Just when I think things are all ready for my trip, it’s always to good to be true. God damn. So things were all good, i had everything ready to go, my new digital toys had arrived in time, I was so looking forward to it. Today I even bought myself a new backpack to go on this trip, for the last little thing to make my trip whole. But of course things don’t always go as planned.

For the the last two continents on this trip (Europe & Asia) i had used quite a number of industry rates. This was a good way to take advantage of those benefits I get for work. So I had some incredible industry rates at hotels around the world, in Paris, London, Tokyo & Hong Kong. These rates were phenomenal, and as to go with it I needed a specific kind of ID to really use it. The id is called an IATA card. My current card is due to expire in July this year, so I had arranged with the local IATA office to get a new card early. So that it was going to be able to be used while I was away. I knew it would take about 4 weeks to get it done and I had it all set to go in late may. They had told me that I would definately have the card before I left for my trip.

Well as this trip was getting closer and closer, I was getting worried as the card had not arrived. I got worried. So I tried calling the IATA office. No deal, their phones never go through, ever. So i lodged the email online. Then came through what I expected. “We are experiencing a delay in issuing our cards and the cards could take at least 4-6 weeks or more” Just freaking dandy. I went into panic mode. God damn. I had to try and work out what to do, organise a way to get the card to me maybe, or start getting alternative ID arrangements made.

To get the card sent to me is gonna cost me $50 and really complicated, but I am probably going to do it anyway if I can. But thankfully most of the hotels, after emailing them, have told me I can just show a couple of other different forms of ID with the old card (which would of expired by that time). So thankfully that is going to be all ok now. Now to just get all these extra forms of ID fixed up.

It goes to show though, don’t count your chickens till they hatch.

Well the trip is less than a month away (3 weeks & 2 days to be exact) and today i picked up all my documents and sorted them all out. I had to print off what felt like a tree with back up copies of all my hotel confirmations and tour bookings etc.

As you can see here there is a hell of a lot of paperwork I need to take with me. Flight itineraries, hotel vouchers, tour vouchers, train itineraries, car hire bookings, hotel bookings, vouchers for accommodation, vouchers for tours, insurance, travelsim stuff, financial stuff, it is just never ending.

But the good news is with this trip now pretty much all but paid for, foreign currency converted (that is the topic of another blog post for another day) and all the documents picked up. This trip is now just about ready to go. The only thing i can’t plan 100% right now is the trains in Japan. I have my JR Pass but the only thing is the timetables only come out one month in advance pretty much, so most of that will be done on the fly, although as you can see below there is a rough outline of what trains I need to catch. So here it is, the full and final listing for this trip.

