distraction

[jaeclectic]

While attempting to clear off the dining room table, I came across the form that I needed to fill out, in order to get a refund for being overcharged for foreigh currency conversion on credit card transactions between 1996 and 2006. Which meant I needed to estimate how many days I had been outside the US during those years.

First plan of attack: find old calendars. Because I always keep them. Well... the file box labeled "calendars" has them from 1980 (!) through 99, except for 97 which is mysteriously missing. What in the world I've done with the 21st century, I can't tell you, because I glanced in all the other file boxes without seeing a trace.

Then I just figured I'd look at photo album labels and my web site, which would at least represent number and location of interesting vacations (which, since 2000, has been all of my foreign travel).

The results:
1996: 19 days, of which about 5 were vacation (in Spain) tacked onto the main business trip (in England)
1997: tabula rasa (but I guessed at least 10 days of overseas business travel)
1998: two long business trips to UK totalling 51 days
1999: 5 business trips to UK, Sweden, and Spain totalling 70 days
2000: I know I was in England in January, but have no specific record of it outside my head. That summer was my cross-country trek. And I believe I went back to England for xmas.
2001: Prague in January, Costa Rica over spring break (est 20 days)
2002: Baja California over spring break (est 10 days)
2003: Firenza by way of UK (est 10 days)
2004: nothing "overseas" because H'awaii doesn't count
2005: Peru (approx 10 days)
2006: all vacation time chewed and swallowed by househunting etc

'99 sure was a busy year. Ah, that Y2K testing!

All of this was so diverting that I haven't yet taken a nap. Or finished clearing off the dining room table... *giggle*