here we go again...

Travel

 

Well almost exactly a week from this day and time, MFO and I will be heading back across the pond to the Emerald Isle.   Yes, we returned from Scotland not long ago, but here we go again.  This trip is accorded to King Oyster to see/accompany the United States National Champion, winner of the St. Mary’s County Oyster Shucking Contest to Galway for the World Opening Championships.  Somehow I have been designated by the Galway folks as the “Observer” for North America so will get to see “behind the scenes” action.  Unfortunately it also means I can’t see the actual shucking.  Good thing I saw that two years ago..

Having recently enjoyed the rigors of international travel, in one sense we are not looking forward to repeating the experience so soon, but in another we will enjoy seeing Ireland and Galway again.  I wish that they would develop Star Trek’s transporter, it would be so nice to stand in your living room and say “beam me to Galway, Scotty” and Swish, you’re there.  We are flying British Airways this time, so hopefully it will be better than our traverse via USAir. 

And now “the trip” will begin to dominate my warped little mind, crowding out day to day thoughts, and listening to the demons in the night reciting the “what if’s”; and other visions of things going wrong.  Obsessing? No, I never would do anything like that…

Anyway a fall out might be that posting the usual penetrating and insightful blogs might suffer a bit as the exponential time line approaches next Wednesday. 

Just to end this section on a happy note, I will look forward to Guinness in its native surroundings.

Food related

Kind of.  Yesterday I got the new issue of Saveur, which features “101 Classic Recipes”.  Interesting reading.. it not only includes “classic” dishes we are more or less familiar with, such as Beef Stroganoff, Senate Bean Soup, Spaghetti Carbonara, Quiche Lorraine, but there are others such as Canh Chua Cá (Vietnamese sour fish soup), Djaj Mqualli (Moroccan chicken Tagine) and other exotics.  A good reference to have on hand..

And have had further confirmation that the newly revamped McKay’s on Hollywood/Leonardtown road will indeed be a Woodburn’s like establishment.  Sandwiches on site, etc.

Oh, and back to travel related stuff, my not-so-smart phone will not work in Ireland so I decided to get another loaner and upgrade when I return (and it WON’T be an iPhone!!).  so yesterday around one o’clock, I called the helpful people at Verizon Global, and for a measly five bucks added to the shipping cost, I had it in my hand by ten thirty today..  I don’t know how they do that.  Do THEY have a transporter?

And although I don’t usually get into the “quote” game, there were a couple I saw lately that caught my eye:

Serious:  “The word LISTEN contains the same letters as the word SILENT”….Alfred Brendel

Humorous – caption of a New Yorker cartoon showing two gentlemen at the bar with beer bottles in hand:  “The other thing I love about drinking is that you can’t do it online.”

Now, back to counting out how many socks I need – do I need extras?  Sweaters? Coat and tie?  Have to be able to

DFD