All content copyright, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0
Unported, with the attribution: "The Lead CRA Blog", and a link to the post.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Summer Vacation

I've been so busy monitoring and traveling the past year and a half that I accrued quite the vacation bank. My project is at a lull so the timing feels right to take a little holiday. I found a cheap last-minute airfare to Europe so I am flying to Stockholm and will spend a few days there then fly to Frankfurt, Germany. In Frankfurt we will rent a car and drive West to check out castles and explore the Rhineland. We'll take a few days in Amsterdam and then fly home. It will be pretty whirlwind I'm sure but that is just my style - always on the go.

One of the biggest perks of my Regional CRA position is the hotel points, car rental credits, and airline miles I accrue. I am delighted that all 8 nights of hotel are free because of the points I amassed traveling for work. The airfare between Stockholm and Frankfurt was paid for by my Membership Rewards points on the corporate Amex (1% returns on all spend). We're flying first class using the upgrade coupons I received for flying so much last year, and we received a discount on a really nice Mercedes to zip around the autobahn because of my status in the car rental program. I could not be happier with how I'll be cashing in on these benefits. I hear other monitors say all the time how they bank all these perks but never get around to using them. I'm a firm believer in earn and burn. Can't wait to blow through all my freebies!

I also bought a really cool set of Sharper Image suitcases from Woot.com - fingers crossed they arrive before we leave. Maybe since I am saving so much money on the trip logistics I can bring an empty one just for shopping and see how far I can flex the Euro and the Krona. Ha det så bra - Adjö´ så lä´nge! Perhaps my Swedish blog readers can let me know if I am using that phrase properly. Danke! ;)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you are on to something. Sometimes you just have to grab opportunities when they present. Good for you! Have a great trip!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Nadia;

Great blog for aspiring CRAs! I enjoyed your stories and can tell you are doing an great job.

Could you explain TMF a bit more? What should be included in it? Do the CRF and data go in there, too?

Please keep writing. Have a wonderful trip.

KH said...

Nadia -

Great blog. I am a fellow CRA too and can understand the need for a VACAY. I'm using my points for the Bahamas. Enjoy your trip.

Nadia: The Lead CRA said...

Thanks all for your comments. I am drafting a post now about the ins and outs of the TMF and I will finalize it when I get back from vacation in mid-July. Thanks everyone for continuing to keep up with the blog!

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.