Foolishness Archives - asthejoeflies

Jan 30 2015

A Silly Post about my Airline Pajama Collection

This is my pile of pajamas AFTER uncluttering. And why yes, that is a CX pajama collar sticking out of my fat boy sweatshirt

My wife has been reading a new book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Normally this wouldn’t be relevant to this blog, except this book combined with being snowed in have created a state where she has been passionately cleaning out our closets for the last week. I now have three garbage bags full of clothes to donate/trash – and much to my chagrin there are a few sets of pajamas in there.

I am a person who has never bought a real set of pajamas in my life, but somehow I am also semi-obsessed with airline pajamas. Maybe it’s that they’re “free” (yeah right). Anyway, here are my impressions of the various pajama sets I have, listed in order of accrual. Oh, and did you know I’m giving away a set of Cathay pajamas and a Rimowa amenity kit? Synergy.

Lufthansa 2012

Lufthansa pajama’s are made by Van Laack. Whatever that means – Banana Republic is already above my cost threshold for clothes. The design choice is interesting – the pants are of a rougher material – almost like hospital scrubs. The shirt is of a softer material and has a collar that you can pop so you look cool.

Rockin' dat pajama top — Rockin’ dat pajama top – wow this post is silly

These pajamas will always have a special place in my heart because they were the first pair I ever got, but the shirt is starting to get pilly. I appreciated the pants because they didn’t get static-y on the plane or at home (very big for me), but they’re not “soft” and comfortable to wear around the house, though they have useful pockets!

The shirt is nice and soft and very comfortable to wear – I wear layers at home because we keep the heat low and it served as my middle layer for a long time.

American Airlines 2013

Back when my Award Booking Service was in its fledgling infancy, I helped book my friend and his family a trip to Taiwan. Since he was my buddy and I was one of his first clients, I asked for a set of AA pajamas as payment instead of my regular fees (he was flying with a 3 year old and would get an extra unwearable set anyway).

Jess came up with this brilliant idea for my AA set

The AA pajamas are actually quite comfortable – they are soft and spacious which of course I appreciate. They aren’t really that aesthetically pleasing, they kind of feel like those old Magic Eye things, and they can get kind of warm since they’re not made of cotton (polyester I think). We use the top as a pillowcase on occasion. I like to wear the pants around the house but they can definitely get static clingy, which is annoying. They also lack pockets which is unfortunate functionality wise.

Lufthansa 2014

We didn’t fly any first class flights in 2013 (thanks for nothing, M!), so the next set of pajamas I added to my collection from actually flying were from Van Laack and Lufthansa once again. The pants feel pretty much the same, while great for the plane I don’t have much use for them at home.

The shirt seems a little thicker and softer now, and thus more comfortable – so I prefer this set to the set I got in 2012. Other than that, it didn’t seem to me like too much had been updated. Moving on.

British Airways 2014

British Airways pajamas, made by Orvec, definitely receive my silver medal. They are very simple and understated – just straight blue with the BA logo and “First” on them. But pajamas don’t need to have flair – they just need to be comfortable. I find the BA pajamas have comfort in spades. They are 100% cotton, so they breathe very well, and they are just super comfortable and relaxing. They replaced AA as my “lounge around home” pants and I wear the shirt semi-regularly. Simple, classy, and comfortable. Biggest downside: no pockets

Simple and understated - a great set of pajamas — Simple and understated – a great set of pajamas

EVA Air 2014

EVA Air is special because they are one of the few airlines to offer pajamas in business class. Since they have to offer so many sets, I wasn’t expecting much, but they exceeded expectations – they even had pockets!. They weren’t amazing and are degrading fast, but they were comfortable and nice to sleep in. My two bones to pick: tons of static, probably the most of any set I own, and the medium is too tight on me haha. Well, I guess that’s my own problem.

[Photo of form fitting pajamas redacted. You’re welcome]

Cathay Pacific 2014

My favorite airline pajamas hands down are from Cathay Pacific. Made by PYE, they are 100% organic cotton and they are what I imagine real, purchased pajama sets are. They are very soft, comfortable, very little static cling, breathable – simply put they are amazing. I guess Cathay Pacific used to offer Shanghai Tang pajamas and that was a big deal – if those pajamas are better than these than hats off. Even the slippers Cathay gave out were nicer than what I had received on other airlines – they take their sleepwear seriously. And of course – pockets 🙂 Oh, and did you know I’m giving some away? What a deal!

