Finally decided to throw my name into the hat, as so many of you have already done.

I have been a member of flyertalk for a few months now, and have chosen the topics I reply to carefully. Some I feel like replying to, but decide against it. More and more, I'm finding myself posting on a variety of topics, which means my comfort level is increasing. That's a good thing.

I'm Bryant. I am an extremist when it comes to aviation. Began flying with my grandparents when I was about two years old. Typically, we'd take the pre-dawn DL flt from BWI-ATL, heading south to visit relatives, some of which live in Hotlanta. From there, we'd sometimes connect to CAE or MGM. Over time, as I continued traveling with them and began visiting my father, who lived in ATL, my interest in aviation increased. I was simply fascinated with the idea of flight, and still am to this day.

My username, AtlMan, stems from the fact that I absolutely love that city and its airport. I have since age 6. What normal 6 year old falls in love with a city and airport? If anybody out there can relate, please let me know. Since that time, I have visited ATL dozens of times, and have not lost one bit of interest all the while. So when I joined flyertalk, I decided to call myself AtlMan, which a friend actually started calling me while in college. Recently thought about changing it to HartsfieDL, but a fellow flyertalker 'talked' me out of it. Didn't want people out there to think that ATL is all I think or know about based on my username. But decided to keep it in the end.

Born and raised in Harrisburg, PA, capital city of The Keystone State, the heart of the Susquehanna Valley, and right down the road from Hershey Chocolate country. While attending the PA Int'l Air Show back in like '87, I visited a booth occupied by recruiters from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). Talked to them, picked up some brochures, and I was hooked. At that early age, I knew this would be my choice for higher education.

Entered ERAU's DAB campus in fall '91, as an Aeronautical Science Major. Soon realized I did not want to be a commercial pilot, that my hunger could be satisfied eventually through obtaining a private pilots license. Due to a coop experience at Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) in my senior year of high school, I was very interested in learning more about Airport Management.

Switched degree programs during my first semester to Aviation Business Administration. Looking back on it, that was a great move. Was very involved in extracurricular activities which raised my confidence in constantly working with and speaking to the public.

Completed an internship with the Metropolitan Airports Commission @ MSP in '95. Great experience! And boy has that place spruced up over the last five years, and there's more to come. Lookin' good MSP......

Left ERAU in '96 to accept a position @ Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. Worked in A/P Operations for seven months, part of which occurred during the Summer Olympic Games. How incredible to be a part of that! This position was temporary, scheduled to end with the new year. While landing a job there was my dream come true, it apparently wasn't meant to last forever.

Interviewed for and accepted a position with the City of Palm Springs, Department of Transportation, working at the Palm Springs Regional Airport. Started here right after the first of the year.

I'm still here in PSP, now Palm Springs International Airport. My present title is Air Service Development & Public Relations Coordinator. Among other things, I handle all of our advertising and marketing activities, prepare press releases, serve as a media contact on aviation related issues, administer a couple of contracts, coordinate a work related training program, seek and accept local public speaking engagements, work with airline reps (sales, scheduling, route planning) on maintaining, increasing, and/or introducing air service to PSP.

Like my job a lot as it is sometimes challenging and everchanging. Do not get to travel that often for business, about three times a year. Business trips are typically to attend conferences, conventions, and workshops. Also travel for pleasure about as much each year, so all in all I make half dozen trips per year. Next one is coming up on 8/30-9/4, business and pleasure. Goin' home.

So that's me. More to tell, but how about I save that for later. I love flyertalk. I look forward to being a part of the group for some time to come. Whenever I think I can offer some advice or background on an issue, I'll chime in. As I said early in this post, that seems to be happening more frequently, so look to see my name more often in the future.

I have learned a lot from many of my fellow flyertalkers, so keep it comin'.



[This message has been edited by AtlMan (edited 08-17-2000).]

I think a lot of us can relate. You are NOT alone. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Welcome to FlyerTalk AtlMan. My love affair with aviation began at Andrews Air Force Base at the age of 5 or 6. Saw the USAF Thunderbirds perform... that was all it took.