5th July 2011 – Last Day at Work
6th July 2011 – Prep, pack, get ready to leave
7th July 2011 – Goodbye Australia.
Brisbane to Auckland to Los Angeles to Vancouver (yes thats all in one day. Leaving at 12pm arriving into vancouver same day at 9pm… hello JETLAG!)
Brisbane to Auckland – Air New Zealand – NZ136 – 1225/1725 – Boeing 777-200ER – Business Premier
Auckland to Los Angeles – Air New Zealand – NZ2 2130/1445 – Boeing 777-300ER – Business Premier (New Aircraft for airline, new type for me)
Los Angeles to Vancouver – Air Canada – AC557 1855/2136 – Embraer 190 – Executive Class (New Type, New Airline, New Airport)
8th July 2011 – Vancouver – Meet Up with Brad – Vancouver Hotel – Sandman Hotel Vancouver City Centre
9th July 2011 – Tour Begins – Contiki Canada & The Rockies with Calgary Stampede – Link to tour here
21st July 2011 – Tour Finishes – Vancouver – Vancouver Hotel – Sandman Hotel Vancouver City Centre
22nd July 2011 – Vancouver – Plane Spotting with @Pacificairphoto (from Twitter) a fellow #avgeek
23rd July 2011 – Amtrak Cascades – Vancouver to Seattle – 0640/1105 – Seattle Hotel – Holiday Inn Express Seattle City Centre
24th July 2011 – Seattle
25th July 2011 – Seattle
26th July 2011 – Seattle
27th July 2011 – Pick Up Car start driving south – Overnight Portland Oregon – Portland Hotel – La Quinta Inn & Suites Portland NW
28th July 2011 – Portland to Roseburg – Roseburg Hotel – Holiday Inn Express Roseburg
29th July 2011 – Roseburg to San Francisco – San Francisco Hotel – Holiday Inn Golden Gateway
30th July 2011 – San Francisco
31st July 2011 – San Francisco
1st August 2011 – San Francisco
2nd August 2011 – San Fransisco – Morning Visit to Alcatraz/Plane Spotting Day – SFO Airport Hotel – Millwood Inn & Suites
3rd August 2011 – San Fransisco to New York City – Farewell to Brad this morning
San Fransisco to Chicago O’Hare – United Airlines – UA972 1010/1625 -Boeing 767-300 – Business Class – (International Configuration Aircraft, 2 New Airports)
Chicago O’Hare to New York City La Guardia – UA692 1730/2046 – Airbus A319 – First Class – (New Airports)
New York City Hotel – Element New York Time Square West
4th August 2011 – New York City – UN Guided Tour Booked
5th August 2011 – Morning New York City – Birthday – Evening Flight – New York City to Zurich
New York City John F Kennedy – Zurich – Swiss Airlines – LX17 1800/0805+1 – Airbus A330-300 – Business Class (New Airline, New Airport)
6th August 2011 – Zurich to Paris
Zurich – Paris Charles De Gaulle – Swiss Airlines – LX634 0905/1020 – Airbus A320 – Business Class (New Airports)
Meet up with Yena – Explore Paris – Paris Hotel – Paris Marriott Hotel Champs-Elysees
7th August 2011 – Paris to Bayeux – Train – Intercités – 0910/1115 – 2nd Class
Explore Bayeux – Bayeux Hotel – Château Hôtel de Bellefontaine
8th August to 10th August 2011 – Explore Normandy Region – WW2 Invasion Tours – Overlord Tours – Neptune Tour (2 Days), 101st Airborne Tour (1 Day)
11th August 2011 – Bayeux to Paris – Train – Intercités – 0841/1046 – 1st Class
Explore Paris – Paris Hotel – Paris Marriott Hotel Champs-Elysees
12th August 2011 – Explore Paris
13th August 2011 – Farewell to Yena – Paris to Berlin
Paris Charles De Gaulle to Berlin Tegel – Lufthansa – LH3241 0930/1105 – Boeing 737-500 – Business Class (New Airline, New Aircraft, New Airport)
Berlin Hotel – Hotel Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof
Meet up with Melissa
14th August 2011 – Berlin
15th August 2011 – Berlin
16th August 2011 – Berlin to London
Berlin Tegel – London Heathrow – BMI – BD842 1100/1200 – Airbus A319 – Business– (New Airline, New Airports)
Heathrow Express – London Heathrow to London Paddington Station
London Hotel – Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London
Ceremony of the Keys at Tower of London
17th August 2011 – London
18th August 2011 – London
19th August 2011 – London
20th August 2011 – Explore London Morning – Evening Flight – London to Tokyo
London Heathrow – Tokyo Narita – ANA – NH202 1935/1520+1 – Boeing 777-300ER – Business Class (New Product, New Airline)
21st August 2011 – Arrive Tokyo – Narita Express to Shinjiku – Tokyo Hotel – Hyatt Regency Tokyo
22nd August 2011 – Tokyo
23rd August 2011 – Tokyo
24th August 2011 – Tokyo
25th August 2011 – Tokyo to Yokohama to Kyoto
Morning Shinkansen to Yokohama, explore city, Late Afternoon Shinkansen to Kyoto
Tokyo Station to Shin Yokohama – Hikari 505 – 0833/0852
Shin Yokohama to Kyoto – Hakari 519 – 1552/1815
Kyoto Hotel – Citadines Kyoto Karasuma Gojo
26th August 2011 – Kyoto
27th August 2011 – Kyoto to Osaka – Morning Shinkansen from Kyoto to Osaka
Kyoto to Shin Osaka – Hikari 503 – 1016/1030
Osaka Hotel – Ritz Carlton Osaka
28th August 2011 – Osaka
29th August 2011 – Osaka to Hiroshima – Morning Shinkansen from Osaka to Hiroshima –Hikari 495 – 0835/1019
Hiroshima Hotel – ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima
30th August 2011 – Hiroshima
31st August 2011 – Hiroshima to Narita – Morning Shinkansen from Hiroshima back to Tokyo then NEX from Tokyo to Narita.
Hiroshima to Shin Osaka – Hikari 543 – 0715/0854
Shin Osaka to Tokyo Station – Hikari 510 – 0913/1210
Tokyo Station to Narita – Narita Express
Explore Narita, Plane Spotting, Exploring the Temple – Narita Hotel – Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport hotel
1st September 2011 – Tokyo to Hong Kong
Tokyo Narita to Seoul Incheon – Asiana Airlines – OZ103 1530/1810 – Boeing 767-300 – Business Class (New Airline, New Airport)
Seoul Incheon to Hong Kong Chep Lap Kok – Asiana Airlines – OZ723 1945/2230 – Boeing 747-400 – Business Class (New Airport)
Hong Kong Hotel – Novotel Hong Kong Nathan Road
2nd September 2011 – Hong Kong
3rd September 2011 – Hong Kong
4th September 2011 – Hong Kong
5th September 2011 – Hong Kong
6th September 2011 – Hong Kong to Singapore
Hong Kong Chep Lap Kok to Singapore Changi – Singapore Airlines – SQ861 1540/1920 – Airbus A380-800 – Business Class (New Airport, New Airline, New Aircraft, Bucket List)
Meet Up with Cat – Singapore Hotel – Royal Plaza on Scots Singapore Hotel
7th September 2011 – Singapore
8th September 2011 – Singapore
9th September 2011 – Singapore
10th September 2011 – Singapore to Brisbane (Home) – Fly Home with Cat
Singapore Changi to Brisbane – Singapore Airlines – SQ245 0955/1930 – Airbus A330-300 – Business Class (New Product)
11th September 2011 – Rest
12th September 2011 – Back to Work

