Following Santa's "gentle nudge" -- and in the hopes of getting a real neat gift (just kidding!!) -- here's the info on me: Yes, I'm a Certified Public Accountant in Los Angeles. However, my origin was in Philadelphia, over 50 years ago. Came West when I was 12 and lived here ever since.

Just celebrated anniversary #31 last week -- in London (twelve days, also touring South: Stonehenge, Salisbury, Brighton, Royal Pavillion -- all interesting & surprisingly in good weather!!)

Travel mainly AA -- Gold this year -- and usually in business via purchased upgrades, on a discounted ticket: remember, as a CPA I watch the bottom line!

Max -

From one All State Radio News performer to another (All state 1992 and 1994 Radio News and 1992 Group Improv)....welcome. I LOVED doing Radio news and was pretty unhappy that you can't perform in the category for a year after you go All State....what great memories.

I grew up in Donnellson, Iowa and lived in Davenport for 2 years after I graduated. I moved there for a job, but since I am not sure how the company in viewed up there now since I left...I will decline to mention what job it was.... :-)

Since I am on a roll with sharing here...my name is Stephanie and I have given up my Iowa residency to be an East Coast dweller. I live in Connecticut with my husband, my 6 month old son, and my cat, Cartman. We've been here for three years.

I am a trade show director and part of my department's job is also to coordinate company travel.

I lurked on the board for a long time before I became a registered user. I learned a lot of good info that helped me make travel a little less painful and in October I completed the Gold challenge on AA.

This board is great and though I don't get a lot of chances to post and participate I make sure I read as often as possible.

Happy holidays to everyone.

Welcome WebCrawler! Glad to know you and I hope you too have happy Holidays http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Max M ... this initial post of yours really got lost in all the new FT biogs. Sounds like a superb run to me, and I have a lot of orphan CO points to do it with for the Caribbean destinations.

Is it worth starting a stand-alone thread on this to see what interest there is?



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~ Glen ~

Bringing back an oldie but goodie that has been dormant for a long while.

Time to bring this forward. Hoping all the new people take time to post to this thread.

Hope I did not miss a "Who We All Are 9".

William

William, I don't THINK there's a #9...

OK guess it's my turn… I decided I'd better go public here before I actually hit the dreaded 250 posts, but that slipped up on me. Oh well ~ My name is Jane Dennis, and I live in Lexington, Kentucky. My husband, Scott, is also a Flyertalker; he's LexPassenger, as some of you already know. He was a lurker on FT for more than a year before something he said made me decide to come and have a look. And I liked what I saw, and started posting, so he started posting, and we had dinner with Captain Mike, and we did a sort of mileage run, and I wrote a trip report and… whew! A busy three months!

I don't know if I'm the only person here who's ever admitted to being afraid of flying, but I spent quite a few years as a real "white-knuckler". But not for the usual reasons: I've been flying practically all my life. The first flight I really remember was in the co-pilot's seat of a Cessna 172, with my Dad as the pilot. I was about 5 then. I learned to bank… and how to talk to the control tower… I can still see the sky from those windows. As a teenager, I used to fly at least twice a month between LEX and STL to see family - wish there'd been FF programs in those days! I had my share of "adventures" as everyone does if they fly enough - those never fazed me. Then, for reasons that are still unclear, I got more and more nervous about flying. I still did it now and then, but I'd get on each flight figuring it was gonna be my last. It was not pretty. We didn't do a lot of flying in those days, but if you need to go to England or Australia, a boat is not usually a very economical method. I flew, but not happily…

break here for background - we're both graduate school dropouts. He was in International Politics and Economics, at the school Johns Hopkins runs in Bologna. I was just an English Lit person. At least he got to spend 4 years in Italy as a consequence of his major. I did live in England for about a year, but that was because I went to riding school in Yorkshire for a bit (and stayed around after). That was then. Now is better.

Scott and I run computers and do accounting for the Community Development Agency in a nearby town, a job with a lot of flexibility; and that flexibility is worth a lot to us since we also run a business called Fo' Paws Productions. We do merchandising at science fiction and mystery conventions (produce and sell T-shirts, embroidered polo shirts, tote bags etc. etc.) - not something easily described in a word or two. I sometimes say Graphic Designer because I do all that sort of thing for us, and it's something that people can "get" easily. (I've also sold art for a couple of book covers - would like to do more of that!)

