bapace007

Japan bound

Our airport parking lot, On Time Airport Parking at Gibson and Yale has a Ghostbusters car much like this one at the entrance. They also have a slew of beautiful vintage cars under covered parking. If you have extra time and love cool old cars, take a few minutes to wander around the lot.

Once at the airport, we managed to sleepwalk our way through the airport and get on the correct flight. Note to international fliers: American airlines now has you present your passport a second time when boarding. So keep your passport handy till you are in your seat in each flight.

At Dallas/Fort Worth, we got to walk through this cool castle to get to our gate. We had a quick turnaround, especially as we had to gate check our carryon bags, so we hopped on the sky train to get to our gate more quickly. I certainly didn’t want to miss my flight to Tokyo.

The airplane itself had fun high tech goodies, especially if you were in first class or business class, which unfortunately, I wasn’t. (They got super cool sleeping pods!) Still, there were some great features even at our economy level. I loved being able to plug in two devices at my seat. They also offered between seat chat messaging, which would be a fun way to distract the kids. And of course, they offered a ton of movies with free earpods. I always find the background noise of the jet makes the movie hard to hear at safe levels. If you like to watch movies, you might want to bring your own noise cancelling headphones for the best experience.

The food at lunch was pretty decent for an airline but not spectacular. It was an Americanized version of a Japanese main dish, some fun edamane treats and a churro cookie that bore no similarity to New Mexico churto. Later snacks were good enough and a welcome break from the monotony of sitting on a plane for hours on end (our two flights totalled 16 hours). They did serve free wine as a beverage choice, which while not recommended if trying to avoid jet lag, was quite tasty. A later salted caramel ice cream was another welcome break.

The view out the window was lovely but usually we were told to keep the shades down so a window seat wasn’t much of a plus on this flight. Ray and I had adjoining aisle seats, which felt less crowded, especially as we got lucky and each had an empty seat next to us.

Ray always loves the flight map and our seats had a personalized version with all sorts of cool options including a preview of the flight track. One really cool thing that I hadn’t encountered before was the “sunrise” lighting, which went from dark, to a dusk- light blue to pinks and then to brighter yellow and orange tones. It did make an easier transition than just going from dark to light.

We made it to Narita airport! Customs was a smooth, high tech process. The only glitches were caused by me filling out my form with a dark reddish purple ink. Only blue or black are permitted so I had to redo the form. They scan both index fingers for fingerprints and do a retinal scan. Both Ray and I took our fingers off the scanner when it went beep. Wrong! One must wait for the staff person to give you permission to remove your fingers.

Narita airport isn’t as crowded and overwhelming as I expected.

For my anime loving friends, there is a separate anime tourism business here.

Eggo if you please

Despite two months of Japanese on duolingo, I don’t speak Japanese. I can read it sometimes, even write a little but saying the words is terrifying. I’m certain that instead of saying hello, I’m saying “You are a walrus.” Or perhaps I uttered something even more offensive.

So I did what any teacher’s daughter would do. I made flash cards! One side has the Japanese and English translation, the other has my best guess of how I’m supposed to pronounce it. For example, Good morning in Japanese is pronounced a bit like Ohio, our state. And English sounds like a bit like Eggo (the toaster waffles) so that’s my cue.

So my plan is to point at the Japanese for whatever phrase I’m mangling so that the recipient can read it and realize that I didn’t mean to insult him. I made an extra set of cards for Ray. Now we’re just a couple of days away from testing the strategy. Fingers and flashcards crossed.

Airline Survival Tips

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Airplanes- how we love to hate them. Tight spaces, miserable food in those rare instances when it’s served at all, and the fun of sharing space for hours with a load of strangers. At times, serendipity places you by a fascinating person but other times you get the toddler kicking your seat, the arguing couple slinging insults, or someone who insists on discussing politics.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

While those are certainly nightmare situations, most of my airplane trips have been bearable at least, and many more were delightful. It helps to reframe the situations. On my first flight to Greece, a bunch of folks at the back of the plane were literally having a party. Needless to say, I couldn’t sleep so I wandered back to use the restroom and perhaps ask them to tone it down a bit. I encountered several Greek families heading home for a family wedding. They were brimming over with happiness. Despite my abysmal, nonexistent Greek language skills, they pulled me into the family group and by the flight’s end I had invitations to several homes in Greece. (I didn’t go, mainly because I was traveling with my teenage son and our plans were already set.) But despite a sleepless night, it was a memorable flight with memories that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Airplane Survival Pack

Assuming you’re an adult traveling by yourself or with other adults, there are a few things you can pack that will make your flight easier. Parents of small children will need a much larger emergency pack tailored to their children’s needs.

