Project Vegas: The Traveller

Once upon a time, a certain special someone mentioned how much she liked Las Vegas. She had only been there once, but had always expressed a desire to go back there. Unfortunately, we were both University students that had accrued a significant amount of debt. But despite all of that, I promised that I'd find a way around it and take her back one day.

Then again, she promised that she'd love me forever. Funny how things change.

Wow, even just rereading some of those break-up posts are making me depressed.

Yes, the purpose of this project was to find a way to take my then-girlfriend (now ex) to Vegas without breaking the bank. Airfare was always a massive barrier, and if there was a way to significantly reduce the cost (or fly for free) it be a huge help. In the end I managed to not only accomplish that, but potentially find ways to get hotel rooms for free too.

I never had the heart to change the name of the project. I don't know why. It was always for her as I have no interest of going back to Vegas. I've been there twice and once to the Asian equivalent, Macau. Maybe some small part of me hoped that she would have had a change of heart by the time I got this project to work and we could have gone together.

Unfortunately, I'm still single. You'd have seen a blog post about it had I gotten back with her.

Ok, I'll stop being depressing now.

Onto how this project works.

It was simple really, potentially abusive but hey, that's not my problem. See, there are lots of credit cards with rewards, but most of these rewards are junk. The amount of points gained per amount spent is worthless, points can't be spent on things that are actually worth anything, you have to spend a ludicrous amount to get anywhere, or get charged a yearly fee for owning the card.

But once you find a card that works, now we can have some fun. Most of the time you're looking for cards that ask you to spend X amount of dollars in Y amount of time to get Z amount of points. And then when you've spent said amount, cancel the card if there's a yearly fee. Reapply or get a new credit card until you can travel around the world as many times as you want.

And honestly, I'm pretty sure most people can spend over $1000 dollars on groceries in the span of 3 months. So it's not like you're going out of your way to spend more. Also, spending $1000 on things you need to get 40,000 airmiles? That's a pretty good deal if you ask me.

Nice.

That is, if you're an American.

The first project update post I did back in January mentioned that Americans have an edge over Canadians. You Americans are so lucky, I found nearly a dozen credit cards that would have worked with great rewards. I could have flown to Japan twice and back for free with points to spare. So I had to make due with what I had left.

And then we hit the second roadblock. The few cards that remained required that I be making X amount annually to even apply. Great, my limited student income was limiting me in more ways that one. So Project Vegas went on hold for many months.

Until I got a full-time job as a dispatcher.

I saw an opportunity, and I grabbed it. I applied immediately to one of the cards I picked out months ago and the instant I got it in the mail, I started spending. Did you know that video games purchased counted too? It's true!

I regret nothing.

Unfortunately, I got laid off, meaning that I no longer qualify for some of the other cards. The good news is that I still managed to get all those points in time. The card I used is the American Express Gold Rewards card. It's funny because I still had to use an American card to get a significant number of points.

Spend $500 in 3 months to get 25,000 points which convert to 25,000 Aeroplan miles. You still earn 1 point per dollar spent and double points on groceries and travel related things so in the end you'll have at least 25,500. The first year is free and I fully intend to cancel this card sometime in August or September before my free year is up. I hear that some cards will try and plead with you to stay by giving you extra points if you delay cancelling for a week. We'll see if American Express is that desperate to keep me in the future.

So, I have at my disposal nearly 26,000 airmiles, I have no interest in going to Vegas, so what will I be doing? I want to go to Maryland, Baltimore. I'll only spend a fraction of my points, and it's about time I did something nice for myself.

Why you may ask? If you couldn't tell, I like video games. And for the last two years, there was this gaming/music convention that I wanted to go to, and now, I have a way to go. Hopefully I'll be making plans to go to Magfest in January. Last year two of my favorite bands were there and right now, they aren't on the current list of musicians.

I hope that changes.

5 Year Anniversary

Well it would have been if things worked out better.

Next week I would have celebrated five years with my then-girlfriend. We were high school sweethearts and we were happy together. At least, we were until whatever it is caused her to change her mind. I'm fairly certain most of my readers are familiar with what happened to some extent. Anyone who isn't can catch up here.

And I had no intention of talking to her again. I was done trying to fix what was left.

Enough was enough

And then out of nowhere she sent me a message: "Are you still upset with me?".

Bloody right I'm still upset with you. I've been miserable these last few months, lonely, and bitter. You broke my heart, flirted with me, turned down any chance of trying to fix our relationship AND THEN you go and get yourself a new boyfriend. What did you expect me to say?

