Pack With The Bare Minimum
Most people fail to pack as light as they can. In this day and age of airline cost-cutting and fee-raising, packing light is as important as ever, an extra-heavy suitcase now results in an extra-fee when checking your luggage.  Only pack what you can realistically see yourself needing. As you pack, imagine yourself using each item on your trip. If you have trouble visualizing it, you probably don’t need it.

Don’t Pack Things That May Get You In Trouble
Don’t pack any “questionable” objects like matches, scissors or corkscrews in your carry on. Having such objects will result in additional security screening and a complete waste of your time.  To make matters worse, security will likely take these objects away. If you must bring such objects on a trip, make sure you check them.

Pack For Carrying On, Not Checking Bags
In a perfect world, our checked luggage is sliding along the conveyor belt at baggage claim as soon as we arrive. Unfortunately, the world of traveling is far from perfect. Checking luggage involves wasting additional time during the check-in process. By managing to carry on all of your belongings, you will regularly save anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes of your time.

Be Ready When You Get To Security
Ever since 9/11 and subsequent terror attempts, airport security has beefed things up considerably. Lines are longer and screenings are more rigorous. As a result, you should do anything you can to expedite things.

Transfer all metal objects into your carry-on luggage and/or jacket pockets before approaching security. Watches, change, keys, and cell phones can all trigger the detector. By placing these objects elsewhere beforehand, you will save time and decrease the likelihood of leaving something behind at security.

Make sure that your passport or ID is ready to go. You know the security agent will ask for it, so leave it in your pocket after checking in. The 30 to 60 seconds you spend fumbling around to get it out of your wallet or carry on may not seem like a lot, but the time all adds up.

Wear shoes that slip on and off easily, your shoes will need to come off.  It is up to you to control how long it takes to remove them.  Avoid shoelaces at all costs, and don’t even think about laced boots.  Finally, be prepared to remove your laptop and digital camera from their cases for inspection, these typically are placed in their own tray.

Be Prepared To Board Your Flight
Try to choose your seat before you get to the airport. Ideally, you should get a seat assignment when you book your tickets. Few things are as frustrating as trying to change your seat from an aisle to a window when working with the gate agent.  If you want to make sure your carry-on luggage doesn’t find its way to the belly of the flight, despite your best efforts to avoid checking it, avoid sitting in the front of the plane.

If You Check Bags, Prepare Your Luggage For Baggage Claim
If you have to check your luggage, you should still do whatever you can to make baggage claim go smoothly. The most important piece of advice I can give is to have a way to distinguish your luggage from everybody else’s. If you have the generic black suitcase, make it stand out by tying a colored piece of fabric around the handle.

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Burger Bar At Mandalay Bay

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Many black people won’t tell you they ask this question when it comes to traveling across the globe. It is an honest question and one that may not make sense to the more experienced travelers but for us it is a matter of concern that has real roots. When International students, friends and colleagues tell me that when they first arrived in the United States they feared black people, it speaks volumes as to the worldwide reputation of American blacks. The easy target of blame is of course “the media”, but I think the general attitude this country has had towards blackness throughout time has managed to spread its poison further than any movie could.

The TWB (Traveling While Black) question comes up so much that I joked about creating a website for reference. The site would be a worldwide map with color coded pins to discern which countries and regions were USA Friendly/unfriendly and also black American friendly versus ones where we would catch heat. Hell Americans in general should have this concern but our own country has regions I would say to avoid if TWB. I can recall the day I went to see mom receive her PhD in Bloomington Indiana and the looks on the faces of people everywhere were as if a Cylon that just stepped off of a Base Ship to take souls. I know that Indiana has a couple of sports teams with black people on them (shout out to Tony Dungy). It makes me wonder if the players notice this about middle America too.

This is one of the reasons you don’t see many black people jet-setting, they don’t tell you this but it is a huge concern when traveling internationally. Not to say that there aren’t many brave souls who could care less about the attitudes of a given place but outside of Africa, the UK and the West Indies, most black Americans aren’t feeling it and for good reason.  This is not an issue that is imagined, but real feedback from individuals who live in other countries that migrated to the states.  Unfortunately the portrayal of black people on television has spread outside of our borders enough to create a negative perception on a global scale.

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For some people airplane travel can be a bit unnerving, the take off, no solid ground under you for several hours it takes some getting used to.  You have a lot of people who fly constantly, and they just hop in a plane sit back like it is nothing.  Flying goes against almost everything we normally do as people, think about it you are basically putting your life in the hands of some guy you never met.

You do not ask to see the pilot’s credentials, or ask where they ranked in their graduating class in flight school.  Most of the time you do not even see the pilot until you are leaving, so you are trusting this person knows what are is doing.