Earplugs. I never travel without them. They muffle all sorts of unpleasantness.

Tiger balm. It can be used on the temples for headaches, under the nose for sinus congestion, and on complaining joints or muscles for pain relief. And the jar is small enough for your tiny tsa bag.

black hat beside pair of black pointed toe pumps — Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

A lightly scented scarf or handkerchief. You don’t want to give your seat mates headaches with a 90s style power perfume, but a light scent that you can bring near your nose if the stale airplane odors start to make you queasy can be a lifesaver. Vanilla or lavender scents are especially soothing.

Eyeshade. This is especially good for long flights when the lights are often on when you should be catching shut eye.

Melatonin. For international multi- time zone flights, I take a pill at bedtime in the new zone. Does it help? Maybe. But I’m up for trying everything to minimize jet lag.

Ebooks. As an avid (and speed) reader, I love ebooks! I used to have to buy 5 or 6 books at the airport to get through my flight and give them away as I left the plane. Ebooks are much lighter.

Swimsuit. No, one cannot usually swim on the plane, but a quick dip in the hot tub at my destination can unkink my sore body.

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Plugs for electronics. Many planes now have plug ins at each seat. This is especially wonderful for long flights.

A pre-charged no-plug charger for my electronics. If your plane does not have plug-ins, this will ensure you aren’t left hanging in that thriller you’re reading.

A small selection of any medications you might need while on the plane. It is much easier to get items out of your purse or daypack than your wheelie that is crammed into the overhead bin. So plan ahead.

A sense of humor. Things will still go wrong. If a tired toddler is kicking your seat (and the parents are asleep), try pretending that he’s giving you a vigorous massage.

Food Truths

While the food on airplanes is often minimalistic, you have options. And international flights still offer full meals.

For domestic flights, I generally find appetizing options in the concourse that are tastier than meals purchased from the airline. If I have time, I eat my meal before my flight and just have juice or water on the plane. And trail mix, jerky (there are even vegan versions), and fruit are good carry on snacks.

ebi tempura bento on brown wooden table — Photo by Quang Anh Ha Nguyen on Pexels.com

For international flights, a lot depends on the carrier. One of the best meals I had aloft, was the Korean option on Korean airlines–some sort of spicy bulkogi. So here are some tips:

Special needs meals. If you need these, don’t forget to pre-order them. If you don’t need them, they’re still sometimes worth pre-ordering, as the options are often more interesting, especially for the vegetarian meal. One downside, you may have to wait longer for your meal.

If you’re adventurous, choose the cuisine of the country flying the plane when the flight attendants offer a choice. It will almost always be better than the “American” choice.

Think food when booking. If you have a choice of carrier, Korean airlines, Singapore airlines, and Japan airlines are known for having especially good meals. Obviously, one wouldn’t pay a huge amount more just for the food, but if you have a choice between these carriers and others with less-tasty food reputations at about the same price, choose these.

Exercise

This is critical in a long haul. Do stretching exercises at your seat, get up and go to the restroom more than absolutely necessary, and stand at your seat whenever you’re awake. Thrombosis would ruin your vacation, so exercise.

When all else fails, close your eyes and imagine all the fun you’ll be having at your destination in just a few short hours. Happy flying.

No Tips Please but Gifts OK

American tourists are often somewhat unsettled by Japan’s almost totally tip-free culture. One doesn’t tip cab drivers, doormen, hairdressers, the list goes on and on. An attempt to tip your server at dinner or a bartender at a bar could be offensive and puzzling to the recipient. Needless to say, this should be bliss but cases angst and guilt for Americans coming from a must-always tip environment.

One also doesn’t usually tip maids but there is one exception, at a higher-end ryokan (Japanese style inns often found in hot spring resorts.) In that situation, the tip is more of a “thank you for letting me stay here” than a tip’s “thank you for excellent service” meaning. For one thing, the tip is given at the beginning of a stay, not the end, and must be a clean, crisp bill in a nice envelope. I took it a step further and added little thank you cards in japanese with my envelopes.

