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oxsnard posted:People who recline without asking the person behind them are horrible monsters. The horrible monsters are the people who don't recline on a red eye and instead say 'Oh! This flight has internet, awesome! I didn't know planes had internet...' and turn on his light when you are stuck on back to back meetings on either end of the red eye. I really try to meditate on flights and give people leeway but I wanted to kill that fucker.
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Mar 20, 2014 05:20
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| # ? May 10, 2024 14:55 |
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Real pros travel with one of these http://i.imgur.com/xo2qpbe.jpg
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Mar 20, 2014 13:09
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All of a sudden, 5'7 and 165lbs feels like "positively tiny" instead of "average". I'm a bit of a rebel though, since I love ERJ/CRJs - mostly because I fit perfectly in them. Which is good because that's all that flies out of Knoxville. Do we have any 50%+ travelers here that have young children or even a child on the way? I'm being interviewed again for a position that would be minimum 50%. Except, unlike when this was happening last year, this time we've just found out we (pending ultrasound) have a baby on the way. The thought of missing a lot of my kid's childhood is terrifying, but at the same time it's the kind of job that would let my wife not have to work at all if she wanted. What has been the key, for those in that kind of setup, to not burning out while still maintaining a work/life balance?
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Mar 20, 2014 14:37
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I travel about 60-70% and have a daughter that will turn two in a few weeks. Been at this job about 9 months and I'm not going to lie: its been rough at times. Not unmanageable, but hard no doubt. I can't even imagine how hard it'll be to do what I do with an infant in the picture if and when we decide to have another. I also got a ~40k raise by moving to my current company which was a big factor too. My wife cut down to about 20 hours which is awesome for us. She gets frustrated some weeks I'm gone because its really hard dealing with a crazy toddler 24/7 with little to no break. When I'm not on the road, the little things like doing dishes, helping give the kiddo a bath, etc really make things easier, even if it only adds up to an hour or so of "work" a day I put in at home. While it's super tiring traveling, I've really had to be cognizant of what my wife's had to deal with all week. I try to do as much as possible on weekends to give her a chance to take a break. I've found just letting my wife get her nails done or even go grocery shopping alone for an hour or so while I watch our kid makes a huge difference. I hate going out to eat on the weekends after traveling, but my wife sometimes feels cooped up so I suck it up for the team. I really think as long as each partner knows that the other is sacrificing for the good of the family, it can work out well. Don't be like my coworker who does the same job as me but is married to a clingy, jealous nutjob. She doesn't allow him to go out to dinner with female coworkers and gets mad at him when the weather causes you to have to stay an extra night out.
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Mar 20, 2014 21:49
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I went to the address listed on my PreCheck enrollment appointment, which was near an airport (but the second-tier one used mainly for private jet flights), so I thought it was just a satellite gov't office. Turns out it was some third party contractor's office that in addition to TSA PreCheck, they did TWIC cards, life insurance physicals, general fingerprinting services (like for a professional license), and a bunch of other similar services. Took 5 minutes, if that. They verified my info, scanned my passport, took my fingerprints, and my $85. Now I just get to wait for them to turn it around.
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Mar 20, 2014 22:21
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oxsnard posted:I travel about 60-70% and have a daughter that will turn two in a few weeks. Been at this job about 9 months and I'm not going to lie: its been rough at times. Not unmanageable, but hard no doubt. I can't even imagine how hard it'll be to do what I do with an infant in the picture if and when we decide to have another. That resonates a lot - thank you. Our situation would end up a lot like yours. I wouldn't accept it without a minimum 30k increase, which would let my wife drop from 20hrs a week to 0 if she wanted. As long as I were doing all those little things you mentioned, I think we'd be ok. I'm already doing a lot of that because she has barely been able to get out of bed with 1st trimester sickness, so I already see the big effect that doing the little things to help out has. She's not the jealous type, but she can be a little clingy. She wouldn't be mad AT me if weather screwed up traveling, but I could definitely see some extra resentment towards the situation as a whole in those types of scenarios.
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Mar 21, 2014 14:52
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Mackieman posted:The only real issue I had was on the way back from CAN when I arrived in HKG five and a half hours before my flight to MUC left and the LH ticket desk didn't open until two hours prior to departure. I was stuck in the transit area at HKG for three hours, living as Tom Hanks in that terrible movie The Terminal. All in all, though, it was a great trip and I got all sorts of fun dots, lines, and new aircraft types for my FlightMemory. Oh my goondolences. Man you could have taken a direct train to HKG and then hit the airport before wandering around HK ariport. But then your bags would be a problem  Yeah, next time if goons drop by HKG, send me a PM! I host quite a few out of town goons and we can go grab a beer or some local food 
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Mar 21, 2014 15:57
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Fryhtaning posted:That resonates a lot - thank you. Sounds like a great situation. Don't get me wrong though, I don't regret the move one bit. Its been the most rewarding job I could ever imagine having. I've noticed that the best part of travel heavy jobs is that most managers of these types of positions tend to not be the micromanaging type. Do your poo poo and they trust you. Good luck and negotiate as much as you can before you start!
