Making it pleasurable to fly again

I've been traveling often and I'm trying to make it easier. The last few times I took Uber to the airport, it was only $13.99! I tip the driver five bucks, but people tell me I shouldn't tip, because that is all part of the process; in other words, it's included, but I feel weird just getting out of the car and not exchanging money. But it's nice to know that a $35-$40 yellow cab ride from my neighborhood in Miami, is only $13.99 with Uber, when there is no traffic. I usually fly early Saturday mornings, so of course, there is no traffic at that time.

For a couple of years I had TSA Pre-check. It was just given to me. What a pleasure! That's where you go back to the days of just walking through the gates at the airport - no taking shoes off, you don't have to take your computer out of the luggage or display your liquid stuff or even take your jacket off. You speed right through, but just like that, they took that away from me. I read that it's a random thing or you can do something to piss them off like look at them crooked, so for some reason, I lost it.

That's why today, I have an appointment at the TSA at the airport. You can sign up for TSA Pre-check for five years at a time. There is an $85 fee and some credit card companies cover the fee, they will refund the charge once it's made. But even so, it's worth the $85, to avoid the hassle of airport check-ins. I was just in New York for Thanksgiving,  a messy time to travel, and not having the Pre-check made a difference.

I do have to give up some freedoms, like my fingerprints, and share my birth certificate or passport and other things, but I don't have anything to hide and in this day and age I'm assuming the authorities know everything about me already, especially my computer surfing habits, and since they had given me the Pre-check in the past, without me applying for it, I'm sure they know what they need to know about me,  I'm just making it official now and trying to make flying a pleasure again.

#firstworldproblems