Quick Post from the East Coast

I'm doing my quarterly visit to Father O-I. Things are a lot calmer than when I was here last time just after his house fire. He's not ecstatic in his temporary digs but at least there is stability. I continue to be amazed at the growing relationship between my sister and him. She's doing more and more for him and gaining more responsibility as a result. She's getting her long held wish to be an accepted member of his life. Amazing.

I'm just happy to be of help and have a good relationship which as I've written numerous times in the past was never to be expected earlier in life.

Very grateful.

In-Law Envy

I was with a couple of my friends this weekend - a rare guys night together - and the two of them were bemoaning the status of various in-laws, a son-in-law and daughter-in-law respectively. Much was said about what was happening and not happening and their frustrations being far away and not really being able to influence what was going on.

I was left out in the cold. My two son-in-laws have pretty much left me out in the cold. They're responsible. Good parents. Good husbands. Deal with life's challenges. What a bore. How I suppose to join the bitch fest?

Totally irresponsible if you ask me.

The de-I Portable Grandbaby Bed

Mandatory Reading for the Married or Soon to be Married Set

I'm back in Albuquerque International Sunport and I WILL get on this flight and make my way to Chicago. There I will link up with Wife, and see newest grandson with Motherrocker and John the Armenian.

Also in the news youngest daughter AinA is now engaged and scheduled to be wed in September...in France! All other travel this year has been canceled and attentions refocused.

AinA posted a link to this article from the New York Times. This is absolutely mandatory reading if you are married or going to be married.

Not a Good Start

Get up at 4:15 to catch my 6:15 flight. Get there - the flight has a mechanical problem. Minimum delay is 1 hour probably more. I won't get my connection. Later flight gets me there too late for meeting. They will patch me by phone but it's going to cost me a lot of billable hours.

Hope this is not a harbinger of the rest of the travel agenda.

Doing the Traveling Thing Again

At least once a quarter it seems that the confluence of unrelated business and family requirements leads to a whacked out period of travel. Hence the next two weeks.

Today - one day trip to Southern California (leave at 5 AM come home about Midnight)
Sunday - On to Chicago
Wed - To Connecticut
Sunday - Back to Albuquerque
Tue - Back to Chicago
Sat - Back to Albuquerque

De-I, keeping the air travel system solvent.

How Far Would One Go

You know that I travel a fair amount. Between my offices in Chicago and LA that I visit once a month, my kids who are all over the freaking country and the world, my Dad in Connecticut, and Wife and my love of travel for ourselves, it adds up.

I've also written about how important holding a high frequent flier status is for ensuring more comfort and especially protecting you when things go wrong with the air travel system (I know that's a shocker that things ever go wrong with the air travel system).

So a few weeks ago I was reviewing my statements on my primary carriers, United and USAir and I find out I'm up shits creek! I'm not even close to getting my status again. All the cost cutting during the first part of the year has come back to haunt me. What am I going to do.

USAir turns out to not be such a hard one. They're hurting and they need their loyal passengers so they have a promo that allows me to make 3 flights and I get enough segments to keep me in the program.

United is the bigger issue. It's my carrier for all my long trips. And we use those miles for all our big vacations. The business class seats we got to New Zealand were worth many, many, many thousands of dollars. So I don't want to lose this but I'm way short on segments and over 10 thousand miles short on actual miles (you usually can qualify be hitting a target of either segments or miles).

So my brain is working. How can I arrange a trip where I pack in 10 thousand miles of travel in a few days and not cost me a fortune.

I start by researching going from Albuquerque to the West Coast to the East Coast and back. Not enough miles. The US is all that big. I'd have to go West, East, West and back or something like that. Then I'd have to start paying for a place to stay a couple of nights. And all those flights - what if I hit bad weather?

Next I looked at flying to Hawaii. I could crash with my brother there. But it was pretty pricey and I still didn't get enough miles.

Then I thought about going to Amsterdam and crashing with daughter AinA. I found I could get some really good prices - around $900 bucks. Of course the thought of flying 20+ hours both way in coach with a day off in between wasn't very attractive but what the hey, it would be a small sacrifice to remain among the ranks of the exalted and get those miles for our next travel extravaganza.

I mention my plan to Wife who is very good at doing her eye rolling and deep sighing internally. She says, "Have you called the airline? Maybe there is way for you to buy the miles you need and then you wouldn't have to kill yourself like this."

I doubt this but decide it can't hurt. I call the United. United may be a dysfunctional company but almost all the agents serving their frequent fliers tend to be really pleasant, good, and helpful. The agent I get confirms that you cannot buy miles. We're having a very pleasant conversation. She confirms that I'm no more nutty than most of the frequent fliers and it is common for us to be scrambling at the end of the year.

She checks my account and tells me that I've missed some promotion they started in September that gives double mile credit from 9/15 5o 12/15. She puts me on the promotion and tells me it will be retroactive. We calculate the mile I've flow to date plus the miles I'm scheduled to fly and BINGO I'm 55o miles over the 50K target. How cool is that. Thanks Wife.

It would have been nice to see AinA and here husband to be though.