I’m very busy with several projects so I need to keep my clients informed about my travel plans. I will be making my final trip to New York City this Saturday, October 30th. I plan to have lunch at Carnegie Deli and then view NYC from the Top of the Rock. After that I will make a short visit to the American Folk Art Museum and finish the day at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. Next month I will go to the King Of Prussia Mall instead of NYC. The King Of Prussia Mall is in the Philadelphia area. This will mark the beginning of my extensive exploration of Philadelphia. It is not that I think the King Of Prussia Mall is a good place to start at, it is just that the local bus company offers a tour bus to the King Of Prussia Mall next month for early Christmas shopping.
I have started a new set of iPhone friendly travel notes for Philadelphia. Currently I have over 80 topics in my notes on this city. I intend to look for work in Philadelphia if I lose my day job so I’m exerting a lot of effort in learning more about the city. I don’t have any definite plans to move to Philly. I’ll just concentrate my efforts towards getting a job there if I wind up unemployed for a long stretch. In the meantime, I’ll just visit the city as a tourist.
I’ve been watching the TV series Parking Wars on DVD. This show offers a fascinating glimpse into the local culture. It is also interesting to watch fellow Pennsylvanians deal with car registration and car insurance problems. Very educational for any driver in this state! Speaking of which, I need to get my car repaired after being rear-ended. Fortunately, the damage was minor and the other driver’s insurance will pay for everything.
I will finally be making my trip to Berlin next year in April. I really need to do more work to be prepared for that trip. I have begun to make more detailed travel notes for Berlin, but they don’t need to be extensive because I will only be in the city for five days. New York City and Philadelphia require more research because I will be visiting these cities often. I’ve almost finished reading my last Berlin guidebook so I will concentrate on learning more German. I’ve been studying German for over a year but not very consistently. I’ve only read two books on the language. Everyone says you can survive in Berlin without speaking German but I’ve seen numerous examples of street signs, notices, etc in German which would be confusing if you can’t read German.
It looks like the economy is going to get even worse. I continue to travel because I think it is good preparation for finding work. It encourages me to pick up new skills and makes me more confident in dealing with unfamiliar situations. For example, in Philadelphia I will make use of public transportation and learn how to use their system.
