I also love to ski..full of love. Having (hopefully) introduced my fiance to the hobby as well, we’ll be heading off the following weekend to a weekend near Blue Mountain. I’ve come to the realization that traveling really isn’t all that expensive in many cases, so if you like to travel, don’t let the potential expenses keep you from going. It’s an enriching experience to be out on the road, but here are some tips to keep your costs low:

• Travel In Groups: The more people you have, the more likely you are to get group rates, share hotel rooms/cabins/houses and the ability to split the cost between you. More people = less money.
• Take Packages: The hotel we’re staying at for our skiing weekend also includes the lift tickets and the price is much much lower than if we bought them individually. With the economy in a downturn, many companies have cut prices significantly, so keep an eye out for travel deals on the cheap.

Hmm, with that in mind maybe next year I’ll peruse an Anime Chat Room or two for some like minded friends to come with to Katsucon!

Well it appears that the whole PR drop thing was a fluke, as it only lasted about 2 days, and I’ve now been happily returned to my original rank! Woo hoo!

I don’t usually write on the weekends, but I’ve been particularly motivated to well…do things, and in between heading out to my usual locales I do have a bit of time to spare for things like blogging. I’ve been discussing with my fiance recently as to how we can feasibly manage to travel long term, and it appears we do have some options available.

In particular, she said she’d be interested in teaching overseas. While my work is mercifully portable, she currently works in financial services and has a cushy well paying job, but she’d really like to get out there and on the road as much as I would. With that in mind, I don’t suppose anyone has experience in this sort of thing, what programs to recommend, countries to head to first, etc. We’d prefer to save money along the way, so if there’s a particular country that pays fairly well but has a low cost of living, sign me up! You can e-mail me at guarius at yahoo.com (throwaway, but I check it often!).

Thanks as always!

In this way you’re provided with a number of advantages. Safety, for one, seeing as you’ll be able to keep your apartment under lock and key and won’t necessarily have to attach your laptop and other electronics at the hip (or carry around gear like the Surefire 6P). You’ll also get to avoid the erm…activities that the other individuals in your hostel will undoubtedly take part in.

I suppose its not exactly nomadic, moving from place to place in 3-12 month stints, but I think it provides a much better opportunity to maintain such a lifestyle without getting totally burned out. Traveling with a companion (note: my girlfriend) also makes this much more feasible!

I read a lot of news and opinion pieces on energy, and recently the wire has been buzzing non-stop about the sudden spike in oil prices. Owning shares of Conoco Phillips for well over a year myself, I believe that oil is going to be an important resource for years to come, and if big oil share prices are any indication, a lot of other investors do, too. However I believe we’re finally starting to see a tipping point.

Previously, when gas went to (gasp!) $3.00 a gallon, a lot of Americans were unhappy. We complained and reluctantly stopped at the gas station, filling up our gas devouring SUVs while wondering who will do something to stop this madness! The world kept on spinning.

Now, the picture is much different. As a nation we’ve taken so much of a beating to our wallet that we have finally been forced into action. Suddenly SUVs can’t be given away, small, more efficient cars like the Smart Car are in focus, and those who were slow to get on the hybrid train (looking at you GM and Ford) are now getting crushed like never before.

Here’s the bottom line. In most cases, you’re going to have to drive your car. It might be feasible for someone like my brother who lives in downtown Philadelphia to get around without a car, but for the rest of us it’s simply not feasible. So what you can to help bring down gas prices until a cost-effective alternative is available? Drive less, get a smaller car, hypermile, whatever it takes. The one sure fire way to lower the price of gas is to lessen it’s demand. We can’t affect the increased consumptions of newly developed countries like India and China, but we can make a difference here.

Alternate income was off the charts yesterday, with an unprecedented $26.06 in earnings!

My brother recently returned from a trip to Germany since he’s currently planning to have his wedding there, and it got me to thinking. What are some things that people always seem to forget that could be very useful while traveling? I turned to my favorite travel blogs for help, and grabbed a few tips:

• Moleskine notepads seem to be a weapon of choice for many travelers. You just never know when you might find something interesting on the road and want to jot it down so that you’ll remember to look into it further later.
• Phone Cards can also be a handy tool. After all, there are a lot of occasions where you’ll want to get in touch with someone, and your cell phone won’t work everywhere!
• A Wi-Fi ready laptop! I recently picked up a laptop since I’ve been doing a lot more freelance work and sitework on the go. From what I understand hostels and a wide variety of other locations have wireless internet connections, so if you plan on doing any work on the road, have a laptop (and guard it well).

That’s all I have for now. I know I’m not usually one for weekend posts, but was in the mood to write something, albeit brief.