Fo' Paws lets us/forces us to do a lot of traveling, although in the last few years we've cut back some. We used to do 150 nights/year on the road - for over 10 years. If you think air travel is tough, try 50,000 miles a year by car! We know soo-o-o many places in this country, which is mostly great, though there are places I never want to see again. We still own and occasionally drive a 1986 Plymouth Voyager with 446,000 miles on it. Then there's the Grand Caravan with only 250,000 miles on it… and I have to mention my "Horatio," the Horizon that we sold after it had 210,000 miles on it. I don't know how you can cry about an inanimate object, but I cried when we sold that car. I cannot even think about selling the Voyager. Crush it and make into some kind of statue for our yard? Although we always made a few plane trips each year, in the last four or five years we've switched a lot of our travel to air. I grew up on TWA (St. Louis is my home town), and until TWEE put terrifying torture machines (19 pax turboprops) as their only connection into LEX, we still mostly flew TW. But I've also flown Delta occasionally since the '60's, and now we live in Deltaland.

My fear of flying has gradually dissipated. Maybe it's just a matter of getting more philosophical about it all. After a few years as Silvers, last year we made Delta Gold Medallion - and I'm back to enjoying flying most of the time. That pre-flight drink does smoo-o-o-th out my few remaining butterflies!

Nobody ever comes to Lexington, but if you do, let us know. We live about 5 or 6 minutes from the airport (if both lights work ok). It's beautiful country.

[edited by LexPassenger & GG only complained a little - all he changed was the stoplights! He's right: there are only 2 - GG]

[This message has been edited by GG (edited 03-14-2001).]

CG,

When did they install the SECOND light? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Thanks for the bio.

Lexington is a beautiful place.

William

The second light is at Airport Drive and Man 'O War Blvd. People tend to forget about it, because you can make a right turn on red into the airport, so it almost never slows you down on the way to that last minute plane.

I'm new, but, what the hey.

My name is Terence Ma. I am a tenured associate professor of Anatomy and Neurology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. As such, I am supposed to be a professional scientist and teacher.

I also have been playing around on computers since 1981. My first on-line accounts were on CompuServe starting in 1982. Currently, I oversee several web sites (professional and for water polo) and am a partner in a web design and consulting firm.

A few years back, I returned to refereeing water polo. Unfortunately, there is no water polo in Jackson, so I have to fly to practically all my games. Within the past year, I've had a couple instances of driving off the road coming back from sites about 4 hours away by car; so no more driving unless it is under 3 hours.

With my real job, I go to two or three conferences a year. Unless the meeting is in New Orleans, I fly there. This year, the conferences I plan to attend are in Chicago (just past) and in Nashville (late June).

But, with water polo, I go around the country (and sometimes out of the country) many weekends (one year, I did water polo 43 weekends). I am currently a National rated referee, serve as the Editor of the US Rule Book, the Editor of the Officiating Manual, and Co-editor of the international rules video. And I was recently elected vice-president of US Water Polo, the national governing body of water polo (several times a year to LA area and COS).

As far as traveling is concerned, my earliest memory is that when I was 10, my family moved to the US. My father had already gone ahead to New York at the time, but I will never forget flying in 707s from Hong Kong to Tokyo and the Tokyo non-stop to San Francisco. My memory was staring out the window from seat 1A the entire night long thinking that there should be something more to see than the flashing red light that was chasing our plane http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

Another memory of that trip was that we were supposed to be on JAL but my father changed us to Pan American at the last moment. I remember being disappointed that the Pan Am flight was to arrive in SFO a whole hour later than JAL, thus would deny me an additional hour seeing SFO. Actually, the JAL flight somehow or another landed in the water short of the runway and our Pan Am plane flew over it as we landed. I remember telling Mom that I was sorry we missed out on the adventure of landing in the water. She was not amused.

The last wonderful memory of that first trip was the cross country flight from SFO to New York. The FAs brought me into the cockpit (as it was called in those days) and I got to stand behind the pilots and watch them fly over the Great Plains. What a sight! I'll never forget it.

Other early memories of flying was carrying a totally separate outfit to wear on the plane instead of the more "formal" wear to get on and then off the plane. I remember being scandalized that my mother would actually wear pants on a plane (but, of course, not when she was getting on/off). I also remember flying on the second trans-Pacific Pan Am 747 flight ever and collecting "crossing the international dateline" certificates then being given out by JAL and Pan Am (the only two airlines I remember flying trans Pacific in my youth).

My family moved to California after only a year or so in New York. Since my father was an executive with a major motion picture company (the Vice President for International Division), he travelled a lot. I remember him doing an itinerary of six European countries in five days on a regular basis. I also remember him doing three cities in Australia and one city in New Zealand in less than a week! So, you could say I have travel in my family.

