At Phoenix airport, checking in.

Well, Becky and I are off to Hawaii tomorrow. Becky’s sister Jen and Jen’s husband Soren are already there; following on later flights will be Becky’s brother Casey and his fiancee Gerry, and also Becky’s parents Ted and Ginny. So we’ll have all the Parental Units, siblings, and significant others. :) Becky and I will be there from tomorrow through Dec. 28.

Incidentally, Hawaii will be the 47th U.S. state I have been to in my life. And because Becky has already been there, I will gain on her in the state count — and tie her, 47-47. She still needs Nebraska, Iowa, and Louisiana; I still need Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Alaska.

I will probably post website updates via cell phone tomorrow, and perhaps afterward, depending on whether and where I have cell-phone reception in Hawaii. I also may occasionally hook up my laptop to a phone line and do updates that way, including perhaps pictures. But I probably won’t do that too often, and don’t expect novels or giant photo galleries. I want to enjoy my vacation first; then I’ll publicize my enjoyment of it. :)

Here is our flight info:
Hawaiian Airlines #35 - Dec.19 - Depart Phoenix 11:45 am, Arrive Honolulu 3:25 pm
Hawaiian Airlines #521 - Dec. 21 - Depart Honolulu 12:06 pm, Arrive Lihue (Kauai) 12:43 pm
Hawaiian Airlines #376 - Dec. 28 - Depart Lihue 8:37 pm, Arrive Honolulu 9:06 pm
Hawaiian Airlines #36 - Dec. 28-29 - Depart Honolulu 11:15 pm, Arrive Phoenix 8:15 am

Wednesday, Dec. 18 started with me, Becky, and Dr. Zak watching The Two Towers in Mesa; we were in the theater until around 3:35 AM. But that wasn’t the only memorable thing that happened today.

Memorable thing #2: Becky and I took Toby to “The Cat’s Meow” Bed & Breakfast, also in Mesa, where Becky is boarding her while we’re in Hawaii. Naturally, this was a very painful experience, saying goodbye to Toby and relinquishing her to the care of others.

Toby on Becky’s lap in the car.


Toby looks around while riding to the B&B.

But this place is something of a kitty paradise — they take the cats out of their cages for playtime, etc. — and they even send photos and e-mails to the cats’ owners with updates on how the cat is doing. Most importantly, there are no dogs — just cats. :)

No, that’s not a mirror — it’s Toby checking out a similar-looking cat through a glass door.


Toby looks at another of her new potential friends.

Even so, it was tough leaving our little baby in a cage… :(

Awww… we’ll miss you too, Toby!

So that was memorable thing #2. Before I get to memorable thing #3, here are some random pictures I took during the evening:

A beautiful Arizona sunset.


The Zaks’ Christmas cactus. :)

Okay… Memorable thing #3: Christmas! Yeah, we decided to open our presents (well, most of them) a little early this year, since hauling them to Hawaii would have been a bit of a hassle. So we had Christmas on Dec. 18, sort of. I’ll have another Christmas on Dec. 25, and another (with my family) on Jan. 1. Gotta love it.

The Zaks’ beautiful Christmas tree.


Becky checks out the Saks gloves my parents got her. (She loves them!)

I got several nice presents, but so far my definite favorite is…

Stitch from Lilo & Stitch (in a Santa costume). Becky gave him to me. Yay!!

Although college football updates and BCS scenarios have virtually transformed my personal homepage into a sports blog over the past two weeks, there actally is other stuff going in my life, too. I figure I’d give everybody a brief update on that now.

In about an hour, I will be on campus to take my second of three final exams, this one for my media-law class. My last exam is tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM, and then I’m done for the semester — sort of. I still have three papers due, at least two of which I will probably end up e-mailing to my professor from home. My winter break won’t really begin until around Dec. 17, when I leave all my worries, cares, and stressors behind, and head to Hawaii for a week-and-a-half vacation with Becky and her family.

Ah yes, Hawaii. It will be my 47th state, and the furthest west I’ve ever traveled. It will also be the first time I’ve ever been away from my parents at Christmas, which is sad. But the vacation will be lots of fun, and our family is sort of “moving” Christmas to New Year’s Day. We’ll open our gifts and do all our traditional things then. In the mean time, in order to facilitate the Hawaii trip but still go to my mom’s thesis art show (which opens Monday) and still spend a decent amount of my break at home, I’m flying more than 15,000 miles over the next month and a day. Tomorrow begins the odyssey. Here is a map of my flights:

My itinerary for the next week or so goes a little something like this:

Wednesday: Final exam, 8-10 AM; Finish a paper or two and pack for home; Leave on SuperShuttle at 9 PM; Fly out of L.A. at 11:30 PM.
Thursday: Arrive in Connecticut in the morning; Continue working on papers; Go see the new Bond movie with Jen.
Friday: Continue working on papers (hopefully finish everything!); Go see the new Star Trek movie with Sean.
Saturday: Drive/ride down to New York City with my mom; Help her set up her thesis show; Watch the Heisman ceremony at 8 PM.
Sunday: Go see a Yiddish theatre production with my mom; Continue helper her set up; Take Greyhound back to Connecticut.
Monday: Drive/ride back down to New York City with Jen; Go see my mom’s show.
Tuesday: Get a ride back to Connecticut, and to Bradley Airport; Fly to Phoenix.
Wednesday: Go see The Two Towers!!!
Thursday: Depart for Hawaii!!!