Tips for safe winter travel

Fortunately, I got to travel with Andrew this Christmas!

So you’re going on a long-distance trip by yourself? I travel long distances by myself often, up to 900 miles! I keep myself alert with coffee and I enjoy listening to audiobooks. Safety is a concern for sure. Here are a few things you need to know if you're traveling alone this winter.

1.       Be aware of your surroundings. If you think that a car might be following you try making a few unnecessary twists or turns while maintaining knowledge of where you are. If the car makes the same twists and turns than you can safely assume that it is following you. Do not under any circumstances stop driving or allow the driver to pull up beside you. Drive to the nearest police station or a busy gas station. 

2.       If you plan on driving long distances make sure your phone is fully charged. Make sure friends and family know where you are. Call and check in with them every few hours and inform them of any car problems.

3.       Keep an emergency kit with you. It should contain a basic first aid kit (bandages, tape, etc.). Also include food and water along with blankets, hats, and gloves. If your car breaks down pull over and call for help. If someone offers to help stay in your car and roll down your window a few centimeters-just enough to tell the person that help is on the way. No matter how friendly the person seems to be stay in your car. 

4.       Being a woman and driving alone attracts the attention of all kinds of people. If someone is trying to get your attention on the road it is safest not to respond. Do not assume that all unmarked vehicles with flashing lights are police cars if you are not sure pullover into the next well lit area such as a gas station. 

5.       If you are planning on driving in wintry weather check the weather conditions before you set out. Let others know your route, destination, and estimated time of arrival just in case. You should also make sure that your gas tank is always at least half-full to avoid the gas line freezing up. If you get snowbound stay with your car do not walk in the storm it is too easy to get lost. Use whatever is available to insulate your body from the cold.

6.       Stay awake by stopping every few hours to get out of the car and move around. Drink water and/or caffeinated beverages. 

Be aware and be prepared. This will help keep you safe while you’re traveling this winter!

Surviving Christmas

And it’s that time of the year again! Everyone seems to be cloaked in cheery Christmas spirit. Malls, roads, schools, offices, hospitals and every other place is wrapped in green, red and golden hues. It’s the season when everything and every person seems to hyper active. Customers at the malls are over enthusiastic, cafés are overcrowded owing to the holiday season and even normal conversations at home become over animated. To my dislike, the ‘over’ in all the previous adjectives gets to my nerves. Please do not think of me as a recluse who feels his peace has been interrupted because of the festivities. I love the Christmas season! But there are people (for instance me) who do not find it easy getting along with people. 

Nonetheless, everyone has to go somewhere for Christmas and I go home and deal with all the family drama every year. I love my family and friends but it can overwhelm you when there is so much going on. This time around I thought why not fashion a plan to get along well with friends and family, and surviving the holidays without any major catastrophe?

So here’s the plan. First thing that I intend to do this year when I go home, is being at my best behavior, being tolerant and deciphering information that is only positive. Being around people that I love more than anything also means that we know what buttons to push! Consequently, we get snappy sooner than we would otherwise and pick a fight, just what I’m trying to avoid. 

This holiday season, I will play at my strengths. Who doesn’t like a good (gluten free) cookies in December? Well, I consider myself a pro at that, and if cooking helps me spend accident and incident free time with everyone, why not just cook and bake? All I have to do is add water, oil, and 2 eggs!

This time I will participate. Participation helps gain everyone’s approval and that way everyone would for once be able to believe that I am not the misanthrope that my friends and family think I am.

Christmas usually is the time for me to catch up on my favorite TV shows. 

How about making a few changes there? This time I’ll watch anything with Mom, even if it’s "The Newly Wed Show," if that pleases her and not finding my solace in "The Walking Dead" and Candy Crush. I could also discuss a little ancient Hebrew with Dad over coffee. Ah! So many ideas. 

My idea of Christmas might be a quiet night, blankets, couch, coffee and my favorite books, but isn’t Christmas all about spreading happiness? So why aim at devising a survival strategy only! Let’s just play along with what everyone else wants to do, and I promise that would make this Christmas the best you’ve ever had.