In 2008 the economy went into the crapper, and I wasn't able to work at home. I was forced to commute to a job from my home and family in Austin, and my kind employer in Sunnyvale, California.
Rather than do what I normally would at this point--i.e., bitch and moan--I'm going to share a few things that I learned as a technogypsy in the new economy with y'all. Maybe you'll find it useful, and maybe you won't. One thing for sure: At least my partner isn't get stuck listening to me blather on about it.
(I should also not that, due to the fact I have chronic pain in my neck, some of the strategies I have are designed to help alleviate that issue.)
1) Do not be fooled by the travel industry term "direct flight." A "direct flight" is not non-stop; it merely means you don't have to change planes between your origin and your destination. If you want a non-stop flight, make sure you're not fobbed off on a "direct" flight. I've been on "direct" flights that stopped two times between when I boarded and when I finally got where I was going. This becomes tedious. The devil, as they say, is in the details; best pay attention to those flight details.
2) Speaking of which, American Airlines had a non-stop flight between Austin and San Jose. I almost never took it. First, unless you book quite a ways in advance, it's simply too expensive. Second, I really don't like American. The planes are smaller--5 seats across instead of 6--and they always feel run-down and grungy to me--peeling seat-covers, seats that don't recline, seats that recline whether you want them to or not, seat pockets that are falling off, grungy fabric on the seats . . . it's usually not a pleasant experience. And in Austin and San Jose, the Austin-San Jose flights are almost always 'way down at the end of the terminal, necessitating a lot of walking-whilst-dragging-luggage. Not fun.
3) I fly Southwest most of the time. While there used to be no non-stop Southwest flights between Austin and the Bay Area, and a few "direct" flights, you can now fly non-stop twice/day between Austin and Oakland, and Austin and San Jose. The times aren't the best, but it's better than flying "direct". You can book Southwest flights one leg at a time without a monetary hit. Southwest planes are bigger, cleaner, and the seats are faux-leather. Best of all, they don't charge for luggage (while American charges for every stinkin' bag!) Plus, the staff are usually in a better mood. On one flight, the captain announced a birthday for a member of the flight crew, and the entire cabin applauded. On another, a flight attendant sang "Baby, You Can Fly Southwest" to the Beatles "Baby You Can Drive My Car." (Another time an FA told really bad riddles, so you have to take the bad with the good.) You can change your Southwest tickets without a monetary penalty other than the difference in price between what you paid for the ticket and what the ticket costs now; every other airline charges between $50-$150 to change tickets plus the difference in cost. Heck, sometimes I've gotten money back.
4) As long as we're talking airplanes, here's a few things I've learned:
*) If you're crowd- or noise-sensitive, avoid Vegas unless you're, you know, actually going there. It's too small an airport for the number of people going through it, and it's full of slot machines. Plus, all the food places suck.
*) The food in San Diego is over-priced; bring a sack lunch or something. It's also crowded and, to my eye, kinda run-down (though they are now renovating it).
*) On the other hand, LAX, despite being hideously crowded, has plenty of seats, charging stations for your gizmos, and a decent selection of eating places.
*) You can check in online if you fly Southwest. I advise this, since your choice of seating is based on your checkin time, and you don't want to get stuck in the middle. The seats with the most leg room are on the forward bulkhead. If you're stuck at the end of the check-in line, and your visual scan of the plane shows that--sorry!--you will be stuck in a middle seat, best grab one with some leg room. Look around before you end up all the way in the back of the plane and stuck in a middle seat. I like to sit in an exit row. In one exit row, you have more leg room. In the other, the window seat has an empty space next to it. Win-win!
*) Bring gum, or breath mints, or something to help your ears pressurize. I use sugar-free Ricolas, but your milage may vary.
5) I bought a small--carry-on-sized--suitcase that has a separate, padded, laptop pouch. When I fly Southwest for longer trips, I check it, stuffing everything into it (including my coat--why do you need a coat on an airplane or in an airport?) and bringing only a small shoulder bag with me on board. I have eReader on my iPhone and a large library of books, so I don't even need to bring a book. This has a number of advantages--no wrestling with overhead bins; no throwing your back (or neck!) out lugging heavy-ass crap all over the terminal; more room for your feet, since you don't have a briefcase under the seat in front of you. Yes, they could lose your luggage; I admit it. But for me, all that lugging and wrestling and bumping into people and dealing with overhead bins and throwing my neck out . . . well, it's just not worth it. (It also means a lot less hassle at the police-state-strip-search-x-ray processing area. No coat, one small bag--just take off your shoes and put them and the bag in one bin. Voila.)
6) On the other hand, for shorter trips--a day or three, say--it doesn't make sense to check in your luggage. Waiting at the luggage carousel and waiting at the luggage check-in line burns time and increases stress levels. You're on a short trip; just heft that sucker and deal with it.
7) Active noise-reduction headphones. You're noise-sensitive and want to take a nap? You want to actually hear the audio on the videos that you so laboriously loaded onto your iPhone? You want to soften the deafening sound of the pilot's voice? (Is it just me, or have in-plane PA systems gotten louder?) This is your gadget.
8) Speaking of the iPhone, I have to say that this device is the technogypsy's best friend. Email access, text messaging, web surfing, eBooks, movies, TV shows, music . . . it's all there in one little hand-held gadget. Bring a cable and a power adapter for when you're changing planes. It also doesn't hurt to bring a backup portable charging unit or charging case, either; the last thing you want is to run out of juice somewhere over Arizona, or wherever.
9) Carry cash. Personally, I prefer to do everything with my ATM card, but I've bonked into plenty of places where, for various reasons, it doesn't work. Or it's been "blocked" because of "suspicious activity" (said "suspicious activity" usually being "He's buying lunch in Phoenix and he lives in Austin!" or some such.) Or whatever. Carry cash, just in case. Good for all debts, public and private.
Such are the things I learned as a traveling technogypsy. May they help you in your techno travels as well.
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