I like the phone...
I like not paying ridiculous phone bills...
I like being able to chat with people on the other side of the world...
I like VOIPBUSTER!
We have been using skype for over a year now to make international calls. It started out so so cheap, but recently there have been many new costs creeping into the bill.
A friend mentioned Voipbuster. Don't ask me to say it three times fast. I believe it is a Swiss company. They have super cheap prices and a special running at the moment where you can call the US and Europe (mobile or land) for free!
This makes me very happy!
Check out:http://www.voipbuster.com
Now if I could get a better connection and not get the funny delay I would be set.
Happy chatting!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
OK, BUT NOW WHAT?
So I bought a local tuber at the market thinking we could expand our palate and support local growers. It was purplish on the outside with a rough skin pictured below and appeared to be much denser than the western potatoes or yucca for that matter. It was totally overpriced roughly 3 times what an imported potato costs. I definitely got the tourist price on this one. I thought I could bake it or make French fries with it (we have a deep fryer, but that’s another story) or possible bake it.
I began by peeling it, and discovered it was pink and bright purple on the inside. It would have been my dream plant had my color palate from when I was six remained. I then set about to cut it into French fries only to discover that was not possible as it was just too dense.. Instead of slicing it vertically I cut it into round slices. I also soon discovered that it, like many other tropical plants secretes a white milky liquid which proves to be quite stick and hard to get off hands and cutting implements. The slices revealed further the tubers intricate structure (the picture below). The colors are amazing, but leaves me to ponder… OK, BUT NOW
Saturday, March 17, 2007
TIJABAOU
TIJABAOU the local cultural center had it's opening the other weekend with performances and new exhibits. It was a lot of fun and we ran into almost everyone we know (I guess it is a small island).
It is a gorgeous center designed by Renzo Piano, whose more famous works can be seen in Paris. Here is the link to the center and below are some photos from the day.
http://www.adck.nc/
It is a gorgeous center designed by Renzo Piano, whose more famous works can be seen in Paris. Here is the link to the center and below are some photos from the day.
http://www.adck.nc/
COMING HOME
It has been a while, and we are settling into Noumea. Still looking for a car, but we are just being incredibly picky.
It is official!.. I will be heading back to America to visit family and friends, while JP will remain in Noumea to work (sorry JP if I could work I would, but the visa says no). I leave April 30, one day before my visa ends, with a two day layover in Sydney. I had no choice (sure you say), as I am using my frequent flier miles. I am feeling very lucky to have been able to fly at all using my miles as this was all done within less than 90 days from departure (something I haven’t done in a while).
AMERICAN EXPRESS VS. AMERICAN AIRLINES
WHO WILL BE THE WINNER?
DEALING WITH FREQUENT FLIER COMPANIES
I think I should first thank Skype for being able to call American 800 numbers for free and to Valerie Morrison the lovely American Advantage representative who spent an hour on the phone with me allowing me to get back to the US.
The Plan
Fly from Noumea to New York using frequent flier miles. Could it be done?
The plan originally was to use my parents American Express points, because they had enough points and save me from having to buy miles from American Airlines. In the end American Airlines won out as they had seats and far less hassle (so much for a surprise ending).
The Saga…
I had stalled in using my frequent flyier miles because I was 27,000 miles short and didn’t want to have to buy that many miles. My parents checked with American Express, and though they were short by about 10,000 points because they are long standing valid customers they were allowed to have a points deficit. Thus allowing me to fly from Noumea to New York for free!
Great!...BUT, the first challenge was to transfer points. I have an AmEx card, but not one with a points plan, so that had to be dealt with.
The second challenge is to determine which airline will fly the route I want to go while allowing me to use American Express points. American Express boasts so many options, maybe you can fly with any company in the world, yet the routes these airlines allow you to fly using American Express points is very limited. I thought Quantas would be no problem, but they only allow you to fly from the US to Melbourne or Sydney. My trip begins in New Caledonia and ends in America squashing all chances of that being an option. I then called Air France thinking they certainly fly from New Caledonia to many places. I then learned that in order to use American Express points you must transfer them to the airline company. Once you transfer the points or miles cannot be transferred back and are valid for I believe up to three years. I had to first determine if there were seats available. There are many seats still available, but not using normal point allowances, there were seats for using double points! YIKES! Double points actually cost more than the seat itself. Would my parents be in points debt forever? I believe the better question is, are my parents aren’t valued enough to have a points deficit of 170,000?... apparently not (I learned this fact later). I asked when the next available normal point allowance seat would be available? When the answer finally came I was floored…. September! Super yikes! My visa ends in May and none of this was looking like an option. I just took a deep breath thanked the person on the phone and hung up.
American Express was out!
OK, hello American Airlines. I called them knowing it was possible to fly from Noumea to New York and the number of miles 75,000. The first person I spoke with said this wasn’t possible, but with some perseverance it all worked out.
