Tricks of the Trade

After having traveled and racking up over 30,000 miles in the past 20 or so weeks, I think it's safe to say I've learned some tricks to the art of flying. I've listed 10 do's and don'ts along with some fun stories of my travel experiences for you so hope you enjoy- and don't make the same mistakes I did!

1. Do shower before you head to the airport. I know, for those of you who can get away with a day or two of not washing your hair that's great but let's be real for a minute. You are about to cram your butt into an airplane with far too many seats/rows than there should be, aka lots and lots of people. You will also be breathing the same recycled air for however long your flight is. Makes you really want to fly now, huh? One of my worst flights was because some poor man was making my eyes water the entire trip. As I was making my way to the back of the plane, I was instantly hit with a brick wall of a stench starting at row 21. I gagged down the aisle to row 29 where my seat was and low and behold I found the problem, of course in MY row. You could practically see the smell coming off of him like in cartoons. Thankfully he was not sitting next to me but I almost whipped out my travel size bottle of Febreeze and doused him in the Shower Freshness. I think he could've actually used two bottles, it was that bad. I managed to giggle with the girl next to me and we made friends with the poor passenger who was sitting next to him. Long story short, be mindful of everyone on the plane and try not to make other passengers want to rip out the emergency oxygen masks.

*Disclaimer: This does NOT mean to cover your smell with perfume and/or cologne, just get in the shower*

Ewe, don't be Pig-Pen from Charlie Brown.

2. Don't forget to put your laptop computer in a separate bin during security. Travelers always forget this one or put their computer with all their other paraphanalia in the same bin, so just don't. It holds up the line and then you have frustrated travelers holding up their beltless pants and standing in bare or socked feet on the gross airport floor waiting for you.

3. If you're over the age of 20 and out of college, please Don't wear your scrubbiest sweatpants and your stained sweatshirts. It's not classy and I won't lie, I'm judging you a little if you can't toss on some jeans and a clean top. Comfy does not equal scrubby. For those of you with kiddies, you get the by here. Kudos to you for getting your little rascals up and packed and presentable, let alone to behave so don't worry about what you look like. We'll just blame the kiddos if you look like a hot mess.

Cute and comfy. Extra points for the scarf- planes are chilly!

4. Do talk to the people next to you! Maybe it's just because I can be a chatty Kathy and would talk to a brick wall if I was bored but I have met some of the nicest people on my plane rides and with it, came away with some pretty awesome stories. There was the newly ordained Priest, the emergency medi-vac army guys I sat with, and the recruiter and staffer for Bloomies in NYC (doesn't this sound like a bad joke?)  Don't do yourself the disservice of meeting some amazing people in the world because you're scrolling through your old messages on your iphone pretending to be busy. You're not fooling anyone. So next time, smile and introduce yourself.

5. Don't rush the gate. I don't mean arrive at your departure gate right as it's leaving, you definitely should arrive on time if not a little early. I mean when the flight attendant gets on the intercom and announces your boarding number, don't rush and push people out of your way to get on the plane. I promise you it isn't going anywhere and unless you're on Southwest, your assigned seat will be there.  Plus, you're about to be sitting for the next X amount of hours- what's your hurry anyway?

Enjoy standing while you can.

6. Speaking of boarding... if you have 2 suitcases and 1 is checked, Do gate check your 2nd bag if possible (aka you don't have anything too valuable in there). Unfortunately, planes are not designed to hold everyone's carry-on luggage so if you're already going to be waiting for your first bag, might as well just have both suitcases meet you at your final destination. Best part about this, you don't have to pay an additional fee so it get's checked Fo Free. It is much easier than trying to squeeze down the aisles and banging into people with your rolley bag. Plus, there never seems to be a guy with big enough biceps to help you haul it overhead :)

7. Don't pay for plastic water bottles and instead bring your own! I don't know if you've noticed but airports are like movie theaters. The food and drinks they have for sale are pretty expensive and before you know it you've spent $20 on a water bottle, gum, granola bar, and magazine. No thanks, I'm on a budget. Instead you can both save money and go green by bringing your own, just be sure to empty it before security. Made that mistake in Orange County and they almost tested my water for illegal substances. I swear it was just H2O.

Personal KKG Water Bottle

8. Do sign up for frequent flyer miles. Even the smallest amount can go towards that free flight. And if you accumulate a certain amount you can get bumped up to first class. Talk about living the High Life. 

9. Don't over-pack. I'm going to say that again, don't over-pack. Take it from the biggest over-packer you'll ever meet, it will only create more problems. You typically get about 50 lbs. for your checked bag and as much as you want to bring that wicked cute dress (or 6 of them) truly try to look at what you're bringing and pick your favorite, inter-changeable outfits. That way, while you're on the road or just going to your favorite travel destination, if you happen to buy anything, you will still be under that 50 lb. limit. Otherwise you may find yourself on the floor moving items from your stuffed checked bag to your even more stuffed carry-on.

10. Finally...this ones a bit odd but Do pack like a little kid. I'm talking about baby wipes, baby powder, and my favorite watermelon lip smackers. Planes and traveling can be dirty so rather than using drying hand sanitizer or soap, use easy to pack and moisturizing baby wipes. Plus they double as make-up removers for even the toughest mascara. Baby powder also works great for greasy hair, ladies. You can get dry shampoo but Baby Power is typically cheaper and a small travel size bottle will last forever. Plus, fun fact- if you go somewhere sandy, the powder is awesome at helping remove that gross wet/moist sand without scratching your poor skin. Finally, my Lip Smackers because, well I just love it and who wants chapped lips on a plane (or anywhere) anyway?