Wow these look even better without me in them (pye.com.hk)

Final Thoughts

Free pajamas are great. Each one has a special place in my heart – I guess they are my souvenirs. It’s kinda silly and stupid to write about them, but when you’ve got pajamas on the brain, what’re you gonna do? (Jess: There are not enough garbage bags in the world to get rid of your stupid pajama collection. See above photo.)

Jul 29 2014

The Most Annoying Things about Coming Home from Vacation

I bet M misses drinking in the First Class Terminal too

Vacations are great. Coming home, not so much. My friend asked me today if I’m going through vacation withdrawal, and while I honestly answered no (I’m glad to be back), there are still some issues that are annoying me in the 24 hours since we got back. Not including finishing the trip report. 😛 What really inspired me to write this post is my lost mail – so let me start my venting list with that.

Organizing Piles of Mail

Usually I really hate sorting through all my junk mail when I get home. Back in the day, it was pretty easy to throw out…well, basically everything. But these days I have to be on the lookout for special mailed credit card offers, or reimbursement checks, or various other things related to this hobby – so it takes some concentration. Not a ton of time, but time nonetheless.

I sure wish I had one of these right now

Well, what usually is a 3 on my annoyance scale got upgraded to like a 7 today when I realized I don’t even have any mail to sort. We generally have the US Postal Service hold our mail when we are gone and it always shows up the day we get back. Well, disconcerting sign #1 was the fact that when I got home last night there were like 5 or 6 pieces of mail in the mailbox (i.e., delivered before the end of the hold). Disconcerting sign #2 was the three pieces of mail I got today – as opposed to the fifty I was expecting, including some new credit cards (old accounts with card reissues).

So…that all kind of sucks. I didn’t check the mail until after 5 PM so I had nobody to call and I really hate waiting for this kind of stuff. I can’t even say my mail is lost in the cloud…

E-mail clean up

While on the subject of the cloud, another tedious task that needs to get done is cleaning my e-mail inbox. Again, this was easier when I didn’t have to keep an eye on various hobby related offers. It’s just something that takes time and energy and a reminder that you are no longer in Bavaria eating pretzels all day. Well, I guess I could still be eating pretzels all day. But yeah, first thing I do when I get back is clean out my inbox and make sure all my bills are paid (or that nothing went awry since they’re all on autopay).

Dishes

In terms of “things I like most about traveling”, not having to do the dishes is towards the top of the list. Sure, I had to do them a few times when we were staying in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but when you’re in a hotel – no dishes! I’ve done the dishes about 5 times in the 30 hours we’ve been back, which is kind of ridiculous.

“But Joe, why don’t you use a dishwasher?” one might ask.

My response: Good question. As always, I’m kind of stupid about a lot of things

I should consider using these as more than just drying racks

Jetlag

Either I’ve been hit by reverse jetlag or I am fine considering I am up at 1 AM writing this and not tired at all. The new wrinkle though is dealing with M and jetlag. Really, readjusting her to “normal” sleep habits is going to be interesting overall since she was sleeping in the same room as us for the last week and a half (and even in our bed once or twice). She kicked things off by waking up at 2 AM ready for her day (8 AM in Europe). If anyone has tips for dealing with toddlers and jetlag, please share!

Unpacking

Our house is a disaster zone right now since we haven’t found the time to unpack or haven’t had the energy. To top it off, our dog just weaves in and out of suitcases and laundry baskets depositing her hair over all of them. So, I’d better get on that post haste. Jess would kill me if I showed a picture of our living room, but luckily USMNT Soccer player Alejandro Bedoya had a tweet about the same subject this morning.

Real Life

Of course, the worst and best part about coming home is real life. I don’t have to go to work yet so I don’t have much to complain about – but in general it’s so tough to adjust mentally and physically when you get back to your normal life and routine. I don’t envy people who travel for a living though. In the end, despite my complaining, I love home and don’t mind being back.

