I gave up a luxury cruise and scaled back my 60th birthday plans to afford an $11,000 ticket to the World Cup final

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with May Lee, a 59-year-old seasonal broadcast engineer at a research station in Antarctica, and former marketing and communications manager at Hewlett-Packard.

It has been edited for length and clarity.

Soccer has been a lifelong passion for me — I just love it.

Watching the matches in person gives you a sense of global humanity at its best, rooting for someone outside yourself.

It was also something my dad and I shared together, and this year will be the first time I attend a World Cup game without him.

I applied for all three lottery rounds and didn’t get any tickets.

And then, in the very last lottery, I thought to myself: ‘OK, forget it.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience — I don’t care how much it costs.’ So, I spent $10,925 on a category 3 ticket to see the final at MetLife Stadium in July.

I think FIFA has gone way overboard with pricing.

But unfortunately, if I do want to attend the World Cup, which I do, there’s nothing I can do about it.

I started working at Hewlett-Packard as a software engineer around 1988 and worked there until I was laid off last year during a downsizing.

I knew I didn’t want to retire just yet, but I also didn’t need to chase a big salary.

So, I decided to take a job as a broadcast engineer at McMurdo Station, a research station in Antarctica, for 5 months.

This involved keeping the McMurdo TV and radio station running.

I will return to work there in the fall.

Having had a high salary in the tech world for years, I didn’t really need to worry about opening a special savings account for the World Cup.

Instead, I decided to use whatever I earn from working in Antarctica to pay for my ticket.

It ended up being almost four months of my five months’ pay.

I had already booked accommodation and flights in September and used air miles to purchase the flights from San Jose, which is near where I live in Santa Clara.

Hotel prices in New York were astronomical, so I’m staying in a room in my friend’s condo for $175 a night.

I’m turning 60 this year, and had planned some big trips to celebrate.

Every five years for my birthday, I go to Paris.

I love France and consider myself a francophile; my favorite national soccer team is France.

I had initially planned a three-week trip around Europe for my 60th birthday.

I was planning to go to Italy and dine at as many three-Michelin-star restaurants as possible, then rent a motorhome and drive to Lake Como, Rome, and other cities, before ending up in Paris.

As the World Cup ticket was so expensive, I ended up canceling that idea and scaling back to a two-week trip to Barcelona, Madrid, and Paris.

I had also planned a two-and-a-half-week luxury cruise to Iceland to see the total solar eclipse.

Instead, I’m flying to London for a couple of days to see some West End shows, then heading to Iceland to see the total solar eclipse and stay in an Airbnb.

In the end, it’s not a huge hardship.

My dad used to take me to the local YMCA to play soccer when I was a little kid.

He never grew up playing soccer himself, but he would come to all of my games and take photos of me.

I played all through elementary, high school, and college.

Soccer was a fun, personal experience I shared with my dad, so when the World Cup last came to the US in 1994, I treated him to tickets.

It was my first taste of an international competition, and it was just amazing.

It was the first time either of us had ever been to Brazil, so it was a great thing to share with him.

We had talked about maybe going to see a women’s World Cup in 2019, but he died that year, so we didn’t go.

It will be bittersweet going without him this year.

I know he would want me to be happy and to enjoy life, doing something I’ve obviously loved and been passionate about my entire life: soccer.

And while he won’t physically be with me, I keep a locket of his ashes in my purple necklace pendant wherever I go.

I know that he’s always with me in heart and spirit.

I’m going to make the most of my time in New York.

It’s going to be a vacation filled with my passions, loves, and interests — fine dining, theater, and obviously, the World Cup.

Of course, on TV you get the close-ups, but seeing it in person, there’s just no comparison.

It’s like live theater versus watching a movie.

The good vibes and energy are something that you can’t experience when you’re watching it at home.

I’d rather pay the money for something like this than have it sitting in the bank or buy a lot of material things.