goddamnit, airfare is expensive.  although i've been preoccupied with moving my stuff to the netherlands lately, the fact remains that i will have to move myself there as well.  let me tell you a little about my experience, and why it sucks.  

i will be flying with our beloved cat b.  i figure she's going to freak the fuck out on the plane, so i want to take the fastest flight possible.  there is only one carrier who flies directly to amsterdam via boston, and that is northwest.  here's the other thing; i need a  round trip.  since i don't yet have a visa, i can't get a one way ticket, and the maximum amount of time i'm supposed to spend there is three months.  so i want to buy a ticket from september 12 until december 12.  the only price for that ticket anywhere is $2091!!!  just for shits and giggles, i checked to see what the flight would cost if i bought the same flight, but returning on october 12 instead of december 12.  well, that flight only costs $869.  you may have noticed that there is a slight difference in the fares.  i called northwest, and her explanation was that december is "a christmas month."  yes it is , and there is no way for me to get my fare reduced.  i think i'm going to buy the ticket for the october return, and not use the october ticket.  the downside to that is that i may not be able to get my visa while i'm over there, so i may have to return anyway for legal reasons.  i might just buy a more reasonably priced december return ticket on another airline, and deal with my cat on multiple airplanes.  what would you do?  

thanks for your time, 

jim turbert