Hi, all -

I've been around here for - wow - a year, and I never got to posting my "who we all are" entry. No time like the present, since I'm heading for my first FT in-person event.

I'm a corporate and securities lawyer in the Silicon Valley, representing young technology companies, as well as the venture capital funds that invest in them. I've been with my firm for about 6 months, now.

Prior to turning to the dark side with my freshly minted law degree, I traveled a great deal before law school as a visiting student at Worcester College, Oxford during my undergrad stint, as an associate with a venture capital firm in Switzerland and in various business development roles for a couple of start-up companies in the utility industry during and following law school. For the latter, I traveled extensively to Europe and Asia and planted a flag in New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa a few times and Peru.

Unfortunately, my law firm is so flush with business from the Sili Valley that we're not really traveling much outside of a circle centered 20 miles from SFO. This means that for the foreseeable future, my miles are all on my own nickel. I've been a UA 1k since 1996, prior to that I was a SR Travel Club member and various levels with TW. I've never seemed to be able to concentrate my hotel stays enough to get beyond gold with any of the hotel companies. I guess that's a good thing, because it suggests I've never had to spend long chunks of my life in a hotel. The lack of travel may get to me, however, as wanderlust is a powerful force to try and resist.

I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, which my parents (one from East coast, one from West) found palatable by traveling A LOT. We spent quite a few Thanksgivings and Christmases away from home (my mom would always pack one or two gifts for my sister and me when we were away from Santa's usual destination).

My bride (since April) is also an attorney in the Valley - fortunately, we've not run into a situation where her firm (who represents a couple of the major players in technology) is suing one of my little pipsqueak clients. We're waiting.

Right now my free time (what little there is as a junior associate in a corporate law firm) is dedicated to seeing my wife every once in a while, and surviving the early stage of flight training. In the health and safety interests of the members here, I should post when my lessons are, so that you all can avoid SJC at those times.

My last trip was a 2 day trip to Switzerland for the birthday party of an old boss in early July. My next trip, other than a wedding in Ithaca, NY, is probably a couple of mileage runs to SIN to requal for 1K and get the 2 F tix to some island destination to which my wife has become accustomed.

I've grown addicted to FT over the past year, and while I'm not an incredibly prolific poster, I hope at least some of my posts have been useful to people out there.

Thanks to everyone out there for making FT the place it is.

{Ironically, this wound up being my 300th post, too - cool}.

Greg

[This message has been edited by greg99 (edited 09-02-2000).]

Glad to see some of the "oldtimers" posting here. Thanks greg99!

After well over a year here and almost a century of posts, here goes……

My name is Mike, and I am going to be 36 y.o. in October. Grew up in Berkeley and have been on the move since I was 17. First stop was a lazy couple of years in San Diego. Got to use Air Cal (and PSA before it evolved) during that period. Moved to London when I was 20 and went on sabbatical from school for a while. I became a despatch rider and then controller for a couple firms. 12 hours a day 5 days a week on a 500cc Moto Guzzi and hoping for snow that stuck so I could earn an extra 5 pounds a day. Saw a lot of time on Pan Am flights bought cheap in Victoria.

Moved to Heidelberg for a year in 88-89 to finish my studies and then returned to London. Did a few trips in the Viscounts from Oostende to England. (Cannot recall the airline). Returned to the U.K for a brief stint to convince myself that it was not Athlete’s Foot but rather the old Wanderlust making me shuffle my feet. Packed up and went to Japan after a brief stop in the Bay Area.

Have been living in Japan for more than 10 years now and am married to the most lovely person these islands produced in the year 1963. I met her on the third day I was here, spent three months convincing her I deserved a kiss and another three years convincing her to be my lifetime partner. We have been happily married for 7 years this past August and have two great kids (5-year-old boy and 5 month old daughter).

After tiring of teaching English I started working for a large private property developer here in Tokyo and have been happily employed there for three years plus. The past three years have had me in Shanghai (we have a building there) more nights than in any other place. I declare that city to be a must for any of you that have not had the pleasure of China personally. I was so continuously pleasantly surprised with Shanghai that I would and do travel there now for pleasure.