Alright folks, there you have it! 10 Do's and Don'ts of traveling. Yes, there are plenty more but these have been the most helpful for me. I've listed my runner up's below so check those out too! Feel free to share your own tricks of the trade in the comments sections :)

Time for bed for me! Night everyone and safe and happy travels!


11. Always look at Sky Magazine for a giggle.
12. If you're in flats or it's flip flop season, pack a pair of socks in your carry-on so you don't have your fresh pedicure touching who knows what on the ground. Yuck.
13. Write everything down and take tons of pictures!
14. Make sure you have your headphones on the plane. Nothings worse than realizing you left them at home or in your Gate Checked ;) suitcase.
15. Collect something from every place you travel to. If you're going to a lot of places just don't make it a heavy item. 50 lbs. remember?
16. Try new foods. I've added quite some staples to my travel success stories- Whattaburger, Waffle House, Chick-Fil-A, Food trucks, Zaxby's and anything else that the locals eat (I swear I haven't only gone to fast food). Panera isn't going anywhere.
17. Don't put all your underwear into one suitcase. Also, try to have your toothbrush, deodorant, toothpaste, and contacts with you in your carry-on luggage. You just never know... 

A Trip Back East

So I am a little overdue for my post on Syracuse- sorry for the delay girls, but I guess some things are worth waiting for. I was originally scheduled to visit Syracuse in the Fall but Sandy put a little bit of a damper on that trip and instead of heading to the rather clear skies in upstate New York, I went home to Boston to weather the Hurricane. Fortunately though, they rescheduled my visit for the winter and I had a fantastic time with the ladies of Beta Tau- even though I was scared for my life on the tiniest plane I've ever traveled on.

The TINY Plane I took to Syracuse

The girls in their super cute round 1 outfits

Recruitment was in full swing but it didn’t deter the girls from having a ball. Within two hours of my arrival, I walked into a FULL ON dance party. I mean, on the coffee table yelling to the ceiling dance party. I tried to upload the video for y'all but blogspot didn't feel like being that cooperative. Oh well... 

KKG Dance Party. Typical.

The girls blew me away for their Philanthropy Round, the infamous Kappa Kandyland (with a K of course). I’ve never seen anything like it. The colors were unbelievable and the way they decorated even after a long night of recruitment/voting was crazy. They had girls in every corner taping things to the ceiling, the walls, maybe even the floor. The center part was my favorite though. It was a long table FULL of candy- airheads, skittles, starbursts, and lollipops. I’m not gonna lie, I may have stolen a couple…or a lot…of Starburst throughout the day. Whoops. 

The walls were covered in head to toe with decorations!

I spy some Starburst :)

Fortunately for me, recruitment events were only held on the weekends so I had the entire week to hang out with the girls and get some work done. I braved the storm and walked around on campus in the snowiest and blizzardiest place I think I’ve ever been. When I was a senior in high school, I was so sick of the cold and the snow. I mean I went about as far away as you possibly could from New England in escape of it (yaaa California). But it actually was kind of nice to be back in the wind chill. Scary thought I know but it’s pretty hard to get that fresh rosy-cheeked-wind-chill look without well, the freezing cold. Although I will say I did not miss the crazy temperature drops. After freezing my butt off and running inside it was like a race to take off my jacket and layers before I would start sweating. Clearly forgot that rule of winter and let me tell you, it really was not a good look for me. 

Anyways, one of my favorite parts about visiting chapters with houses is checking out the old composites. Beta Tau has been around since 1883 so you can imagine how old some of the memorabilia they have is. Typically the 80’s hairstyles are enough to get me chuckling but House Parents? What on earth were they thinking? I also did a little investigating and found SCU’s old Standards Adviser, Julie Forsberg! So funny/great seeing old pictures of her- although she looks the exact same. Still pretty cool.

House Parents

I also had the opportunity to meet some unbelievable alumnae. Kristen and Naz are just to name a few. Kristen had the fortunate opportunity to be my roomie for the 9 days I was there. Poor Kristen was not feeling well the day I got there and although it was kinda funny, our first meeting was a little out of the norm. Thankfully she was okay but the medicine the doctors ordered for her were hysterical and I first met Kristen as she was being ushered to bed by their VPO, Mandy. I guess you could say we were close within the first 5 minutes of us meeting :) I’m sure by the end of the week she was ready to kick me out and head back to DC. Just kidding, we actually had so much fun throughout the week, probably more so than some of the members. Alumnae like sleepovers too. Naz recently graduated from Beta Tau and she is hysterical. So poised and so smart, she was such a great asset and role model for the actives. Plus she endorsed me on Linkedin so we’re besties now. 

Kristen and Naz prom pic

Goof Balls

I really have to give the girls props. I was so impressed with the chapter throughout the week but they truly showed how capable and dedicated they were when we were informed that recruitment rounds would last until 2:30 AM. Yes. That is not a typo, 2:30 AM. Both the Kappas and the women going through Recruitment rocked it and I was so so proud of all the actives for keeping their heads high and energy up.  I know by the end of the night we were all dragging but by talking with these girls, you would never know it.

Kristens favorite House Tours prop

All in all, even with the craziness of Recruitment, watching Girls and the Bachelor, braving the freezing cold, rounds until 2:30 AM, and then literally running out the door to catch my cab for my 7 AM flight back to Cali, Beta Tau was tons of fun and craziness. I was so happy I had the opportunity to meet all the amazing women (Ari, Megan, Jess, Mandy, Coco, Jessie, Erin, Hannah, and the list goes on and on and on!) at Syracuse and can’t wait until our paths cross again- hopefully on a visit to Beantown! L&L