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.

Why I'm doing this.

“If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” ... whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything that all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

-Steve Jobs

100,000!

As of today, my Delta Skymiles account has over 100,000 miles in it.

As of Christmas, it should have over 125,000 miles.

At 150,000 miles, I can get a free business-class ticket to New Zealand, with a stopover in Seoul.

Hmmm.

Biding my time...

It's been a while since I posted. Mostly because there haven't been many new developments regarding my trip. Right now I'm just treading water, trying to save up money (and frequent flyer miles) and trying not to think too much about the trip. I don't want to overplan too much.

Things that I have gotten done: acquired a new domain name for this blog (and possibly more - details in a few weeks); got some new hiking/walking shoes (they're shipping from Timberland this week); and spent way too many hours perusing other RTW travelogues.

I have to admit to feeling a bit discouraged sometimes. In some ways the last few months have flown by, but in other ways it feels like I've been planning this trip forever, and I just want to get GOING!

The most unfortunate development in my trip planning is the pushing back of the trip to April. There's two main reasons for this: 1) three more months to save - I just wasn't going to have enough money put away; and 2) apartment situation. I think that if I wait out my lease to the 1 year point, I should be able to get my building to let me out of the lease - the building is full, and I have a significant construction concession, which means that they could make a lot more money by letting me out of the lease.

See, I told you.

Gorgeous pictures. I took this from the water off of Key Largo.

First piece of gear!

I really should have posted this back in late June, when I bought it, but I have procured my first real piece of gear for the trip: a new camera!













It's a Pentax Optio WP, a 5 megapizel pocket-sized waterproof digital camera. And it takes gorgeous pictures (see following post).

Two months in...

So, I've passed the two month mark on my planning. It was early May when I decided to embark on this journey. So far, I've gotten my passport, gotten a working holiday visa for New Zealand, and I've done lots and lots of research. Pretty soon, I'm going to need to begin taking more concrete steps - buying gear, checking visa requirements, finally deciding what type of ticket to use for the trip, figuring out when/how to alert my job that I'll be leaving. And perhaps most importantly, what to do about my apartment! I really need to call the rental office anonymously and ask about their position on subletting.

First milestone!

Today I received my Working Holiday Visa for New Zealand! It was far easier than I thought. I simply went online, applied on the NZ Immigration website, and within hours I was sent an electronic visa. Now I have my first real deadline for the trip - I must enter NZ by July of 2006 or I lose my visa. Exciting!

PS I guess my real first milestone was actually last week when I got my renewed passport back from the government. But this is the first one directly related to trip planning.

Living Simply

I've recently come to the realization that I have too much stuff. Far too much stuff. And I spend too much on rent, electronics, eating out, and alcohol.

I hope that my year on the road may help me learn to live more simply. I want to be happy living below my means, so that someday maybe I can pay off my student loans, and be able to travel whenever I want, or take a new job doing something I really want to do...

What to do with my apartment?

One of the biggest issues I will have to deal with over the next few months is my apartment. I'm currently in a two-year lease (which began April 1, 2005), so I have two options: subletting or losing the apartment.

Subletting would allow me to have an apartment to come back to. There are a couple of problems with the subletting option, though: 1) I don't know if my building will give me a big hassle if I want to sublet (it's quite possible that they would try to prohibit me from subletting); and 2) if I sublet, what happens if I want to extend my trip? What happens if I happen to get a job teaching English in Asia? What happens if I end up in a relationship with someone halfway around the world? Additionally, it might be beneficial for me to return to a cheaper living situation, rather than paying almost $1500 a month as soon as I return from travelling. Finally, if I sublet, I'm still responsible for the apartment, even though I'll be on the other side of the world. I dread the idea of having to deal with any problems with the sublessor or landlord while I'm away.

Losing the apartment has its problems as well. Most likely, I will end up losing my deposit (or at least most of it). That's $1433 that I could have used as part of my travel budget. I also would have to sell most of my stuff, and put anything I didn't or couldn't sell into storage.

Tough decision.

Working Holiday?

One of the things I've been researching lately is the Working Holiday program. I discovered some good news and some bad news. The bad news: most countries do not have a Working Holiday arrangement with the U.S. The good news: New Zealand, one of my most anticipated countries on the trip, does.

Anyone 18-30 can apply for a 12-month Working Holiday Visa which allows you to work in NZ. Right now I'm considering making the NZ portion of my trip several months, which will allow me to work there, get a real feel for the culture and people, and make my trip more affordable.

The link's on the sidebar.

Gaz's Gap Year.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Gaz. Welcome to my blog. In it, you will find my (hopefully) detailed account of my Gap year.

I'm a 29 year old lawyer living in New York City. I'm not satisfied with my career, but I don't currently have any obligations to anyone but myself (and my student loan companies, but that's a topic for another post). So I decided that I'm going to give myself a great present for my 30th birthday: I'm going to see the world. It's going to be a year-long trip on the skinniest of shoestring budgets - hostels and backpacks all the way.

Taking a Gap year is a widespread tradition outside of the U.S., especially among Brits, Aussies, and Kiwis. Of course, I'm going to be about 10 years older than most Gap year travellers. But that doesn't really bother me. I travelled around Europe by myself for a month 4 years ago, and had an amazing time. This trip promises to be even better.

So now, I have to prepare. Save money. Figure out what to do about all my possessions and my lease. Determine a general itinerary. Get a plane ticket. Get visas and vaccinations. Get supplies. Get in shape. And research, research, research.

I'll be filling (again, hopefully) this blog with updates on my preparations for the next 8 months. Once I leave (January 2006), I'll be updating from the road with pictures and stories about my travels. I welcome your comments, ideas, and suggestions to make my Gap year an amazing one.