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Starting January 1, an engagement ring, estimated around $22,000, is going to the highest bidder. The auction will run for five weeks -- just in time for the winning bidder to mount a dramatic Valentine's Day proposal. The ring itself is a beauty, weighing at just over three carats with a 2.75-carat single diamond and two baguette diamonds set in platinum with an emerald cut. The current owner, Chris Ammon, came into possession of this ring after her grandmother passed away; she's decided that the ring could do way more good off her hand than on it, or in a safe deposit box, so she's creating a auction and donating all the proceeds to various charities she believes in.

If you make one resolution this year, make it to travel in January -- it's one of the most overlooked months for travel out of the whole year. With everyone back to school and back to the grind, planes are relatively empty and seats are fairly cheap. And by cheap I mean somewhere in the range of 50% off, if you look in the right places. Even the New York Times agrees: "January may be the best time of year to take a vacation, as passenger traffic drops and resorts, airlines and cruise companies all roll out deals." Should you want to dive into winter and get bundled up and snowed in, check for deals in Vancouver and you might score some peeks at the Winter Olympics.

The sixth annual Priceline Top 50 New Year's Eve Destinations has been released. Detailing the hottest spots to hang out and ring in 2010, based on consumer booking requests for the holiday, it's fairly accurate. Though it may be too late to make out-of-town plans to visit any of these spots, you can check the list to see what's near you if you don't have plans already. At the top of the list:

Just like Diddy is doing on the East Coast, for drunkish New Yorkers, the city of Las Vegas is providing free rides for partygoers. Starting at 6 pm on New Year's Eve, the strip will be hosting free bus rides on all city routes, as well as the re-routed routes that happen on New Year's Eve so that the partygoers can take over the streets on the strip. The best part about the free rides is the fact that they run all night and spill over into after-after-hour party time, as in 9 am. That's right, you can party your little drunken ass off from 6 pm to about 8:45 in the am, giving you a full 14 + hours to imbibe as much booze and or other recreational fun as you can, knowing you don't have to be coherent enough to drive anyone home.

P.Diddy wants you to party hard this 31st, and to prove it, he's going to pay for you to get home safely. He's most concerned about New Yorker's getting home safe, so he's making his effort in the Big Apple. This New Year's Eve, Diddy, along with the city Taxi & Limousine Commission is handing out thousands of free rides home. No, Diddy isn't going to peddling you around in a pedicab, though that might be a fun end to a raucous evening, and no, there aren't going to be Diddy impersonators driving cabs around the city, though that might be fun as well. Instead you can pick up a voucher for a $15 cab ride, or a single ride metrocard.

For those of you who won't be getting blasted and smashed and totally hung over for the 1st of 2010 -- maybe you think NYE is for amateurs, or maybe you just can really hold your alcohol, there are a few choice spots open on New Year's Day that might be worth checking out while the rest of the sick-as-a-dog chumps lay moaning in bed. If you're in New York, you're in luck, as there are some places that will be open and ready for your patronage. Here's the top five things you should check out if you're out and about on New Year's Day:

All right all you last minute travelers, if you want a chance to get out of town for NYE, Virgin America is throwing you a bone. For their final hurrah of 2009, Virgin America is having one last fire sale and has come up with fares that should go easy on your bank account, like $39 one-ways between Los Angeles and San Francisco, $59 one-ways between Los Angeles and Seattle, and the $99 one-ways cross country between Los Angeles and New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco, and even between Ft. Lauderdale and Los Angeles.

In 2009, there was a contest over in Hamilton Island, Australia to win the "Best Job in the World." In 2010, that job comes to an end. The sweet gig, which gave Ben Southall a cool $100,000 and a six month "gig" where he blogged and took photos of his amazing adventures snorkeling, jet skiing, spelunking, and otherwise having a fabulous time, is now over. However, Ben's time in the spotlight is not. He's parlayed his six months of fame into a full time tourism gig. That's what a sixty-second video and lots of luck can get you!

After the botched airplane bombing attempt on Christmas Day, airport security has been on overload, prompting several bizarre security measures and confusing the hell out of many passengers traveling over the weekend. The new rules and regs that have been flying around don't do much but create bits of chaos in airports around the country.

Ivana Trump got herself kicked off of a Delta flight this weekend because of her surly attitude. Apparently, disturbed by unruly children running up and down the isles, she decided to shoot her mouth off, calling boisterous youngsters "little f*ckers."