Ms. Traveling Pants Announced as Miss Fish

It was the summer of 1995 in a small, Mississippi River town in Wisconsin called Trempealeau. I had recently graduated from high school and was working the summer at the Historic Trempealeau Hotel as a server until the start of the Fall Semester at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The summer was nearly half over with the most important weekend of the year upon us, Catfish Days. Always held the first weekend after the Fourth of July, it was the social gathering of the year with family members coming from a far, students returning home, and sightings of old friends from high school.

As most festivals in the area, the weekend included a parade, amusement rides, bike and fun run, golf tournament, fishing tournament, and a pageant. So, on that Thursday night in July 1995, after the interview, fashion show, evening gown, and talent portion, I, Ms. Traveling Pants, was announced and crowned as Miss Trempealeau 1995 or in slang Miss Fish as the celebration is Catfish Days (see picture of Ms. Traveling Pants on bench and court).

As Miss Fish, my duties were limited to a couple of radio shows, MC for the talent show, and riding the Catfish Days' float that Sunday in the parade as well as for nearly every other Sunday throughout that summer and fall exploring all of the Western part of Wisconsin. You can only imagine some of these events: Sunfish Days in Onalaska, Kornfest in Holmen, Applefest in La Crescent, Syttende Mai in Westby, and Octoberfest in La Crosse. Regardless of the size, they all paled in comparison to Catfish Days.

For the weekend, Trempealeau (French for mountain with its feet in the water) and its 1,000 inhabitants close down a few streets by the River for amusement rides, food stands selling fried cheese curds, grilled chicken, and catfish burgers, all with the mandatory beer tent. The town would come down to this area enjoy the rides, eat, and then drinking and dancing to a live band that had plenty of Alabama, Brooks and Dunn, and Garth Brooks to satisfy the crowd.

Although the nightlife was fun, Catfish Days has other activities: the infamous egg toss on 1st Street, bed races, arm wrestling, pancake breakfast, volleyball tournament, motorcycle poker run, and fireworks.

Needless to say, at the end of 1995, I did need to bid farewell and wish another young woman well in her reign as Miss Fish 1996. However, I still have the royal flare....elbow elbow wrist wrist.

Sincerely,

Ms. Traveling Pants

(formerly known as Miss Fish 1995)

Glow Swimming in Puerto Rico

Upon turning 30, I got together with four friends to commemorate this important rite of passage:  Erin and Megan from Arizona, Jodi and Arin from the Twin Cities, and myself based in Fort Lauderdale. The plan was Puerto Rico for a short, girls only getaway in mid-March.    

While on the Isle of Borinquen (indigenous name of the island of Puerto Rico), not only did I want to visit the beach, tour the historic cobblestone streets of Old San Juan and eat and drink well, but I also wanted to experience the rare, bio-fluorescent waters of Fajardo.  For those of you not familiar, Bay of Fajardo is a bio-luminescent bay, which contains millions of micro-organisms called "dinoflagellates." It is truly awe-inspiring.  These little micro creatures glow in the dark for a second when agitated.  Yes, it is a bay of swimming micro fire flies!

There are two ways to experience the bio bay: by guided boat or in groups of kayaks both done at night to see the green glowing waters.  We chose to do the second option and went in a group of around 15 kayaks led by a guide to take us out to the best part of the bay.  We kayaked through the narrow mangrove alley kayak after kayak hitting numerous trees due to lack of light.  Upon arrival to the center of the bay, we were instructed to jump out of our kayaks and explore.   This struck me as strange as typically, staying in the kayak is something that is essential to a successful kayaking trip. However, that is not the case for the Bay of Fajardo.  

We tangled our kayaks together with our paddles and jumped in.  It was incredible.  We were almost like comets in the water with a tail of green light following our movements.  You could see your strokes and kicks, those of the other kayakers, and of course the movements of fish and other creatures.  Pretty freaky!  The water was warm as it was mid-March....an absolutely great time to go.  So if you have vacation time saved up, now is a great time to get deals and experience glow swimming in Puerto Rico.

For those of you interested in experiencing the bio bay, there are two launches one around sunset and the other around 9:00PM.  I would highly suggest the later time and even a night that has the least amount of moonlight for more vibrant colors in the lagoon.  The food amenities are not that great at the park/marina so I would eat a mofongo prior to leaving and then stop at one of the small bars at the marina to celebrate your evening with a cold beer. BTW, this probably is not a good first date night.  The combination of the bug repellent and water did leave a rather memorable aroma.

