Travel Prep

The adventure begins this Friday!

For the past couple of years I've been watching the number of available vacation hours grow and grow on my paychecks. I'd use just enough to get the pool back down to a "safe" level, never doing anything special. I've taken a day off here, a week there, but it's never been spend doing anything memorable. Maybe catch a movie on opening day, or lounge around the house for a couple of days. The last substantial trip I took was around three years ago, when I helped John trek out to Houston.

I found a good reason to venture outside of California once again: Allison. A little while back I mentioned some promising activity on eHarmony and, well, here it is folks. I'm not sure why I haven't really mentioned it to anyone -- I think I was afraid of jinxing something. The two of us have been talking for a couple of months now, and it's gotten to the point that a face-to-face is in order. I'm really amazed how well we've been connecting up to this point. We'll see how things go when I arrive in Florida.

And, because I'd be hunted down and killed if I didn't, I'm making a swing through Houston on my way back to Southern California. I haven't seen John in a couple of months, or Mike since his ill-fated wedding, and I'm well overdue to catch up with the both of them. Plus, it's my turn. John's been back home a couple of times over the years.

Two vacations rolled up into one! Both legs of my trip have the potential to be very, very memorable. I know the boys are already plotting stuff to do in Texas, and I've got a great feeling about meeting Allison.

Oh, and I've decided that the Department of Homeland Security will only let deviants fly nowadays. This concerns me. I don't think I qualify, but I've already bought my plane tickets. Why am I concerned? In preparation for the flight I visited the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) website to check out the Permitted and Prohibited Items list. There's been a lot of fuss lately in the news about Homeland Security (don't get me started!), so I wanted to cover my bases and avoid any issues getting through all the checkpoints.

I'm officially annoyed that they've banned all sorts of liquids and gels. Yeah, I understand why, but if someone's really willing to play junior chemist on the plane and blow me up with their toothpaste, well, more power to them. You'd think someone would notice the prep work on that one, but what the hell do I know? Regardless, it boils down to the fact that I can't board with any sort of toiletries, so my plan of not checking any luggage is pretty much shot. I feel a George Carlin rant coming on, so I'll just skip past all that and highlight some of the items on both sides of the list.

Prohibited Items:
- Shampoos and Conditioners
- Toothpaste
- Deodorants (gel or aerosol)
- Lip Gels (Carmex, Blistex, etc.)
- Mouthwash
- All Creams and Lotions

Permitted Items:
- Cigar Cutters
- Corkscrews
- Personal lubricants (up to 4 oz.)
- Gel-filled bras and "similar prosthetics"
- Tools (wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers - 7" or less in length)
- Safety Razors (including disposable razors)

Sounds like a party, eh?

I really wish I could have been in one of the meetings where officials debated on some of this stuff.