Phillies Phever

This guy was really feeling the phever.

After waiting 28 years, the city of Philadelphia truly embraced the long awaited title. Although I may not fully understand all the emotions in regards of wanting something for twenty something years, I can say that the Phillies Phever was contagious. I believe I started feeling symptoms of this phever at the start of the playoffs, when the Phillies played the L.A. Dodgers. I was in no shape to do any school work or even go out during game days. I started to yell and scream more. Eventually, I lost my voice after game 5. All I could see was RED. This epidemic even led my friend from Boston (Red Sox fan) to buy a Phillies t-shirt just so she could feel better.

As for me, I dealt with the condition by buying a nice comfy red Phillies hoodie, busting out my red purse, shoveling through my closet for all my red-Christmas colored clothes, adding "ph" in front of every word beginning with the letter "f", memorizing the stats of the players, and petitioning with my classmates to have class shortened for game 5 of the World Series. Oh, and let me not forget the most, most important phanatical thing: I carved a Phillies “P” into my Halloween pumpkin.





This may sound corny, but I think the Phillies really brought the city together, creating major team spirit. For example, it was secretly mandatory at my school for everyone to wear red before a game. And if you did wear red, you were automatically friends with other people wearing red. Like, the other person would look at you, acknowledge your love for the Phillies, smile and give you a head nod. This went beyond school, too. On the streets, strangers would do the same smile, a head nod, and maybe even a “GO PHILLIES!” shout-out. It was a great way to meet people. Everyone seemed so much nicer and happier.

Even the dog has a t-shirt

Obviously I can’t end this post without mentioning flipped cars on Broad Street and the parade, where I bumped into Jay from Project Runway season 1. But since I didn’t do the post-game partying on Broad St. (I was in Manayunk, instead), I guess I can’t really tell you much about that. You’ll just have to google “Flipped cars, looting, fire, unhappy mayor, Phillies.”

Coach Charlie with the Commissioner's Trophy

"If you can't hold, if you can't hold...hold on for the phanatic"

MVP: Cole Hamels (a.k.a. most handsomest pitcher)

I’ll move on to Jay from Project Runway. Yes, the fabulous Jay from season one, the champion who beat Kara Saun in the last challenge. He came out to the parade with his 40oz and just chilled with one of his friends on the corner of Washington and Broad. He was actually standing right next to me. When I noticed him, I thought to myself, “This guy looks like Jay from project runway.” Little did I know that those words came right out of my mouth while I was “thinking.” We eventually ended up chatting and cheering for Cole Hamels. Apparently, Jay is working in Philadelphia now. So if ya’ll want him to personally design something super chic, he’s here! Didn’t I just say that being a Phillies fan was a great way to meet people?



Now if only the 76ers would step it up…

Fly First-Class for Free

"We fly first class to change the forecast..." Jay-Z

Too bad I'm not Jay-Z. And if you got onto this page via facebook, chances are, you're not Jay-z either.


In my experience with flying, I have never paid for a first class or business class flight but I've traveled in both areas of seating multiple times. Many people don't realize that there are rules that can be bent in regards to getting your seats upgraded. Let me start by showing you what coach class is like. Refer to video below:



Now, imagine first class as being the exact opposite of that video.


Here are a few tips that could pretty much guarantee an upgrade*
(*Some restrictions do apply.)


Give up your seat.
On a normal day, flights are typically overbooked because most airlines assume that not everyone is going to show up. So in cases where everyone does, the flight attendant will usually make the announcement asking for someone to give up their seat. Here's a chance for an upgrade. In exchange for a seat, they will promise to book you the next available flight, with upgraded seats. On top of that, they should offer an additional free airline ticket so you can travel where ever you please (within the U.S., of course). If you're not on a time crunch, giving up your seat is the way to go. You'll get two for the price of one.

Let me also note that voluntarily giving up your seat while on the plane (ex. a mother wants to switch seats with you so she can sit next to her child) will not guarantee you upgraded seats. However, if a stewardess initiates the move, you might get the upgrade depending on availability AND your attitude.