Add in the fact you are getting sealed inside a giant tube with 120 other people whom you have never met, and have no clue about.  Then think about the dry pretzels, and half a swig of soda or water they give you, and you are really not in the most comfortable arrangements.  The entire process is one big pain in the ass, here are five things you should never do when traveling on an airplane.

1. Don’t wear shoes with many straps or laces – This only serves to make going through security a pain in the ass, wear slip on shoes or flip flops because they can be easily removed.  If you have on boots laced up to you knees people in line behind you will hate you, and you will have a rough time with the security personnel.
2. Don’t carry bags with you to the bathroom – Inevitably you will have to use the bathroom at some point, and when you do be sure to leave any bags at your seat.  There are several reasons for this, the aisles are too small and a bag will most likely hit people in the face on the way by, and it will have people wondering why the hell you need a bag in that small ass bathroom.  People will think you are up to something, and you will get a multitude of strange looks for carrying a huge bag into the bathroom especially if you are a man.
3. Keep your Small Kids at Home, or Control Them – There is nothing more annoying than boarding an overnight flight, sitting down in your seat and having some baby crying behind you.  Even worse than that are the lone parent traveling with multiple kids, who run around everywhere on the plane.  If you can’t control your children, or know to how calm them down so they aren’t hollering the entire flight you may need to re-evaluate the decision to fly.  Everyone on the plain will be annoyed with you, if you are not able to keep your kids under control.
4. Playing your Music or Movie Loud Enough For Me to hear – You get on the plane with your headphones and Ipod, as you get closer to me I start to notice the beat to the latest pop song.  As I roll my eyes you sit down next to me, and I might as well have the earphones on because I can hear every lyric and beat of the music you are playing.  I appreciate you sharing and everything, but I don’t want to hear your music or movie during the flight.  Is that not bad for your hearing anyway?
5. Sleeping in an inconsiderate Manner – Look we all know on long flights sleeping for a few hours trims some of the monotony off of the trip, but if you know that you snore then just stay awake.  Being on a flight where someone is laid back with their mouth open bellowing is unpleasant, and very annoying.  You are not at home; for the most part you are in a public place so act like it.  I have watched people on airplanes lean their head on the shoulder of a complete stranger when they were sleeping, with the cramped seats on flights you can only imagine how uncomfortable that can be.

There are many other things you should not do; this just highlights several of them.  I would also say that anyone who wears a turban for religious or cultural purposes, just be mindful that you are flying on a plane with a bunch of people who probably think that you are some sort of terrorist hell bent on doing them in.  Overall though this all goes back to common courtesy, don’t impose your bad or distasteful habits on poor unsuspecting individuals when you fly.

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Thousands of people take cruises each year in an effort to get away from work, stress, and pressure of life.  You have many first time cruisers who are partaking in the cruise ship experience for the first time, there are many ways a cruise can go bad, but if you follow this guide you can help to make sure you can minimize problems when booking your cruise.

Cruises are arguably the most difficult holiday to plan and organize because of their secluded nature, which is a positive and a negative depending on how you look at it.  The reason they can be more difficult is because there are large portions of the trip where you are at the mercy of what is available on the ship.  So you need to plan for every contingency, and make sure you have everything you could possibly need in order to have a good time.

You can approach the first step one of two ways, you can book the trip yourself through a travel website like Orbitz or Travelocity.  This will require you to do a lot of research on your own in order to make sure you have a clear picture of what to expect.  You can also select a reliable travel agent who specializes in cruise vacations. He/she will have encountered most problems before and will be able to guide you through all the things you need to know, and make sure all points are covered before you set sail.

I advocate the book it yourself and research it on the internet method, there is so much information freely available if you put the leg work in you can find what you need.   Start by researching cruise ships, transport to and from the ship terminal, how long you will be in each port just to name a few.  Another aspect you need to consider is travel insurance, the reason it may be more useful when taking a cruise is the fact that a lot of the insurance packages will include or discount an emergency helicopter lift.  So if you have a serious incident and they have to call a helicopter to come get you, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg.  Remember the cruise ship has only an infirmary which is a small medical clinic, and does not have a full service medical staff.

Having done all the research, and selected a cruise that suits most of needs you were looking for, now you can develop your itinerary.  The first thing you should do is look up other travelers reviews of the same cruise that you just booked, so that you can get a clear picture of how the trip is going to go.  It is IMPORTANT to base your activities around the amount of time spent in each port, do not get too ambitious with your time frames.  The ship will leave you, make no doubts about that.

Regarding the shore excursions when you reach port make sure you have complete copies of all arrangements, time, dates, transport, and seating.  You can book the shore excursions at the same time you book your cruise, or you can do it on the ship just about any time.  If you book on the ship always ask the booking agent how long the excursion lasts, as you want to make sure you have ample time to get back to the ship.