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Mar 21, 2014 19:38
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oxsnard posted:Good luck and negotiate as much as you can before you start! I wish I knew what their normal range was so I'd have some leverage if I actually make it that far, because Glassdoor seriously shows about an $80k range for that job title (Manager of Technical Solutions). A swing of $30k minimum from my spot now is about the best I can defend up front - I can justify to myself $10k for the loss of top-notch government-level benefits and vacation time, $10k for the demands and stress of frequent travel, and $10k simply for the difference in what the job itself would expect if a similar position existed where I am now. But if I found out later on that I left another 10 or 20 on the table, I'd start resenting my position, big-time. I've heard the same about not micromanaging, which would be awesome. My current boss already gives me the highest possible rating for Initiative, so I know I could do well in that kind of spot.
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Mar 21, 2014 21:08
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The one trip I have next week starts on the day the Nor'easter is supposed to hit, going DCA-YYZ. Hooraaaaay.
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Mar 21, 2014 22:20
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Don't trust Glassdoor too much. On average, people inflate their compensation there by around 10%. (Amazingly, not only do people lie about how much they make in person, they also do so when posting anonymously.)
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Mar 21, 2014 22:54
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I actually found it accurate for my last 3 employers, and used it to set my salary requirements during the recruiting process for the current (fourth) job. Either they really wanted me or the Glassdoor estimates are accurate, because they didn't blink. They just gave me what I asked for. Or I somehow lowballed myself despite getting a 30% raise 
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Mar 22, 2014 02:05
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I make 15k more than the glassdoor average It's inaccurate but I wouldn't assume it's always under. Shoot for the moon but realistically assume under.
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Mar 22, 2014 03:19
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That's interesting. Maybe consultants exaggerate compensation more than others, or maybe just those at my firm.
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Mar 22, 2014 13:26
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My position's Glassdoor is like 20% under what I make, I think it comes down to the fact companies assign different responsibilities to titles. It can even be wildly inconsistent within a single company!
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Mar 22, 2014 16:56
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  Travel pays off  Got three trips with the companion pass booked already this year and its good till end of 2015.
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Mar 26, 2014 02:23
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The only time I hate frequent travel is times like this, where I am sick with a cold waiting in Phoenix for a red-eye. edit: no sky club either got dang
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Mar 26, 2014 03:18
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:The only time I hate frequent travel is times like this, where I am sick with a cold waiting in Phoenix for a red-eye. Phoenix is awful, goondolences. Who just found a sub $1000 flight to Asia from Detroit? Oh yeah this guy did.
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Mar 26, 2014 14:11
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Uncle Jam posted:Phoenix is awful, goondolences. Phoenix is hell on earth. Flew in on Sunday night and forgot about spring training. Had to wait an hour to get on the rental car bus. On the other hand the Cornish Pasty Company is like 5 minutes from the airport and it's probably my favorite restaurant.
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Mar 26, 2014 14:50
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oxsnard posted:
Thumbnail that poo poo.
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Mar 26, 2014 14:52
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I fell from Diamond to Silver with Hilton this year (one stay short of Gold but since I was traveling with my program manager a lot at the end of the year and he's a Marriott guy I ended up at Marriott from the last 1/4 of the year). But for some reason even though they sent me a Silver card the website still says I'm Diamond, and every time I've stayed somewhere this year they've greated me as Diamond. I'm not sure where the glitch is, but I like it.
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Mar 26, 2014 14:55
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oxsnard posted:Phoenix is hell on earth. Flew in on Sunday night and forgot about spring training. Had to wait an hour to get on the rental car bus. I did the LGA <--> PHX grind for the latter part of the year last year - for Delta loyalists, PHX definitely sucks. My three biggest gripes were: 1) Airport to rental car center takes forever 2) Security lines were awful, compounded by the fact that you've got a lot of VBITs (Vacation Bound Infrequent Traveler). I think LAS and MCO are the only airports that I can think of with a worse VBIT to frequent traveler ratio. 3) No Delta Skyclub With that being said, I actually liked visiting the Phoenix / Scottsdale / Tempe area. The landscape was gorgeous. If you're an SPG loyalist, the Westin Kierland was a loving awesome hotel (the Phoenician wasn't half bad but not as good as the Westin) There are decent food options (we went to Roka Akor a lot but my go-to was Pizzeria Bianco), lots of golf courses, casinos and a decent strip club or two. Plus, that area of the country is heaven for people with seasonal allergies.
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Mar 26, 2014 15:34
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sink the biz posted:2) Security lines were awful, compounded by the fact that you've got a lot of VBITs (Vacation Bound Infrequent Traveler). I think LAS and MCO are the only airports that I can think of with a worse VBIT to frequent traveler ratio. MCO is pretty much the reason I paid for PreCheck. So many vacationing families, I don't have any status on our contract carrier for DAY ⇄ MCO to skip the line, and they got rid of their Expert Traveler (/enforced no children) security lane.
