Teddy does a Tour de Friends

[Teddy]

I live a pretty sheltered life and I normally dislike travelling, especially abroad, and especially outside of Europe. However, since a little while back, I've been feeling an urge which actually would make such a trip worthwhile: I want to meet my friends. And that's you! :3

So, this summer in either July or August (or both, depending on interest and when the UKitP meetup will happen), I'll set out to try and visit as many friends as I can. My initial plans limit themselves to North America due to travel costs, but if I get enough interest, I may actually make this a world trip.

And now, if anyone wants to meet and accomodate me for a few days this summer, please let me know you're interested (and any dates which will or won't work for you, if you know that already), and I'll be able to start planning. I'm really looking forward to this, and I'd hate for it to peter out to nothing because I was too late in my planning preparations. :smallsmile:

[Kneenibble]

If you wish to make a stop in the middle of silly-sounding nowhere, you are welcome here, good Bear. Good luck planning! It should be berrybuckets of fun.

[Amidus Drexel]

Depending on when my housing lease starts (and when exactly you'd be in this general area), I may be able to put you up for a bit, if you won't be too bothered by my roommates. I can promise nothing but a remote possibility at the moment, although I'll have a better idea in a few weeks (hopefully :smalleek:).

[TaiLiu]

My, my. For the cost, one should certainly hope the investment is stable.

Which brings up a query: what are you looking for in these stays?

[MoonCat]

You're definitely welcome in my home, although my actual schedule of the the summer, vis a vis where I'll be, I don't know yet.

[Taet]

I think I have worked out the local limits of having people come to visit. :smallsmile:

Stay here and you can see San Francisco in a day trip and see redwood forests in a day trip and see wine country in a day trip. And of course meet anyone else who is near. But you cannot get to Nevada in a day trip or down to Los Angeles.

San Francisco is the airport hub. Fly there. Sacramento is a smaller airport with more expensive flights most of the time.

[Cuthalion]

San Francisco would be the place to fly, for sure. I wish I could lodge you, it would be fun. Alas. :smallfrown:

But you must take pictures!

[EmeraldRose]

If you're planning to travel North America, I'd recommend making up a good itinerary. And by good, I mean plan extra travel time between places. Depending where you want to go, you will be spending the vast amount of your time in transit.

That said, there's tons of Playgrounders all around the continent. Should be a fun trip!

[Serpentine]

Oo oo oo! Pick me pick me! :biggrin:
Couches in Brisbane, Australia, at your service. I think August is particularly nice here, or at least last year's was.

[Skeppio]

If you come to Melbourne, I can hang out with you, but I don't know if I can accommodate you though. :smallfrown:

[KuReshtin]

I should be able to put you up for the weekend of the UkitP meetup if you can make it over here.

[Teddy]

If you wish to make a stop in the middle of silly-sounding nowhere, you are welcome here, good Bear. Good luck planning! It should be berrybuckets of fun.

I hope so too, and I'm looking forward to it! :3


Depending on when my housing lease starts (and when exactly you'd be in this general area), I may be able to put you up for a bit, if you won't be too bothered by my roommates. I can promise nothing but a remote possibility at the moment, although I'll have a better idea in a few weeks (hopefully :smalleek:).

Well, unless your roommate goes out of his way to bother people, I think I should be fine. :3


My, my. For the cost, one should certainly hope the investment is stable.

Which brings up a query: what are you looking for in these stays?

Well, most of all, I just want to meet and hang out with my friends. As for what to do when hanging out, I'll go for anything you think will be interesting. I'm predisposed toward activities where I won't have to interact too much with strangers, but apart from that, just about anything goes. :3


You're definitely welcome in my home, although my actual schedule of the the summer, vis a vis where I'll be, I don't know yet.

Hehehe, it'd be such a shame to come by to visit you just to learn that you've run of somewhere else for holiday... ;3

It might be a good idea to ask your parents early what holiday plans they've got, or at least when they may be planning anything (assuming that's what could occupy you) so you can get a general idea of when you may be free... :3


I think I have worked out the local limits of having people come to visit. :smallsmile:

Stay here and you can see San Francisco in a day trip and see redwood forests in a day trip and see wine country in a day trip. And of course meet anyone else who is near. But you cannot get to Nevada in a day trip or down to Los Angeles.

San Francisco is the airport hub. Fly there. Sacramento is a smaller airport with more expensive flights most of the time.

I'll keep this in mind! :3


San Francisco would be the place to fly, for sure. I wish I could lodge you, it would be fun. Alas. :smallfrown:

But you must take pictures!

Well, I have many friends living in California, it seems. Perhaps I could drop by one day and visit you while staying with one of them. :3

And I'll make sure to do! Perhaps I'll even get myself my own camera for the occation... :3


If you're planning to travel North America, I'd recommend making up a good itinerary. And by good, I mean plan extra travel time between places. Depending where you want to go, you will be spending the vast amount of your time in transit.