Final Thoughts

This is just a silly post I’m writing while frustrated about a specific situation. But it did get me curious – a lot of the times the talk is all about the destination (and how we get there) – what annoys people about coming back? I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts. Let me know in the comments!

Oh and if you were following along our trip to Germany and Austria and curious about what we ended up doing regarding souvenirs: three bottles of wine, a bunch of free ducks from Lufthansa, a couple of Christmas ornaments, and tons of Ritter and Haribo. Think that will do just nicely.

View from Neuschwanstein Castle — OK maybe seeing this view makes me wish I wasn’t back…

Jul 15 2014

Time to get out of the miles and points game?

Go...crazy? Don't mind if I do! — Go…crazy? Don’t mind if I do!

A few things have happened in the last month or so that have really made me question my competency with miles and points – and even made me wonder whether it’s still worth it? In the end, I don’t think I’m quitting, buuuut I am getting a bit old (or baby brained) and making mistakes that I shouldn’t be. This is happening concurrently with the miles and points game changing (read: devaluations) – can I keep up? Here are some reasons I considered getting out and the solutions that I’m implementing to keep myself IN.

Reason 1: I forgot to cancel a card before the annual fee was due

This one is kind of embarrassing on two fronts. Before we left for Germany I noticed my Chase Sapphire Preferred card was missing. Embarrassment #1. THEN when I went to check online to make sure there had been no fraudulent charges, I noticed that my annual fee had already hit and I hadn’t cancelled the card yet. Embarrassment #2.

I had decided months ago to downgrade to a regular Sapphire (keep line and credit history, get rid of annual fee), but I was really shocked that I hadn’t cancelled before the fee hit. Even though I have a detailed spreadsheet I check two or three times a week, I missed it. Yes, it was still waived because I cancelled soon enough, but still.

Gmail reminder — It’s as easy as googling “gmail reminder”

Solution: Set up auto reminders through gmail

If I start paying annual fees by mistake I’m going to cut into the money I save really quickly and painfully. I’ve now set up calendar reminders for 11 months before each annual fee is due – my spreadsheet is too long to not miss something every once in awhile.

Reason 2: One of my credit cards went missing

See above. I know my CSP is in my house somewhere, I just don’t know where. Since I downgraded it doesn’t matter (change in expiration date) but still…embarrassing.

Solution: Create a system that is a little more organized than my sock drawer

I need to do this, but I’m terrible at organizing. Anyone have suggestions?

Reason 3: Infant taxes have the potential to become painful

Even though we had a great agent help us book our lap infant below what it should have cost, it’s not something I can really count on. When flying premium cabins internationally a lap infant is supposed to cost 10% of what the cash ticket would cost – or $2000 in the case of our current trip. That’s…a lot. Yes, M will be old enough for her own seat soon, but that’s going to cost miles so costs are rising either way.

Lufthansa First Class — Do we need to give this up?

Solution(s): Start flying coach, stick to domestic vacations, or start manufacturing more spending

I haven’t decided which of these solutions to pursue yet. Flying coach would cut costs by quite a bit (both miles and cash wise) and we’d still be saving money. We just wouldn’t be flying as comfortably as in the past. I’ll have to do some thinking about whether M is “worth” the miles to fly in premium cabins. Another option is to stick to domestic vacations and shift our earning strategy to saving money on hotels.

Albert Bierdstadt's Rocky Mountain — If so, there are consolation prizes to be had in the U.S. (Albert Bierdstadt)

After the German mountain landscapes I’m curious to check out the Rockies or the Appalachian mountains, which I’m sure are equally impressive. Finally, I think it’s time I need to step up my manufactured spending game. If you don’t know what that is, here is a primer. Saverocity has some of the most skilled MS people out there – it’s about time I caught up.

Reason 4: Playing the game takes up too much time

One thing preventing me from really ramping up my manufactured spending is time. I already spend so much time looking for award tickets (either for my family, friends, or clients) – that’s the part of the game I really enjoy and most enjoy helping people learn about.

gcmap.com Asia — This kind of stuff is fun for me (gcmap.com)

But I can do that from the comfort of my home when my daughter is sleeping – manufactured spending requires a real time commitment – and time is money. So sometimes I really do think about quitting because I just imagine what else I could do with my time. Write the greatest American novel composed entirely of run on sentences, perhaps?