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Mar 26, 2014 16:37
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gently caress MCO in the rear end. Had a three hour layover Birmingham->MCO->DEN There's literally nowhere to plug your phone in and the food options are dogshit
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Mar 27, 2014 01:41
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Posting ITT from in-flight WiFi on a UA 744 (SFO -> HKG). Very impressed so far. Getting about 3-6 megabit downloads on speed tests. Kind of insulting that it isn't free with an F or J fare though...
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Mar 27, 2014 22:54
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Lufthansa pilot strike 2-4 April. I have an award ticket booked from United on Lufthansa on the 3rd. Argh.
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Mar 30, 2014 00:22
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oxsnard posted:There's literally nowhere to plug your phone in and the food options are dogshit This reminds me; it's been a year and a half since I've been through the AA terminal at LAX, so I don't now if this is still a problem anymore, but I realized I could print money if I could source some adapters for the funky electrical outlets there and sell them on the internet for $20 each.
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Mar 31, 2014 01:55
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Pissingintowind posted:Posting ITT from in-flight WiFi on a UA 744 (SFO -> HKG). Very impressed so far. Getting about 3-6 megabit downloads on speed tests. Kind of insulting that it isn't free with an F or J fare though... Hey, what did it run you for that flight?
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Apr 1, 2014 00:29
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Hey, what did it run you for that flight? $16.99 As a follow up, the WiFi did cut out over Russian and Chinese airspace. Still thought it was worth it, though. Pissingintowind fucked around with this message at 02:53 on Apr 1, 2014 |
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Apr 1, 2014 01:19
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Did it work over the ocean? Or just over landmass? I'm asking more as an engineer than a frequent traveler but I'm wondering if it was cell based like Gogo or a satellite connection. For that price and those speeds I'm assuming it was cell based and only worked over land.
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Apr 1, 2014 03:00
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Thoguh posted:Did it work over the ocean? Or just over landmass? I'm asking more as an engineer than a frequent traveler but I'm wondering if it was cell based like Gogo or a satellite connection. For that price and those speeds I'm assuming it was cell based and only worked over land. UA's option on all of their aircraft except the 752 p.s. birds (which use Gogo) are satellite based. China has not issued approval for other countries to use unfiltered Internet access while in Chinese airspace, so it cuts out over China (and other countries with similar restrictions). I used Lufthansa's solution over Russia and I don't believe they have any specific prohibition for United or other carriers, but I could be wrong about that. It was $17.99 last year when I flew HKG-SFO so I do find the price decrease interesting given the razor-sharp focus on increasing revenue at UA these days.
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Apr 1, 2014 03:38
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Mackieman posted:UA's option on all of their aircraft except the 752 p.s. birds (which use Gogo) are satellite based. China has not issued approval for other countries to use unfiltered Internet access while in Chinese airspace, so it cuts out over China (and other countries with similar restrictions). I used Lufthansa's solution over Russia and I don't believe they have any specific prohibition for United or other carriers, but I could be wrong about that. drat, that's pretty cheap for a decent connection on such a long flight. The future is now.
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Apr 1, 2014 16:33
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I just want to give a big old F You to any airport that doesn't have free wifi. Yeah, I'm looking at you, ATL.
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Apr 3, 2014 02:58
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TheLizard posted:I just want to give a big old F You to any airport that doesn't have free wifi. Also: Half or more of the airports in Canada. It's 2014, loving McDonald's has free wifi.
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Apr 3, 2014 03:00
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FrozenVent posted:Also: Half or more of the airports in Canada. Antigua, Guatemala has free wifi. GUATEMALA. Do you hear that, ATL? You are worse than GUATEMALA. I was possibly stuck at ATL for quite some time last week.
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Apr 3, 2014 03:06
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TheLizard posted:Antigua, Guatemala has free wifi. GUATEMALA. But you get to look at all the fat people, use computerized trash cans, and people watch Military personnel and their wives shuttling to and fro!
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Apr 3, 2014 03:09
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Traveling this year owns so far, I keep getting pre-check and today I ran to the desk and switched myself to an earlier flight 5 mins before they closed the boarding door and got home 2 hours earlier. Still, gently caress taxis.
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Apr 3, 2014 05:28
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Any of you guys ever use brokers like https://rewards2cash.com/ Curius how these things works, mostly from an academic sense.
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Apr 3, 2014 05:39
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TheLizard posted:I just want to give a big old F You to any airport that doesn't have free wifi. The real trick is to stand outside of any lounge and steal their fabulous wifi.
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Apr 3, 2014 06:54
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Is there a good way to determine which airline is going to suit my needs best? I'm being considered for a role with a 25% to 40% travel expectation, based out of the West Coast with frequent travel to the Midwest. Namely, Sacramento to the Midwest. Which I assume means connecting flights to LAX or SFO for days. I fly Alaska for the occasional trip to Vegas or SF, but nothing much. This would be a pretty significant shift from that. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not really focused on the points program per se. I'm certain I'll get the status in time. I'm more concerned with which airline is going to work out best for that sort of travel setup, in terms of flight availability and amenities (wifi/etc). Any advice? Delta seems to be really well-ranked for business travel.
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