"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."--Albert Einstein
August 29, 2011
Earthquakes & Hurricanes Oh My!
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."--Albert Einstein
August 23, 2011
Music to Trip To
With Labor Day fast approaching, many will plan last minute road trips to see family, friends, chill out at the beach or finish out that season pass at a beloved amusement park. These waning summer days remind me of my many trips up and down the Eastern seaboard in search of summer adventure. In addition to my trusty, multicolored (lime green and blue) backpack, I always had my MP3 player providing the soundtrack for my trip. Everything from Chris Brown to Maroon 5 to Panic at the Disco! would rock my headphones. On car trips I often played DJ, and my friends always had a very eclectic set list to set the mood.With the release of so many mixtapes and much anticipated albums this summer *cough cough* Watch The Throne *cough cough*, what are the songs or albums you're using to create summer memories this year?
August 16, 2011
Traveling Techies
Earlier this week our friends at Tripping posted a question on their Facebook page "what's your favorite travel app?". Some responded with standards like Google Earth, Orbitz and Yelp, however, there were some cool mobile apps that weren't mentioned that I love, as well as some I wasn't too familiar with. I did a little research and came up with my top 3 mobile travel apps that will enhance any traveler's trip:
HopStop-This nifty little app is a "green" travelers dream. It maps major transit systems and walking paths for cities in the US, Canada, Europe and Russia (adding more destinations everyday). Hop Stop has its origins in NYC, which if you plan to visit, download this app, it will make getting around much easier, but has since been able to provide detailed directions for most major cities whether you're walking, taking a train, cab, biking, or skateboarding. The app provides users with train times, transit alerts, fares and distance maps. Needless to say Hop Stop will absolutely get you where you're going!
Foodspotting-I love apps like Yelp and Zagat, but most times I don't have the time nor care to read a full review of an eatery. Foodspotting takes the new tradition of taking pictures of your food, and encourages users to rate the pics and give a brief shoutout about their favorite dish. Its quick, simple, and to the point. Eating is a visual experience, so it only makes sense to see your next meal before you eat it! The app is influenced by other location based mobile applications like Foursquare and SCVNGR because it allows users to follow friends, celebrities, gain points and win badges for submiting scrumptious uploads. After using the app for a few months now, it's definitely a keeper and gets frequent use when I'm on the go!
Tour Wrist-This was one of the mobile apps that was mentioned in Tripping's post that I wasn't familiar with, but the commenter was so adamant about how great it was, so I had to check it out. Tour Wrist allows users to pick a place of interest anywhere in the world, and supplies them with a complete 360 virtual or a panoramic tour of said location. You can tour anything from a street corner, coffeeshop, museum, art gallery, you name it! Users can add their own tours, and even sell their pictures of exotic locations. The only drawback is that the app is only available for Apple products, but you can always browse the site to upload and take tours.
Next time you're on a Tripping adventure, download one (or all) of these apps, you definitely won't be disappointed.
HopStop-This nifty little app is a "green" travelers dream. It maps major transit systems and walking paths for cities in the US, Canada, Europe and Russia (adding more destinations everyday). Hop Stop has its origins in NYC, which if you plan to visit, download this app, it will make getting around much easier, but has since been able to provide detailed directions for most major cities whether you're walking, taking a train, cab, biking, or skateboarding. The app provides users with train times, transit alerts, fares and distance maps. Needless to say Hop Stop will absolutely get you where you're going!
Foodspotting-I love apps like Yelp and Zagat, but most times I don't have the time nor care to read a full review of an eatery. Foodspotting takes the new tradition of taking pictures of your food, and encourages users to rate the pics and give a brief shoutout about their favorite dish. Its quick, simple, and to the point. Eating is a visual experience, so it only makes sense to see your next meal before you eat it! The app is influenced by other location based mobile applications like Foursquare and SCVNGR because it allows users to follow friends, celebrities, gain points and win badges for submiting scrumptious uploads. After using the app for a few months now, it's definitely a keeper and gets frequent use when I'm on the go!
Tour Wrist-This was one of the mobile apps that was mentioned in Tripping's post that I wasn't familiar with, but the commenter was so adamant about how great it was, so I had to check it out. Tour Wrist allows users to pick a place of interest anywhere in the world, and supplies them with a complete 360 virtual or a panoramic tour of said location. You can tour anything from a street corner, coffeeshop, museum, art gallery, you name it! Users can add their own tours, and even sell their pictures of exotic locations. The only drawback is that the app is only available for Apple products, but you can always browse the site to upload and take tours.
Next time you're on a Tripping adventure, download one (or all) of these apps, you definitely won't be disappointed.
August 3, 2011
I Need Celebrity Friends!