I will be starting a U of Chicago GSB EMBA in Singapore in about a week so I will be there for a week or so each month for the next couple years. Anyone down that way please e-mail and we can tip a few back.

I love wine, especially big reds from Australia, am a fanatical supporter of the Oakland Raiders (sorry Rudi), and will be hitting 1K for the first time this year after many years as PremEx. Yeah!!

I feel at home with all you people on these boards and it is not a good day when I cannot access a computer and check in with the family. Hope to be in Seattle for 24 hours for a mileage run in late November so mayhaps some of the locals to the Northwest will be up for some Microbrews and chat.

Mike

Who We All Are 8
 

Since WWAA7 was getting long, thought I'd start another one...

Here are the links to previous Who We All Are's:

Who We All Are 7: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/000470.html

Who We All Are 6: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/000353.html

Who We All Are 5: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/000236.html

Who We All Are 4: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/000196.html

Who We All Are 3: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/000052.html

Who We All Are 2: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/001305.html

Who We All Are: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/000469.html


I've been with FlyerTalk since Feb. 1999 and haven't had the guts to do this until now... please forgive me. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif

I have been a frequent flyer with TWA since 1991 -- that's when I was 10 years old. [hoping to gain Platinum life status by flying 1,000,000 actual miles-- if TWA is not absorbed before I accrue them]

Well it goes like this, I was a minor when I signed up for FlyerTalk, so I used my dad's E-Mail account and name to reply to FlyerTalkers.

On 8/12/2000 I said goodbye to my parents and hello to college away from home. I decided that since I would be living away alone for the first time in my life, I would change my E-Mail address once I got to college, and in the future when I give or trade items on the Coupon Connection, that I would use my E-mail address and mailing address-- not my dad's.

So PremEX, Kokonuts and others, my Dad's name is Frank--- my name is Scott, and I was the one providing the content in those E-Mails. [pretty mature for a 19 yr old, eh?] http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif

PLEASE accept my appologies--- I was not pretending to be someone else, as I had my dad look at every E-Mail and post I made on FlyerTalk prior to 8/12/2000... so in essence Max M was a father-son [with the son making all the posts] duo, and now it's all my posting http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif

I'm currently a freshman @ Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Hmm... well here's what I was involved with in high school:

Marching Band [trombone]
Pep Band [trombone]
Symphonic Band [trombone]
Drama
Indivdual Event Speech -- catagory radio news [only participated my junior and senior year]:
District Finalist 1999
State Finalist 1999
District Finalist 2000
State Finalist 2000
All-State 2000

As you can tell I have a passion for radio---I interned this summer for a radio group and had a blast [no on-air time though http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif ] and I'm a dj for campus station KORU as well as the Promotions Director for KORU.

I would like to do voice imaging for radio stations, and since I'm a college student, I would charge less than other "talent". If you know of anyone interested in a fresh [and probably cheaper] voice, please have them E-Mail me, and I'd be more than happy to do a demo for them.... I can do tons of impressions/accents/personalities.

I enjoy golfing, relaxing on beaches, hanging with friends, traveling [duh!], partying [I'm in college afterall], going to movies, and listening to music.

I currently don't have a girlfriend http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif but that will hopefully change in the near future.

I hope I've cleared up some of the mystery about FTer "Max M".

Oh and BTW--- would other FTers be interested in having an FT get-together someplace warm [preferably Maui, Kona, Oahu, San Juan, Montego Bay, Santo Domingo, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Cancun, Mexico City, Puerto Plata, Puerto Vallarta, Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo] sometime during 3/10/2001-3/18/2001? [as I have spring break then and would enjoy meeting other FTers--- those young and "young at heart"] http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Anyway, I feel a sense of belonging to this community, and am happy to now [officially http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/confused.gif ] become apart of it.

------------------
" Lambert International, St. Louis --- the Bermuda Triangle of the Midwest."

[This message has been edited by Max M (edited 09-27-2000).]

