sick because your diet is horrible and you’re not exercising. I’m not going to address your diet in this post—it’s too expansive a topic and will take several posts. However, I will suggest a good way to get some exercise and get more time to do the things you enjoy on your vacation.

Travel takes time. I’m not talking about flying to Europe or riding the train; I’m talking about getting from Point A to Point B, from the hotel to the restaurant to the train station.

On my cruise, especially for the first two days, I often entered the cabin hallway on the wrong side of the ship. It was a big vessel, so it took a decent amount of time to go from one side to the other. Because it wasn’t a particularly lovely trek, unless I was walking with a friend, I would jog a controlled ballroom jog—swift, quiet, and versatile.

Running is more efficient, but using it as your de facto mode of wandering can be unsettling for others. If some guy runs by you in a hallway, you’d probably freak out a bit, wondering if there’s a fire or a man with a gun. Solution? When you see someone, slow to a quick walk, then run again once you’re out of sight. Also, don’t run while you’re drunk; it probably won’t go well for anyone.
By not wasting time with the simple functional chore of walking, I got more vacation out of my trip. Don’t get me wrong: I love strolling around a city or park and taking in the sights—that’s why we travel, after all—but when you would prefer to Apparate instead of enduring an uninteresting walk, minimize the duration of the boring voyage by running.

Bonus: you get even more time each day because you don’t have to go to the gym! But you should probably still go to the gym.

City Runner

Considerations, Stories

Travel Tips: Time Management

Written on the high speed train from Barcelona to Paris:

Time management is incredibly important when traveling, especially when traveling internationally by yourself, as I do.

Departure Times

This is a gimme. I’ve never missed any big transportation times. I blew past one soft deadline (meet here before dinner), but luckily, there was someone waiting to lead me to the the restaurant. It’s important to verify a specific meeting time to ensure everyone is on the same page.

In general, the best practice is to arrive early. For instance, I’m currently writing on a train, which I boarded ten minutes prior to departure, but I was on the platform 15 minutes before. That’s cutting it a bit close, but the optimal goal is to waste as little sweet holiday time as possible sitting around waiting to sit some more.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m usually pretty precise with my time management, but still, I’ve had some close calls. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable running through the Charles d’Gaulle airport Paris (CDG) to make the one flight per day to MSP. I decided to not cut it that close again, since my ultimate success was partially reliant on the fact that the French are a wonderful, loving people, and I wouldn’t be so lucky anywhere else.

So I try to have a decent cushion of time to work with, because something always comes up. Today I gave myself about 30 minutes more than I needed to get back to my place, get my bags, and catch my train. I’m lucky I did, because an unexpected event in the park captured my attention for a solid 20 minutes. If I hadn’t given myself extra time, I would’ve missed my train.

The allure of music brought me to the tail end of a big swing event in a park. The lesson was ending as I arrived and I joined the social dancing. I ended up teaching American East Coast swing to a few ladies, but I changed my dance style to be less confusing to my partners, did some social dancing, and that’s when I finally ‘got’ Lindy Hop, a dance that completely eluded me in my last swing story.

If I hadn’t allowed myself extra time, I would have missed my train while I was having a blast dancing and learning Lindy Hop. Or maybe I would have caught the train but missed out on some great dancing memories, but I strictly believe that one should always allow extra time to dance.

barcelonaparkswing