Tag Archives: Get familiar

Parking “hack” for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport

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One of the most daunting tasks, after you have booked travel, is getting to and from the airport. Am I going to have someone drop me off, and if not, what is the most affordable and convenient parking options. Well for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, I have your solution.

Now I ALREADY know there are some of you saying “This is easy, just use the Brown lot. It’s like $12 a day, and they have a shuttle that takes you to the airport”. And that’s actually a decent option. But I have an option that will get you to the airport FASTER, and also CHEAPER: The Brookpark RTA station…

The main advantage? Parking is FREE, yes FREE. They have a large lit parking lot with camera’s everywhere. There is short term and long term designated parking areas. I always park in the closer short term lot, because I don’t feel like walking. Plus what are they gonna to do, it’s FREE either way… *kanye shrug*

So after you park, you’re going to walk inside the facility and purchase a ticket for the RTA. You’ll need to purchase one for the “red line”. You’ll press R5.

You’ll then press R5 again for the $2.50 Bus/Rapid

Finally you’ll select your payment method by pressing R6 since hopefully you’ll be using a credit card for your purchase. In our travel community we want to use a credit card to gain points & miles for EVERY transaction.

The machine will spit you out a ticket, then you’ll walk (or take the elevator) upstairs to the platform and wait on the train to arrive.

It comes every 15 min. Often times I’ve got there and walked right on the train with zero wait. There’s no need to brandish your ticket to board, you’ll only need it if a ticket agent comes and asks to see it. In the dozens of times I’ve took this route, that has only happened ONCE. Mainly because the other amazing thing about this, is the ride is literally 2 min 30 sec (I’ve timed it). Yes, 2:30 and you’ll be at the airport. The Brookpark RTA station is the last stop before the airport. So you’ll get on, and the very next stop is Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, so you don’t even have to “think”. You just get on, and the very next stop you get off.

The last piece that makes this “hack” so awesome, is that the RTA drops you off INSIDE of the airport. So you’ll walk off the train, go to the escalators, and proceed the boarding area.

*BONUS* If you use the middle escalator, it takes you directly to the TSA Pre-check line. TSA Pre-check is a MUST have for any serious traveler.

You’ll use this same scenario when you return from your trip, and head back to your vehicle. The first stop the RTA takes from the airport is the Brookpark station.

All in all this will cost you $5 ($2.50 ea. way) regardless HOW long you park your vehicle there. Definitely a “hack” worth knowing.

I’ll probably make a video in the future so that you can SEE the process in real time. Well Knowrisk checking out, and as always, catch me in the skies!

Down the “rabbit hole” of points & miles…

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So some years back, 2017 to be exact, I came to a revelation. I decided that instead of PAYING for a plane ticket, I was going to accumulate enough points & miles to cover a “YOLO” trip. Specifically Africa (Nigeria), Thailand, Tokyo, or Dubai. All of those trips would be an $1000+ ticket, so I wanted to have that part of the trip covered without having to worry about any “out of pocket expense”.

I applied for my 1st travel card then, and THAT started my journey down the “rabbit hole”. Now I have 10+, and enough points & miles to fly ANYWHERE in the world multiple times.

Like most of you, I used to look at credit cards as a way to buy sh#t that I couldn’t otherwise afford, which in turn led to a “hamster wheel” of credit card debt. In my journey to get OUT of credit card debt (a whole ‘nother story) I “conditioned” my brain to think differently about credit, and a whole new world opened up to me. Now instead of requesting line of credit increases, I’m periodically requesting them to LOWER my line of credit (I currently have over $100,000 of available credit that I would NEVER use), cause if your line of credit is too high they may start requesting income verification document. And I ain’t trying have no credit card company all up in my biz, ya dig… So like I said, while I used to be someone who used credit cards to pay for things I couldn’t afford, NOW I used points & miles for things I otherwise WOULDN’T pay for (#bars! 🎶) . Like when I stayed at the Park Hyatt in New York, a hotel that’s upward to $1,400 per night, I used points and paid $0. For example you can literally have 100 people on a plane, and ALL of them paying DIFFERENT prices. There have been times where I paid less flying First Class, than someone did flying Economy. Get familiar…

Now common sense will tell you that the easiest way to obtain flyer miles, is to do what? Exactly! FLY… That’s actually NOT the case. The easiest way to obtain points & miles is the signup bonus from opening a new credit card. Which is why I have so many. Duh!

