...oh, the woes of indecision when one becomes suddenly unemployed..... company I worked at for 27 years turned out its lights suddenly on Dec 31.....so this post has two topics.....
1. Ethics of doing "fun" travel for 3-4 weeks while newly unemployed
2. Interesting itins from OKC to Japan...and back
Topic 1..... it seems unsettling to be thinking about fun travel on points while unemployed.....but coming off a per-diem consulting job, there has not been any "safe time" to take any lengthy vacations for 5 years or so.....still, it feels odd to be planning a fun trip when I should have nose-to-grindstone of job search, right? On the other hand, since job apps are all e-mail, a cafe in Kyoto is equivalent to a cafe in Quail Springs, OKC......and if an employer actually wanted an interview, there's that Skype thing, right? ....or how would an employer view me having run off to Japan after 2 months of being unemployed---how would I explain that?
.........What's the thinking of the esteemed FT advisor corps?
(Oh…….to answer some of the questions that get asked in similar posts…… financial situation is 14 months of living expenses currently in no-loss-minimal-gain money market, CDs etc…but will a “gap year” for a 55-year-old look good to employers?.....spouse is a BritLit PhD-turned-at-home-jewelry designer, so is happy to shoulder a backpack at anytime to travel.....we thought about places yet-to-be-visited that we’d want more than 2 weeks to explore, and Japan and an Eastern European cities trip centered on Vienna were the two top choices……my next job is likely to be of the 9-to-5 variety or require some new training, so future vacation possibilities will be more limited )
Topic 2--- interesting Delta itins to/from Japan from OKC..... Looking at departing in early March, as Japan warms-up and baseball season there begins…..
From a quick read of the Lonely Planet guidebook, it seems the Osaka/Kyoto/Nara area meets our needs for a concentrated mix of historic and contemporary Japan....so settle there for 7-10 days, then a side trip to Tokyo for what's special there and plus baseball game or two....a few more days to explore some smaller towns via rail passes……then head home from KIX also (or Tokyo?)……or how to take advantage of stop-over/open-jaw options on Skymiles tiks?
It seems that the convenience of KIX airport for Kyoto (versus Tokyo) is worth some more complicated flight arrangements (or not?) DL suggests OKC-SLC-SEA-KIX …Lv OKC 1:40pm, arr SEA 6:15pm, so enough time for dinner and last-minute shopping at that huge mall near Sea-Tac………then overnight in SEA, with no rush for the 11:50am SEA-KIX nonstop (11hrs40min on 767). This plan also allows for 4 different back-up connections to get to SEA in time for the flight to KIX.
…..heading home from KIX provides a couple of options…….the KIX-SEA non-stop which leaves KIX at 5pm……or a KIX-HNL non-stop leaving at 9pm…….the HNL flight shows up in paid tiks but not in Skymiles redemptions…… a few days in Hawaii would be a super lagniappe of stop-overs! Any advice on getting the KIX-HNL (then HNL-SLC-OKC) to show up in Sklymiles redemption?
It’s coming up as 220K miles per person for Business class, taking advantage of a “low miles” day in early March for the outbound, so for the two of us, that would burn-up about half of the 1.1 million Skymiles….of course, a rational reason for doing all this traveling while unemployed is to use up miles/points before they become even more de-valued…… and I’m only DL Gold for 2013, then even more of a nobody on DL (vs. lifetime Gold on AA and UA).
……all well-meaning advice appreciated…..thanks in advance!
1. Ethics of doing "fun" travel for 3-4 weeks while newly unemployed
2. Interesting itins from OKC to Japan...and back
Topic 1..... it seems unsettling to be thinking about fun travel on points while unemployed.....but coming off a per-diem consulting job, there has not been any "safe time" to take any lengthy vacations for 5 years or so.....still, it feels odd to be planning a fun trip when I should have nose-to-grindstone of job search, right? On the other hand, since job apps are all e-mail, a cafe in Kyoto is equivalent to a cafe in Quail Springs, OKC......and if an employer actually wanted an interview, there's that Skype thing, right? ....or how would an employer view me having run off to Japan after 2 months of being unemployed---how would I explain that?
.........What's the thinking of the esteemed FT advisor corps?
(Oh…….to answer some of the questions that get asked in similar posts…… financial situation is 14 months of living expenses currently in no-loss-minimal-gain money market, CDs etc…but will a “gap year” for a 55-year-old look good to employers?.....spouse is a BritLit PhD-turned-at-home-jewelry designer, so is happy to shoulder a backpack at anytime to travel.....we thought about places yet-to-be-visited that we’d want more than 2 weeks to explore, and Japan and an Eastern European cities trip centered on Vienna were the two top choices……my next job is likely to be of the 9-to-5 variety or require some new training, so future vacation possibilities will be more limited )
Topic 2--- interesting Delta itins to/from Japan from OKC..... Looking at departing in early March, as Japan warms-up and baseball season there begins…..
From a quick read of the Lonely Planet guidebook, it seems the Osaka/Kyoto/Nara area meets our needs for a concentrated mix of historic and contemporary Japan....so settle there for 7-10 days, then a side trip to Tokyo for what's special there and plus baseball game or two....a few more days to explore some smaller towns via rail passes……then head home from KIX also (or Tokyo?)……or how to take advantage of stop-over/open-jaw options on Skymiles tiks?
It seems that the convenience of KIX airport for Kyoto (versus Tokyo) is worth some more complicated flight arrangements (or not?) DL suggests OKC-SLC-SEA-KIX …Lv OKC 1:40pm, arr SEA 6:15pm, so enough time for dinner and last-minute shopping at that huge mall near Sea-Tac………then overnight in SEA, with no rush for the 11:50am SEA-KIX nonstop (11hrs40min on 767). This plan also allows for 4 different back-up connections to get to SEA in time for the flight to KIX.
…..heading home from KIX provides a couple of options…….the KIX-SEA non-stop which leaves KIX at 5pm……or a KIX-HNL non-stop leaving at 9pm…….the HNL flight shows up in paid tiks but not in Skymiles redemptions…… a few days in Hawaii would be a super lagniappe of stop-overs! Any advice on getting the KIX-HNL (then HNL-SLC-OKC) to show up in Sklymiles redemption?
It’s coming up as 220K miles per person for Business class, taking advantage of a “low miles” day in early March for the outbound, so for the two of us, that would burn-up about half of the 1.1 million Skymiles….of course, a rational reason for doing all this traveling while unemployed is to use up miles/points before they become even more de-valued…… and I’m only DL Gold for 2013, then even more of a nobody on DL (vs. lifetime Gold on AA and UA).
……all well-meaning advice appreciated…..thanks in advance!