Working hard to get my fill.

[michaelpop]

Okay, so 20 degree weather isn't really that bad as long as you're not out in it for more than a minute at a time. I don't know why it didn't occur to me that I was only going to be out in the cold for literally a minute since I was going from the airport to a taxi and then into a building. It's not like I was going sightseeing. So I didn't even

Comments

[__procession]

dude, i warned you about the ear thing! that is why i basically live in earmuffs all winter (even here in california - seriously, i don't do the cold very well).

and re: your baby suggestion - some airlines have considered designating a specific "baby and parents only" area of the plane, and then charging other passengers a $10 if they wish to sit the farthest away from that area.

another option would be the baby muzzle - it would work in all sorts of situations! (wait, don't pacifiers exist for this exact purpose?)

[vintagelife]

Haha, oh I love you Elan. Mostly because we read the same old-people boring blogs sometimes. I was just about to comment and mention the same consumerist "article"!

[__procession]

dude, we are secret old people! (GET OFF MY LAWN, YOU DAMN KIDS!)

[michaelpop]

[ihatesnard]

FOAM EAR PLUGS! these were a necessity on tour! sharing a room with 4 or 5 other people, plus loud air conditioners, they were a must! i also used them to sleep in the van over talking and music. and they come in pink:

[__procession]

LOL @ pink "women's ear plugs."

but yeah, foam ear plugs all the way! they're the only way that i managed to live for 2 months underneath my former upstairs neighbors. the foam hearoes have a noise reduction rate of 32 decibels or something - they're a miracle for noisy areas!

[ihatesnard]

sleep "pretty in pink"! hahaha.

[michaelpop]

YES! I started wearing those ear plugs (uh, not in hot pink though -- but thanks for the tip!) last year so I could sleep on the red eye and they're totally essential now. I still can't sleep on planes but oh my god they make such a difference. I could still hear the hollering children but it wasn't as bad as it would have been otherwise.

[lilypads]

That airline sounds like an excellent idea. It would be just like the babies room in church. God, that room is like hell right inside a house of God.

I remember being in New York one February right after the weather had been lingering under 10 degrees. It was about 18 out and everyone was talking about how warm it was!

[michaelpop]

I finally figured out why people would want to live where it's cold: It's because that's all they know! It's one thing if you grow up in LA where it's always nice; but most of the country actually has four seasons. We're the weird ones!

[oblio_doblio]

Babies on Planes are pretty much the only reason I bought some in-ear headphones. They block out (almost)ALL external noise. I could be staring at some screaming kid sitting next to me and hear nothing.

They were certainly a life saver on this last round of work-trips to Orlando. Those flights are filled with nothing but screaming children.

Now I just need nose plugs, because worse than any crying kid is a baby that needs a diaper change.

[michaelpop]

I consider myself a pretty laid-back and calm person, but when a kid starts screaming and it goes on for HOURS, I just want to put the kid's head in the toilet and flush. Unfortunately I'm not confrontational, so I never voice my displeasure. It's really the parents I hate most though. One time a guy next to me had enough and started yelling "SHUT UP!". Everyone around the kid was thinking it but he said it. ONLY THEN did the parent tell the kid to be quiet.

But yeah, I was thinking of investing in some noise-canceling head phones, but they're kind of expensive. But since I do fly pretty often, they'll pay for themselves in no time.

[__procession]

man, that guy sitting next to you was RAD! mad props for having the gall to speak up.

it seems like so many parents are oblivious about how disruptive their children are. it's either that, or they're just so sleep deprived from having screaming kids that they don't have the energy to fight it any more. man, how rad would it be if you could check kids like you do pets?! omg, there is an entire "kiddy-cage" niche-market just waiting to be tapped!

[ihatesnard]

i have noise-cancelling headphones... they work better for ambient/white noise, like driving, or airplane sounds. you can still hear people talking and other noises, but the music would definitely help drown it out. i was a little disappointed that it didn't block out more sound. then again, i didn't buy the super expensive ones. maybe in-ears work better. i never tried them for travel because i have a hard time keeping them in my tiny ear-holes. they are like listening to music while having earplugs in. if you want to get extra fancy, they also have the noise-canceling in-ears!

[stateofemergncy]

that's why it's good to have a handkerchief and a small bottle of chloroform handy for instant STFU for noisy kids with wimpy parents.