There is NOTHING that I do as far as traveling that any one of you can’t do. It just took me years of research, trial & error, and mistakes. That knowledge I’m willing to share with you, by first showing you how to accumulate the points & miles, then later showing you how to maximize the USE of them. So if you want to start this journey of aspirational travel, invest $25 into YOURSELF, and click the link below to fill out a short consultation form. You’ll earn that back 1000x over. And when you DO, catch me in the skies!

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Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfB7JuPbu1CthkPtcK7lMko9mB4LPCzlXY1okZ_p1WK0AVsZQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Review: Whistle & Keg-Youngstown,OH

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I actually had heard NOTHING about this place until I happened to go on Instagram and saw a short video by my friend Steve Wishnewski. It was a video of what seemed like “endless” self-serve beer taps. My interest was IMMEDIATELY peaked. I hit up one of my friends, asked them what they were doing, and we headed up there. The place is Whistle & Keg.

Whistle & Keg is in the heart of downtown Youngstown, which is vastly becoming a nightlife hub for the area. But I can’t say there is anything like it. Yes, it’s a bar. And yes, it has numerous craft beers. But this is the only place that has SELF-SERVE beer taps! If you’re wondering how that works, it goes a little something like this. You go to the counter, they’ll ask you for your ID and a credit/debit card. Then they give you a magnetic wristband. With this band you walk up to the “self-serve” area, grab a glass, choose the beer you would like to try, place your wristband to the beer tap to activate it, and pour. Just that simple:

They charge by the oz. The taps will show the alcohol content of each beer and the amount you have drunk throughout the night (there is a limit). When cashing out, you return your bracelet back to the counter and they will print out a receipt, just like any bar or restaurant. Needless to say, you should tip just like any other bar. Though you are pouring the beer YOURSELF, the workers are very helpful in directing you on how to order drinks (for this will be foreign to a lot of people) and knowledgeable on the beers.

They have multiple tv’s in the venue and they were willing to accommodate what we wished to watch (Oklahoma City Thunder vs New York Knicks). All in all I just like the way the place is built.

Interestingly enough , I ended up spending LESS money than I normally would when I’m out having a drink, while simultaneously trying MORE beers. When you want to try different beers you typically won’t drink a whole 12 oz’s, so the fact that they charge by the oz works out great. To sum things up, this is probably one of the coolest concepts I’ve seen in a long time. It’s like going to a Beer Fest, but EVERYDAY. I actually wish I would have taken MORE pictures and videos, but I was so caught up in the atmosphere that I forget. Plus when I walked in and heard Amy Winehouse playing through the speakers, I already KNEW it was going to be right up my alley. I’m thoroughly impressed by this place and I’ll be making it my business to try out EVERY craft beer they have on tap! Get familiar…

101 W. Federal street
Youngstown, Ohio
https://www.facebook.com/pg/whistleandkeg/community/?ref=page_internal

Review: Mission Taco-Boardman,OH

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First off let me say that I’m NOT a big taco fan. I enjoy tacos, but I’m definitely NOT the one who HAS to be at every “Taco Tuesday”. As a matter of fact, I can’t recall going to ANY *kanye shrug* But I do like tacos, just not a fanatic, I’m more of a pizza guy. Regardless going to Mission Taco was on my “to do” list. I love supporting local business and I felt it was an interesting concept.

So my homeboy Steve and I head out there one weekday since I hate going places to eat when they are super packed. We get there and I realize it’s connected to Suzies Dogs and Drafts, which is another location I enjoy. So at worst I knew if I didn’t like Mission Taco, I could walk over and get a great beer. What more could you ask for? So we sat down at the bar (as usual), and ordered drinks. I ordered the Strawberry Jalapeño Margarita:

Steve orders a Rolling Rock, but they said they don’t serve water *kanye shrug* The tacos are MTO, so you select the type of shell and ingredients you want inside. Which is PERFECT for someone like me who likes to “adjust” a restaurants recipe to MY liking. The bartender who took our order, was EXCELLENT. I wish I would have got her name, so I could hand out her “just do” props. She was mid 40-ish, so if anybody knows who she is, tell her she was STELLAR. While we wait on our order I survey the area:

Pretty cool stuff right? I was very impressed with the look of the place for sure. In one of the pictures you can see a “green house” type thing. I’m assuming some of the herbs are grown there. Not positive, but it’s pretty ambitious if they do. The tacos arrive. I’m not exactly sure what I put on my tacos, but here they are…