We will present one of these card and envelope sets with a clean 10-2000 yen bill inside to the maid who shows us to our room. The amount depends on length of stay and the current currency exchange; we’re only staying one or two nights.

If you’re visiting through a tour, you might give a tour guide a thank your envelope at the end.

I made extra because we can always pull out a card (no envelope) and leave it the table after a super nice meal when the server couldn’t understand my mangled Japanese.

While tips are unwelcome, gifts for hosts are required. More about that later.

Traveling Japan in Airplane Mode

Most U.S. phones don’t give free phone calls and data in Japan. So what is a data addicted traveler to do? If you have a 3g/4g phone you can almost surely use it over Wi-Fi, especially in large cities like Tokyo and Kyoto.

black dslr camera teaspoon ice cream and iphone x — Photo by Malidate Van on Pexels.com

A basic plan
Step 1:
Turn your phone to airplane mode which eliminates the risk of unexpected and pricey roaming charges. When near a free WiFi location, turn on Wi-Fi and GPS/location while staying in airplane mode.

Step 2:
Leave your phone in airplane mode but manually turn on Wi-Fi and location when you are close to a known free spot. Get familiar with all the places that offer free Wi-Fi. Tokyo and Kyoto metros offer free Wi-Fi, which combined with Google maps will guarantee you get off at the right subway stop. Since the map is still available after you exit the station, you will still have the steps

The luxury solution
If you’re spending a lot of time in rural areas or need to be always connected, whether for work, or your facebook addiction, you can rent a pocket Wi-Fi at the airport. Definitely order one online in advance as they are popular. Here is basic information to get you started if flying through Narita airport.
https://www.econnectjapan.com/blog/pocket-wifi-rental-at-narita-airport/

Actual phone calls
Most 3g/4g phones have the option to make calls over Wi-Fi. Unless you make a ton of calls, this should be adequate. If you’re a phone call person, and have a removable sim card, you can get a new sim card for Japan. Check on whether it includes text messages. If not:

Text message savvy
Use something like Facebook messenger that can avoid text messaging fees when used over Wi-Fi.

Obviously, I’ll be a lot smarter about this after our trip. If I have more tips, I’ll add them then.

Pocket full of Cash

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Crazy as it may seem, high tech Japan is a cash economy so heading to the country with only credit cards in your pocket is an imprudent idea.
Here are some tips we discovered in our research:
Make sure your credit cards have low or better yet, NO transaction fees. Right now, my chase Amazon card offers 0% fees but check your cards rates before you leave. Also, check on your ability to withdraw yen from atms. You’ll need a 4 digit pin (check again on transaction fees) and will need to use an international credit card friendly atm. Japan post has a ton and they even have an atm finder (search in play store under Japan post atm finder app). Another good option for atms and free internet is their version of a seven 11 (http://www.sej.co.jp/in/en.html)

person holding dollars — Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

If you can, it’s wise to exchange some) dollars for yen before hitting the country. Banks in Albuquerque mostly don’t offer this service. Wells Fargo does (as of right now) but only for their bank account customers. Charles Schwab has a good travel credit card as of today–these things change overnight. Dallas Fort Worth airport has an exchange service but 1) we have a super short turnaround there and 2) exchange services tend to have less advantageous exchange rates. Still, we’ll have to either find an international card friendly atm at the N. arita airport or exchange a small amount at the airport currency exchange. Some bigger hotels will do exchange but at a not-so-great rate. So most of our exchanges will be at post offices, or 7-11s, many times through the ATMs there.

We are going to the Japanese alps where we will be visiting rural areas, onsen, and farms. We will get plenty of cash before venturing there!
In Tokyo and Kyoto, we’ll be more likely to be able to use our credit cards some of the time. Surprisingly, stores that support credit cards often also support android pay and apple pay. Go figure.

If I find any cool tips and trips during our trip, I’ll update this blog.

I ran across this excellent video which is worth clicking on. It was designed for the vlogger’s Canadian friends but the information applies to anyone.

The Mystery of the Roses, and the Mystery of how we got there

Our dog Owen likes flowers, so he liked the idea of going on a flower hunt. The Albuquerque Botanical Gardens has wonderful flowers, and had a bonsai show last weekend, but that is a dog free zone. Too bad, they have wonderful summer evening concerts starting in June.

