This is a side effect of being in one company for 11 years: I just found that I have maxed out my vacation days once again, even after taking a two-week vacation last July partly for the same reason. There are 44 genuine vacation days, 6 personal days and 2 floating holidays left = 52 days. I need to take random days off before I start losing them, yet I am at a loss of what to do with them now that I have no reason to take personal trips to Japan. Haha.
Perhaps I should pay a long visit to Korea once again (November 2006 was the last time). Give a grandma a surprise visit, see a few good friends and eat a lot of Korean food that I have been missing. Ahh, the latter alone gives me euphoria. XD
The problem, though, is that the airline fuel surcharge is still sky-high (last time I took a trip to Japan, it accounted for approximately 40% of the ticket price… orz). I really wish the rumor that it will go down in 2009 would indeed come true. *crosses fingers* Come to think of it, it is already November and the new airfare schedule for Q1 2009 should have gone into effect by now. Perhaps I should start checking them out. : )