Efficient Tour Group: 7 days tour 6 states

My parents are planing to sign up for a vacation package that bring tourist drive around 6 states in the wild west in 7 days with guide full trip.

There is their road map:

Utah: Salt Lake City -> Idaho: Idaho Fall -> Wyoming: Grand Teton -> Devils Tower -> Montana: Yellowstone -> South Dakota: Mt. Rushmore -> Colorado: Steamboat -> Denver -> SLC

Almost late for my flight

I went to Phili for SAP training couple weeks ago. After the class is over on the lastday, I decided to tour downtown Philadephia. I wanted to visit early in that week but the class run till 5pm each day, no time left for any site-seeing. The last day of class ended a little early, so it gave me about 2 hours to tour downtown. I saw Independence Hall, Libery Bell, Benjamin Franklin Museum.

The bad thing is I took the wrong road on my way back to Airport. When I finally arrived the airport, its only 20min prior to my flight. I couldn't check in at the main terminal because passengers need to arrive at least 30min before their flight in order to get a boarding pass at the main terminal. They told me I still have a chance if i can reach the express terminal where the plane on time w/o go thru main concore. The problem is I have to walked there from outside, since w/o a boarding pass, I can not pass the security check point located in the main terminal. Only way is to get to the express terminal directly from outside and there is no check-in time limitation there as long as the plane hasn't leave.

I was on high heels, and carrying a heavy bag, and it's very cold,never expected these!!! I run about half of a mile on my heels and reached the terminal 1 min before the plane was ready to take off. I was exauhsted, but very happy that I could make to the flight, otherwise i have to take another flight next day. My poor italian made shoes, i would never want to hurt my shoes by running in them, but it's a special circumstance, and they are very sturdy, so grateful the heels didn't break!

After all, I am amazed by my potential, i havn't jog for million years, well, i almost lost my breath by the time i got there, but still I am suprised i made it w/o took my heels off, and my heavy luggage is still with me. Once I get in the terminal, there another long walk or run to the gate. I was runing like a wind, ppl saw me probably thing i was crazy, but i didn't care, all I was thinking at that point is to reach the gate, even if the plane might left already, but i still have to give it a try. Well, I made it... i had a sweet nap on my flight back from Phili to Columbus. :-)

I LOVE TurboTax

This is the 1st year I use TurboTax to file my income tax return. I used H&R Block for the past a few years, but finally decide they charge to much and want to file tax on my own.

However, it's too complicated without anyhelp. So friend recommended TurboTax, I decided to give it a try. OH, MY GOD. it's so easy to follow, a 10-year old can do it! I think I will start using TurboTax every year from now on.

One other thing I want to remind ppl who read this it that unless you are absolutly sure what forms you need, show Turbo Premium package, it enclosed everything you possible need for tax purpose and more information to maxium your refund. In 5 years, this year i have the most refund than ever. I regret I didn't start use it earlier, so maybe I could get more refund for the last couple years that I have been working.

If you ar sure you have nothing can itemlized or deducted, then doesn't matter to use HRB or Turbo, but still the latter is much cheaper. HRB charges their clients by number of forms they used, so more deductions means more Sub-schedule forms you will use, they will get paid more.
With, TurboPremium, it doesn't matter how many form you will need, so you can get all your deduction without worrying your tax preparation fee is stacking up!

Cholocate Cream Puff

I went a Schmidt's with my friends for dinner last night. It's located inside German Village of Columbus. I don't care for German food much, but the Cholocate Cream Puff was great! Its diameter is size of my hand. I ate the whole thing, when my friends couldn't even finish. Then I decided to have very little to eat for lunch today.

On our way to Schimdt's, we drove pass Short North. That is the Columbus equvialent of Soho. A lot art gallaries. Nice architectures. Many lights on street like Xmas. Anyway we had a good time and full :-)

www.meetup.com needs improvement

It's so unfair that this website charge $12/mon for group founder. How many ppl are willing to pay that much to create a group for ppl they don't even know. The whole purpose of this website is to give an opportunity to people with common interests to gather and to know each other. The fee prevents that to happen, since not a lot ppl want to build a group, hence nobody can meet.

My proposal is to charge the group creater $1/mon, and anyone who like to join the group also pay $1/mon. If there are 11 members, plus the group founder, the website will still have a net revenue of $12/mon. I bet they can gain more this way, since more ppl won't like to create a group. And more groups created only can mean more people can able to sign up those groups. In long run, it's very benificial to the website designer, and people who use this website. WIN-WIN situation.

I think, the ppl who designed this website are prob geeks. They don't have a business mind, but want to get rich. That explains why they pose the $12/mon crazy fee for group creators. Ppl don't like the fee won't create a group, without a group noone can join it, eventually less and less visitor to this website.

I tried to check if there is a Movie-buff group in Columbus. This supposes to be a very common interest....guess what, no group created. I don't blame everyone. Even I would think it's crazy to pay $12 a month to keep a group. I would rather use that money for a movie. But when I checked the list to see the number of people who are interested joining the movie-fan group if it got created, guess how many potential members on that list? About 20!

That says everything... The more you trying to charge ppl, the less you will get. Sucess story of Walmart.... and all other inexpensive retail stores and restaurants.

What is the deal with Old Single Women?

Why are single women over 40 constantly in a bad mood? It's like everything & everyone bothers or annoys them, similar to ppl who are constipated, only indefinatly longer. I guess you can call that Depression. But only if they want to admit that, and get help from a shrink or some medication, they won't get any better. When they are in bad mood, either too quiet, or too irritated, they are effecting the spirit of the whole world. Someppl may not be pessimistic, but when they are surrounded by pissed old single women, how can that not makes them to become pessimistic?

So my theory is single women over 40 (especially the ones that are not dating) are horrors to society. We have to find a way to avoid them, or convert them.