How to travel alone and be safe

17 year old Chelsea King didn't have to die. All she needed was a jogging partner. I traveled all over this country alone for 5 years averaging 3 to 5 different cities a week. I traveled so much speaking about all things Macintosh that I would forget what city I was in without looking at something to remind me. I had no escort or partner and I am still alive....

So, how did I stay alive all those years. Was it just luck? Maybe, but I tend to think not. Was I too ugly to attack? No, I have always looked good but don't fool yourself. Even if you're not Miss America standards, an attacker won't care as he's not interested in your face. I believe that I stayed alive because I took precautions every day, every where I went. I made up my mind that I was NOT going to be another statistic. There is no way that a woman can physically over power a 200 pound male without considerable self defense training. Which may or may not work in a state of panic, however; we can over power a 200 pound male with our minds by thinking ahead and being smart.

Here are six simple rules I lived by as I circumvented the US alone for 5 years that kept me alive:

1. Be aware of your surroundings. Sounds simple doesn't it. I love technology, no, I really love technology and am considered a technology freak by my friends and family, but I have never, ever listened to my iPod until safely locked in my hotel room. How many women do you see blindly jogging down the street or in a park with white ear buds in their ears, pony tail swaying to a fro? How is that women going to hear an attacker come up behind her with Led Zeppelin blaring in her ears? It will be the last song she ever hears. Use all your senses to evaluate your surroundings. Use your eyes to scan potential hiding places for an attacker. Use your ears to hear someone coming up behind you. Never walk with your head down. Always scan your surroundings for potential hazards. Most important. Use that sixth sense that screams in your brain, "DANGER! RUN!" Better to look like an idiot than to be dead.

2. Never, ever be alone. If you are traveling alone, how can you not be alone? You ask. Easy. Surround yourself with people. Female predators are cowards. They won't attack you if you are with someone else. When entering a hotel elevator, never enter with one lone male. Wait until several people are getting on the elevator. I have stood in a lobby pretending to read travel brochures just to wait until a family entered an elevator. Paranoid? Maybe. But I'm alive. After teaching Mac repair all day in hotel conference rooms, I need some fresh air. I would ask the hotel clerk where the nearest park was then take my rental car there. I always stayed where the people were. I never ventured onto trails alone. NEVER, EVER! Tag along with a family and strike up a casual conversation. But never go it alone.

3. Always have a weapon. Since 9/11, it's hard to carry weapons on your person, but you can always carry a Bic ballpoint pen. If I found myself alone in an empty hotel corridor, I always armed myself with a Bic ballpoint pen, cap off in my hand. A ball point pen in the neck or eye of an attacker will make him let go so that you can run. At night before going to sleep in a hotel room by myself, I lean the ironing board up against the door so that it will fall and wake me in case someone has a master key card and tries to get into my room. Then I put the iron on my night stand to slam them in the head in case they get that far. Paranoid, maybe. But not dead.

4. Never trust a Male when alone. He may be the nicest guy, but how do you know? Most predators strike up a conversation before they attack, sizing you up and getting your guard down. Keep walking quickly, clutching your ballpoint pen, head held high and determined. They will usually move on to an easier target. Don't be afraid to appear rude. Better to be considered rude to a stranger than to be dead. Paranoid? Probably, but I'm still here. Remember what your parents taught you when you were a kid. Never talk to strangers or get into their car! Just because you're an adult, doesn't mean the rules changed!

5. Be prepared and always have a plan. Don't wait until you find yourself alone with someone and that sixth sense starts screaming "DANGER!" It might be too late. I found myself alone once in a basement conference room while I packed up my equipment. My danger alarm was sounding so I armed myself with 2 flat blade screw drivers I had for my repair class and cleaned up as quickly as possible. Nothing happened. But if it did, I was prepared. Am I paranoid? OK, I'll admit it. I am paranoid, but I'm alive! Be smart and be safe!

6. Have fun! Don't forget to have fun in your travels. I always have and I have met some really great people. I had a rule when training. I was going to learn as much from my students as my students learned from me. Where did they use technology? How did they use it? What was their job like? What was the best food in town? And on and on. I just made sure I stayed safe BEFORE I had fun.

I hope these six simple rules save your life someday. This world can be a nice place or it can be a horrible place. The choice is yours. Be smart and stay safe. If by writing this article, I save even one life or prevent one attack, it was worth it to share my secrets and let the world know that I am a little paranoid or maybe a lot paranoid. But, I'm alive!

