Yes, we have airplane tickets. Lots and lots of them. Thanks to Ingrid over at Council Travel I’ve got all my flights worked out. Well, almost all of them. Consult the sidebar to the left for details on the dates, though I reserve the right to delay my return to visit Hong Kong or someplace. It turns out that besides there being student discounts, there are also teacher discounts. A quick letter signed by Max from OCSC and I’m flying for 40% off. Thanks Max!

...

The last time I went down to Council Travel they told me they needed a copy of my passport to get a visa to enter Australia. It seems the Aussies have an electronic visa system. I went back to Council Travel today and did the visa thing. While I was there I also joined Hostelling International - American Youth Hostels for a real bargain of $25.

Now if I can just get people here to buy my stuff, I’ll be all set. Lots of folks seem to want my TV, but no one wants the couch or desk or the big stuff like that.

...

Well, I just purchased my first set of tickets - round trip Oakland to JFK (New York) on JetBlue. This will be my first trip on JetBlue, which my mom and sister flew last time they came to see me here in California. It seems every seat gets its own TV!

Anyway, I’ll be on the east coast for three weeks. I’ll spend two of them in NY with the folks, and one in Maryland visiting friends.

...

Well, you see, back on 18 July 2002, I was laid off from my job at Transmeta. After a couple of weeks of moping around and not having anything to do, it dawned on me: The America’s Cup! I’ve been an avid sailor for over 8 years, first at Getaway Sailing in Baltimore, and for the past five years at OCSC in Berkeley. Anyway, the two previous America’s Cups were held in 2000 (in Auckland, NZ) and 1995 (in San Diego, CA). I wasn’t able to see either of them, what with being tied up with work and all. So, finding the silver lining in the cloud that is losing one’s job, this is the perfect time to do some traveling and spectate up close and personal. As an added bonus, the Around Alone boats will be making a stopover on the other side of New Zealand’s North Island in the town of Tauranga - I’ll get to see those magnificent vessels as well.

...