The tacos were solid. I can honestly say they moved me over from the pizza side to the taco side ever so slightly. Though I’m STILL a “pizza man”. My only disappointment was that I feel it was prized a little high. But as far as they QUALITY of the food, A1! I wanted another drink, but I wanted a beer. The Mission Taco side was limited on the beer selection, so I walked to the other side where Suzies Dogs and Drafts is and ordered :

All in all, it’s a very cool spot that you for sure need to GET FAMILIAR with. Or just stay lame, no worries *kanye shrug*

Message from a former employee

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Tonight I received a message, from a former employee who has struggled with addiction and self worth , that not only made me smile but inspired me. Things like THIS are exactly why I never really care about “complaints” concerning me or things I may say. Someone appreciating you, is one of the greatest inspirations. This is what they sent me:

 

Ok this is going to probably seem a little strange to you, but just hear me out lol. I’ve been working with a therapist, midlife crisis, soul searching etc. She asked me to compile a list of ten people that I have met throughout my life that I admire, or felt inspired by. She asked me to observe those people and list the reasons why I admired/ felt inspired by them, and then to ask them a few questions. I choose you because I feel in many ways you are very opposite of me.

You are firstly confident, and never seem to care what others think of you, and you also don’t apologize for being exactly who you are. You are intelligent, witty, and full of insight. I liked that you always had a way of making me look at situations different than I would have initially thought, and also that you never really gave answers rather than asking me questions that forced me to figure things out on my own. In my eyes you are someone who is solid, never wishy washy, always honest. I think the thing that I most admired about you though was the fact that even though in the time you knew me I was a absolute mess, I never felt judged by you. I never felt inferior to you, or like you belittled me. Even when I was sitting in your office slurring my words and drooling because of all the xanax I took, you still treated me respectfully.

I got fired one day because of being high two days straight, Tina was screaming at me and throwing things because she said if I didn’t care about my own life why should you guys, but you made me sit down in your office before I left. You asked me why I kept doing this to myself. I don’t know why but that moment always resonated with me. At a time when basically everyone looked at me with disgust I never felt that disgust from you. That is all 🙂.

So my question for you, is out of all the things you do in your life, what would you say is the most important thing that you do, to stay happy or to keep peace of mind. Is there any one thing that you do daily or regularly that you would say is necessary for your mental health? I notice that you never really are about drama on Facebook with women. Do you think that you are generally more chill or happy than other people because you keep that part of your life pretty private? ( as it should be, I learned this years and years and years too late. Again, I’m sorry if this seems a little too creepy to you, and I know your busy so I don’t expect you to answer right away or anything. I also understand if you feel like this is uncomfortable to you and would rather not discuss any of these things. Either way thankyou. 🙂

Review: Mabels BBQ- Cleveland, OH

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I had originally heard of this place just a few weeks ago when I posted on my Facebook “In search of food”. If you know me well you already know my love for food is STRONG like “The Force” in Luke Skywalker. With that being said, people started suggesting places for me to be a fatty. My homegirl told me about Mabels BBQ in Cleveland, so I’ve had it on my “radar” ever since. When I went I was supposed to let my homegirl(who suggested it) know so she could meet me. Totally forgot about this until AFTER I finished eating. Sorry Jill *kanye shrug*

So I walk up to the place
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and immediately like the “industrial look” it has on the outside. Inside it has bi-level dining. I sat at the bar, but I SHOULD have sat upstairs so we could look over the railing and make fun up people. Missed opportunities :/

Anyways I sat down
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and survey the area. It has a nice look and feel. I then proceed to look at the beer menu. I initially ordered a beer I had never tried before (can’t remember the name), but then I decided to ask for a “sample” of it. Fortunately I did, because I really wasn’t “feeling” it at all. So I decided on this:

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I was satisfied. Next I got down to what I actually CAME there for… FOOD! I ordered the Brisket w/greens.

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My friend let the bartender order for them. They got the Mr Beef sandwich w/Jonathan Waxman crispy potatoes

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Both were superb. I was especially happy with the Brisket, as the meat was SUPER tender. Mabels has there own signature bbq sauce that actually doesn’t even LOOK like bbq sauce. Looks more like a thin gravy. It’s delicious and unique tasting. Unfortunately if by some stretch of the imagination you DON’T like the sauce, there are NO others. So you’ll be SOL, and I don’t mean the Statue of Liberty *wink* (shout out to the RWMB).

The staff was friendly, a bit too chatty to EACH OTHER, but all in all a solid crew. And they all seemed to ENJOY their jobs, which is always a plus.

So in closing, if you’re in the Cleveland area and looking for a great eatery, this place is for you. Get familiar…