There were several times I accompanied him on trips, and those were always exciting.

As part of my father's benefits, he got "home leave" every other year. This meant that I went to Hong Kong every other year until I went to graduate school in 1982 (my last trip back to HKG was in 1983 and I have been meaning to go back every year for the past 5 years - unfortunately, not easy on DL).

I was in undergraduate college in Baltimore while my family was in LA. So, lots of cross country trips then. I was in grad school in Detroit and my family was in LA. Then Dad retired and moved to Connecticut, and then to Vancouver BC.

Nowadays, my sister lives in New York, my father lives in Vancouver, and I live in Jackson MS. So, we always have to get together by plane.

Anyhow, I was wandering around recently and found FT. I have enjoyed reading here and the opportunity to participate.

Thanks for that great post, Water Polo Ref. If they had been giving frequent flyer points when you first started flying you'd never have to pay for a flight again. Hope you get to HKG someday...heck, hope I get to HKG someday.

Hi, my name is Larry, and I am a flightaholic. I have traveled for business for over twenty years. Started before I was old enough to rent cars and now I am 43. I am married, two kids, work in marketing in the real estate and mortgage field. Travel alot, almost every week. My brother, den1k, introduced me to flyertalk and I have been hooked ever since.

Used the Platinum challange to get status with AA and then flew 3 mileage runs to europe for the eur00 bonus. Love the board, have learned tons, thanks everyone.

Dallasflyer

My name is "ClassicalGal" because I'm a classical music radio announcer. I work at the National Public Radio station in Houston (KUHF). My name is Regina. I'm single, over 21, with no kids. Grew up in NY and came to Texas about 20 years ago. Had a few stints living/working/school in CT, WI, IL, NC, CA. But I've lived most of my adult life in Texas.

With all my years flying on CO, I've never had status, but will have it for the first time this year...by the end of April. "A lowly CO Silver at IAH..." we all know what that means. Anyway, I love this board and look forward to meeting my first fellow FTer sometime soon. My other interests include movies, reading, wondering if I'll ever get upgraded as a CO Silver out of IAH, and planning my trip around the world...someday!

An official welcome to FlyerTalk, dallasflyer and ClassicalGal.

df, if I may call you that, this is the best place to learn the ins and outs of our favorite pasttime, frequent (and some not-so-frequent) flying. You're in a great place to start with my favorite airline, AA.

ClassicalGal, glad to hear you're working for a classical music station. I was so sorry when my favorite classical station, KKHI in San Francisco, went off the air many years ago. They came back on, but with a weaker signal. It just wasn't the same. Hope your station prospers (you too, with all the good info you'll get here).

Greetings! My name is Paul. I had never participated in anything like this before! That is why my handle is so boring, it is just my own name!

I work for a big University in London, and get to travel far less than some of you do but quite enough to keep me amused. I visit the USA 2 or 3 times a year, and the rest of my peregrenations are in Europe. My interests are varied, I am told that I am a good cook, and I love the theatre and cinema. I am 51, try not to look it, and today actually feel it. I speak several languages, do the Daily Telegraph crossword every day, read extensively, train in the gym (trying not to get too bored), and love entertaining guests in my home. I have been in the same relationship for 24 years, and would love to have a dog except that we are gone too often. I love animals, loathe this particular government (UK ), and am pro-euro (in principal). I have visited 29 states of the USA. My favorite food is fish, and my favorite drink is Champagne.

I first flew from Croydon Airport (when it was still one of London's airports) in 1952 in an Avro Consul. When I was very liitle, I was terrified of aeroplanes, now I love aviation and everything to do with it. My first jet flight was on an Air France Caravelle in 1963, and my first transatlantic crossing was in 1976 on a TWA 707 charter. I loved that airline in those days. Nowadays my favorite carriers are British Airways, and American Airlines. Those are favorites, there are carriers that I try to avoid after fairly disasterous experiences (Alitalia, Lufthansa, and Turkish).

I live about 60 miles from London in Suffolk. I have greatly enjoyed meeting a few people from this Board, and communicating with others. I hope that some of my experiences may be of assistance to others, as theirs have been to me.

Paul

Hi, my name is Paul also and I'm as boring as PAUL PALMER in that my handle is just my initials.

I grew up in Southend, England (until age 11) and flew to places like Spain, Israel and the US with my parents on good old Pan Am and TWA.

After we moved to Florida in 1982, I visited England several times and always enjoyed flying.