By now its no surprise that I've been heavily promoting Tripping International, a great start-up out of San Fransisco that wants to re-invent the way we travel. Its a bit like Couch Surfing, but with an altruistic message and mission, that's what makes it so unique. I'm vying for a coveted seat on their Board of Interns, an international think tank that searches for ways to promote and build the brand. So needless to say all this promoting is out of sheer excitement to be a part of something great.
Tripping has given me one of the toughest challenges thus far: I have to get a celebrity, with over 1 million followers, to retweet a tweet that I've tweeted about Tripping. Yikes! Needless to say I'm going for it, but who to tweet?! Anyone out there every had a celeb retweet you? How did you make it happen? Any advice would be great...the clock is ticking!
Tripping has given me one of the toughest challenges thus far: I have to get a celebrity, with over 1 million followers, to retweet a tweet that I've tweeted about Tripping. Yikes! Needless to say I'm going for it, but who to tweet?! Anyone out there every had a celeb retweet you? How did you make it happen? Any advice would be great...the clock is ticking!
August 1, 2011
The Nation. The Debt.
I haven't talked politics in a while, but I figured today would be as good as any to start up again. After weeks of bitter negotiations between Democrats and Republicans (of which neither party do I belong to), the House of Representatives just voted in a bill that would help the United States, and the world, avoid economic catastrophe. Normally everyone would see this as a victory, but its not.
The beginning phase the bill calls for an immediate cut of $1 trillion dollars, extends the nation's debt limit, and sets up a committee of 6 Dems and 6 Reps to decide where the other cuts will come from, and if there should be a tax hike on the wealthiest of Americans to create more revenue. I think what upsets most young Americans, like myself, is that after we made one of the most historical votes our nation has ever seen, Republicans have still managed to rain on our parade! I was proud of Obama strutting out days ago staying firm to his message of "I'm not signing anything that doesn't include a tax hike", but now I feel that he's given in a bit too much. Yes, there is still hope that this committee could include tax hike, and cut spending from more "fatty" areas other than standard entitlement programs, but we all know that's a long shot. What happened to Obama standing firm? And why are freshman Tea Party members so naive? They all say "The people want Washington to stop spending so much and create a balanced budget", which in a sense is true.
As an American I'd like a balanced budget, a strong economy and maybe relive the days where the LAST Democratic President got us a surplus (thanks Clinton)! However, I don't want to pay a higher interest on my student loan bill, or be require to put down 50-70% of a mortgage so members of the Tea Party can keep their tax credits and aviod tax loopholes for their sweetheart businesses and contracts. I want a balanced budget, but not at the expense of having a lousy existence working 70hr/wk mandatory to make ends meet for THEIR cuts. I don't think its too much to ask wealthy Americans to cough up a little more, seeing as how people such as myself have been footing the bill for their contracts. I also don't understand how they plan to free up money if all they're focusing on it cuts. Those cuts mean fewer jobs, which means higher unemployment, which means more people taxing the system and not being able to pay. If this sounds like the housing crisis all over again that's because in some respects it is.
For now, as an everyday American, I'll take solace in knowing our credit rating is still top notch, and that China won't send our bills to collections (imagine ships of Chinese repo men dismantling Washington?!). I'll breathe a little easier for a year or so, and even though he caved (and he shouldn't have), I'll still stick with Obama. The doggedness of the Red Team, and their ability to alienate is now out for all the world to see. Even though he's loosing the battle, I hope my guy comes back to win the war.
The beginning phase the bill calls for an immediate cut of $1 trillion dollars, extends the nation's debt limit, and sets up a committee of 6 Dems and 6 Reps to decide where the other cuts will come from, and if there should be a tax hike on the wealthiest of Americans to create more revenue. I think what upsets most young Americans, like myself, is that after we made one of the most historical votes our nation has ever seen, Republicans have still managed to rain on our parade! I was proud of Obama strutting out days ago staying firm to his message of "I'm not signing anything that doesn't include a tax hike", but now I feel that he's given in a bit too much. Yes, there is still hope that this committee could include tax hike, and cut spending from more "fatty" areas other than standard entitlement programs, but we all know that's a long shot. What happened to Obama standing firm? And why are freshman Tea Party members so naive? They all say "The people want Washington to stop spending so much and create a balanced budget", which in a sense is true.
As an American I'd like a balanced budget, a strong economy and maybe relive the days where the LAST Democratic President got us a surplus (thanks Clinton)! However, I don't want to pay a higher interest on my student loan bill, or be require to put down 50-70% of a mortgage so members of the Tea Party can keep their tax credits and aviod tax loopholes for their sweetheart businesses and contracts. I want a balanced budget, but not at the expense of having a lousy existence working 70hr/wk mandatory to make ends meet for THEIR cuts. I don't think its too much to ask wealthy Americans to cough up a little more, seeing as how people such as myself have been footing the bill for their contracts. I also don't understand how they plan to free up money if all they're focusing on it cuts. Those cuts mean fewer jobs, which means higher unemployment, which means more people taxing the system and not being able to pay. If this sounds like the housing crisis all over again that's because in some respects it is.
