Sylvia's Journal

I have been busy getting ready for my five-week-criss-cross-Africa-mega trip – getting the tickets approved and bought (requiring several different projects to sign off), hotels booked, airport pick-ups arranged just on the logistics side; then there are the medicines that need to be stocked up, requiring overrides from the insurance company for supplies lasting more than 30 days, and then the malaria pills. And then of course, most important, the preparations, the designs, the calls with key stakeholders to get ready for the various assignments. On Sita’s recommendation I now have an app on my phone (Wunderlist) that tells me what’s left to do each day, in addition to getting milk and eggs and other supplies for daily living.

This evening I found a large box on my doorstep at home. I was surprised, racking my brain for something big I had ordered but had forgotten about. But no, it was Delta Airlines reward for me having flown more than 2 million miles with them. I started acquiring miles on Northwest in the late 80s so this has taken me about 30 years. It gets me a gold card on SkyMiles for life, this is nice. The package contained a carry on case that is made from material tested by the army, by the National Football League and by NASCAR (racing cars), so it should last another 2 million miles. The second 2 million will go faster, given the tempo of my trips, though I doubt I will be traveling like this in 20 years.

I looked up what this gift cost Delta and priced the Tumi case at about 600 dollars, so it is a real gift, not a crappy Chinese case with a zipper that breaks on the first trip. But then again, I don’t really need a fancy carry-on; I would prefer upgrades, especially on long rides like the upcoming one from Atlanta to Johannesburg. I hope that the 2 million miler status pushes me to the front rows whenever it gets too crowded in the back; fingers crossed.