That said, there's tons of Playgrounders all around the continent. Should be a fun trip!

Yeah, I'm aware of this. It's pretty much the travelling salesman problem, but I'll try to find the best solution to minimise travel time (and costs). After all, it's the destinations which are my goals, not the journey. ;3


Oo oo oo! Pick me pick me! :biggrin:
Couches in Brisbane, Australia, at your service. I think August is particularly nice here, or at least last year's was.

We'll see. I really hope I can make a world trip out of this, because if I can, then I'll be really glad to visit you. :3


If you come to Melbourne, I can hang out with you, but I don't know if I can accommodate you though. :smallfrown:

And you too. Don't worry too much about the accommodations. Sorting it out myself is tricky, partially due to finances and planning time, but also because I have a bit of a hard time making contact with strangers, which makes things such as booking a hotel room harder for me. I can make exceptions if I have to, though. :3


I should be able to put you up for the weekend of the UkitP meetup if you can make it over here.

Yeah, I'm planning on making the UKitP meetup either the start or the end of my journey, so that's great! :3

[Serpentine]

We'll see. I really hope I can make a world trip out of this, because if I can, then I'll be really glad to visit you. :3
Yay :biggrin:
Well, around here, there's Australia Zoo (you know, Steve Irwin's), but unless you just want to be able to say you went I actually wouldn't recommend it - Taronga Zoo in Sydney and Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo are much better. I even enjoyed the much smaller and local Alma Park Zoo a lot more, though that's a YMMV thing.
There's Currumbin Sanctuary, where you can feed swarms of rainbow lorikeets. Various other wildlife parks around as well - you can pat kangaroos at all of them, as far as I'm aware.
There's a whole lot of really nice bushwalks around, including a cave with glowworms.
On the Gold Coast there's a whole lot of theme parks: Dreamworld, Wet'n'Wild, Seaworld, Movie World, etc. There's also a Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum and Dracula's Cabaret Theatre, and stuff. And Brisbane has a whole lot of museums and nice cafes and restaurants and things.

...and me <.<

[MoonCat]

Hehehe, it'd be such a shame to come by to visit you just to learn that you've run of somewhere else for holiday... ;3

It might be a good idea to ask your parents early what holiday plans they've got, or at least when they may be planning anything (assuming that's what could occupy you) so you can get a general idea of when you may be free... :3

It's not like they know what their plans are yet either. So fa,r all that we have planned for the summer is something I'm not going on, I think, so it'll just be simpler if you work out your schedule first, since that'll be harder to alter.

[Teddy]

Yay :biggrin:
Well, around here, there's Australia Zoo (you know, Steve Irwin's), but unless you just want to be able to say you went I actually wouldn't recommend it - Taronga Zoo in Sydney and Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo are much better. I even enjoyed the much smaller and local Alma Park Zoo a lot more, though that's a YMMV thing.
There's Currumbin Sanctuary, where you can feed swarms of rainbow lorikeets. Various other wildlife parks around as well - you can pat kangaroos at all of them, as far as I'm aware.
There's a whole lot of really nice bushwalks around, including a cave with glowworms.
On the Gold Coast there's a whole lot of theme parks: Dreamworld, Wet'n'Wild, Seaworld, Movie World, etc. There's also a Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum and Dracula's Cabaret Theatre, and stuff. And Brisbane has a whole lot of museums and nice cafes and restaurants and things.

...and me <.<

Sounds great, all of it! Especially that last line! ;3


It's not like they know what their plans are yet either. So fa,r all that we have planned for the summer is something I'm not going on, I think, so it'll just be simpler if you work out your schedule first, since that'll be harder to alter.

Yeah, I'll try to do that as soon as I know when the UKitP meetup will be held. :3

[Somensjev]

if you come to the Newcastle/hunter valley area in Australia you can visit me, but i don't know if i can house you, and if i can it'd only be a day or two at the most

[Asta Kask]

If you come to Göteborg - pearl of the West Coast - you can sleep on the couch. Be prepared for cats.

[FinnLassie]

Meow!

We must find out what my summer plan is. Because right now it looks like a hurricane. :smallannoyed: If I have time in the summer, I might pop to Sweden for funs to see you. :smallsmile:

[Asta Kask]

If that was for me, then you're welcome. Although if you both come here at once, then it's the floor for one of you.

[DraPrime]

I'd be happy to show you around Boston if you were to come. It's only hours away from New York by car. Unfortunately I can't provide a place for you to stay, but Boston is a big enough city that you can easily find a place to stay.