So there it is guys, plenty of things to read about, the trip is a big one, some changes here and there but shes all good 😀

A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to be able to go on a Western Australia famil. I tossed it up over an hour or so while my brain went to and fro. Do I go or do I stay at work. The famil was scheduled to be about a week after the Stars trip. What was I to do? Do I take the famil and have another couple of days out of sales or do I stay at work and try and make those extra few dollars count.

I was leaning towards staying at work. I was so close to being the #1 consultant at work (a bucket list goal) and thankfully the person who I am battling the top spot with was on Stars with me. So that made me feel all the less guilty. What I was hoping for was the opportunity to just make a decision for me. Then it did. I remembered my bucket list. One of those items was “visit every state and territory is Australia”. With this trip I could do this. But what about the sales, but part of me felt that I also needed to think about my sanity. I need to take a break, and I just needed to relax for a few days in the midst of all the craziness.

This famil was sure to give me all of what I wanted. I could fulfill that part of my bucket list, I could get that break I needed. The avgeek part of me could have that new airports in my log book. So I said yes.

It has been a great last few days. Tripping around the Margaret River region, experiencing amazing food and wine (although for me the more memorable meals were at the less memorable spots). I went running next to the indian ocean (and almost froze to death in the process). I had a great time with some great people I work with and through it all, I relaxed. I had time to chill out, to experience life like a normal person. i think this trip has meant the last few days has helped me in the process of being the normal person I want to be.

One thing I have realised. Through all this hard work I have done over the last 18 months, I am not quite there yet, but I am working on it

Well as of this morning I have now completed something from my bucket list. I have officially learnt to ride my bike. The last 15 weeks have been totally crazy. What with plenty of spills, cuts, bruises, and everything, wow what an adventure. I bought my first ever bike (and love it to pieces), went Mountain Biking for the first time and promptly wanted to just find somewhere quiet to have an anuerism (as a pilot in a documentary once said) and yet here I am.

Today was the final lesson and I was still trying to do things that I have been doing over and over again, riding up small steep inclines, up and down gutters and also standing up on the bike. Even though I am by no means perfect at all these things, I can keep practicing over and over again for a while, getting used to these things, the more I practice the better I will become.

But it is totally crazy. Something my trainer said this morning I totally agree with. Looking back to that first lesson way back in the carpark at the gym, so many months ago, my trainer had one thought. What the hell has he gotten himself into. He did not even think I could do it, and neither did I really. But you know what, it wouldn’t be the first time I have proven myself wrong.

Well I am off travelling again. Pretty much off to Cairns this morning with work for 5 days then next week off to Perth for 4 days.

This SHOULD be my last lot of travelling before the big trip. Lots of things to consider at the moment so will start blogging more about the trip once I get back from Perth. I will try to make it at least every 2 or 3 days from now on in the lead up. Get back into the Groove of blogging every few days (which i usually do while i’m away). Since these are work trips, there won’t be full trip reports but I will be able to give some highlights (its gonna be an epic couple of weeks I am sure).

