One more week!

(*Schedule subject to change at a moment's notice)


One more week! I just have to get through 3 days of client onsites, 4 flights, drive approximately 360 miles, 2 days in the office and 1 (usually very fun) holiday party and then I have 2 full weeks of vacation to look forward to!

Unless I have to go to Des Moines, IA on 12/20...a very real possibility....

I beg to differ Mr. Weatherman

"Temperatures across the state are chilly, in the single digits, but are not unbearable"
-Mr. Weatherman, Good Morning Northland, 12/8/10

I beg to differ. I don't think I have ever been as cold as I was the last 3 days! It was -12 with the windchill! And I could never get warm. I had thought that maybe MN in the winter would be like DC in the summer...it's so hot outside you overcompensate with air conditioning inside to the point that you're cold. I assumed given the code outside - maybe it would be overly warm inside...not so much!

I should say, I do not disagree with all weathermen. In fact, I agreed with my DC weatherman this morning who called the area "bitter cold" and pointed to a map where DC was shown to be 27 degrees!

What a difference a day makes!

25th out of 27

I finally have status on United! Only the first level but I'm happy with it. As I mentioned before I only really wanted it for the opportunity to board sooner. This is especially crucial when I'm traveling and carrying on luggage.

One of the other "perks" is that I'm eligible for upgrades on regional domestic flights...

I'm currently 25th out of 27 people eligible for that upgrade...

Somehow I don't see myself getting upgraded all that often!

Light at the end of the tunnel...

The 2 weeks before Christmas are always crazy. Friday, December 17th is my company Christmas party and I'm headed home to NJ for two weeks the next day. However in the meanwhile I'm traveling a ton and have a lot of work to wrap up. Knowing I have 2 weeks to recuperate makes it a little bit easier!

The last few days have been particularly painful. This past weekend I was in Atlantic City and I didn't go to sleep before 4am Friday or Saturday night. Sunday I was asleep by 8 am but had to wake up at 4am.  Monday morning I flew 2 flights to Des Moines, IA for 3 hours of back to back meetings. That afternoon I flew 2 additional flights to Duluth. Intellectually I knew I would be cold in both Des Moines and Duluth but I was prepared for the reality of it all. It was definitely in the negatives when I got into Duluth last night. We (I was traveling with a colleague) landed at 11:25 but it took us a while to get out of the airport because they did not have our car ready for us. And then when it arrived and we went out to start it after completing the paperwork the battery had died and it wouldn't start...so they had to go get another car. Words can not express how miserable I was at that point. Let me remind you - I had been up since 4am and it was now after 12am...and -3 degrees (at least)! Fortunately we got to the hotel without incident and I was able to get about 5 hours of sleep!

Guess which one of these upsets me more...

Not going to sleep before 4am this weekend.

Getting up at 4am this morning.

Not getting into my hotel until 12:30pm tonight.

Needing to wake up at 6am tomorrow to drive for 2 hours.

Someone playing foreign music videos on their laptop in the airport without speakers.

On the cusp...

I'm on the cusp of reaching at least the first level of status with my primary airline, hotel chain and car rental agency. There were times when I thought I would make by year's end. But this time next week I should be Premier on United, Gold Preferred Guest with Starwood and a member of #1 Club Gold Five Star at Hertz.

What does that all mean?

At United I will now be eligible for: 

• Complimentary seats in Economy Plus
• Unlimited Domestic Upgrades
• 25% bonus award miles
• 2 Checked bags for free (as if I ever checked my luggage)
• Priority check-in and boarding (this is key!)

At Starwood Hotels (Sheraton, Four Points, W, etc) I will now be eligible for:

• 50% bonus Starpoints
• Enhanced Rooms
• Late checkout
• Complimentary weekday newspaper
• Gold Preferred Guest Special Customer Service Number
• Check-cashing privileges up the $300 (woo hoo)

At Hertz I will now be eligible for:

• Free rental days (with limited black-out dates)
• Special savings offers that can be used anytime
• One-car class upgrades
• A 10% bonus on #1 Awards Points on qualified rentals

With the drastic increase in the amount of traveling I'm doing I should be able to reach higher levels of status next year. I'm happy to have at least gotten to the lowest level of status primarily for the priority boarding  and slight increases in points I'll be receiving going forward. I should actually hit these goals sometime next week between my 6 flights, 3 hotels and 2 rental car reservations!


This is exciting stuff folks.

Going to be over before you know it.

Where did 2010 go!! I know technically there is still a month left. But I basically consider it over.

I updated my calendar for December today. The green flags are for work travel. The red flags are for paid time off (PTO). Between work travel, fun travel and PTO it looks like I will only be in DC for about 9 days this month!

I know this month is going to fly by! Fortunately it's mostly fun things. Today is my uncle's birthday and tomorrow is my sister's birthday (although she's celebrating it all week). I'm headed to Atlantic City for the first time this weekend. Our company Holiday Party is coming up and that is always fun! And of course I'm looking forward to a full 2 weeks off and the ski trip I'm taking with my dad and sister. Not to mention Christmas!! I've spent most of the day listening to Christmas music and I am definitely in the holiday mood.