One interesting experience to tell: When I was 14, I flew over by myself on British Airtours (a charter) to stay with a friend's family for about six weeks. On the way back, we were scheduled to stop in Bangor, Maine (for fuel) and Orlando (to let off some passengers) before landing in Miami. There was a hurricane in the gulf, so we ended up stopping for the night in Bangor. I don't know how many here have been to Bangor, but there are not a lot of hotels that can handle 300 people arriving at the last minute. They put the 3 unaccompanied minors at the airport Hilton (in one room!) and farmed everyone else out to local B&B's and Inns all over the countryside. I thought it was great fun, because they gave us dinner and breakfast coupons and I got a bed to myself (I made the 12 year olds share b/c I was older and bigger than them!) The next day, we got back on the L1011 and heard that we were now flying direct to Miami because Orlando was still under threat from the storm. The poor Orlando travelers had to be bussed from Miami to Orlando. I guess that's what you get for booking a cheapo charter.

About a year after graduating college (University of Florida), I joined KPMG as an IT consultant and started to travel for business. My first extended assignment was in Tallahassee, so I had to fly 1h40m turboprop flights from FTL for a whole summer. That was the first time I became a little bit of a nervous flyer, because of constant thunderstorms and turbulence. I've managed to avoid turboprops since then.

Some other assignments have been in Atlanta (DL), Bethesda (US), Houston (CO) and Nashville (WN). As you can see, I have trouble sticking to one airline because I don't live in a hub city. Currently, I am back with KPMG (after a 2 1/2 year switch to a local start-up and less travel) working in Atlanta and making the weekly trek on DL. I'll be Silver Medallion by the end of April.

I lurked around FT for over a year before becoming more active in the last couple of months. Now that I am travelling again, I will be able to add my advice and not just ask for help.

Well here goes. My name is Yong. I'm a Oracle Financial Systems consultant.

I have been travelling extensively over last three years (40K in 1998, 100K+ in 1999, 125K in 2000, 35K+ so far in 2001). Before 1998 I flew only 15K in my lifetime http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif.

Made Northwest Silver in 1998 and United 1K since 1999. Hope to reach 1 Million mile flyer with United someday...

I've been to many different places: Seattle, Vancouver, SF, Napa, San Diego, NY, DC, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Minneapolis, Denver, Las Vegas, Dallas, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Milwaukee, Toronto, London, Paris, Seoul, Tucson, and other various cities/towns. I actually spend more time out of LA where I live http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif than in LA.

I love travelling. As much as I enjoy travelling, I don't particularly like flying aspect of it. I also avoid Turbo prop planes at all cost. I was connecting through San Diego to LAX from IAD due to IAD to LAX plane problem. When I arrived SAN, my plane (only jet service) was late 2 1/2 hours. I had choice of flying turbo prop planes but I passed. I waited 2 1/2 hours for the jet.

Also being an avid baseball fan, I travel to cities with Major league baseball team. So far I have been to 15 stadiums (15 more to go to). So if anyone is interested in attending baseball game, please let me know.

Moved to #8 where it belongs!

[This message has been edited by Nobbi (edited 03-26-2001).]

Okay, I am hooked. I found this site last week and now it is the first thing I click on when I go online at home and at the office. I am known as the "road dog" at work because I travel more than anyone else, almost always ABQ to DCA on TWA, and, for some reason, I usually get 27D, hence the handle. I am a lowly Elite I on the soon to be defunct Aviators plan, and was absolutely thrilled when I reached the point where I could "board with the babies". My name is Diana, I'm 49, single (divorced) no kids, 7 cats, one arthritic dog and a Mom who moved in with me in October because of her bad health. I am the Director of Sales for the Albuquerque Convention & visitors Bureau, and my market is DC/VA/MD. I have been traveling this route for 1.5 years and will be ramping up to every other week beginning in July. My very first flight was from London to NYC in 1957 (sorry, don't know the proper codes) and my Dad was in the USAF so I learned early how to fall asleep to the sound of B-52's (the aircraft, not the rock band or the drink). In my years on this earth I have been a secretary, police officer, shooting range owner & operator, and the last 12 years in the hospitality industry in beautiful Albuquerque. I have tried scuba, hang gliding, hiking, writing, destruction derby driving, barrel racing, wrangling, professional photography, competitive shooting...just all sorts of things. I love my job and I love life. I like to think of myself as a romantic realist - I dream of how it should be but realize how it is.

FT is wonderful, and I am glad I started reading these bios because I could not for the life of me figure out why so many religious people were involved (FT Evangelist - full time evangelist?) So here I am, no longer a lurker (that sounds sinister), but still a newbie. I bow to your superior wisdom and I am ready to learn!