The next question and the question of the moment, is there a seat available for me to fly out not too much before, but not after May 1. At first things seemed fine, but then she took a better look and the flight would have me fly out May 3 – NOT POSSIBLE. Then I had no problem getting from Noumea to Sydney, but there were no flights from Sydney to New York. There was one moment where the representative said “There is no way for me to get you to the US at all during April or May. I have tried you flying through Sydney and Aukland.” My heart hit my stomach. Again another deep breath and I meekly responded… OK, but can you get me anywhere in the US and I will work from there. Her response was how about Hawaii? Imagine my heart sinking even deeper into my stomach. Hawaii is still in the middle of the Pacific and so far from New York. As far as I was concerned I might as well sail back at that point. I kept her talk and then we starting talking about LA and Japan. Japan was out (not allowed), but LA was proving to me an option.
Finally after 1 hour on the phone (THANK YOU SKYPE) we had things worked out. I had a flight reservation, good until March 17 midnight. All I had to do was by the remaining 20,000 points. I had received 7,000 points from my credit card just for mentioning I might cancel it, and they said, “How about 7,000 points and why don’t you think about it”, so I said “sure, I think about it.” The 7,000 points saved me $200!
It’s official paid for the miles, tax, and have the Australia visa (booked online)!
It is official!.. I will be heading back to America to visit family and friends, while JP will remain in Noumea to work (sorry JP if I could work I would, but the visa says no). I leave April 30, one day before my visa ends, with a two day layover in Sydney. I had no choice (sure you say), as I am using my frequent flier miles. I am feeling very lucky to have been able to fly at all using my miles as this was all done within less than 90 days from departure (something I haven’t done in a while).
AMERICAN EXPRESS VS. AMERICAN AIRLINES
WHO WILL BE THE WINNER?
DEALING WITH FREQUENT FLIER COMPANIES
I think I should first thank Skype for being able to call American 800 numbers for free and to Valerie Morrison the lovely American Advantage representative who spent an hour on the phone with me allowing me to get back to the US.
The Plan
Fly from Noumea to New York using frequent flier miles. Could it be done?
The plan originally was to use my parents American Express points, because they had enough points and save me from having to buy miles from American Airlines. In the end American Airlines won out as they had seats and far less hassle (so much for a surprise ending).
The Saga…
I had stalled in using my frequent flyier miles because I was 27,000 miles short and didn’t want to have to buy that many miles. My parents checked with American Express, and though they were short by about 10,000 points because they are long standing valid customers they were allowed to have a points deficit. Thus allowing me to fly from Noumea to New York for free!
Great!...BUT, the first challenge was to transfer points. I have an AmEx card, but not one with a points plan, so that had to be dealt with.
The second challenge is to determine which airline will fly the route I want to go while allowing me to use American Express points. American Express boasts so many options, maybe you can fly with any company in the world, yet the routes these airlines allow you to fly using American Express points is very limited. I thought Quantas would be no problem, but they only allow you to fly from the US to Melbourne or Sydney. My trip begins in New Caledonia and ends in America squashing all chances of that being an option. I then called Air France thinking they certainly fly from New Caledonia to many places. I then learned that in order to use American Express points you must transfer them to the airline company. Once you transfer the points or miles cannot be transferred back and are valid for I believe up to three years. I had to first determine if there were seats available. There are many seats still available, but not using normal point allowances, there were seats for using double points! YIKES! Double points actually cost more than the seat itself. Would my parents be in points debt forever? I believe the better question is, are my parents aren’t valued enough to have a points deficit of 170,000?... apparently not (I learned this fact later). I asked when the next available normal point allowance seat would be available? When the answer finally came I was floored…. September! Super yikes! My visa ends in May and none of this was looking like an option. I just took a deep breath thanked the person on the phone and hung up.
American Express was out!
OK, hello American Airlines. I called them knowing it was possible to fly from Noumea to New York and the number of miles 75,000. The first person I spoke with said this wasn’t possible, but with some perseverance it all worked out.
The next question and the question of the moment, is there a seat available for me to fly out not too much before, but not after May 1. At first things seemed fine, but then she took a better look and the flight would have me fly out May 3 – NOT POSSIBLE. Then I had no problem getting from Noumea to Sydney, but there were no flights from Sydney to New York. There was one moment where the representative said “There is no way for me to get you to the US at all during April or May. I have tried you flying through Sydney and Aukland.” My heart hit my stomach. Again another deep breath and I meekly responded… OK, but can you get me anywhere in the US and I will work from there. Her response was how about Hawaii? Imagine my heart sinking even deeper into my stomach. Hawaii is still in the middle of the Pacific and so far from New York. As far as I was concerned I might as well sail back at that point. I kept her talk and then we starting talking about LA and Japan. Japan was out (not allowed), but LA was proving to me an option.
Finally after 1 hour on the phone (THANK YOU SKYPE) we had things worked out. I had a flight reservation, good until March 17 midnight. All I had to do was by the remaining 20,000 points. I had received 7,000 points from my credit card just for mentioning I might cancel it, and they said, “How about 7,000 points and why don’t you think about it”, so I said “sure, I think about it.” The 7,000 points saved me $200!
It’s official paid for the miles, tax, and have the Australia visa (booked online)!
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