Pinc's Picks

A Trip Round the World

In my ongoing attempt to go on glamorous yet inexpensive vacations, I subscribe to a newsletter that advertises discount cruises. Today's offering advertised a 102 day cruise around the world, departing from Fort Lauderdale in January 2007 and arriving in Southampton, England in April. In between, the cruise, offered by Princess Cruise Line, stops in all sorts of magnificent and exotic destinations in South America, the South Pacific, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. It even travels through both the Panama and Suez Canals! There are excursions to Macchu Picchu! The Pyramids at Luxor! Easter Island! How on earth would you go to Easter Island otherwise?

I asked my parents for $19,995.00 for an interior stateroom. Not surprisingly, my request was met with unbridled and hysterical laughter. Especially when I said I would probably have to quit my job to get the time off to go on the cruise. That didn't go over too well.

My other option is to save up airline miles to get a round-the-world plane ticket. I did some calculations this afternoon and figured out that I would have to fly on Delta exclusively, take at least six trips to New York per year for the next two years, and on top of that spend on average $2,000 per month on my Delta SkyMiles American Express card to get to 140,000 miles. If you figure that a round the world plane ticket is about $12,000, frankly, the cruise is a bargain because it includes food and lodgings. It comes out to $196.03 per day. Realistically, that doesn't include shore excursions and incidentals. So we're really looking at at least $25,000 total, probably closer to $30,000.

So at this point I'm soliciting ideas for legal ways to earn $30,000 in the next two years so I can go on a cruise. Please keep in mind that I'm averse to surgery, so selling a kidney is not an option. I don't think my cat would fetch more than a small price, though she is quite a beautiful and sweet creature. Maybe I'll sell my CDs and invest in Chipotle ... it's got to be better than what I'm doing now!

posted by Danya @ 7/25/2006 10:45:00 PM 1 comments

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

My friend Sarah has started a book group. And not a minute too soon. I've been searching for an excuse to start reading again and stop watching television.

I spent literally the entire day Saturday reading the book club's inaugural selection, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It was a New York Times bestseller and a book that I probably never would have read on my own.

The story is set in modern Kabul, Afghanistan and the contemporary San Francisco Bay Area. It is unlike any book I have ever read in that artfully describes the sentiments behind genocide in Afghanistan, the refugee experience, and immigrating to America. Certainly the latter two themes have been explored exhaustively by other writers. But I was completely unfamiliar with the politics, traditions, and history of Afghanistan.

The Kite Runner is essentially about the relationship between fathers and sons and the driving forces behind that relationship. The lengths that the main character, Amir, went to win his father's affection in turn led to the destruction of his relationship with his best friend and servent, Hassan. Amir's lifelong guilt resulting from a pivotal childhood incident and his attempt at redemption underlie the action in the book. And as far as redemptive tales go, this one is powerful.

To me, the mark of a good book is one that will make me cry. I find that if I cannot suspend my disbelief and become emotionally involved with a book it's not worth reading. The Kite Runner wrench tears from eyes. So on that scale, if nothing else, it's worth the read. If nothing else I've gained an heretofore unknown appreciation for the strife in Afghanistan, a country which has been all but forgotten in the war in the Middle East. Maybe next I'll read a book about the Opium trade.

posted by Danya @ 7/24/2006 08:27:00 PM 0 comments