Lax100k, Seat 27D, and pjs. As we seem to have posted our resumes to the total indifference of everybody, let me welcome you. I notice that practically everone else seems to have been welcomed by those who had been around the months before when this Board came into being. I would like to share with you the fact that there are some delightful, informative people out here who I have had the pleasure of meeting. Their knowledge of the nuts and bolts of travelling is awesome, and as the greatest fact of this board is the chance to communicate and share experiences. We learn from each others mistakes, and just because you may be newer than others, your imput is every bit as interesting and relevant than others. Enjoy, but beware, this board is utterly addictive

Paul

[This message has been edited by PAUL PALMER (edited 03-24-2001).]

Welcome Paul Paul and lax100k from one of the old f*rts!

I hope you enjoy the great information that can be found.

Remember not to take things too personally. This is the internet and sometimes offensive. There can be some informative, lively and downright negative discussions, the good, the bad and the ugly I guess.

. . . but I am still here after 2 and half years and still gaining valuable insights and sharing what I have learned.

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BlondeBomber's Star Alliance Gold Comparison Chart 2001: http://members.home.net/deercroft/starall00.html

Dorian's Star Alliance RTW Price Chart: http://www.informationlab.com/rtw.htm
flyers'places - restaurant, bar & hotel recommendations: http://www.flyersplaces.com

Welcome all. Many of the regulars on the board are in NYC at the Catman Do III. For you new folks, that is an event that a (now former) FlyerTalker hosts each year. Sadly, Catman does not post anymore, but apparently he still parties (Sam Adams and Pepsi -- but not in the same glass!)

BlondeBomber. Thank you for the sound advice. I have encountered some silliness already (mostly over at BA it has to be said). I have found that the last thing to do is to get into arguments. Some people have very fragile egos, and the best thing to do is not to light a torch underneath them!

If ever London is on your itinereary, please let me know

Paul

Welcome, welcome, welcome to LAX100K (have you met LAXUA1K, yet?), Seat27D, and pjs.

Paul Palmer, very well said. And a belated welcome to FT.

Thanks P Palmer and pjs, I grew up in Romford, Essex (to age of 6) and used to regularly go down to Southend-on-Sea for our "seaside" experience. All my dad's immediate family is still in England.

Coming back in late July with my family for a visit with the extended clan before heading north to Scotland where my daughter will be attending an international flute music school for a week.

Hello, everyone! I've been lurking for the most part since around Latin Pass Million Mile time, made a few posts, but until a few weeks ago had no computer. Now that I built my first, I am not at the mercy of the library's hours and should be more of a participant here.
My name is Steve, I'm single, and closer to 50 than I thought I would ever get considering my past youthful indulgences. Lived most of my life in Contra Costa Co., east of Berkeley, CA. My first job away from home was in Yosemite National Park, stayed there for 8 years off and on. I Then studied Horticulture in college, landscaped for 15 years or so, was a mechanic for a while, then studied massage for general interest, and decided to do that as a part-time career.

My first travel was to London on the SS United States @ age 2 (with John Wayne on board- I have the passenger list!) I hitchhiked to Alaska at age 19, via the perimeter of the United States (16K miles on my thumb that trip!). Didn't realize that regular air travel was something within the realm of possibility for me until I discovered courier travel in 1997. Flew to Beijing for a month of travel with a friend and her son in China for $250rt! I was hooked on Asia and have been there 9 more times since, although I have bailed on couriers, as most do not give FF miles. Managed 108K mi. on UAL last year, inspired by the triple miles and the prospect of getting an extra set of SWU's- thank you mjm for the tip! (we met sitting in adjacent seats on a SIN-NRT mileage run).

My main interests are:
LIVE Music- I have been to as many as 102 concerts in a year, avg. about 50 per year- Rock, Jazz, Blues, Bluegrass mostly;
Fishing of all methods;
Botany (Alpine/Sub-Alpine mostly);
Backpacking;
Cooking (learning some Thai!);
Oakland Raiders Football;
And of course Travel!
Again, hello to you all!
Steve.

Hi mjm, how is the U of C EMBA going? I am jealous that you are doing it in Singapore. I got my MBA from the U of C but in Chicago (graduated two years - no, holy cats, almost exactly three years ago today! How time flies!) The local version of the Executive MBA program was taught there and we could see the refrigerators stocked full of beer for those students. They had locks on them though (sigh). I was infamous amongst my fellow students and co-workers for commuting to Chicago from Detroit. Even today people remark on it, but what's the big deal? People even went there from New York, Florida and California and everyone had a great time. Of course, maybe I attract some of the comments because I didn't always fly, but only when the costs were low enough ... otherwise I drove the four hours one-way and came back the same day, through snow storms or whatever, and sometimes even twice a week! Anyway best of luck to you in the program. Maybe, instead of free beer, they will give you Singapore Slings!