Welcome (again?) Scott! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

gruezi Max M!

Welcome to FLyertalk and glad to see you are using some of your free time in College at something constructive and fun: COLLEGE RADIO.

OMNI: I worked at my college radio station WNYU (New York University's radio station, 89.1 FM) int he mid 80's. Learned more about the business and broadcasting there than in my classes, sorry to say. Met some good people (the sad thing is we all lost touch! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif )

For EVERYONE: since people are already throwing out dates in the spring 2001 for various do's, I will post PROPOSED DATES FOR THE CATMAN DO TROIS!! It's next Spring, 2001, and I don't want to do it at the same time as another do and end up hosting a conflicting do --- LIke Toronto/Red Green with Rudi/COmicwoman in SFO.

[This message has been edited by Catman (edited 09-27-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Catman (edited 09-27-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Catman (edited 09-27-2000).]

Welcome Max... I sure would be interested in someplace warm early next year.. would be a good place for me to burn up my (probable) Mileage Plus miles...

'Throw another 100,000 miles on the fire!'

Thanks PremEx, Rudi, Catman, and dg1 for your kind (re)-welcome greeting. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif


------------------
" Lambert International, St. Louis --- the Bermuda Triangle of the Midwest."

I'm sorry that this is so overdue. I have been meaning to do this for quite awhile, but kept hoping for a quiet moment that I now suspect will never arrive. Sooo...
I'm female, of what the French would call a cetain age, an attorney. I work for a large publishing and information company, and primarily in the areas of litigation, antitrust, libel and copyright.
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to travel, and have loved doing so since I began. My other great passion has been the ballet, and I've had wonderful times combining the two. (The destinations, except perhaps for Detroit, have generally been well-selected.)
When FF programs came along, I thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread, and was a relatively early member of Pan Am's and TWA's. (I later branched out, though I now concentrate most of my flying on UA. ) I've had some wonderful trips courtesy of those miles, though now that hardly anyone's expiring miles, I tend to hoard rather than use them.
My significant other lives in Denver, and we both like to escape somewhere else on weekends, so we do a lot of 2= and 3=day trips to new places.
I don't often travel internationally on business, but I have had a fair amount of West Coast travel for work over the last few years. A couple of years ago, I realized that I was close enough to 1K on United that I could make it if I planned properly. So I took one extra trip to SFO and turned down a cheaper EWR flight in favor of a JFK one and hit the 100,000 mark. Requalifying has been easier.
Because a fine hotel is often for me part of the destination, I don't stay that frequently in chains with frequent guest programs except on business travel. (I am, however, Starwood gold.)
Aside from travel and the ballet, I like the theatre, movies, finding new restaurants, finding new wines--plus eating at and drinking old favorites== beaches and good fiction.
I estimate that I have earned 40,000-50,000 FF miles in various programs purely as a result of Flyer Talk. The wisdom I've gained from Flyer Talk cannot be measured. I'm grateful to so many of you, and hope to meet a lot of you soon.

Here comes another Student!

My name's Jackie and from my ID you can tell I am from Hong Kong and now studying at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, MI.

I did all my previous educations in HKG until the BSc (1st Hons) at HKPolyU. I am now persuing my Master in Architecture.

I didn't participate activities in UM at all but during my Highschool and Undergrad:
-Chairman of Photographic Club, Computer Society and Chief Editor of School Magazine.
-Exco in various joint-school functions.
-Camp leader or various HK-China Student interflow camps
-President of Study Tour Committee at my Junior year (LAX and SFO, visiting consturction sites and buildings)
-...

I like to go hiking and camping in HK, I still finding my chance to continue this hobby in Ann Arbor...

Hong Kong is such a small place that no domestic flight available, so not so much chance to fly. I've been to some cities in China, Japan, Singapore, US and Canada. And will have my first landing in Europe during coming Thanksgiving.

My primary airline before I went to Ann Arbor is UA and NW, but now AA taken place. That is because AA not serve HK until recently it offer good fare to HK (connecting NRT-HKG with another carrier). I will continue to fly AA and aiming to get 1M miles before I graduate.

