In case of a loss of oxygen, please place your masks over your faces to hide your terrified expressions from the other passengers

When I told Amy we were writing about hobbies this week, and that I didn't know which one to talk about, she started listing off the things I do for fun (hiking, reading, painting, writing, photos, cooking, video games) and stuff I collect (comic books, Harry Potters, Moleskines), but I kept finding reasons not to mention that stuff.

"You love taking photos," she'd say.

"Yeah, but I'm not very good at it," I'd say.

She'd say, "You're really into painting these days."

And I'd say, "I paint like a five-year-old."

Amy, of course, has to say things like, "Your writing is hilarious! Your chicken marsala doesn't make me gag! Your Harry Potter collection isn't lame at all!" But the more she protested my protesting I realized that I am barely adequate at all the things I love most in life -- except for one: my travel spreadsheet.

Every day I participate in a hobby called Planning A Trip Abroad. Here's how it works: Each morning, I open up my email, and lo! Yahoo Finance has sent me a list of exchange rates for countries I want to visit. Also,Suntrust bank has sent me an email with the balance of my travel savings account. So, I open up my Travel Spreadsheet and go to work.

First, I key in the current exchange rates, and my travel savings amount:



Look how rich I am in Iceland!

Pretty much all of these cells are linked to the other sheets in this workbook. See the other sheets there? Ireland, Iceland, Thailand, Australia?

Next, I go to Clark Howard's Atlanta Travel Deals page to see what good airfares are waiting for me.

Once I find a reasonable fare I go to the corresponding country on my spreadsheet and key it in, along with the number of days I'd like to holiday. (Things in pink on the spreadsheet are keyed-in numbers; things in blue are foreign currency conversions; everything else is basically a formula or conditional formatting.)

Then Excel just does its work. See, it multiplies the total number of days I want to travel with the per-day cost of lodging and meals and such. (Estimated by Lonely Planet or Let's Go Travel Guides.) Then it adds that total with the total of the airfare, compares it to the amount I have in travel savings, and uses a little conditional formatting to tell me if I should book the trip.

Today it is excited because I can go to Thailand!



But look how upset it would get if airfare increased, say, another thousand bucks. It's practically hissing it's so angry.



I'm also really, really good at Mario Kart. And watching cartoons.