Hi everyone and thanks to everyone for sharing all of the great stories and tips! I feel like I now have many friends I could visit wherever I travel.

Like many others, I learned of flyertalk through the exploits of PuddingGuy, though I guess I have been somewhat exposed to frequent flyer programs and tactics through my dad (who used to fly EA) and one of my ex-boyfriends (who was a solid supporter of NW and Hilton). We would travel all over and I saw how he always got upgraded and often, I did too as his companion.

I could never understand why we would have to change hotel rooms or return the rental car in the midst of a trip, but I do now. He would haul this huge pilot-style case on the plane, and spend hours ripping open his mail, looking through the offerings from hotels and so on, and keeping them all rubber-banded together.

Some background - <GEEK> I think that my history and life is pretty boring. I am basically a nerd. But, I am a nerd that loves to have fun. It is just that my idea of fun (writing a new Java applet) may be different from that of others! Luckily I like other things too.

I started out studying Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech and eventually switched to Mechanical Engineering. I had a job offer from GM in Michigan but my dad died before I graduated. So I transferred to a college in Michigan and worked as a mechanic at GM while I finished my degree at night. This was extremely hard, the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life, but I knew that if I could survive that, then I could do anything. There was one 7-week summer term where I was taking 22 credit hours while working full-time too, and one of the classes was Senior Design project which basically meant you had to invent something new, build it, test it and write and present a research paper on it. The compressed 7-week term meant that a normal 1 hour class would now meet for 2 hours, so 22 credits was equivalent to 44!!!!!

My employer seemed to want to make things even more challenging for me and transferred me to the Proving Grounds, where I worked as a test car driver on the midnight shift. It sounds way more glam than it was. To me, there is NOTHING worse than being dead tired in the first place (school ran 9:30 am - 11:00 pm, with one break 5-5:30 pm, MWF, then I had to work EVERY night 12-8, had Tuesday and Thursday off and the weekends, but you have to study too ...) Some of the job involved driving at 100 mph around the test track, and you were NOT allowed to stop, and sometimes I would be so tired I would wake up on the side of the road with no idea of how I had gotten there. Anyway I did graduate and survived!!!!

After that I found work as an engineer and went back for my masters, then PhD (though walked away without finishing). My research was in glass tempering. I worked as a research scientist and I have taught many courses in the fields of computer science, mathematics, and mechanical engineering at various universities. I used to be a HUGE piler-up of miles, but only those done in a car. Too bad there is no "frequent-driver" program where I could get miles for this! Sometimes I would hit three universities in a day, waking up in one and teaching a morning class, racing to another to teach a second class, then to take classes at a third. Worse, spring and summer breaks rarely overlapped at these schools and some times this meant I would only get one day for spring break and so on.

Eventually the luster of teaching wore off and I decided I wanted to go back to industry. I worked again as an engineer, also going to school at night for a Master's in Math, and working as a diving coach, mentor to inner-city kids, software consultant for a company called Wolfram Research (makers of Mathematica, which let me travel all over to Amsterdam, San Francisco etc.) and so on (it seems that I just do whatever interests me at the time!) and for some reason decided I wanted to get an MBA at the University of Chicago. I commuted over a 2.5 year period from the Detroit area. I changed my career to programming and finance. I spent 2-3 years in a manufacturing environment working as a cost analyst, doing activity-based-costing, and as a profit analyst, and after finishing the MBA, started yet another degree in financial engineering!

I got a job in NY last year. I have a cat who I have had for the past 14 years. I adopted him as an adult from the Michigan Humane Society. He is a gray fluffy Turkish angora with gorgeous green eyes and has the softest fur of any cat I have ever known. His fur looks like a pussy willow and he purrs constantly. His companion died not too long ago, guess all the moving stressed her out.

One of the most adventurous things I have ever done: moving from Georgia to Michigan, an alien culture for me at that time. I was so busy packing and saying goodbye to friends, that I didn't even bother looking at a map first. I did know that Michigan was north of Atlanta, what more did I need? So I just headed north on I-75. Around 3 in the morning in Tennessee, I decided that it might not be a bad idea to have a look at a map. Luckily I had picked a road that actually did go to Michigan! I lived near I-75 for the next several years and when I got homesick, I knew that I could just go south on it, some 500 exits. (And they say only men don't ask for directions). Now I always plan but have had some of the greatest experiences by being random and spontaneous, so think that there's room for both.

