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I have never been bothered by the TSA. Guess they don't profile little white women in wacky socks as being possibly dangerous.
I'm a small human. So I'm not usually uncomfortably squeezed against others during the flight.
I do not travel with pets or children.
And I like the Biscoff cookies (biscuits) very much with coffee. Yum.
Also, I normally fly to go on vacations, so I'm doing fun things. And I like very much to fly alone, it makes me feel all independent and adulty and such. My inner extrovert makes me wish that other people were more friendly and chatty on flights than they tend to be, but I did once meet a fascinating older gentleman and we talked for the whole 2 hour flight and both enjoyed our conversation very much. That's pure gold to me, turning strangers into friends. Doesn't happen often though. Mostly people on planes want to be left alone, as far as I can tell.
LOL I am also a little white woman who likes wacky socks!! Who ARE you? WHERE did you come from? LMAO
Ya TSA doesn't hassle me much and I fly 4-5 times a year. I LOVE traveling but HATE flying but it's a necessary evil if you want to see the world so I just go with it.
I used to enjoy it a lot before 9/11. I flew a lot for work, usually got upgraded, in general it was a good experience. Sitting in a big leather armchair, drinking quite good wine for free, a good meal, catch up on my magazines. The airport lounges were and still are great, although, if you are stuck there for say 4 hours or more, there is a limit to how much booze and munchies you can take.
Anymore, no, starting at TSA, I have a lot to hate. And, I remember how it was, so I am particularly irritated by what it now is. I changed my work portfolio to stuff I can do from the home office. Although I have experience traveling in Russia and Ukraine, and speak pretty good Russian, for various reasons I don't volunteer to go there anymore.
I had a client for several years who had a private plane. So we'd fly everywhere in that thing. As in fly 800 miles for a lunch with a prospect then fly home. Literally arrive at the private airport, fly 90 minutes in a nice, roomy jet, meet for two hours, then fly 90 minutes home. I could leave at 8 a.m. and be home by 2:30. Holy smokes, it was great.
Yeah, a private plane is a different deal. I'm always up for that, if it's available.
Private plane is still as good as it ever was. Does not have to be a jet. The smallest single-engine GA planes tend to have rather short ranges and you have to stop to refuel frequently, but, hell, that's OK, you will not hear any grumbling from me.
we enjoy flying.
we do not enjoy going to the airport,
parking, security, waiting, waiting some more,
(flight fun!) then waiting in baggage claim, waiting
for a ride, etc.
several years ago, i did a "live" time and motion experiment:
my clock started when i left my house and stopped when i walked into the hotel/motel.
trip one was by air: a little over 6 hours to Washington, DC.
trip two i drove the whole way: 5 hours flat.
I enjoy it. But I typically have more patience and a higher tolerance level than most people. What I hate is driving long distance. I'd much rather fly for an hour than drive for five.
I enjoy flying AND driving long distances.
I used to hate flying because I would get very anxious as soon as the flights were booked. I was so afraid of the plane crashing. I flew anyway, because I'd rather suffer from a two-and-a-half hour anxiety attack than drive from NJ to Florida. I remember when they first forbade smoking on the planes I thought, "How the hell do they expect people to suffer through two and a half hours of flying without a cigarette????"
I managed, of course. But I was still afraid to fly.
And then...9/11 happened. I was inside of One WTC. The year after was a strange one, psychologically, that I've talked about before on CD, and we were all left with varying degrees of PTSD, most of which for me only shows up for a few weeks every year when the ghosts begin to rise in August.
However, around 2003 I decided to take a trip to the Bahamas with a friend, and I noticed something strange. We booked the flights, and I wasn't anxious. As the trip approached, I wasn't anxious. I got to the airport, wasn't nervous, got on the plane, was relaxed and laughing and then the plane took off, and I realizing I was thrilled. It was SO COOL leaving the ground and flying up into the clouds, then over the water, then coming in for a landing on this beautiful island.
The only explanation I have is that I used up most of my lifetime supply of fear of death That Day. Or else I know that you can be killed walking back to your office with a cup of coffee in your hand as easily as you can day in a plane crash. Or that when you are going to die, you are going to die, and there might not be much you will be able to do about it.
At any rate, I've flown multiple times since then, including my first flights to and from Europe.
Flying's pretty cool. Looking forward to the next one.
we enjoy flying.
we do not enjoy going to the airport,
parking, security, waiting, waiting some more,
(flight fun!) then waiting in baggage claim, waiting
for a ride, etc.
several years ago, i did a "live" time and motion experiment:
my clock started when i left my house and stopped when i walked into the hotel/motel.
trip one was by air: a little over 6 hours to Washington, DC.
trip two i drove the whole way: 5 hours flat.
#truth
This is why I never understood why anyone would fly from Dallas to Houston and vice versa, but people do it every day. Makes no sense.
Dallas to SFO yes, but nowhere that one could drive in 5 hours or less!
#truth
This is why I never understood why anyone would fly from Dallas to Houston and vice versa, but people do it every day. Makes no sense.
Dallas to SFO yes, but nowhere that one could drive in 5 hours or less!
If it's a business trip paid by the company, I would probably fly. The drive between Dallas and Houston isn't super long but quite boring. Even if you fly, there are still plenty of driving for you once you have landed. DFW area is ridiculously huge, Houston can be very congested depending on the time of the day.
Also, more flights = more miles/points, higher frequent flyer status.
I still like flying. Sure, there are hassles involved with it, but I don't let them bother me. TSA Pre-check is a great way to avoid some of the stress of the security line.
I'd much rather fly somewhere than drive long-distance. Since I don't have to fly for work (I'm retired), when I fly it's to go somewhere of my choice. On a plane, I have two or three or four hours to read, listen to music, do crossword puzzles, eat the yummy snacks I bring with me, and drink tea made from tea bags that I also bring with me. I'm a fairly small woman, so I fit comfortably in the airplane seats.
I don't like having to fly overnight sitting up, but I can't afford a business class seat. If I want to go to Europe, flying beats spending five days on a transatlantic ship.
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