Dec. 16: We slept in, then spent the rest of the day helping my parents getting set up for their annual Christmas party (cleaning, yard work, picked up the keg, etc.). The party started at seven, and somehow we managed to be ready (nearly) on time. The party was a complete success! Good food and drinks, and it was great to see tons of people that I haven't seen in four or five years! There were tons of family friends, and I had a good selection of friends from high school and university. Things wound down pretty early (at least compared to the old days) and I was in bed around midnight.

Dec. 17: We woke up way to early. Not to surprisingly I wasn't feeling too hot, but still I think a lot better than Amy was. We drove down to San Diego and had lunch with Amy's grandmother. After lunch I followed Amy and her grandmother to Solana Beach and then after meeting Amy's aunt and uncle I left them and headed down to Pacific Beach. I tried to get hold of a bunch of friends but completely struck out - no one was home. I ended up doing some shopping at the "Travel Depot", wandered around and then headed back to Solana Beach to have dinner with Amy and her relatives.

Dec. 18: Amy packed in the morning. We walked downtown and had lunch at Zinc's. After lunch we went for a three hour walk along the beach to Crescent Bay and back. Fought traffic to get to the airport, then sat with Amy until her flight left.

Dec. 19: Spent most of the day trying to work out a flight to Bangkok. The problem is that there are no reasonably priced flights available in January (the tickets available are twice as much as a flight in May). I think I worked out how to make my "World Navigator" ticket that I bought in Australia get me back to Bangkok for about $300. I got a reservation on Northwest Airlines for January 12th, now I have to go in to a NWA ticket office and try to explain the whole thing to them (they don't sell this ticket here).

Dec. 20: After completely failing to get anyone on the phone to understand what I was trying to do with the airpass I'd bought in Australia I headed off to the airport to try to deal with a real person. At the airport they told me they couldn't do anything about an international ticket unless it had already been reserved and arranged with the reservations desk. So I ended up on the courtesy phone talking to the reservation desk again. After a few minutes they suggested that maybe I should talk to the "Around the World" desk - there they knew exactly what I was talking about and I was on my way to getting my ticket changed! But then they pointed out a problem, they said I was only allowed one stop in each city - and I've already been to Bangkok. So I hung up and went to sit down to figure out where else that I could fly in to (Hong Kong, Taipei?) But as soon as I sat down I looked over the rules that I was given with my ticket and it doesn't say anything about visiting the same city twice. Also when I thought about it the original ticket I had issued had two stops in Cairo, so it couldn't be a problem. Back on the phone I got to RTW desk again, but of course it's a different person so after I explained everything again he looked up the rules and quoted me rule 12d. When I looked at my list I didn't have a 12d, 12c was the last one. So then we checked the date of his rules and they were date June 22, a couple weeks after I'd bought my ticket. He agreed that the earlier rules should apply, but he didn't have access to the earlier set so there was nothing he could do, the later rules had to be used So. I asked to speak to his supervisor and started all over again. She suggested that since I had the original rules I needed to speak with someone in person. She then looked up Orange County airport and said that there would be someone there at 3:30 that could help me. I had lunch and came back an hour later. After waiting fifteen minutes I was told the same thing - I had to work it out on the phone. So back on the phone, through the reservation desk to the RTW desk, to talk with yet someone else. I explained everything again, and she suggested asking the ticket agents to fax her the rules I had. I did and then spent the next hour on the phone with her trying to work out the rules, and then the fees (the tickets were bought in Australian Dollars, the last taxes were paid in Thai Baht, and I'd be paying for the excess miles in US Dollars). At the end of the call, I had a reservation, I had her understanding and all that was required was a endorsement from Emirates Airlines. She told me she'd keep working on it and call me back this evening. So after three hours at the airport I headed home. She called later in the evening to tell me that they were still waiting, but promised to call tomorrow to let me know what the status was.

Dec. 21: Since I ended up staying up until after five (trying to win just one game of solitaire) I slept in until late. I helped my dad repair the chair I had sent from Malawi for my mom's Christmas present. Got on the computer and updated my journal, did email, and fixed a mapping bug in my journal (it couldn't draw trans-pacific routes). While online I also did some research and ordered new contacts. After dinner I started working on my printed address list - I was just going to work on it for an hour, but the next thing I knew it was well after five again.

Dec. 22: After the late night, I slept in again. I worked with my dad trying to glue the chair again (my mom's Christmas present). Yesterday's attempt failed. Spent some time on the computer and then helped my dad do some comparison shopping on the net. I got a call from Northwest airlines. They still haven't gotten the endorsement from Emirates to change my ticket, but they've gone ahead and approved the change without it. So tomorrow I should headed back to the airport to get it! In the evening I went over to the Hanke's to sit in the hot tub, and then have dinner. After dinner Wolf and I went to see the move Proof of Life (I liked it, pretty good action, great scenery - got to get to South America!).

Dec. 23: In the morning I debated going to the airport. I wanted to get my ticket completely out of the way, but I was terrified of what the airport might be like. Finally gave in and went to do battle at the airport, where I was pleasantly surprised to find it no hassle at all. I have my tickets! In the afternoon I took care of a few Christmas gifts (photo enlargements).

Dec. 24: Got on the web to buy some (very) last minute gifts. Worked on ACT, did some sweeping for my mom, and joined the family for Christmas eve dinner at Linda and Warren's. Predictably I stayed up late wrapping.

Dec. 25: Up early for presents, stockings, and breakfast with Mom, Dad, Melinda, Gary, Linda, and Warren. In the afternoon I met up with Wolf and Wendy and went and saw the new Tom Hanks movie Castaway. Dinner was huge - 14 of us in total - this morning's crowd plus Don, Kaye, Jeanette, Glen, Gary's parents (Irvin and Janet), and Linda's friend.

Dec. 26: Did my laundry, went downtown to the phone store to find out about repairs (my display went blank). Walked back on the beach and hung out for the sunset (the first one I've seen since getting home). Went out for a couple beers with Wolf and Chris.