Ok, this time I REALLY mean it.

I guess I will have yet another 100 days post... Although this one will be the last. I have finally booked AND ticketed the tickets! I now leave on Sunday, May 14, at 6 AM from LaGuardia.

I actually moved the tickets by choice this time, as Korean Air has recented upgraded the planes they use on several routes. The route I was previously booked on was NOT one of those routes, so I've changed my flights to route through Chicago. Hopefully what this means is that I will be in a more comfortable seat, with a larger TV screen and wireless internet access on the plane.

And I now have 4 more days to get things done.

Incidentally, it took me about 3 hours on the phone (between yesterday and today) to get the last 3000 miles into my Skymiles account. There was some miscommunication between Amex and Delta. But I eventually got to 150,000. Thank you, Skymiles.

#1 Priority - Vaccinations

One (partially) down! I got an appointment with my doc, next Tuesday morning. Now I have to start figuring out which vaccinations I want to get, so I can take the list to discuss with him when I get my physical.

100 Days and Counting! (aka A Bit of Deja Vu)

Well, it's 100 days away. Again. And right now I'm having some more Delta issues. Hopefully I won't have to put up a "100 Days and Counting - Part III" post...

I still haven't gotten on ANY of the things I need to get done. Mostly because I've been focusing on my trip to Disneyworld this weekend. Oh, and I figured out at least one more thing I have to put on the list: Insurance! I need to get travel insurance for my body and my gear. I've been doing some research on this already, but it's another cost to put on the "buy before leaving" list.

But at least I've already done my taxes. Soon I'll have that extra refund money socked away with the rest of the trip funds. Things are looking up financially - I definitely think I'll be able to put away enough for the trip and for my cushion to return to without putting myself seriously in debt.

Ok, I think I'm going to call my doctor right now to schedule a complete physical and the vaccinations.

We've moved into May now...

Ok, a tiny setback has happened, causing me to push the initial flight by 10 days. The Delta Skymiles that I expected in my account by today have not posted yet, and as such I was unable to book the April 28 flight (the deadline was today). So, now I'll be flying out on May 10.

The good news is that I have booked my layover in Seoul. I'll be in Seoul until June 12. Well, actually, I'll be in Korea and Japan until June 12. I plan to take my week of Japan before I hit NZ (it's much easier to plan the RTW ticket that way). June 12 I fly from Seoul to Auckland. Then, perhaps a bit of snowboarding, and off to Australia.

At least this gives me 10 more days to get all my preparations taken care of.

100 Days and Counting...

Well, the title is self-explanatory. 100 days remain before I head out on my trip. And there's a heck of a lot to get done in those 100 days. The list:

Get out of my lease
Store/sell my stuff
Tell my job I'm quitting
Get vaccinations/physical
Get all necessary gear
Draft tentative itinerary (to avoid monsoon season, etc)
Get deferments/forbearances on my loans

In the next few days, I'm going to sit down with this list and figure out the priorities on it. Right now I know that I plan to tell my work about my plans at the end of February (giving them about 6-7 weeks notice). I also know that I need to start getting the vaccinations very soon, otherwise I risk not being able to finish them before I leave.

My New Year

As of 8:33 PM tonight, I will be 30 years old. My new year starts today. And this new year is looking like it will be the best and most interesting one so far.

When I put on my headphones this morning and hit play on my iPod (random playlists are wonderful), the first song to play was "Throw It All Away" by Toad the Wet Sprocket. Now, I'm not one for superstition, but if this isn't a sign, I don't know what is. The lyrics:

Take your cautionary tales
Take your incremental gain
And all the sychophantic games
And throw ’em all away

Burn your tv in your yard
And gather ’round it with your friends
And warm your hands upon the fire
And start again

Take the story you’ve been sold
The lies that justify the pain
The guilt that weighs upon your soul
And throw ’em all away

Tear up the calendar you bought
And throw the pieces to the sky
Confetti falling down like rain
Like a parade to usher in your life
Take the dreams that should have died
The ones that kept you lying awake
When you should’ve been all right
And throw ’em all away

With the time I waste on the life I never had
I could’ve turned myself into a better man

’cause there ain’t nothing you can buy
There is nothing you can save
To fill the hole inside your heart
So throw it all away
Won’t fill the hole inside your heart

Help me to empty out this house
Wool I’ve gathered all these days
And thought I couldn’t do without
And throw it all away

Ok, not all the lyrics are appropriate. I'm not planning on having any TV bonfires. But the song is about change, about giving up the things that are holding you back as a person. And that's a big part of what this trip is about for me.

A few minor changes to the plan.

Ok, so no matter what, my current flight to NZ is not going to change - I have to enter NZ before July to activate my WHV. But I'm thinking that perhaps I will only stay in NZ for a couple weeks in May, touring around auckland and the north island, and then start on my RTW going westbound. That way, I'll hit Australia at a good (read:cooler) time, head through Asia in the summer, and end up doing Europe (a little bit) in the fall, and then returning to NZ to work in NZ's spring/summer, rather than its winter.

I know the plans keep changing right now, but I feel like each change makes my trip better and better. The new plan would allow me to do the working part of my trip towards the end of the trip, when I'll actually need the money, rather than at the beginning, when I'll have a lot of cash to work with. I think this makes more sense financially. As well as climateally. (Yes, I know that's not a word. No, I don't care.)

Look to your right.

That's right, you see a countdown clock. Because I have tickets. TICKETS! I've used my Delta Skymiles to get a business class round-trip ticket to Auckland, NZ. I leave LaGuardia at 4 PM, April 28, 2006.

So much to do, and only 16 weeks to go. This is getting exciting.