I became "addicted" to collect AA miles after joining this board, and I haven't buy the FTer luggage tag b'cos I want this to be my 1st purchase of the coming Starwood Amex (Flyer Talk's memorial purchase!!)


That is. Hope to see you guys around (the airport if not in the plane)

Welcome rfrost and HK-UMICH.

Any other bios from lurkers or FTers?

Remember--have fun here and in the air!

Welcome MaxM, rfrost, and HK-UMICH!

Okay... Another student! (albeit significantly younger)

Some people I've talked to on the chat will know already, but it goes like this:

I'm currently a high-school student (17). I'm Korean but I have chosen to study in England. (Please don't get me started about the education in Korea) This guaranteed a minimum of 3 roundtrips per year from Seoul-London, hence my interest in flying.

I went to England in Jan, 1995... so that's when I was 12 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif Some people find it hard to believe I chose to study some 6000 miles (am I complaining now? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif ) away from home since such a younge age, but at least for now, it turned out to be a very good choice. I've so far had a very enjoyable life in school. (boarding => yuk! well, actually, it's really fun http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) Now I've reached that stage where I'm applying for universities... I'm praying I get into Cambridge, but if I don't, then I won't exactly throw myself off a bridge.

What I do in my free time... Well, this (FT) eats up quite a significant portion... then there's piano. I played it since when I was about 5, but then stopped for a couple of years when I was about 10. This unfortunately meant re-learning half the stuff, so I now wish I hadn't stopped back then. Either way, now I'm pretty good at piano for someone who plays it as a hobby.

I genuinely find all this air travel stuff very interesting. I don't actually know why, but I am. My mum frequently complains that I don't spend enough time studying etc, and that I'm constantly on the Net. No wonder, since I fuel my interest with FT!

And since I've yet to make any important career decisions, I'm seriously considering a career as an airline exec. Basically, I think all airlines need execs who are genuinely interested in flying to make the company work... so I'm keeping it in one of my options. I don't know what else... yet.

My main airline... ANA. They're having trouble being recognised internationally, but they're something like 6th on the IATA Rankings for total no. of pax. Either way, I find it a very fine airline with nothing to fault except for the lack of PTVs in Y! (Obviously, I am nowhere rich enough to be able to afford anything more). I first flew them 2 years ago because they were the cheapest, but little did I know that they were also one of the best! Service is of typical Japanese standard, modern fleet, decent food, etc.

This summer saw my entry into AC Elite (Star Gold). Hence my handle, to "commemorate" the event. This was achieved after 3 roundtrips during start to the summer of 2000. I am throughly enjoying the benefits, ie First Class priority all the way! One thing that really gets to me however... When I pre-board with F class pax, everyone turns left when we go inside the plane, just as I start the long walk to the direction of right http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif Hopefully this will change when I become an airline exec (maybe http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) because there's NO WAY I'd ever pay for F/J out of my own pocket!

I was actually very surprised to find that some FTers were based in Korea. I might do what kidpachinko is doing... Call for all FTers from Korea! I would really love to meet some FTers but being relatively restricted in terms of time/resources of actually flying over to, say, USA to meet FTers, I guess I'd have to try it at home! (or England... my second "home" <= I used that word very loosely... Boarding house is hardly... well... let's not go any further)

In all, I'm glad I've discovered FT... as most people here I'm sure. I really look forward to many more years of great experiences in the air... (better get round to doing a RTW sometime) and here!

Thanks everyone who have so far welcomed me to this community, and I hope to be of valuable contribution here too!

great way to introduce yourself, thank you stargold.

Wouwwww! 17 year old and a perfect introduction!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I discovered I was "of a certain age" a few years ago on one of my not-frequent-enough trips to Paris, when waiters, hotel clerks, and shop assistants started referring to me as "Madame" rather than "Mademoiselle". It was a depressing development on an otherwise great trip.

Hello,

Santa has nudged me into posting to this thread. So, here goes.