For now, as an everyday American, I'll take solace in knowing our credit rating is still top notch, and that China won't send our bills to collections (imagine ships of Chinese repo men dismantling Washington?!). I'll breathe a little easier for a year or so, and even though he caved (and he shouldn't have), I'll still stick with Obama. The doggedness of the Red Team, and their ability to alienate is now out for all the world to see. Even though he's loosing the battle, I hope my guy comes back to win the war.
5 Tips for a Destination Wedding
I'm back! Its been about a week since I was relaxing poolside at a top resort, ordering endless drinks and watching a dear friend commit her life to her better half. Since then I've been in hypermode trying to adjust to my normal pace. Needless to say I had a great time, but I also came back with a better understanding of what it means to participate in a destination wedding. Below are a few tips and pics that might help if you're planning, or attending a wedding at an exotic location:
1. Location, Location, Location
Just like picking good real estate, picking a place to have a destination wedding is VERY important. Given that most of these types of weddings take place in warmer climates, make sure that people who plan to attend have up to date passports, aren't afraid to fly, and actually like being near the beach or water! Also, it doesn't hurt to learn a few basic phrases in the native tongue of the country you'll be visiting. I had to brush up on my Spanish to get by, but luckily I had a few bilingual friends who came as well.
2. Be Prepared
Always check the weather, travel alerts and your bank account before you travel! This will help you map out activities, help decide what to pack and how much to spend on food and souvenirs. Luckily, the American dollar is accepted most places, but if it makes sense, you can always exchange your money at the airport, or get traveler's checks from your bank.You'll also save yourself some time if you print out your itinerary of the wedding day, or special activities the bride and groom have planned for their guests throughout your stay.
3. Pace Yourself
Just because a resort is all inclusive doesn't mean you should try to eat & drink your whole share on day one! Room service is usually included and around the clock, and they refill your fridge on command! On the same note, don't tire yourself out trying to visit every tourist trap the area has to offer, some of the best trips are spontaneous ones. Remember you're away from the hectic pace of your normal life, take a break and enjoy it!
4. Read the Fine Print & Ask Questions
When leaving the states there maybe a bit of paperwork to sign. This includes customs forms, and contracts with travel agents or hotels. Make sure you read these items carefully and ask questions. There maybe a language barrier when trying to get a correct answer, so remember to take your time and ask the right questions. Keeping everyone informed on changes, no matter how small, are pertinent to running a smooth event and having a great time.
5. Have Fun!
Once you've crossed your "t"s and dotted your "i"s, saved up your $$, and packed for the trip, remember to make the trip memorable. See things you've always wanted to see, take too many pictures (but don't lose your camera), and be spontaneous!
Just like picking good real estate, picking a place to have a destination wedding is VERY important. Given that most of these types of weddings take place in warmer climates, make sure that people who plan to attend have up to date passports, aren't afraid to fly, and actually like being near the beach or water! Also, it doesn't hurt to learn a few basic phrases in the native tongue of the country you'll be visiting. I had to brush up on my Spanish to get by, but luckily I had a few bilingual friends who came as well.
2. Be Prepared
Always check the weather, travel alerts and your bank account before you travel! This will help you map out activities, help decide what to pack and how much to spend on food and souvenirs. Luckily, the American dollar is accepted most places, but if it makes sense, you can always exchange your money at the airport, or get traveler's checks from your bank.You'll also save yourself some time if you print out your itinerary of the wedding day, or special activities the bride and groom have planned for their guests throughout your stay.
3. Pace Yourself
Just because a resort is all inclusive doesn't mean you should try to eat & drink your whole share on day one! Room service is usually included and around the clock, and they refill your fridge on command! On the same note, don't tire yourself out trying to visit every tourist trap the area has to offer, some of the best trips are spontaneous ones. Remember you're away from the hectic pace of your normal life, take a break and enjoy it!4. Read the Fine Print & Ask Questions
When leaving the states there maybe a bit of paperwork to sign. This includes customs forms, and contracts with travel agents or hotels. Make sure you read these items carefully and ask questions. There maybe a language barrier when trying to get a correct answer, so remember to take your time and ask the right questions. Keeping everyone informed on changes, no matter how small, are pertinent to running a smooth event and having a great time.
5. Have Fun!
Once you've crossed your "t"s and dotted your "i"s, saved up your $$, and packed for the trip, remember to make the trip memorable. See things you've always wanted to see, take too many pictures (but don't lose your camera), and be spontaneous!
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