In most cases shore excursions will be joined by people not part of your group or the cruise, so just be aware of that and understand they may not be on the same time table as you.  You should also research local spots in the area that may be close to the port, which may be of interest to you.  You will find that taking in a local venue rather than hitting the “made for tourists” spots may be more rewarding and fun.

With all of this done, you will have organized and booked a great vacation cruise for yourself, you will have all the time you need to enjoy yourself because problems should be at a minimum. Just sit back relax and count the days before it is time for you to leave on your cruise, look out for our coming guide on getting the best out of the cruise ship once you have set sail.

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Each room has a high-end 42″ LCD TV, and for those who absolutely need to keep their finger on the pulse of the world while taking a bath or shower, there’s a 15″ TV in the bathroom mirror. Yes…the bathroom mirror. The Queen-size bed I slept in was very comfortable; it was not too soft and gave me good back support.  I would say it was probably the best nights sleep I had ever had, even more comfortable than my own bed.

I have stayed in many hotels in Vegas, but stumbled upon The M when some friends had free rooms.  I roomed with some friends and I noticed something really interesting about the bathrooms, I went in and closed the door expecting some privacy to handle my business.  Well to my surprise I look over and there are my friends waving at me though the Window in the bathroom (LOL), it seems the bathrooms in every room have an non-privacy window in them.  If you are not staying with your significant other it just takes some diligence for them not to take a gander at the toilet area while someone is in there.

The Studio B buffet was very good for a buffet, with a wide variety of foods from which to choose generally if you sign up for a players card you get a free buffet.  Beer and wine were included in the price, which is a positive for most people.  I have heard on site deli and bakery are both very good and seem to serve just about anything to satisfy a craving, I have not had a chance to eat there myself yet though.

There’s not much for nightlife there unless you’re a gambler. However, there is a wine bar there that is unsurpassed. There are 150 wines that are literally on tap. Every thing from cheap wines to $450 bottle of wines. You stick the card you purchased into a slot in the carousel, place you glass under the dispenser, and push the button for 1 oz, 3 oz, a full glass of wine. It’s amazing and you absolutely must try it.

As for the gambling, this has become one of my favorite spots to gamble, it is much less crowded than the strip.  They have LCD T.V.’s in the pit, and they usually have sports playing on the T.V.’s which suits me well.  The best part of it all is they have $5 limits there on Blackjack and Roulette which means you can play for a while and enjoy yourself, and jump up in limits if you hit a  hot streak.  Of course all drinks are free while you are playing in the gaming area, but do the right thing and tip the cocktail waitresses.

Over all my stay at the M Resort was very positive experience. The only REAL downside is that it is 10 miles from the strip. There is free shuttle service to and from the airport and the strip, but if you miss the shuttle its a $40 cab ride. I found this out the hard way, last time I went I rented a car so driving back and forth was not a problem.  If you are planning a trip to Las Vegas strongly consider The M don’t let the distance from the strip keep you away from this oasis.  Take a look at the pictures I took while I was there.

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I found my Blackjack stride (Thanks to Adrian/Monica), and the one time I played cash I came out in the Green. A big difference between the Pocket Queens debacle last year where I lost $140 bucks in 1 hand. I think I am now addicted to Roulette even though I don’t win much at it lol. I think the thrill of watching the ball roll around and come to a stop provides a rush.

After I made that deal in the 1-table satellite I bum rushed a guy holding $500 dollars in his hand, which was the exact amount of the tournament chip in my pocket. I ran up to him and said hey you buying into a tournament? Cash my chip out, and I started grabbing for the money and handing him the chip. It was a short asian guy and he was kind of mumbling and grumbling then he handed over the cash and took the chip. I said thanks and was off to count my new found green. I was walking back towards Adrian and he was looking at my like WTF??? He said do you know who that was? I was like no. He said that was Can Kim Hua a pro poker player, he made several WPT final tables and a few WSOP final tables. I was like really? I didn’t even notice all I saw was the money. I looked the guy up online, he is a good damn poker player LOL. Thanks Can Kim!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.cardplayer.com/players/results/Can-Kim-Hua/176

On the last night before I was leaving for the airport, we all went to Planet Hollywood to eat at Pampas one of those Brazilian Skewer places the food was good. Then we hit the tables again for one last round of Blackjack, but we played Roulette first and didn’t hit anything LOL. I was up about $75 at Blackjack and Adrian said last hand because we had to leave for the airport. Both him and Monica said put it all in, me being a little bit tipsy from drinking Adios’s said what the hell and pushed all my money on the circle. There was about $175 or so in there, and the dealer starts dealing, I believe I got a 10 with the first card, and a 9 with the second one. The dealer had a Queen showing, and I was like “s*it” she’s going to have 20, but she flipped over a 6 she hit and busted WOOT!!!!!!!!!! Then on the real last hand LOL, I put in $100 bet, and the dealer dealt me a 10 and a King, I thought the $100 was a lock until she flopped over a 10 and a 4 then hit and got a 7 for 21!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I flipped her 5 bucks collected my chips and left lol.