Solution: Stick to pursuits that are the most efficient timewise

I’ll have to evaluate what that entails exactly, but in the spirit of German efficiency, I’ll need to learn to maximize my time better. Which leads me to the fifth and final reason that really made me think about this:

Reason 5: I dreamt about booking an award ticket the other night – it was super intense

Seriously.

Solution: Get a life

Final Thoughts

No, I’m not really going to quit the miles and points game. Still, I think it’s important for all of us to evaluate where we are from time to time – there is no point in earning miles just for miles’ sake, or becoming unbalanced in the rest of our life, or turning the hobby into a pursuit where we lose money. As I’ve said before, my goal is to expose my family to new experiences in as much comfort as possible – all these things that have been happening lately have just reminded me I need to take stock of the means by which we will get there. The game keeps changing but the goal stays the same.

Anyone else notice “slip ups” in their game, have ideas for how to combat them, or ever feel the same way?

Jul 28 2013

Beginner’s Guide to Killing Mosquitos (Mosquitoes? who cares)

I know I mostly write about traveling, but since it has become so relevant I decided to write a little guide to killing mosquitoes. Why don’t I just wear bug repellant? I don’t really like wearing it to sleep, and I also am not sure it’d be good for the baby to ingest it and she is at the stage where she puts her mouth on everything including my arm.

1. Understand the threat is real

But Joe, why should I care about killing mosquitoes? Maybe you don’t, and that’s up to you. But that’s a mistake. Ignore mosquitoes at your own peril, and wake up with itchy red spots!

2. Create lots of ambient light

You need light to spot these little buggers. For me, natural and white light work the best. I prefer sunlight but incandescent light bulbs do the trick.

3. Find areas of the room with white backgrounds

What color are mosquitoes? Black. What’s the easiest color background to see them on? White. SCIENCE.

4. Sit still

Mosquitoes are dumb. They don’t understand logic. Their brains can only physically be the size of pinheads, because they are so small. I don’t know how big their brains are but I believe that to be a reasonable estimate. Anyway, they are dumb but they are also JERKS. They want to drink your blood. OK, technically they want to use their blood to nourish their evil mosquito eggs or something. Whatever, they want your blood.

They like to come to get it when you aren’t moving. So, sit still – they will come out, I guarantee it. Better yet, have your wife or six month old child sit still for you. Ideally, cover the half of you (or your decoy) that you can’t see, that way, the mosquito will be forced to move the fleshy side in your line of sight.

5. When you see a mosquito, your window to act is quick

So make quick, smart decisions. You must be decisive and strong. It will be there one minute, then gone the next.

6. Two hands are better than one

I think mosquitoes have evolved to be able to avoid one handed smashes. Why? Those big wings! When you come at them with one hand, you are actually creating a shockwave of air that the mosquito RIDES TO SAFETY. Science, again. When you come at it from both sides with two hands the mosquito gets pushed to its death. It’s still fast though so move quickly.

7. Be patient

Mosquitoes are tough to kill. You probably won’t get them on your first try. But be patient and calculated, and you will persevere. You are a MAMMAL. They are just an insect.

Anyway, we killed about five mosquitoes using this method. My favorite kill happened when I was putting Baby M to sleep tonight. I had her in the carrier and was rocking her to sleep. She finally fell asleep so I went to go put her down. I unstrapped one side, but as I was about to unstrap the other I saw one of the buggers flitting above M’s head. I had to make a split second decision. Wake the baby or subject her to bites all night? I decided to try to have my cake and eat it too. Holding her with one arm (she was partially unstrapped, remember) I tried to GRAB the mosquito with my right fist. In the process I almost pulled out a tuft of her hair. Alas, I had missed!

But the baby remained asleep and I put her down. But then! As I was getting up off the bed, I saw the carcass of the confounded beast on the ground. I had gotten it! It probably fell into her hair and then fell out. You can put my Father of the Year Award in the mail, thanks!

So next time you see a mosquito – use these steps and KILL it! I can think of no good they bring to this world.

Alright, it’s late, but in seriousness, if anyone has tips for dealing with mosquitoes that aren’t going to be detrimental to the baby, I’m all ears. Maybe bug repellant is safe but that is out for now, but any other options are welcome!