Anyway catch ya on the flip, internet will prolly be pretty shoddy for the next few days, so bigmal365 will be a bit slow to update (if it all till sunday) and tweets won’t be that common either.

Well I wasn’t going to blog today after the book review, was going to blog in a day or so about some other stuff but a spanner has been thrown in the works today.

So I got an email (well it was really a text message from a friend prompting me to read my emails) from the US State Department. It says the following:

Dear Diversity Visa Lottery Entrant:

We regret to inform you that, because of a computer programming error, the results of the 2012 Diversity Lottery that were previously posted on the Department of State Entrant Status Check website have been voided. The results were not valid because they did not represent a fair, random selection of entrants, as required by U.S. law. They were posted in error.

If you checked the Entrant Status Check website (http://www.dvlottery.state.gov) during the first week in May and found a notice that you had been selected for further processing or a notice that you had not been selected, that notice has been rescinded and is no longer valid.

A new selection process will be conducted based on the original entries for the 2012 program.

You submitted a qualified entry between October 5, 2010 and November 3, 2010. Your entry remains with us and will be included in the new selection lottery. Your confirmation number to check results on the Entrant Status Check website is still valid. We expect the results of the new selection process to be available on or about July 15, 2011 at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov

We regret any inconvenience or disappointment this might have caused.

Way to throw a spanner in the works US State Department. I mean seriously. Just when I thought I had my life in order and back on track this happens! I had totally been content with this, but then I’ve been thinking about it all day today, and I am back at the same point I was at in the lead up to the results. Indecision.

Do I stay, do I go. What do i do! I really don’t know again now. I had made some decisions about my life but now, well thats back on hold. Everything is back on hold. These results will be up by the time I am in Canada, so It will be a crazy result if i get through, but either way, it’s screwing with my head again, not that my mind doesn’t need much more help at being screwed!

God Damn its getting cold lately. Its only mid may, so still in Autumn, but the nights are fast approaching single digits. I mean seriously, what the hell. I have never felt this cold in my life here in Brisbane. I have been feeling the cold more and more.

This is definately not a “look at me i lost heaps of weight” post but seriously, how do thin people do it! This time last year i probably had about an extra 50kg on me, and it obviously kept me nice and toasty warm. Never thought I’d say it, but i want some of the body fat back. It was at least warm 🙁

The nights keep getting colder, which means my legs and arms just freeze to death. For the first time in my life im wearing Tracksuit pants at home. I never had this problem before, I could walk around at home in winter in single digits in shorts and feel fine! Anyone have any tips of keeping warm!

Wow… life is full on as usual these days. It just never seems to end. I feel like I am moving a million miles a minute some times with no time to stop. I thought I would just give a quick update to how life is tracking at the moment. All I have seemingly blogged lately is either books or travelling (although another Book Review is coming later today).

Firstly, the 1st of May rolled around. This signalled something that I had been waiting for quite some time, we will call it “Green Card Day.” Last October I had applied for a shot at the Green Card Lottery for a diversity visa to the USA. This is the famed residency card that lets you live in the USA for as long as you like essentially. There is a billion in one shot (probably not that bad of odds, usually about 1%) that you will get one of these visa’s, but hey worth a shot. Well the 1st rolled around and I didn’t get it, but hey, was worth a try.

But since I didn’t end up getting the visa i can now really start setting some more goals forward in my life, so I have come up with a few for next year. Nothing overtly crazy compared to last year’s goals, but I think its what i need.

1. Move out of Home
2. Start looking at buying my own apartment
3. Run a Triathlon
4. Get into Mountain Biking
4. Take advantage of all these points im about to earn

With that goal of the triathlon I think it should help me keep in shape, and learn to use my bike a bit differently. Don’t know which Triathlon to do or when, but hey, why the hell not. It has been a bit crazy with the bike, I have had my share of stacks but I am enjoying it more and more. As the mornings get colder though, I am finding it really hard to get out of bed as I seem to feel the cold much much more than I did in the past, gonna have to start running in a jumper maybe!

Work has been good, a few big bookings in April have kept me in the running for the #1 spot and I won’t be going down without a fight, I’ve been putting in the mega hours, feeling like I don’t leave my desk but the more hours I put in, the closer and closer I get to closing the gap. I don’t know if I can do it, but I won’t go down without a fight. Never Give Up!!!

