K. had checked in online and was carrying baggage on board only, B had not checked in needed to check a bag, and I had checked in online and was checking a bag. I was the only one of the three with TSA Pre-Check. I was the first one through security. K was about 15 minutes behind me, and was pulled for secondary inspection because of a bottle of water in her bag. It took B about 20 minutes to check in, check a bag, and wait in the security line. None of us are inexperienced travelers, K has flown around the world.
So what are the tips?
1: Check in online, if you can PRINT your boarding pass before you get to the airport.
2: If you are checking bags, use the automated machines to print the bag tag (and boarding pass if needed.)
3: Enroll in TSA Pre-check or what ever express lane option is available in your country. I pay for Global Entry, (in other countries this system goes by other names) giving me the express lane at customs and immigration and the express lane for airport security. Yes I pay for that, about $20 a year, but the screening is easier and the wait much shorter.
4: Be prepared for security screening. Before I enter security I empty my pockets into my messenger bag, keys, wallets, phone. If I am wearing a belt that will set off security it goes in. With Pre-Check I can keep my shoes on unless the shoes have a lot of metal in them (and I won't wear something like a heavy pair of boots to travel in for that reason, the hiking boots or waterproof shoes go into the checked bag.) Toss the oversized liquids before you get there. If I am wearing the larger mechanical watch it has to go in the bag (it will set off the metal detector.)
I have long struggled to get the image in my brain, through my hands and onto paper or canvass. My drawings and doodles don't end up looking anything like the image in my mind. This mystified my father who seemed to have an innate talent for drawing and the couple of times he tried painting his work was amazing (he didn't stay at it because he didn't know what to do with the paintings and it cost money.)
Who have I reached out to? Hillary, Omar, Erica (people I have worked with), Ruth a dear neighbor, Professor Powell from law school and discovered that he is retiring from U of L to take a post at a Law School here in DC.
Who have a talked with? Susan a dear neighbor, random strangers as I am known to do.
What have I been reading? Zorba the Greek, a reread.
What have I been watching? The riggers and crane operator just outside our windows last Friday. The hunky rigger was rather athletic.
What am I listening to? Simon and Garfunkel as I write this.
What am I going to miss this year? Most likely the Indianapolis 500, I will be away from home on race day.
When is the next adventure? Soon, very soon.
Who deserves a big THANK YOU this week? Bobbi for connecting me with a nice little consulting project.
What made me very happy this week? I found Travel Penguin, he had been missing for several weeks, and I feared the worst. He has been with me for over 20 years. I was afraid that he had gotten tossed with a bag that broke on the trip to New Haven in February. He was in a seldom used pocket in my messenger bag, he is now in a private compartment.
What am I doing next? Posts will follow daily, I am going to take a little digital detox starting on Sunday for a couple of weeks. Off on a grand and much desired adventure. Carry on!
The Condo is also undergoing a bit of refreshing. The lobbies and hallways are heated and cooled by massive industrial units on the roof of the towers. A dozen of them in all. The units are original to the buildings - so they are about 35 years old. Plans have been underway to replace and update them for a couple of years. And last week the old units were lowered to the ground, and new units lifted into place. We had a ringside seat, the photo above was taken from the sliding glass doors of our balcony with a 10mm super wide angle lens. The crew worked for about 4 hours, about 50 feet from our backdoor.
2: When you finished high school, what did you expect to be when you grew up?
3: Did you end up doing what you expected to do when you went on for further education?
4: Have you had any mid-life changes of career?
5: Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?
My Answers:
1: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Rich - beyond that no clue.
2: When you finished high school, what did you expect to be when you grew up? A professional Photographer.
3: Did you end up doing what you expected to do when you went on for further education? No, I went to law school at mid life expecting to do construction defects litigation and never did a single case in that area of the law.
4: Have you had any mid-life changes of career? A couple of them.
5: Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? I guess this is it, a happy man of quasi lesure. I really thought a million dollars would be worth a whole lot more than it is today.
Please share your answers in the comments.