With Owen curled in my lap, “helping”, we used Field Trip (a useful app from Google’s internal startup, Niantic Labs) to find the Albuquerque Rose Garden. For those who don’t have a helpful dog to help you find great apps, Field Trip is one of the best ways to find out underappreciated gems to visit, whether in your home town or while traveling. As you go through a neighborhood, cards pop up telling you about great restaurants, historical sites, unique architecture, and other items you probably would have missed if it weren’t for the app. And if you want to get deeper into the magic, Niantic Labs has created an online, multiplayer, science fiction and GPS-based game that uses the sites from Field Trip, often as portals to be hacked. Ingress basics are explained on Wikipedia. The game is currently available only on Androids, but is scheduled for IPhone distribution in the future. If you want to get into a world-wide phenomenon, download the game from Play Store, and then go here for the back story before you start playing. Once you choose a side, Resistance or Enlightenment, you can’t change.

Anyway, after taking some time off to play Ingress, Owen and I went to find the Tony Hillerman Library using Waze, my favorite navigator app because it combines chat, cute graphics, and good navigation. Despite my lack of directional ability, Waze got us to our destination, a simple local library surrounded by beautiful rose beds . Somehow, it just seems right that all these beautiful roses surround a library dedicated to one of my favorite authors. Of course, anyone living in New Mexico who hasn’t read his Navajo Tribal Police novels just doesn’t belong here. After his death, his daughter added to the series, but we still miss her dad. As we admired the roses, and snapped some pics, volunteers from the Rose Society were busy weeding, watering, and spraying the roses. This time of year it is almost a full time job for the volunteers, which is probably why several asked me whether I’d be interested in volunteering, black thumb and all.

With approximately, 1,200 roses, and more to come, the Albuquerque Rose Garden is a fabulous place to wander, read a book, or close your eyes and smell the rich aroma of the older types of roses. As scientists worked hard to make the most beautiful rose buds and flowers, often the glorious scent was lost. But fortunately, the garden has many beautiful older varieties that smell just like your memories of your grandmother’s rose garden.

Cash Free in New Mexico

Over the next few months I’m going to test whether it’s possible to travel throughout New Mexico and Alaska and other sites without cash. So far I have managed to use credit cards at unlikely spots such as very small stores and craft fairs. Caught cashless at a cute craft fair, I was pleasantly surprised when the vendor used an iPad with a card reader and software from Square (https://squareup.com) to process my purchase and send me an email receipt. While it has been over a year since I got this purse and it’s showing the results of daily abuse, it’s still one of my favorite fashion finds. Now the question is. . .how far can I take the cashless phenomenon? Can I spend a year of traveling and purchasing without using cash?

This article talks about some of the pluses and minuses of the new retail technologies the future of retail checkout

Making Sense of X11 Numbers

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Recently, a friend told me she had called 311 when she was lost to ask directions and complained that they had been rude. While I was pretty sure that wasn’t a normal request for that agency –which may explain their reaction, however inappropriate; I realized that I was a little fuzzy about what some of the other X11 numbers were used for. So I got into my internet spaceship in hopes of discovering new X11 worlds.

The X11 series of numbers are a useful group of quick call numbers which were developed as part of the the North American Numbering Plan (everything you ever wanted to know about telephone numbering) but were afraid or too bored to ask. The X11 series of numbers would solve lots of problems for ordinary humans like me, if only I could remember which one I need to call.

111– In the United States, this is usually seen on a cellphone bill in the summary of calls or messages. Cell companies use it to describe a call or text generated online and sent to a phone, for example by Yahoo messenger. However, if you are visiting New Zealand on your Hobbit quest and get attacked by Orcs or other fiendish creatures, 111 is the go-to number for emergency assistance. But, in the United Kingdom, if you look the wrong way when crossing the street and get banged up by a lorry, call 999 if you need an ambulance or medivac right away, and 111 for urgent care type services. Confused? You aren’t alone. Confusion over 111 in UK.

Fortunately, most of the subsequent numbers in the series are less complicated.
211 – This would be a great tool if anyone knew it existed. The Alliance of Information and Referral Systems and United Way have made a one stop portal so that a person in need no longer needs to drown in a black hole of agencies, forms, and procedures to get help. Instead, a person who needs help with food, housing, employment, health care, or counseling can call 211 and a 211 operator will connect them with the help they need. I have not tested this, and hope I never need to, but I certainly have friends who could have used this service in the past. So pass the word. Use 211 for help with United Way type services.