And for the next hour, I basically tore her a new one. It was liking writing an angry letter and being able to send it and watch the recipient receive it in real time. I won't lie, it felt good. A massive weight being lifted off my chest. How often do you get to rant at the very source of all your distress?

I guess the alternative would be to beat my computer to pieces.

But she never left. She could have stopped responding or reading my responses at anytime. But she just sat there are took it all. Apologizing every other moment. Admitting and acknowledging every fault and gripe that I had with her. And this went on and on until I ran out of things to say.

To be honest, I was a bit confused. This is not standard ex-girlfriend behaviour. She didn't stand up for herself once, she didn't try to justify her actions, nor did she try and shift the blame to me. And so I eventually asked, "What do you want from me? Forgiveness?".

To which she replied, "I don't want forgiveness, I just want you to feel better.".

What.

She even offered to let me do it again in the future if it would help. She agreed that her actions were selfish, that she didn't want to hurt me anymore, and was willing to do nearly anything to help me recover. Sans getting back into a relationship with me because she was already in one.

Also, she has some guilt-tripping mental roadblock. She tried to explain it to me, I still don't get it, and think it's absolute rubbish but one step at a time. She loves me but isn't in love with me as she puts it.

I don't know about you guys, but I find it hard to stay angry at someone who acknowledges their wrongdoings, goes out of their way to fix things, and openly allows me to verbally beat so that I might have a better day.

I feel a bit bad for being so harsh with her now.

We're talking more frequently now. I'm still upset with her obviously but not to the same extent as before. I won't lie, I still miss her very much. you don't spend 4.5 years with someone and suddenly lose all attraction to them.

I guess we're still friends then. We'll see where it goes from here.

I'm Just Slightly Upset

I know I've been mentioning my ex a lot these last few blog posts. Or at least it feels that way to me. It's difficult because half my brain absolutely despises her, and is so angry for everything that she's done to me, for all the emotional turmoil she's thrown me into. The other half keeps trying to stick up for her, rationalize some of her actions and words.

Well, I don't need to worry about this anymore. Because now, I absolutely loathe her.

Yes, yes I am.

She wanted to see me the other day for some reason. Quick breakfast or something. No biggie, I agreed. I knew something was up though, because you don't randomly call up your ex, especially during your own finals week.

Guess who has a new boyfriend.

Wow.

Just. Wow.

I guess I should be flattered that she decided to tell me in person. As opposed to me finding out from someone else. But here's the part that really irks me. Remember all things she said to me prior to our break-up? "I think I'm happier single", "I was too busy to commit to a relationship", "I'm not interested in a relationship right now", and who could forget "You'll probably be the best boyfriend I'll ever have".

Yes, which makes total sense. This is why you got a new boyfriend. Either you're lying to my face or you're a masochist who wants a worse boyfriend. I wonder which one it could be.

I assure you that I am cursing like a sailor as I type these words. Unfortunately, I cannot convey these words on my blog if I want to keep my SFW rating.

And scowling too. Lots of scowling.

Apparently they've been dating for a few weeks now, and after getting the green light from her various friends, decided to go with it. They started spending time together because they had so much spare time. 

Time that she rarely had for me.

I feel a bit betrayed. Maybe it's the hormones and the emotions but I can't tell if I'm being petty right now. Why does it matter to me who she's sleeping with? We're not a couple anymore, her personal life is none of my business.

Am I wrong for feeling anger for being lied to? Was I lied to? Her past attempts to comfort me can certainly be described as pathetic, and its only worsened the entire recovery process for me. I'm just glad they started dating recently, because now, I can just channel this energy into more anger. If this happened a few months ago I would have become morose.

Wow, I have a lot of angry reaction pictures.

I'm happy for her, that she managed to move on so quickly and find a fellow med student with similar interests with whom she can start a relationship with. But I certainly am NOT happy WITH her. Am I jealous that despite all this time I still can't find a significant other? Yes, yes I am.

Remember, when we broke up, we didn't make a huge debacle over it. Many people still believe we're dating. And I know that she'll be judged by her peers for her actions. How cliched is that? Dumping your old boyfriend after getting into medicine, and then almost immediately dating a fellow med student?

I'm going to sit back, and enjoy all and any fallout that comes from this. And I refuse to defend her actions any longer, I've put up with enough. Way more than enough. If anyone else wants my side of the story, they're going to get it in all its entirety. No more self-censorship.

For anyone curious, no, I do not contact her. I absolutely refuse to talk or communicate with her in any medium. If she ever wants to talk to me, she has to initiate something. And at the moment, I'm thinking of completely removing her from my life and just flat out ignoring her from now on.

I hope she's happy with her decisions, because I certainly am not. The best of luck to her with everything.