I have never been married (too nerdy?) and get lots of miles traveling to see my sweetie, who lives in Cozumel (hence my flyertalk name). Other names I wish now I had chosen would be DoubleDip, ExcelGoddess or MilePig, oh well. I love to scuba dive, program in Java, get free things, have adventures, travel (of course!), hike, work out, swim, study languages and meet new people. I have "met" so many really nice people through flyertalk and via email and hope to meet some of you in person, and I hope to be able to find a new Continental bonus opportunity some day so I can repay all of the help I have gotten!

Oh, despite my ex's love for NW, I am mainly a CO flyer these days though, I admit to loving Hiltons (Marriotts too). We were very poor growing up and I thought that Hiltons were the most classy, elegant places and dreamed one day of owning one so I could live there full-time! I actually did live in a hotel for over a year but alas it was not a Hilton.

</GEEK>

[This message has been edited by CozumelJen (edited 03-26-2001).]

WHOA! My GT experience is pretty similar, except I switched from Aerospace to ISYE!

This makes at least 3 GT people on this board - SRQ Guy is the other one that I know about! GO JACKETS! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Welcome CozumelJen and Fly by Night--nice to have another botanically inclined person on the boards. I have a B.S. in Botany and Zoology and actually get paid to have fun studying nature (well OK, there are those pesky reports that need to be written). http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Welcome to FT Fly by Night-- built your own computer? I'm impressed. And to CozumelJen...if you could carry a full schedule and work full time, I have no doubt you can do anything.

Nanook, thanks! That's what made me decide that I could do 16 hours in coach, in the middle seat to Hong Kong, no problem!!! :-)

B747-437B - "I'm a rambling, gambling, H*** of an engineer!"

[This message has been edited by CozumelJen (edited 03-26-2001).]

a big GRUEZI (=welcome in swiss german) to all of you! And yes, even the most addicted FlyerTalkers are, from time to time, away and can't greet you immediately after having posted here - sorry!

See you/read from you hopefully often here and may be in person at one of our get-togethers (like the Catman-Do-III this last weekend in New York)?

B747-737B, Cozumel Jen- my roommate is a Yellowjacket (chemical engineering) does that count?
BB- do you have Lewisias in your neck of the woods? (my favorite genus)
Nanook- yes, I assembled my first p.c., but that is the easy part. Formatting and installing all of the software is where the knowledge comes in (many hours on the phone with my expert friend in Houston...haven't gotten the phone bill yet!)

I guess I missed the current Who's Who. Put this in #7 rather than # 8.

Here it goes:

Hi,
after a few posts, I'll add my info--for those interested.

Although Nobbi is not a legal name, it is my nickname that everyone uses. I originally found this board through my friend Bob (AZ_MISMAN).

I'm originally from Frankfurt, Germany and came to the US with my parents at the age of 12. We moved to Florida where I went to high school (DAB). Then on to ATL for college and med school. Since 1987 I've lived in the SF Bay Area except for a two year mistake in the early 90's when I returned to Central Florida.

I currently live in a big white 1902 Colonial Revival house on the island of Alameda in SF Bay off the coast of OAK about a block from KevinB. My family is composed of my partner of 7 years Jack, our "mother" who actually is my ex's mother whom I inherited in the "divorce" (I got the better deal), our 2 huskies Ricky & Lucy, our 2 beagles George & Gracie, as well as our cat Mau-Katzi. And 2 nights ago we picked up a stray: a black lab mix puppy on the street. So now it looks like the menagerie has grown again!

I work at a large HMO but have to drive down the freeway to Santa Clara which is a horrible commute. I'm a psychopharmacologist working mostly with people with mood disorders.

I, myself, am a mileage & travel addict. The problem is that originally I started flying first class internationally on miles. Then I was hooked. So now I've been spending money we don't have on first class tickets. We used to both be prem ex's on UA when Jack travelled a lot on business. Now all we have is my LH FTL which I got thru a first class RT SFO-FRA in January. I'd like to get to SEN status this year but am not even sure for what reason. Once I have it, what will I do with it? I suppose that the addict in me.

Other than travel (we love Australia & Canada) we both enjoy wine tasting and going out to eat, especially different ethnic cuisines. I also enjoy languages.

I think that's enough for now.

See you all in the future.

Nobbi :)


2006 update: Wow, a point in history!

