Shuttlecock XXXI: Someone start a new in-joke so we can get a better title

[corianderstem]

Cool! I have Discovery Health in my channel line up now, so if your show is for that network, I'll be able to see it this time!

So a good friend of mine here is interested in going to Ireland with me. This is good! Now I need to decide if I'd rather go alone, or want to go with someone. I think we'll have to sit down and see if we mostly want to do the same things, or have thoughts different enough that it won't make sense to go together.

She already knows she wants to hop over to Scotland, which I don't, but there's no reason we can't split off for part of the trip.

Part of me really wants to do it alone, but part of me wants to not have to navigate a foreign land alone and have that safety net of a friend there.

Oh, decisions, decisions ...

 

[martha]

Go alone. They speak English and they're totally geared for visitors.


I'll PM you after dinner.

 

[corianderstem]

No rush, for realz.

My mind changes about every other hour. I'm leaning towards sticking with my solitary plan.

 

[martha]

In that case (the first one), let me organize my thoughts a bit afore I answer.

 

[coolian2]

scotland is great!


may have some bias due to being 50% scottish.

 

[u2popmofo]

As a wise man once said, "If it's not Scottish, it's crap."

 

[No spoken words]

That used to crack me up almost as much as "Scottish Soccer Hooligan Weekly".

 

[Diemen]

As a wise man once said, "If it's not Scottish, it's crap."

It appears that Ian is half crap.

 

[coolian2]

which is much better than being entirely crap. i'm looking at all of you, here.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

i'm probably like 5% scottish*, so therefore i'm less crappy than ian.


*i don't really know my lineage at all, in terms of percentages and such. i just know i'm part irish, scottish, welsh, german, cherokee...it's probably best to say i'm of uk heritage with a side of other stuff.

 

[coolian2]

i'm probably like 5% scottish*, so therefore i'm less crappy than ian.

no, that's not right. you might want to do those sums again.

 

[PhilsFan]

I'm 7/8 Irish and 1/8 English. No wonder I'm terrible at learning a second language.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

no, that's not right. you might want to do those sums again.

no.

Spoiler

i have a migraine, bite me

 

[No spoken words]

I'm 7/8 Irish and 1/8 English. No wonder I'm terrible at learning a second language.

Or being sober.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

 

[martha]

One of my recent ancestors was named Katie MacKinnon. Scottish enough for everyone?

But then there's more Norwegian to mess that little bit of perfection up.

 

[UberBeaver]

She already knows she wants to hop over to Scotland, which I don't

Perhaps the greatest phale in the history of the internets.

 

[Irvine511]

1. Scotland is, indeed, awesome.

2. 50% Swedish, 25% Irish, 24.9% French Canadian/Welsh, .1% Native American

 

[corianderstem]

I only know my mom's side of the family, and I've never stopped to do the percentages.

My grandma's mother's was Norwegian, and my grandma's father was German.

My grandpa's mother was Irish and his father was German.

No idea about my dad's side of the family (he and my mom divorced just around when I was born and I've never met him), but with the last name of Burke, there's probably some more Irish or English floating around on that side.

 

[PhilsFan]

My last name, for those of you who know it, is not at all indicative of most of my background.

 

[corianderstem]

I was talking about my trip last night at choir rehearsal, and my choir director overheard.

"Don't go to Ireland!" he said, looking a little alarmed.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm thinking about planning a choir tour over there for fall of 2012."



I had a moment of panic for about 5 seconds and then realized there wasn't any reason for me to NOT go because of that. Fall of 2012 is two and a half years away, which a) might not happen anyway; and b) gives me another year and a half after I return to save up for another trip.

Plus, it might include other British Isles, and I'm sure I'll be dying to go back anyway.

Oh, and plus plus, the possibility of a trip with a group in the future solidified my intention to go alone this time.

 

[u2popmofo]

Plus, Earth will end in 2012. John Cusack told me so.

 

[corianderstem]

Ha, he actually used that line, too. "We'd better go in 2012, since the world is supposed to end."

 

[u2popmofo]

If your choir director is planning on visiting Stonehenge and having the choir chant something or other, he may in fact be planning to start the end of the world himself.

 

[corianderstem]

Maybe we should sing a Requiem.

 

[No spoken words]

My parents and grandparents were born here.

So, using Great-Grandparents, we find that I'm 6/8 Russian and 2/8 Austrian.

But 100% JEW.

4 LYFE.

Cor, congrats on the trip, good stuff. Have fun planning it.

 

[corianderstem]

Have any of you ever gone through a travel agent to plan a big trip before? One of my choir friends is one, and while I talked with him a small bit about it last night, I'm not sure I want/need to go that route.

Do they get deeper discounts or find better deals than I could find on my own? Does it really just depend? Are travel agents just kind of out-dated these days?

 

[Irvine511]

Have any of you ever gone through a travel agent to plan a big trip before? One of my choir friends is one, and while I talked with him a small bit about it last night, I'm not sure I want/need to go that route.

Do they get deeper discounts or find better deals than I could find on my own? Does it really just depend? Are travel agents just kind of out-dated these days?

i have only once used a travel agent to help me buy a flight to Morocco, but that's because i was living in Belgium at the time and didn't have consistent internet and that was what they told you to do. it was way back in 2001.

flash forward to the future, and you can do everything you want and need online. there's no place a travel agent would look that you couldn't as well. and get good books. cliched, but Lonely Planet has served me well, as as The Rough Guide ... i'd advise buying two books and double-checking your work. as for discounts, all the best is online, unless you find a promotion on that place's specific website, which happens. only catch with buying cheap internet plane fares is that if something goes wrong, you get bumped way to the back of the line because the airlines hate that you got a good deal and didn't spend $4,000 on a ticket. i got screwed like that in Mexico after i was detained at gun point by 8 federales with machine guns. long story.

just print out EVERYTHING -- especially confirmations, all email correspondence -- and keep a 3 ring binder with everything, so that if/when they fuck up, you can be all, "nuh-UH, my reservation is right here."

 

[Thora]

Yeah, I agree with Irvine. You can definitely find awesome deals online on your own. I've used a travel agent before, but that was like 8 or 9 years ago, when my parents weren't comfortable with me using the internets to book overseas travel, and it was less confusing to do it that way. Especially since my travel plans were insanely complicated.

I'm sure you'll manage to find something great! I'm so jealous of your travel plans.

 

[corianderstem]

Thanks for the advice! I wanted to go online and at least start looking at prices, but I think it's too far in the future - another couple months and I should be able to get an idea of traveling in April or May.

I have a Rough Guide, Rick Steves' book, and a National Geographic one ... that I admit I ended up buying because it had a lot of pictures.