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holiday chaos

The holiday season chaos is beginning again. First up, NY for Thanks*giving. (3 flights) Then, San Fran for a wedding and to visit family. (1 flight) Next, Roa*noke for Christ*mas. (4 flights) Given that I really don't enjoy flying, knowing that I have 8 commercial flights in the next 50 days doesn't really excite me.

Flight prices are supposedly lower than last year, but they're still really high. (Last year, I got a frequent flier for the most expensive trip, Roa*noke.) I strongly considered taking an itinerary with 2 stops in both directions to Roa*noke to save $150, but I decided it's not worth it. It takes 2 days to cross the country as is; with 2 stops, you could be looking at 3. (However, since I usually get re-routed, there's a good chance they'd re-route me on a one-stop trip, which is why I strongly considered it.) I decided to avoid red-eyes this year, since I think that was a major contributor to why last year was so unpleasant. I don't sleep on planes, and dealing with problems without a night's sleep, I think is a lot harder. Last year I wondered why I took red-eyes, but it's clear when buying tickets. They're cheaper.

Anyway, I love taking out my frustrations about flying on this blog. ;) I think the worst part is the anxiety. I wish I could do something about the stomach-twisting I feel when ordering the taxi, when trying to eat at the airport, when calculating how early I need to get to the airport, when I find out my flight is delayed and I'm going to miss my connection. I worry about missing my flights, losing my ID, not finding space for my carry-on, getting a horrible seat, getting sick on the plane, missing my connection, getting trapped on a plane sitting on the tarmac. All of the above have happened before, and I'm sure they'll happen again. It's not the end of the world. I just need to stop worrying about it.

Anyway, all the flying has a lot to do with why the holidays are my least-favorite time of year.

8:18 a.m. - Nov. 10, 2008

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anti-intellectualism

This writer rails against Sarah Pa*lin as being THE symbol of anti-intellectualism in the Repub*lican party. I sympathize with his rant. These days, I definitely consider the Dems the party of intellectuals. This is obvious in the top candidates in the primary - Ob*ama and Hil*lary, not to mention their last president, Bi*ll Clinton. However, I think railing against Pa*lin is misguided. The populist, anti-intellectualism didn't start with her. It started with George W. Bush. For me, he is the pinnacle of anti-intellectualism, with his mediocre grades, his bought entrance to third level education, and his down-home way of speaking - and I don't mean the accent. McCain continued on the proud tradition of intellectual and academic mediocrity with his pride at being near the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy.

I'm glad we have a self-made Har*vard grad heading to the Oval Office. I hope the next elections will see the Dems keep putting up stellar, intelligent, hard-working self-made individuals, and that maybe the Republicans will follow their lead. But I'm not holding my breath.

McCain had character - probably more character than any other entrant in the race from either party, including the primaries. (Edwards is an excellent example of ordinary-ness in that area.) But character isn't enough.

10:57 a.m. - Nov. 08, 2008