Reflections From 39,000 Feet

Hello August. Hello friends. Hello person in the airline seat in front of me who is constantly adjusting and squirming around. Would a early morning Bloody Mary calm you down? 'Cause if the answer is "yes," let me whip out my credit card so you can have one on me. REALLY. Okay. I feel better now.

Drink your veggies!

Now onto my post.

Most of you know that I travel a LOT. A WHOLE lot. So a typical travel day for me is just another day of work.

Let me tell you. I have got this travel thing in the bag. Seriously. I rarely have travel-induced anxiety as I have all of my must-haves and travel helpers all set. So I thought I'd share some of my wisdom, plus it gives me something to do on this LONG flight! Here goes.

Kate's Top Travel Tips and Tricks(in no particular order):

1. My TripIt app for iPhone and computer. It keeps all of my travel plans in one place. I set it up so all of my conformations load right from my email into the planner and onto my Google calendar. Also tells me how many miles I have traveled this year. So far this year 11 cities and 40,000 miles. I couldn't be on time without it.

2. My Clear card. I hate standing in airport security lines. Gahhhh! So when Clear came to SFO I jumped on it. Clear speeds you right though a special security lane with a pre-screened, fancy biometric card. It's only in a handful of airports right now, but I am so glad it's at my home airport, SFO. About 5 minutes in a security line is AWESOME! I love you, Clear.

3. My Zuca luggage. Light, compact and super efficient. Carry-on friendly and I can pack for a week in there in the included packing cubes. Plus it doubles as a desk or chair. I get stopped in the airport all the time by people who want to know what kind of luggage I have.

My Zuca in action.

 4. Merit Taxi Service. I usually travel for extended periods of time so airport transportation is really important as I don't want to leave my car in long term parking during my trip. Randomly calling a taxi can be a crap shoot (with a crazy driver) and the Super Shuttle takes hours and a million stops to get me to the airport. Enter Merit Taxi. Super friendly, nice Lincoln Town Cars, and the drivers are courteous and always on time. I call them every time I need a drop off or pick up at SFO. Merit, you guys rock!

See SF in the distance??

5. iTunes. I like to listen to music on a flight and of course iTunes for my iPhone comes in super handy. I am on a real Joe Jackson kick at the moment. I guess 'cause his songs are kinda like stories. His album Night and Day II is in heavy rotation.

6. And last, but not least... patience and a smile. Both things get you far in life. Especially with a squirming seatmate, or the airline ticket counter agent. Ask me how I know! Safe travels, all!

Dress Rehearsal

Though I have been known to tread the boards in my younger years,

Me. In the fine SJSU production of Goethe's "Stella." It was a REAL laughfest.

I have not been on stage for a while. Onstage=dress rehearsal and yesterday I had mine.


For this...

On Friday, July 26 at 11 AM PST I will be conducting a webinar hosted by Interweave Press. If you have the time (and inclination... don't you want to rivet and solder? I KNOW you do!) please join in. It's gonna be an hour (or so) of fun-filled instruction on simple riveting and soldering techniques.

The projects are based on the sampler sections from my popular book, Simple Soldering AND if you have not purchased my book yet, you'll get a coupon code for 30% off of the book when you enroll. Plus you'll get a couple of snazzy handouts, lifetime access to the recorded webinar and a chance to ask questions LIVE during the broadcast.

So... What are you waiting for? Sign up now and I'll see you on Friday!

Ready to Rock...

Popping in to say hello from Knoxville, TN. I am bustling around this morning, getting ready to go to the JTV for a 10AM (7AM PST) appearance on Jewel School.

Looky! That's me!

It's my favorite thing, really. I really like doing live TV and the gang at JTV is so professional and makes everything so easy and fun.

The best part is that I get to share my very favorite tools with you live on air. It's always a guessing game whenever I solder anything on camera... and soldering LIVE while the camera is rolling... well, let's just say that I always have a "What the heck do I think I am doing?" moment. But everything usually works smoothly. (I just knocked on my wooden desk!)

If you have just clicked over here after the show, let me say a big "THANKS" for watching and a "hello and nice to meet you." If you are looking for more information on soldering, check out the links on the left hand sidebar. That's the list of all of the great FREE classes that I teach online for Craftsy.com and Beaducation.com.

Okay, gotta run. I need to stumble onto some coffee before I am completely camera-ready. See you on-air!