Bring on 2007

What a beautiful fall day today. Sunny. Mild. Colorful leaves on both the sidewalks and trees. This is no doubt my favorite season of the year. Spring would be a close second. Then winter. And then summer.

I did it. I booked all my big trips for next year. I myself am a bit amazed. Here's what we got:

February: Rome/Naples/Pompeii
March/April: Chicago/Michigan
April/May: London
May: Hamburg
June: Dubrovnik, Croatia

I'm really excited. Moscow and Barcelona were under heavy consideration as well, but I couldn't be happier with my final choices. In the end, London beat out Moscow and Rome/Italy beat out Barcelona. Good lord, this sounds more competitive than the bidding process for the Olympic Games. But who knows, Barcelona may sneak in there in July or August. Probably not, though. We'll see.

My planned trip home to Michigan in December keeps getting changed in my mind as well. What started out to be a week and a half trip, concluding before New Year's, will now most likely be a three and a half week stay. I had already submitted my forms to my manager for approval, then thought about it some more, and grabbed them out of his inbox. So I think I'll resubmit tomorrow for the extended stay. The office will be closed for two and a half weeks anyway, for which I'll be forced to use vacation time. I'm secretly looking forward to the break from Germany. Well, I guess it's not such a secret anymore.