[Teddy]

if you come to the Newcastle/hunter valley area in Australia you can visit me, but i don't know if i can house you, and if i can it'd only be a day or two at the most

One or two days is fine for me. I can sleep on a mattress if that's all what's given, and otherwise take directions to a cheap hotel in the area. :3


If you come to Göteborg - pearl of the West Coast - you can sleep on the couch. Be prepared for cats.

Cats are fine, I like cats! :3


Meow!

We must find out what my summer plan is. Because right now it looks like a hurricane. :smallannoyed: If I have time in the summer, I might pop to Sweden for funs to see you. :smallsmile:

If this was directed toward me or us, I'll be happy to have you come by for as long as you don't try to visit me when I'm out of the country... ;3


I'd be happy to show you around Boston if you were to come. It's only hours away from New York by car. Unfortunately I can't provide a place for you to stay, but Boston is a big enough city that you can easily find a place to stay.

Well, as I said, a cheap hotel can be good enough, it just needs some more budgeting... :3

[FinnLassie]

If this was directed toward me or us, I'll be happy to have you come by for as long as you don't try to visit me when I'm out of the country... ;3

I sometimes mistake myself as royalty, and talk of myself in plural form. Herpidy derpidy. :smalltongue:

Hehehe, that'd be a silly mistake to do. I'll be sure to ask when you're home.

[Teddy]

I sometimes mistake myself as royalty, and talk of myself in plural form. Herpidy derpidy. :smalltongue:

Well of course! What did you think, that there'd be any other Swedes around in here for me to talk about? :smallwink::smalltongue:


Hehehe, that'd be a silly mistake to do. I'll be sure to ask when you're home.

Yay! :3

[DraPrime]

Well, as I said, a cheap hotel can be good enough, it just needs some more budgeting... :3

Well, if Boston isn't convenient, do at least try to make to New York. I'm sure there's multiple playgrounders there, and no visit to this country is complete without New York. It's close enough that I can try to make it and meet you and any other people converging there.

That being said, as a man of Massachusetts I am obligated to tell you that New York is lame and Boston is better and that you should totally see it. :smalltongue:

[Teddy]

Well, if Boston isn't convenient, do at least try to make to New York. I'm sure there's multiple playgrounders there, and no visit to this country is complete without New York. It's close enough that I can try to make it and meet you and any other people converging there.

That being said, as a man of Massachusetts I am obligated to tell you that New York is lame and Boston is better and that you should totally see it. :smalltongue:

Well, I've actually been to New York once a number of years ago, and, well, I can't say I liked it. It was too much new, too lound and too many impressions. I generally tend to like smaller, more quiet places where I can limit the number of new impressions better, although I'll make an exception for this trip if that's what on the table. I generally tend to handle it better if I'm with someone I trust knows what she or he is doing... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Dimonite]

I'd certainly be glad to have you if you were coming through Minnesota!

(and by "I" I mean "my family," since I live with them during the summer.) :smalltongue:

[nyjastul69]

If you are near Rhode Island I can host you for a few days if you don't mind sleeping on a couch. RI is between NY and Boston, much closer to Boston though. There are surprisingly interesting things in RI. Especially if you like H.P. Lovecraft, I know a few places he frequented, lived, and wrote about.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

If you're near Philadelphia, you've got a place to stay! :smallsmile:

[Teddy]

Hmm, I should probably make a map and start filling in people's locations. I feel we're getting to the stage when it's hard to keep people's locations in the head, and at the same time worthwhile to start plotting out a preliminary travel route... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[enderlord99]

Highly-situational travel advice: If someone in the middle-east tries to offer you a hat, and uses broken Swedish, they probably have a crush on you.

[Haluesen]

Hey Teddy, if you make it into California you can definitely come up here. My grandma and I certainly wouldn't mind giving you a place to stay. :smallsmile: That said I'm a little bit out of the way as far as California cities go, but if you can make it I'll be glad to show you around! I'd prefer to send the info for where I am in PM if such is possible, since I still have internet paranoia issues. :smalltongue: Either way I hope you have fun on this trip of yours, and of course I hope that it works out well!

[Teddy]

Hey Teddy, if you make it into California you can definitely come up here. My grandma and I certainly wouldn't mind giving you a place to stay. :smallsmile: That said I'm a little bit out of the way as far as California cities go, but if you can make it I'll be glad to show you around! I'd prefer to send the info for where I am in PM if such is possible, since I still have internet paranoia issues. :smalltongue: Either way I hope you have fun on this trip of yours, and of course I hope that it works out well!

You're still closer than some of the skips I have to make to get to California, and I'll gladly visit you on my trip! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

And yes, a PM with your town would be nice so I can put you down on my map. In fact, this extends to everyone who hasn't written their location here or under their avatar (or otherwise spelled it out for me). Please send me a PM with your location so I can put it on my planning map! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Amidus Drexel]

In fact, this extends to everyone who hasn't written their location here or under their avatar (or otherwise spelled it out for me). Please send me a PM with your location so I can put it on my planning map! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Location incoming...