My name is William Harvey. My partner and I just returned to Rochester, New York after a two year sabbatical (that is what I like to call it) in Des Moines, Iowa. BOY, do I know how to pick the best cities for air flying!!!!

I am the Director for Worldwide Executive Education for Eastman Kodak. As a result of this new position, I have gotten to travel a great deal this year. This is actually the first year I have made any premier status on any airline. Just made Premier Executive status on United last week. I, like many of you, actually enjoy flying.

In addition to flying, I love the theatre, movies, reading, and all sports.

And, I am a Virginia Tech Hokie. Graduated in 1987.

I grew up in Roanoke, Virginia.

I look forward to meeting many of you in the future.

William

Welcome wharvey!

welcome and hopefully some Frequent Flier 'Kodak-moments' in the future for all of you and I stoppped counting all Mark's (and Marc's) participating on this boad ...

.....

Hello there.

I should probably introduce myself. I'm Oldbold - there's old pilots and there's bold pilots, but there aren't any old, bold pilots. Then I'm not a pilot. I did work in the airlines in various non-flying jobs for a period, and I have also been a travel agent. Aside from commercial aviation, my main interest is science fiction.

I'm retired and living in Hobart, Tasmania. I do a fair amount of travelling still as I attend SF conventions, and have relatives and friends in the UK, Europe, Canada and the States, but unlike most of the posters here I usually travel Space Available on the airlines, and mostly do not collect magic miles or similar.

I have pleasant, or at least interesting, memories of flights in such piston-engined aircraft as Lockheed Constellations, Douglas DCs 3 to 7C (omitting 5), Convairs 240-440, Vickers Vikings, and Boeing Stratocruisers, as well as DH Dragon Rapides and Herons; in turboprops such as Vickers Viscounts and Vanguards, Bristol Britannias, Lockheed Electras and regional planes such as ATRs, Dash 8s and a Fairchild Dornier (is that a 32? - not the jet version); and in jets such as the DH Comet 4s, Boeings various, Douglas DCs 8-10, Convair 880, Vickers VC-10 and Super VC-10, BAC 1-11, Airbuses various, Ilyushin 62, Tupolev 134, Sud Caravelles and Concorde. Oops, almost forgot the Bae 146, the Canadair RJ, and the Embraer 145. And probably have forgotten others.

I am recently back from a trip basically to England with side trips - during which I got to the Airliners International convention in Phoenix, and to the Air Museum in Tucson which added a little airliner interest that I hadn't expected, with Eisenhower's Constellation Columbine and the DC-6 type Air Force One JFK had before the Boeing 707s, both kept in beautiful condition. To my surprise, on my return trip to England from the World SF convention in Chicago, I got to fly Air India. There were only 9 seats across in the forward section of Economy where I was - I haven't been in a 747 set up that way before. I do remember 3x4x2 seating in the early years of 747s, but they all went over to 3x4x3 quite early on. This was 3x3x3 and quite spacious.

I have only just found out about this site: I have been lurking (and occasionally contributing) on rec.travel.air for some time, and today I saw this mentioned. So, here I am.

Welcome aboard oldbold!

I´ve managed to miss earlier ops to introduce myself so here goes; please pardon the long-windedness - I'm rather lousy at being concise.

My name's Yonatan and I´m a 20 y/o undergrad. Since I was a kid I was fascinated by foreign countries and by travel. I think it´s partly "in the blood": I was born in Israel, my dad in the U.S., and his parents in Poland and the U.K. I emigrated at age eight, and that day marked my first flight, my first time in another country (stopover in London), and plenty of other firsts. I loved every minute of it, and four days later, when I arrived in California, I said that I wanted to fly to London again. I had caught the travel bug, and have never recovered. For the next eight years, except for a visit to Israel (which marked my entry into the FF world with the opening of a TWA account), I was "grounded" in the Bay Area, and fed my interest by reading about other countries. By the time I finished high school, I'd decided that I wanted whatever career I would pursue to be international in some way.