Blanket Party

American Airlines will now charge you $8 bucks for a blanket and pillow and everyone is screaming about it. Ever since I saw the segment on 60 Minutes about all the germs and nasty stuff that lives in Airline blankets and pillows, they can keep them anyway!

Still, it got me thinking. When I first started traveling by air in the 80's, flights from LA to Chicago were $600 to $800. It was something that I couldn't afford to do more than once a year. During the 90's, prices dropped but still remained in the $500 range for a long time. We would see a movie during the flight and were given a pretty decent meal. Pillows and blankets flowed freely, and carry on's were never questioned or given a second thought.

After 9/11, everyone was scared to fly and our confidence in air travel was shattered. Airlines reduced their prices to almost nothing to get us to come back and trust them again. This became a double edged sword. The public never wanted to pay those high fares again. Airlines started to falter and fail. I never thought I'd see TWA go under, but I did. I still have a pair of their head phones. The movies went first, then the meals. That's OK. I could live with that. Apple and the iPod made it much easier to fly and be entertained. I'd just grab some snacks or something on my way into the terminal.

Then we had the tennis shoe bomber. No more liquids. Period! No water, food or anything unless you bought it in the terminal after going through security. Airlines also started limiting carry ons and checked luggage. 1 carry on and 1 checked bag. That was it. Any additional bag would be $25 to $50. Of course, the flight just cost us $49 one way. But that was irrelevant! We wanted it all! The cheap flights, limitless luggage, carry on's, blankets, food, etc.

Now we have had the crotch bomber. You can have a carry on but you can't get to it the last hour of your flight and you have to put everything away! Just sit there and look out the window. Air travel is no longer the pleasant experience it once was.

Now the blankets have been removed. Thanks to the crotch bomber that used a blanket to cover up his attempted acts of terror and just because the Airlines can charge for such items.

There is always a price to pay. Cheap fares have resulted in cheap flights, no frills, no nothing. Just be happy you get to where you're going.

RV Show

I have been tossing around the idea of purchasing something to travel in for years! I get the itch, go look, then the itch goes away. I scratched it again yesterday by attending an RV show in Battle Creek, Michigan. Climbing in and out of at least 60 different types of portable houses one could pull behind a pickup truck. I trudged through big ones and little ones. Tent campers, where the thought of Freddie Cougar at night made my flesh crawl. Hi Lows, which I call a modified barn on wheels, and the glorious dens of luxury, 5th wheels. Almost all of them were equipped with placements for numerous flat screen TV's. Some were even mounted outside where you could watch what ever you want under the shade of the automatic awning. I don't call that camping. It's parking your butt in the dirt and doing the same thing you do at home on the couch. Come on people! Think outside the box! Where's your sense of adventure! Surround sound, fire places, coax TV drops in every room, computer desks, and even a digital antenna that you could crank up were in most trailers. Technology has come a long way since the days of the old Air Streams. I still remember the smell of the wood inside the old one we had when I was as a kid. Maybe I was shopping to try and find my childhood and not just for a trailer.

The RV that I did like would necessitate me purchasing a new 1 ton, diesel pickup truck along with the 35 foot, 5th wheel den of luxury. Resulting in the total package deal costing more than my house! So much for that! The travel trailers that I could tow behind my existing Dodge Dakota pickup were claustrophobic tin cans costing at least 10K. That's a hell of a lot of trips to Vegas, Baby!

I think I scratched that itch. Hopefully it won't bother me anymore.

Traveling for Fun

I have been a Road Warrior for years! Traveling all over the country as a trainer in Mac Troubleshooting. I have carried assorted computers, routers, hubs, cables, projectors, and on and on through Airport security getting the evil eye by the TSA. I'm sure not too many women travel with screw drivers and needle nose pliers in their underwear. I have been felt up and felt down. Especially the first week after 9/11. No cavity search yet, but I'm sure it's coming as we have now seen crotch bombers.

I no longer travel with all this equipment. In fact, last year I just took my iPhone and tried to do everything possible with just that. It worked, kind of. I travel more now for fun or try to mix business with pleasure. Staying wired to the Tech world all the time can get a little dicy when traveling. Leave home with out? NEVER!

This Blog is intended to tell you of my adventures as a Mac Geek. How I do it and how you can to, even when your butt's not glued to the chair at your computer.

Happy Mactrails to you.