But the awesome bit is, I was told I was nominated this year to attend something that we normally cant attend. Each year our company puts on a big event called S.T.A.R.S (it stands for Sunlover Travel Agent Reward Scheme) and its attended by our Top agents from all over Australia. This year they are inviting some top staff to come with them. I was nominated. Now just being nominated to me was a big big priveledge. It made me feel like I was achieving something, that all the hard work I had been doing was being recognised. Well word came in Tuesday. I am off to STARS on the 25th of May! AYYAYAYA 4 days in a mystery location (haven’t been told anything yet at all). Hopefully should be good!

The big trip is also fast approaching, 2 months away today. Can’t wait! Should be awesome. Now to just stay focused between now and then!

So its a very long easter weekend, coupled with Anzac Day. Now most people who know me know that I always travel to Sydney for Anzac Day over the last few years to spend some time with relatives and also pay tribute to the fallen at the morning service. The last two years though I have done something different. I have marched in the Parade to honour my Grandfather. This year I will again do the same, with a bit of a difference.

Since my parents are not joining me in Sydney this year (since it falls over easter and they are themselves away on the Gold Coast) I am heading off to New Zealand. Why go to Sydney via New Zealand, put simply, Because I can.

I will be posting a full Trip Report including planning and everything upon my return but this way you will know why I am a little bit quiet over the next few days. I am switching off Data on my phone so will only be hitting up Twitter etc if I can find a free WiFi hot spot around the place (which I am sure won’t be that common). Luckily I have my (new) ipod synced with heaps of music, movies etc and a good book to finish (and an excuse to buy a new one if i finish this one while away).

Otherwise I will be back in touch with life on Sunday night when I get into Sydney.. Till then… Catch ya on the flip!

Well, it seems all I’ve been doing lately is posting about movies, books or food. Hah! Well I thought I would post a little about life for the last month or so. Things have been busy busy busy. I feel like I am on the go non stop day in day out. It feels like I haven’t taken a breath and rested for more than 20 seconds for the whole month and it doesn’t look to change much at all for the next week or so.

I’ve had the bike for just on a month now, (been riding for 10 weeks now and I think I can cross it off my bucket list as I know how to ride now). I am getting more and more confident each time I get on the bike and don’t in any way regret any decision to buy it. It was well worth the investment, even though I have fallen off it about a billion times already.

It feels good sometimes to get out and ride but I am still not at the point where I am able to switch off and do things instinctively like I can with my running. When I run at the moment, my brain switches off. I am able to just run and run without thinking, my brain goes off and I can relax I guess you could say. With riding I have to constantly think about what I’m doing, concentration is always at a peak. But I guess with that it means that my heart rate stays up there and it means I can burn a hell of a lot more calories (11k ride on Sunday morning burnt like 1200 calories which is roughly 2/3 of a daily intake).

In life outside of the bike, work has been pretty good, but I have been having to focus pretty damn hard, make sure I am getting every single booking and every single dollar so that I can make my goal of top consultant. As of this morning I was sitting in first place but I am holding onto that position by the skin of my teeth ($60.. yes that’s right $60). I have to work my butt off to stay in first place and the thing is, It is going to take major effort to stay there.

The trip planning is pretty much done now. I have like 2 things left to organise but they both can’t be done till very last minute (JR Pass and rail in France both don’t allow bookings till like 2 months prior) so you could say I am pretty much done. I have to organise some insurance thanks to lovely difficulties I am having with my current policy (won’t cover me due to a clause on the length of trip) so after the Travel Expo on Sunday I am hoping to have this all worked out. With the Trip pretty much done all that’s left in my check list is really to organise the spending money, insurance and those train bookings and its all done, and with less than 3 months to go, I would have to say its all going to go swimmingly.

What more can I say. It has been a pretty full on last month or so, and with more full on times coming I don’t see things quieting down any time soon. I travelled to Canberra for a weekend last month to catch up with Stuart, Michelle and see Daniella again which was an awesome weekend. Qantas stuffed me around on the way home and still haven’t given me the credit that I wanted for the flights (giving up on that I guess). Next weekend (easter) is going to be some fun travelling. I might post about it just before I go but will be doing some travelling for the hell of it and acting like a Plane nut for the first time in a while (essentially flying to Sydney for Anzac Day via New Zealand).

Guess I should probably get back to work now… slacked off enough