In 1996, I got my first taste of world travel with a visit to relatives in the UK, and after my graduation, I traveled through Europe with my 15 year old sister. We enjoyed the different places and experiences, and I appreciated the open-mindedness of the Europeans. They thought it was great that we could see the continent at such a young age, while the Americans we met thought our parents were nuts to let us go on our own! After the trip, I was determined to spend a term in Europe. I continued to learn German, which I had begun in high school, and also started learning French. Incidentally, my English has a funny accent but no longer sounds Hebrew and both Israelis and Americans think I am German. The Germans think I am French, or, when I am mistaken for a native speaker, they tell me I have a Swiss accent; go figure :rolleyes:.

I spent 5 quarters studying poli sci and econ at UC-San Diego (my flights home on WN, as well as some strategic long-distance carrier switching, netted me 2 free tickets on WN), and in April, I got to come to Göttingen on an exchange for one semester. Right before I was due to return to the U.S., I realized that it would be too painful for me to leave Europe so soon, and chose to stay here to complete a B.A. in international economics, in addition to completing my original degree at UCSD by transferring credits from Germany. I hope to get my UCSD B.S. in March of 2002, and my Göttingen B.A. a few months after that.

So presently, I'm in the enviable position of living in Germany on a dollar income. I rent a flat in an 18th Century Fachwerkhaus located inside the old city walls (if any of you other young 'uns or those "young at heart" are planning a run through Europe let me know and you can crash at my place). I try to fly home at least twice a year, which has earned me silver on US, and I also try to travel around Europe when I have the chance (I recently told a friend that if I were to die the next day it couldn't be called a real tragedy, since I've already experienced enough to last several lifetimes). Göttingen itself is a wonderful place in which to live and visit. People who haven't been here assume it's a backwaters since it isn't close to any major city, but the university makes it cosmopolitan, and plenty of famous Germans (think Gauss, Bismark, and the Grimms) have studied and/or taught here. My only complaint about it is that it isn't close to any airport, which adds 25-50USD rail fare to any flights I take http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif.

In addition to travel, I enjoy working with computers (particularly fixing broken ones), reading, and biking in the surrounding countryside. I also organize the youth group for the recently-refounded Göttingen Jewish Community, and participate in the activities put on by the AA (Americans Abroad, not Alcoholics Anonymous - it's the local expat group). In early spring, I'll intern at the U.S. embassy in Bern, and if that goes well, I hope to take the Foreign Service Exam when I finish my studies.

I first started posting on Flyertalk around the time that I came to Germany, and have found it to be a great resource for maximizing my travel dollars, as well as a great virtual community to belong to.
Yonatan

[This message has been edited by yonatan (edited 11-22-2000).]

[This message has been edited by yonatan (edited 11-11-2001).]

wharvey:
Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, Hi!
Tech, Tech, VPI
Sol-a-rex, Sol-a-rah
Poly Tech Vir-gin-ia
Ray rah VPI
Team! Team! Team!

Class of '91 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Finally I manage to say hello to the world. I love to fly since my first day of school. That's 12 years ago now, which makes me 18 and last-year student at Kantonsschule (High School) Rychenberg, Winterthur. Yep, another swiss guy, living some 30 kilometers out of Zurich.

Besides school I work as a web designer and PC supporter to earn some money, and I just love my computer. Might sound odd, but I fell in love with these strange machines at the age of 3 when I first played PacMan. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Other favorite hobbies are trampoline jumping (there's a local team where I live, and no, this is not a common activity in Switzerland either), skiing, cooking, and of course travelling.

After graduating from school next spring I'll study communications and journalism, hoping to end up somewhere in the advertising / corporate communications sector somewhen. My addiction for airline marketing is obvious on my "just for fun" airline site. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

Despite the image one might have of a Swiss I'm not saving my money but spending most of it on travel, mainly on SR and the Qualiflyer partners, where I also accrue my miles. My father's a Travelclub member and I hope to make it to the "club" by next March, after my next big mileage gainer to the US.