Any recommendations for other memorable sights in Puerto Rico?

Traveling for Work Part 3: the Art of Schmooze

You have all heard the phrase, "You snooze, you lose." Well, I think that the final installment in this series of Traveling for Work needs to include one of the most important parts of being successful and enjoying your travel for work; it is learning the art of schmooze. As the common saying goes, "You snooze, you lose." I believe that if you don't schmooze, you lose.

The art of schmooze is one of the oldest tricks to the trade. It requires great listening skills, genuine interest, good presence in a room, and well a little lesson from one of my favorite references, How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

Here is an excerpt of his keypoints or "In a Nutshell", which I believe can be used to schmooze.

Six Ways to Make People Like You:

1) Become genuinely interested in other people.

2) Smile.

3) Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.

4) Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

5) Talk in terms of the other person's interests.

6) Make the other person feel important-and do it sincerely.

Now that you have the 6 tips from a world renowned author...here are an additional 6 survival and success tips from Ms. Traveling Pants:

1) Be up on your current events. Know what is going on in the news both real news and gossip. There is always room for more Paris Hilton, A. Rod, or other stories.

2) Not all events are cocktail receptions, so if you have a chance to sit down. Sit at a table where many people already seated and close to the front of the room to make eye contact with the speaker and other VIPs that may be making introductions.

3) Always have business cards. Extending your business card will lead to getting someone else's business card almost without asking. This goes for airplane time too. Make sure you introduce yourself to your neighbor. You don't have to talk the entire flight, but make polite conversation and at the end of flight extend your business card. You never know who that contact from the plane knows. It is a small world.

4) If you are going to a networking cocktail function, they are particularly tough for everyone, but even a little worse for women as most dresses, pant suits, and women's attire do not allow for pockets. At a cocktail reception, you need to eat, drink, shake hands, and pass business cards all with 2 hands, one of which is almost always holding the drink. Strategy to remember...try to get to the nearest cocktail table or even place yourself next to the bar's edge. This is a great place to meet new people as it is the most trafficked area in the reception.

5) Before going ahead to other tasks, after leaving the event, write on the back of the card the date of the meeting and anything interesting that sticks out in your mind (kids, where he/she lives, common interests, or your need to send information about your product or something that you discussed). This will help in entering it into your outlook or other contact manager.

6) Hang out at the event. If the event is held at a hotel, make sure to spend time in the lobby checking your email instead of in your hotel room, check out the gym in the morning, and either get there early for coffee or stay late for a cocktail at the event. You know the old rule that more business gets done away from the office than in the office.

Now get out there and schmooze.
Remember if you don't schmooze, you lose.

Traveling for Work Part 2

As a continuation of my last post, I thought I would share a more complete list of my travel for work tips....

1) Always get an aisle seat on the plane (plenty of leg room, no need to disturb others to go to the bathroom, but you made have a bruised elbow or stubbed toes by the end of the flight.)

2) Pack snacks like peanuts, dried fruit, and crackers. The plane food is always chicken or beef. I have tried both. They are both let downs. The chicken always comes with buttery veggies that are never seasoned and mashed potatoes that seem to be instant. The beef option is typically pasta or a lasagna.

3) Get to the gate early and scope out the outlets for your laptop and phone. After the majority of the people are there, you will have no chance. Look for outlets around the pillars and even outside of the gate area like by the telephones. There is no shame in camping by an outlet to get connected. I have sat on many an airport floor.

4) Use your plane time wisely. Although the in-flight entertainment may seem fun as it is re-run sitcoms or a movie you haven’t seen, you can catch up on unread documents, write blogs, and draft proposals while killing time.

5) Never allow someone to switch your aisle for a middle seat and certainly do not allow your neighbor to convince you to lift the armrest.

6) You need an overhead baggage strategy. With every company charging for additional features previously included like baggage, people are now bringing on gigantic bags and rushing aboard to claim their overhead space. Don’t worry if above your seat there is no room, but you must start thinking a couple of rows ahead. Plus, this will help upon exiting the plane as well as your bag is ahead of your row to move the deplaning process forward quickly. It is a different strategy for Southwest which has a "cattle call" for the seats. There is no strategy except check in early early early AND fight for your place in line. If you are traveling with friends, there is strength in numbers.

7) Even if you don’t like the peanuts or chips they give you on the plane, save them. Sometimes your flight gets in late or you don’t have time to eat a proper meal while at an industry expo or event, those pretzels and peanuts will be your way to survival that is until you get back to the hotel and order room service. There will always be a club sandwich on the menu if you are skittish of other items.