So much has happened since I posted this. Jack & I have now been together 12 years. We got married in Canada in Sep 2003. Mother is in a coma in the nursing home. Ricky and mau-katzi have gone to the eternal hubting grounds. We do have 2 new kittens, Joni & Zach. And we have a new room-mate, John, who also tends to the critters, when we're on the road.

I quit my HMO job, was medical director of a county psychiatric facility, and now have been working at a non-profit psych clinic for 2 years.

I now try to fly AS and partners. Still have LH SEN status (originally from a 2001, 3-day post 9/11, *A RTW ticket; later thru an annual fee :o ).

I travel generally for pleasure.

:) :) :)

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

Well guess it is time for me to jump in. Been hanging out in The United forum since December and have also been in the Star area, and recently have taken to annoying the folks in the Qantas forum.

<stands up>
Hello. My name is Richard and I have a problem.....

I love my new 1K card, and wonder where there is a 12 step program to help me? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Seriously though, more on me: I'm 30 and work as an IT Consultant. All my travel is out of my own pocket, and I mostly fly RTW itins to meet friends or attend conferences and the like. Currently I'm a Star Alliance man, but who knows where I may be seduced? Although I would enjoy making million miler on UA at some stage. My interests are mostly travel related - I strongly believe that travel is one of the best things you can do - to experience a different culture (and of course meet fellow Flyer Talkers!). I also enjoy Classical Music (Yay for ClassicalGal and NPR!), a bit of sci-fi & fantasy and other geekish activities. I am happy to have met Rudi and indulged in the famous Sidecar!

Potted History: Degree in Computer Science finished in 1992, then a stint of working for the local university's Aerospace Engineering department(running their computer systems) and then a full time job running infrastructure for the University. Joined mileage plus at the same time I got on UA's inagural 777 flight in 1995 and have not looked back. Have been privliged to have seen inside operations at Boeing as well as UAL maintenance @ SFO and WHQ operations control and other areas a few years ago (what a blast!). Got rejected for an IT job with UA (d'oh!) as well as Ansett Australia (but kept trying!).

Have greatly enjoyed the community spirit and kindness of many FT members in the short time I have been here and the exchange of useful information has been wonderful. And it is nice to see that even some in the industry are out there watching what we say - our voice is being heard (eg: Starwood Lurker and Darren@Qantas).

I didn't make the Cartman Do, but hope to make a gettogether sometime soon http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif


------------------
UA 1K MEL
A Star Alliance(tm) Member.

Welcome Richard, nice to have some more non-North Americans on the board.

.
RichardMEL, we enjoy having you with us, too.
Nobbi, an animal lover after my own heart.
Welcome to FlyerTalk.

OK, I have been reading the boards for quite a while and finally started posting about a month ago.

The AA threads have helped me much through my travels over the past couple of years.

I'm a 28 yr old male living in the SF Bay Area. I grew up outside of DC in surburban Maryland. I went from one bay to another.

I did some major traveling when I was younger on NW to see family in Asia. That started me on my love for flying. I got a high school trip to Europe and flew BA; I fell in love with travel. When I got my drivers license, I used to planespot at DCA and BWI. It got me into trouble a bunch of times.

I went to undergrad at the University of Maryland Baltimore County which made spotting a lot easier; BWI was only 3 miles away. Didn't do too much flying except to BUF, CLE, MIA, and JFK for conferences and vacations.

Went to grad school in Philly at Drexel University. PHL really sucks for planespotting. Got a job offer from a startup in the Bay Area; dropped my masters and flew AA to SFO. Ever since then, it's been history.

SFO and SJC have pretty good spots to view. My job with the startup had me do some intensive domestic travel with 1 carrier, AA. With my first six months of travel did 48K and had to live with AA GLD due to end of qualifying year. First full yr got AA EXP; still AA EXP.

It's funny I spent most of my time living on AA 767's on redeyes or late flights. I never really got to see my apartment except to pay rent and bills.

Left the startup! Back on the ground a lot more; but I think I'll still make EXP this year. That's scary.

I really miss the East Coast. Still can't find a good slice of NY style pizza out here or a good cheese steak. Plus, my girl friend lives in NJ. I always used to stopover in JFK to see here or spend the weekends there.

I might have seen some of you on my old commute of AA18 and AA59 for business. I'll do anything to fly through JFK for a 767. I don't mind the SF340's that much because they're short hops out of JFK.

It's cool to see other FTer's out there meeting. I can't make the 4/13 dinner in SF because I'll be on my commute.

AA so deep in my blood now that I'm collecting those jet models now. I almost have every plane I've been on except for the MD80 and the A300. I must be sick!!!!