Happy New Year from the 100,000th mile...

                                                             - View of the Caribbean from Villa Del Palmar, Cancun

Well, here it is again- I’m passing the 100,000^th qualifying mile mark on AA flight No. 1692 as we fly over the Gulf of Mexico.  This goes along with about 45 hotel nights, and 5 nights spent sleeping on planes.  That’s a lot of time actually, or figuratively up in the air.  Today though, I’m on my return flight from a fantastic, if short, holiday in Cancun.  I’m returning with some beautiful pictures and memories, including climbing (mostly all the way…no insurance in Mexico) up a Mayan temple, and relaxing days by the white sands and Caribbean blue water of Qunitana Roo.  It’s the last day of 2012, cutting it close for those qualifying miles…I know, I know.  However, I’d rather think of it as ‘expert planning.’ 

2012 has been a good one in many ways for me personally, though it seems it was a trying one for the world.  At least that’s the sense I get after having time to comb through this week’s Economist, Newsweek & Time poolside.  It’s one more reminder of how everything in life can be seen as a mix of good and challenging fortune.  This at least, you can count on.

A sentiment I try to keep close is that there is a big difference between ‘problems’ and ‘inconveniences.’  Recognize what is what.  Delays, setbacks, annoyances…flat tires, lost baggage, are the latter.  If you’re lucky, very few things you routinely encounter will manage to get into the former category.  (Trust me, all it takes is flipping though the ‘Middle East and Africa section of The Economist for me to realize I have very few actual problems)  Maybe for all of our collective psyches, the news could find a way to better delineate between the two?

Back to the present, it’s been a smooth flight so far with a strong tailwind that promises to get us to the gate 20 minutes early.  This (hopefully) should put us on schedule to get through customs and to our connecting flight in plenty of time.  Maybe even with a chance to make it home before the last minutes of the year tick away.  Don’t worry though, we have a plan-b involving the LAX Admiral’s Club, their complimentary Champaign, and a toast with a view of the runways.  Honestly, to send off 2012, it might make perfect sense.

Wishing anyone who might stumble upon this and actually read it a happy and rewarding New Year,

Fly Safe,

~CruisingAAltitude