security - Lili on the Loose

3 01, 2019

Changes in Hotel Security Policies

By Lili|January 3rd, 2019|Categories: Travel, Travel News|Tags: 2017, Anaheim, California, Charlotte, Fantasy Lands 2017, hotel, housekeeping, New Mexico, North Carolina, Santa Fe, security, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

In December 2017, I did a lot of traveling. Anaheim, Charlotte, and Santa Fe. One common theme I found was the new security systems in place in the wake of October 2017's Las Vegas Shooter situation. Now, in many hotels staff are required to enter hotel rooms once a day, regardless of the guest's wishes. It started at the Hilton Anaheim. I had spent the day before at Disneyland, and so was gone all day. That day I was going to be working from my hotel room for most of the day, before heading off to a client meeting. I

18 12, 2017

Travel Missteps: Security Scare

By Lili|December 18th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2017, bomb, California, dog, Fantasy Lands 2017, John Wayne Airport, North America, Orange County, security, SNA, TSA, USA|0 Comments

I'm currently on the second of three trips this month! But earlier this month I was in California for work, and on the way home triggered a massive security response at John Wayne Airport. You know...the usual. Fearing traffic, I got to the airport very early. That is when I realized Orange County Airport is pretty small and that I had a full bottle of water still to drink. So I found a bench and sat for an hour before heading through security. The bench I picked was occupied by a 40-50's gentleman with his stuff strewn all over. He was on

27 02, 2017

Travel Missteps: Personal Time with TSA

By Lili|February 27th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2016, airport, boarding pass, check in, chemical swab, Chemical Swab Test, Colorado, Denver, Disney, Disney World, EDS, ETD, Explosive Detection System, Explosive Trace Detection, false positive, Florida, full body scan, Global Entry, glycerin, Glycerine, Homeland Security, Magical Weekend, Nitrates, North America, Orlando, pat down, redress number, Secondary Security Screening Selectee, Secondary Security Screening Selection, security, SSSS, Trusted Traveler, TSA, TSA Pre-Check, Walt Disney World|0 Comments

I've talked about triggering the ETD system before, as well as getting the SSSS on almost every trip I fly. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. In May 2016, after reading all those articles of massive lines at TSA checkpoints (which disappeared later on in the year) paid $100 to apply for Global Entry and TSA Pre-Check. I didn't quite know what to expect. After being on the SSSS list, I decided against going through the lengthy "Redress" process. So I worried that I might be auto-denied for Global Entry. I waited a few weeks and

29 08, 2016

Travel Missteps: ¿cómo se dice “Hangover”?

By Lili|August 29th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2012, bar, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica & Orlando Adventure, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, drinking, hangover, Orlando Adventure 2012, San Jose, security|0 Comments

The first night's hotel. Wonderfully big beds! My first night in Costa Rica was in a 5 star hotel because my original hotel was overbooked. Fluffy big beds, clean sheets, fresh flowers in the room, AC; that hotel was heaven. The breakfast was amazing and the hotel's decor natural but also stylishly modern. Weird Egyptian themed hotel room art in Costa Rica. My last night, was in the original hotel...was quite the opposite. For one, the room was strangely decorated in an Egyptian motif. The beds small and uncomfortable. I also drew the short straw and got

1 08, 2016

Travel Missteps: Beware the Peanut Butter!

By Lili|August 1st, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2007, Hawaii, Maui, North America, Old Friends 2007, Pacific Ocean, Peanut Butter, security, SSSS, TSA, USA|1 Comment

Source Ah Peanut Butter! A tasty snack and critical component for cheap breakfasts and cheap sandwiches. Which is why my mother tends to pack a jar of it along with other cheap foodstuffs when we go on road trips. Always a great way to save money. However, she and my sister found out the hard way that while its a great idea for road trips, its a horrible idea of air travel. In my last year of college, we as a family decided to visit my Dad's best friend. He lived in Maui, Hawaii and so my mother

2 02, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 1 – Leaving Home

By Lili|February 2nd, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: 2015, Chophouse, Colorado, DEN, Denver, DIA, Dream of Egypt, Egypt Travelogue, Ingress, Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Movie, North America, security, SSSS, Super Shuttle, TSA, Uber|0 Comments

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Thursday October 22, 2015 Egypt: Day 1 - Leaving Home (Denver, CO) For a moment I enjoyed being alone and listen to the heavy rain on the window. It had been hard to sleep the night before with Tessa gone. (I had dropped my dog off the night before to my parents house and had also left them copies of my itinerary so they wouldn't be worried.) It had been already packed for almost a week, but my flight

10 09, 2015

TSA Chemical Swab Test False Positive

By Lili|September 10th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: chemical swab, Chemical Swab Test, Colorado, Denver, EDS, ETD, Explosive Detection System, Explosive Trace Detection, false positive, glycerin, Glycerine, Homeland Security, Nitrates, North America, pat down, Secondary Security Screening Selectee, Secondary Security Screening Selection, security, SSSS, Travel Thursday, TSA|0 Comments

I've written before of how I'm on the "random" SSSS list and so get extra security every time I fly. What I forgot to bring up in that discussion was how once I accidentally set off TSA's Chemical Swab Test using Explosive Trace Detection (or Explosive Detection System aka EDS) to find explosive residue on your person or belongings. It was like any other travel day for me. I was getting my usual extra "random" security, and automatically presented my hands to be tested with their chemical swab. But this time it beeped, and the female TSA agent checked the machine. "Sorry,

14 01, 2014

What is this SSSS on my boarding pass?

By Lili|January 14th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: airport, boarding pass, check in, chemical swab, full body scan, Homeland Security, pat down, redress number, Secondary Security Screening Selectee, Secondary Security Screening Selection, security, SSSS, travel, Travel Thursday, TSA|3 Comments

The dreaded SSSS, something no traveler ever wants to see on their boarding pass. Don’t know what it is? Consider yourself lucky. But for the curious it would appear in the corner of your boarding pass and it means “Secondary Security Screening Selectee” or “Secondary Security Screening Selection.” It means either you are “randomly” selected or are on the permanent Automatic Selectee list and will be subjected to extra security. This can include thorough bag searches, full body scans, pat downs, and chemical analysis tests, which can then lead to additional “back room” screening if the TSA agent feels it