311 – In addition to being a rock band that has just released a new album, 311 is used across the country by city and police administration for non-emergency calls. In Albuquerque, where I live, the 311 website, phone app, and call center handle a dizzying array of issues. The Albuquerque 311 site handles questions ranging from trash and recycling, to pets and wildlife, and has links to health, safety and social services. With the phone app, I can take a picture of graffiti, a yard overgrown with weeks, or another health issue, and report it immediately.

abstract art artistic background — Call 311 for graffiti and other problems. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The 311 center staff email me when the problem has been resolved so I can confirm that it has been taken care of. I can also check the website for local events, library openings/locations, bus schedules, road construction, and myriad other useful things. While I can also commend a police officer for excellent service to the community via the website; sadly, the link to report police misconduct has probably gotten more use in Albuquerque lately, what with a series of shootings by police of mentally ill citizens.

411 – This is your phone book when you misplace your phone book; a local directory assistance number for people, and businesses. Long distance directory assistance still usually uses 1-area code-555-1212, but the 411 website doesn’t restrict your searches to the local area. However, while it was able to find my husband’s address and age, it didn’t find his phone — a cell phone. The same was true for my record, so if you want to call my house, you’d better already have our phone numbers or be prepared to use some of the more invasive programs to track someone down. Even in that case, don’t expect perfection. I tried www.instantcheckmate.com and it had me still associated with my ex-husband rather than my second husband of 22 years.

511 – Are you stuck in traffic, want to report a horrendous accident that is blocking all the lanes of the freeway, or want to know what road conditions are on your route? 511 is your friend although it is still not completely implemented in some areas. NM 511 road conditions is the website for New Mexico’s travel information, but calling 511 from any location should get you routed to the appropriate transportation network for your location.

611 – If you are a cell phone user, this number for customer service is probably already loaded in your speed dial.

711 – This wonderful number connects the hearing impaired with hearing listeners. The person with a hearing or speech disability uses the telephone system via a text telephone (TTY) or other device. For more information.

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811 – The national “Call Before You Dig” number helps ensure that you aren’t going to excavate a gas line or other utility when planting that pretty tree in your backyard. So, call before you dig, won’t you!

911 – For real emergencies only. This number can be the difference between life and death. One of my friends is a 911 dispatcher and I’ve truly come to appreciate how challenging and stressful her life can be, and how critical her work is to the community. For all you emergency dispatchers, everywhere, I admire you, appreciate you, and hope I never have to call you!

When Paying it Forward is Paying Too Much

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Like most reasonably charitable people, I’ve always believed in “paying it forward” even before the book and movie made the concept famous and it got its own foundation. But lately, I have wondered how to draw the line between doing the right thing for others, while still leaving time and energy for my family and myself. A homeless couple approaching me for a place to stay prompted the reevaluation. Since the woman was pregnant, I felt like I was turning away the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus. But, my fear of a bedbug infestation, and a sense that the couple weren’t what they seemed, stayed my natural generosity. (The last place they had stayed supposedly had bedbugs, and I was very aware of how easily the little bugs transfer from clothing and belongings to new digs – in this case, my house.) So I didn’t invite the questionable homeless couple to bunk at my house. Despite her apparent pregnancy, and their cute little dog, I decided to trust my con-meter, and walk away.

But all the way home, I felt guilty, despicable, and low. Was I inherently selfish?
Later, as I discussed it with a friend, we developed a long list of all the people who I support emotionally and physically. Perhaps, I had taken “paying it forward” a bit too far. Lately, I have been struggling with exhaustion, in part from a sense that I never had time to do the things that really mattered to me. After reviewing my schedule, it turned out that I was trying to support more people and activities than was possible for me — at least if I wanted to have any energy left for my own projects. So, I reviewed my commitments, evaluated where I really felt I was making a contribution (the English as a second language classes I teach, for example) and the situations that were draining, but didn’t seem to appreciably improve the world. After that analysis, I cut some charitable activities out of my schedule (for example: shoveling horse manure out of the corral did help the horses, but it took an hour to get there and an hour to get back back, and I was physically exhausted afterwards.)

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Even though I’ve trimmed my planned activities, I will continue to try and brighten salesclerks days with some light friendly banter and a smile. And I’ll happily petsit for my neighbors, or share my cookies with my elderly neighbor who loves cookies but doesn’t bake. And I left a core group of “pay it forward” activities in my schedule. I don’t want to stop saving the world, but I want to save myself as well.