Memorable flight experiences so far are my Crossair flights to Lugano airport (spectacular approach!), a tour over Montana in a small Bellanca which I could steer myself and the "culture-shock" when boarding an US-plane for the first time after 12hours on SR business... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

I found FT somewhen last summer looking for information about Sabena, and I liked it at once. FT is taking more and more of my online time, and yet I'm not regreting it at all.
"En Gruess"
airOli

[This message has been edited by airoli (edited 03-18-2001).]

gruezi airoli: nöd zufällig i de 'Vitodurania' gsi?

Rudi: ich bin iiglade, aber nonig gsii!

Ich weiß nicht! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

(No proper "B" available! Sorry! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif )

Have a great American Thanksgiving holiday! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

"ß" has now arrived!

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 11-23-2000).]

Just adding one more troublemaker to the list.

I'm 47, married with 2 teenagers (help). Just from that statement alone, you know why I like to fly someplace, anyplace, for business. And yes, I do have a sense of humor. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I was born in Brooklyn (wanna make something of it). This should explain a lot.

When I was a kid, we lived near the Long Island RR freight lines. I always wondered where they were going. And as a matter of fact, I even took the subway to college everyday. I love travel.

So when I started my own business in the 80's, I started flying. Most of my trips are JFK/LA or SFO. I usually fly 25-35,000 miles per year. All on UA.

I stumbled onto the old Prodigy travel BB's about 4-5 years ago. It was a relief to find others out in cyberspace that enjoyed travel talk. Even better now. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

And I've even met some of you. And you're all normal!!!

Regards,
Dan

Gotta be good, Santa's checking his list!

My name is Peter Wang. I was "made in Taiwan" but my folks are from mainland China. The family emigrated to the United State of California when I was 10 and I've lived in SoCal ever since. Having turned the corner to "thirty-something," I've discovered everything they've told me is true - hair falling in clumps, waist size doubling every 6 months, can't stay up late anymore... but who's complaining?

I'm what you might call "careerly indecisive". I wanted to be a pilot all my life, but coke-bottle glasses kept me out of USAF pilot school, and commercial avaition emptied my pockets before I got my private ticket. A shot at the Sheriff's (but not the deputy) went south when I hit a drunk driver and couldn't re-qualify after my physical expired. So I ended up being an engineer/firefighter at this telecom/semiconductor outfit, which brought me to the world of geekdom.

I had accumulated 40 hours of flying lessons before having to take a break. I blame the new job, but in reality its because I spend my weekends in THE City (SFO for those not familiar) with Honeybaby, who has completely replaced all other reasons for my being. These weekly and sometimes biweekly trips and the overseas business trips put me into the UA Premier Executive 100k column for the first time this year. I'll enjoy it while it lasts, as the "ol' ball-and-chain" will probably keep me grounded next year.

I chose "Indurain" because I'm an avid cyclist, and the Spaniard Miguel Indurain (5 time consecutive Tour de France winner - Lance has 3 more to go) is who I imagine I am when I go on training rides. My other hobbies are vast and varied, including eating, sleeping, basketball, flying to different airports, military affairs, home theater, and more sleep!

And finally I moonlight as a website designer (can't come close to PremEx's work though), and I host a military e-zine with a couple of partners.

That's all I'll reveal here, I'm saving the details as incentive for those get-togethers! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif

Thanks.

Looking forward to meeting some of you new posters, even though some of you have been around for a long time.

Others . . . ?

Bringing this forward as Rudi suggested for some of our new members. What ever happened to Baobab?

Djlawman

Djlawman, you'll find baobab on these recent threads:

posted 11-22-2000 04:21 PM
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum.../000616-2.html

posted 11-22-2000 04:39 PM
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/000702.html

[This message has been edited by MRLIMO (edited 11-23-2000).]

I just recently posted on the original (I think) thread.

Dan

<deleted>

Four paws up for all the new posters with their bios, and Honeybaby (who with Indurian I had the pleasure of meeting! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

and Birdstrike: four paws up from Yaz and Eddie to your cats. Interesting a cat owner has a F-T handle like yours!

Check out my post on the original thread. I'm all the way on the bottom.

Dan