Do you have other additional tips? I would love to add them to my repertoire.

Sincerely,

Ms. Traveling Pants

Traveling for Work Part 1

For the past year and a half, I have been traveling the world from Washington D.C., Berlin, Paris, New Orleans, Costa Rica, Mexico City, New York City, Las Vegas, Orlando, L.A., London, and Chicago. They often use the expression, “Road warrior” but I would consider my experience to be the Air warrior.

Always a great packer and savvy at how to maneuver through an airport certainly came in handy over the past months. I have come to terms that traveling at least once or twice a month does NOT warrant unpacking my carry-on. I have converted this rollable bag into my everyday, work bag which at all times carries my business cards, cell phone charger, camera, pens, marketing materials, and international electricity convertors.

Over this time, I have seen transportation strikes in Berlin, the co-founder of Apple speak in L.A., toured the bunker of Churchill in London, zip-lined through the Central Park of San Jose Costa Rica, listened to Jazz on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, and did a drive-by viewing of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.

It all sounds quite glamorous that is until your body is doing the traveling. This is especially true if you are traveling in coach which seems more and more like flying a la carte everyday (Would you like a blanket with that, a second checked bag, or a soft drink?). 

I can tell you already Newark has a great foot spa that gives foot massages for a reasonable price and without the need of spending a lot of time for a full pedicure. Las Vegas allows you on the way in and the way out to win the big bucks with slots at the airport. And, well the rest have blended together as I have either been jet-lagged, too tired from flying weird hours, or well they are just banks of chairs, fast food restaurants, and the same mechanical announcement via the loud speakers whether in French, Spanish, German, etc.

I have already shared with you my tip for my work bag/carry-on, but over the year, I have also acquired a few other tricks of the trade..that is the trade of business travel. 

Stay tuned...for Traveling for Work Part 2 and my list of tips.

Bathing for Dummies in Turkey

"It is now safe to use your portable electronic devices," is my cue to open my laptop once again to write the next installment in the adventures of Ms. Traveling Pants.  Now returning from a trip to the Hudson River Valley in Upstate New York, I had the opportunity to travel with my husband who asked me today, out of the blue, probably because of the frigid temperature, "Have you ever experienced a thermal bath?"

I wish I had a better answer, but no I have not experienced the thermal baths that are world renowned such as those in Iceland and Turkey; I must put them on my list. However, I must admit I have had one memorable bathing experience in my travels in Turkey. Unknown to me, baths in Turkey are a common thing. There are typically various bathing houses or Hamams in each town or neighborhood that one may join as a member (see picture below). I would consider them almost social or community clubs that are part of the weekly routine. Just for your information, Hamams are easy to spot as they all have high dome shaped buildings with skylights. 

It is almost what in the U.S. we consider the spa culture, where you may spend the day or the afternoon at the spa with friends. While in Turkey, my travel companions and I spent the afternoon at the hamam. As it was wintertime, we all went to the locker room and removed our many layers to enter a large grey, earthen room filled with steam and the sounds of water running and women singing. Before getting our personal treatments, we were instructed to first bathe in the faucets of running warm water and then to steam on the benches. 

The process of the Turkish bath involves lying down almost naked (underwear only) and being scrubbed from head to toe by a bather, typically another woman that also is well, naked.  All of this may sound erotic, but believe me there was nothing erotic about the appearance of the bathers as they were 50 year olds that were rather voluptuous and we aren’t talking like the looks of Anne Nicole Smith. The bath included a complete exfoliation with a loofta. Although somewhat relaxing with the heat and water rinse, the loofta was either the strength of a brillo pad or I was ultra-sensitive.

I remember quite vividly the bather starting to sing as a component of the exfoliation and massage. It struck me as odd, but when you think about it now when you go to the spa there is either calming sounds playing over a stereo or waterfalls to induce that tranquil environment. Despite the singing, there was nothing that was going to cover up the fact that the exfoliation was taking more than the primary layer of dead skin, but I would have to say down to raw. This was combined with the fact that time and again the woman’s breast would brush me in her massage strokes. As you can imagine, this brings “personal space" to yet another level.

After what was hours, we all left the bath feeling warm and well-rubbed. I added that I felt that I would need a little recovering time before my next bath of this sort as I truly felt rubbed raw. As you can tell from my post, Turkish baths are an experience, but there is much to be said for a traditional Swedish massage or even one of those neat Brookstone feet/leg massagers.

Let me know if you have any recommendations for great thermal baths as I am awaiting trying one for my first time.