True story: I once witnessed a grouchy woman getting riled up when asked to leave her window seat in order for a mother to sit next to her child. She made such a scene that the airline stewardess finally asked another woman instead. The nicer, more obliging woman, said that it wasn't a problem and the stewardess told her that her new seat would be in first class. CHECK YOUR ATTITUDE WITH YOUR LUGGAGE!

Rack up the mileage points.
Join "frequent flyer clubs" if you find yourself traveling on a particular airline over and over again. The more points you have, the easier it will be to use those points for an upgrade. Racking up points can also be done by using a designated credit card that allows you to boost up mileage points (ex. American Express has a deal with Delta Airlines, Chase has a deal with United Airlines).

Travel alone.
Loners tend to be bumped up faster because it's easier to find one empty seat in first class than two. But you can't look like a hobo loner. Hobo loners are the people that scare off the people in first class. Shoot, they even scare off the people sitting in economy. You have to be a classy, well-dressed loner...Thus, leaving me to explain the next point....

Dress to impress.
This is crucial people! You're going to have to put away that old college hoodie with the matching sweatpants. Leave those in your suitcase. Better yet, just leave them at home. I'm not saying that you need to get decked out in Ralph Lauren. You just need to look business or business casual.

Be a doctor.
Okay, before all you med-heads start wearing your stethoscopes around your neck before boarding, you're going to have to save someone during the flight. Then, you'll get bumped up.

Get to the airport early...
The early bird catches the worm! Arriving early to the gate gives you a slight advantage over the "just on time" folks because if you're "dressed to impress" and there are open seats left in first/business class, you may get upgraded.

True story: This happened to my Dad and me when we arrived at the international airport in Vietnam 3 hours before the actual flight. My Dad was wearing his business-ish attire (not because he was looking for an upgrade but because it was the only clean outfit he had left) and the airline lady simply asked, "would you two like to sit upstairs on your flight?" Hello,business!

Get to the airport late...
Yes, I know I just told you to get to the airport early but there exists opportunities when one arrives to the gate late. For one thing, the ticket people will try to rush you to your gate as soon as possible, thus, if they see that economy is over crowded, they'll just throw you in first-class in order to avoid any disgruntled behavior. The last thing they want is a customer getting pissy at them about unavailable seats even though it's technically not their fault.


Connections, connections, connections.
I'm not talking about flight connections, I'm talking about knowing an employee within the airline you're traveling on. Sometimes it's not about what you know but who you know.


Always be polite to airline employees.
I repeat, ALWAYS be polite to airline employees. Do you want your luggage flying to Hawaii when you're on a flight to Europe? Do you want crappy seats because you bad-mouthed Aaron, the Airline man? Do you NOT want to get that secret coupon that airlines give out to the nice people when there's a canceled flight and you have to stay over night at some hotel?

Exactly, I didn't think so. Be nice to airline employees or suffer tragic consequences that will absolutely spoil your whole trip.


Varying degrees of upgrades:

Get Preggers.
This is a hit-or-miss situation. If you look like you're ready to pop, the airline employees probably won't even let you on the plane, let alone give you an upgrade. However, if you look reasonably pregnant (and I can't really give you an approximation on how far along one should be to look "reasonably" pregnant), then you could get a better, more comfortable seat on the plane.

Note: There's a myth circulating around saying that if one does give birth on the plane, the baby is guaranteed free tickets from that particular airline for life. Mmm...I don't think so but let me know if it is true.


Celebrate something.
This will probably work for honeymooners or someone celebrating a 70th birthday. Remember, it has to look obvious that you're celebrating something. I recommend wearing matching t-shirts saying "just got married" or matching Hawaiian shirts to those who are celebrating their honeymoon.




For those celebrating a birthday, you're gonna have to wear some sort of tiara/crown that says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" in bright colors.