It kind of sucks to be back, and at work, but I guess all good things come to an end. We had so much fun, you guys can ask Adrian about his lasting memory of me and Blackjack from this trip LOL.

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We started with $3000 chips this time, and it was a 2-table tournament, I had Nikki, Chris, Barbie, Daniel, Rishi, Ben and Lola at my table. I didn’t go into the tournament with any particular startegy other than don’t donk of my chips playing stupidly. I started out the tournament playing tight, and I had won a few small pots to get my stack up to about $4000. Then this hand occured

My hand:

I am sitting in the Big Blind, and the blinds are $100/$200 Chris limps into the pot from 5th position, Daniel was in the Small Blind and calls. I check and the flop comes:

Daneil checks, I decided to check as well, Chris leads out with a bet of $600, Daniel folds I think about what Chris could have, and I am thinking he has a King with a kicker like a J, or he had a weak Ace. I contemplated re-raising him in this spot, but I didn’t want to put to much into this pot as my hand was easily counterfeitable and if Chris did have something like A 10 he was unlikely to fold, I still wasn’t 100% sure exactly what he had but I new I was in the lead. So I just called, the next card was:

I check again and Chris bets out with about $800, I still feel confident I am ahead, but I don’t want to overplay the hand, because if my read was wrong I didn’t want to lose too many chips this early. So, I just call still confident that I am ahead, but the River card brings:

When I saw that card I knew I was beat beause if Chris had an Ace his kicker was going to beat mine, so I check and Chris checks thinking I had a King and he shows:

He raked in a nice sized pot, I was sort of surprised that he did not raise pre-flop with that hand, it almost cost him a lot of chips. As the tournament moved on I played tight to the vest and moved all-in the few times winning the blinds uncontested. Then I doubled up a few times with pocket pairs, and winning a few showdowns.

I had a decent sized stack of about $8000 chips, then a big hand came up late in the tournament. I am in the big blind with these cards:

Chris limps into the pot from about the seat to the right of the cutoff. Everyone folds, and I just check. The flop comes:

Looking at the flop I haven’t hit anything, and I am out of position I have a decent amount of chips even though the blinds are $800/$1600 at this point, I am thinking about the range of hand Chris has, and since he didn’t raise pre-flop earlier with AQ I had to expand it a bit. I am thinking he has 2 face cards, and he just wanted to see a flop, and I feel I am behind, so I check to see what he does and he checks behind me, the next card is:

I now pickup a fairly good flush draw, and I don’t think the flop or turn hit Chris either, at this point I am thinking he is still ahead of my hand, and there is a possible flush and possible straight on the board, so I check. Chris leads out with a minimum bet of $1600, which I believe to be a “feeler” bet I start thinking about what he has, and the way he played the hand I did not feel that he flopped the flush, and I was confident that the turn card did not help him.

Being that I put him on 2 face cards pre-flop I wondered if one was a Jack or a Ten, but I gave those a low probability because I felt he would have made a nice sized bet on the flop to prevent me from catching a hand to outdraw him. I think a pocket pair wasn’t likely here as he would more than likely have raised pre-flop rather than just calling from that position. But even with all of that I still feel that I am behind in the hand, and I don’t think calling his bet is unreasonable to take a chance on almost a nut flush, I have about an 18% chance of hitting a spade on the river which isn’t very good and if he has the Ace of Spades I would be in bad shape. There was $5600 in the pot, and it cost me $1600 to call I am getting 3.5 to 1 for my money, and I feel confident if I hit a spade on the river I will win the hand. So I decide to call mainly because it’s an easy decision if I don’t hit the flush I can get away from the hand plus there aren’t many other situations where I can win this much money with a single call and have an easy decision to make. So I call the $1600, and the river card is:

Pefect card for me, so I bet $3200 and Chris goes All-in I call, and he shows

a Queen high flush, and I win a huge pot with my King High flush and knock Chris out of the tournament.

This pot basically propelled me to the victory after that hand I gained the chip lead and never relenquished it, I beat Barbie heads up because of the large chip lead I had, but winning a tournament always feel good. I was happy with my play throught the tournament, I made a few mistakes, but I never put too many of my chips at risk without a good reason.

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