So, my housing situation currently stands at most likely, although whether or not I'll actually be here to offer you space is another thing entirely. The later in August (up until my classes start, anyway), the more likely I'll be in town and not working.

[Teddy]

Now back from my Easter holiday, it's time for me to actually work out a solid schedule for this trip. Due to the many locations, this trip is kind of tricky to plan for on my own and I intend to contact a professional on a travel agency about this to help me out (they provide this service). First, however, I need to know for about how long I'll be able to stay in each place. I'm probably going to arrive on the east coast of the US on Tuesday the 8th or Wednesday the 9th in the second week of July, and won't have to go home until the end of August, so I've got pretty much one and a half month to go wild and crazy with. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

So, now I need you to tell me how many days you think it'll be fun or appropriate to have me around. Anything between 1 to 3 full days (I'm not counting travel days due to the unpredictability of flight times) sounds like it should be normal to me, but if you think you can entertain me for long enough, feel free to say forever (even though I'll probably cut it short of that to fit it into my schedule http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png).

Also, if there's anyone on the east coast who won't be able to meet me in the second week of July, please tell me so I can account for it in my schedule (in fact, this extends to anyone who has a time which won't work). http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Also also, if anyone of you only can house me for one night, be sure to tell so as well, since that makes the flight times a little more important (wouldn't want to land late in the evening and have to take off again early morning).

Also also also, if any of you people who live relatively close together are interested in making a sort of mini-meetup of this, I'm happily open to the idea. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

And finally, if there's anyone more who's interested in having me over, it's not too late to chime in on interest yet! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[FinnLassie]

so I've got pretty much one and a half month to go wild and crazy with. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png


Bwahah, I just imagined you running shirtless on the streets shouting "MARDI GRAAAAAAS!!!". :smallamused:

I take it your travels start from the UKitp meet up? :smallsmile:

[Asta Kask]

Are you going to visit the wbest coast?

[Teddy]

Bwahah, I just imagined you running shirtless on the streets shouting "MARDI GRAAAAAAS!!!". :smallamused:

http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png

But the Fat Tuesday is already well into the past! I mean, even the whole semla season is over now... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png


I take it your travels start from the UKitp meet up? :smallsmile:

Yes! I'll probably do some sillying about in the London-Oxford area before and after it as well, but yes! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


Are you going to visit the wbest coast?

We'll see, it might mess a bit with my plans if I end up going with Star Alliance (i.e. around the world), since I think they force you to finish where you started, but otherwise I might drop by before the UKitP meetup at the very start of July. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Should you come near Philadelphia, I'm definitely willing to meet up, and pretty much golden on you crashing if you'd like. I just have to run it by my new roommate (I'm moving in 2 weeks).

I do work weekdays, till 3PM EST, so we'd have to figure things out, but yeah. Keep me in the loop!

[Teddy]

Should you come near Philadelphia, I'm definitely willing to meet up, and pretty much golden on you crashing if you'd like. I just have to run it by my new roommate (I'm moving in 2 weeks).

I do work weekdays, till 3PM EST, so we'd have to figure things out, but yeah. Keep me in the loop!

Of course! And I'll try to see if I can write you down on a weekend, then! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

And make sure you chime back in when you've asked your roommate! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


In other news, I've now aquired the certificate needed to waive the visa requirements for entering the US (Canada doesn't require one from me to start with), and pinned down where to get a visa for Australia if I decide to go all the way around. Just so you know I'm actually working on this! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[factotum]

Yes! I'll probably do some sillying about in the London-Oxford area before and after it as well, but yes! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


You know the meetup's in Glasgow, 350 miles from Oxford, right? :smallwink:

[Teddy]

You know the meetup's in Glasgow, 350 miles from Oxford, right? :smallwink:

Yes, I know. This is all to meet up with another person.

[Kneenibble]

Dear Teddiferousness -- should your peregrinations extend to these Prairies, you are welcome to visit for a few days as your schedule allows. The only injunction is this: that I, myself, shall be sillying around New France in Julii until the 18th or 19th. Any time after I return is appropriate, and then the garden will be bustling with crunchables and flowers and bees.

I do not envy the logistical project before you, but I do envy the adventures that will spring from it. Happy planning.

[Haluesen]

Hey Teddy, should you be able to make it over to the west coast my grandma and I have no problem with you staying here for a bit. :smalltongue: I'd probably advise just 1 or 2 days though, since you have a lot of travelling I would suspect. Plus I do not know if there is enough in my area to show for 3 days of entertaining. :smallbiggrin: I hope your trip is very fun either way though!

[Teddy]

Hey Teddy, should you be able to make it over to the west coast my grandma and I have no problem with you staying here for a bit. :smalltongue: I'd probably advise just 1 or 2 days though, since you have a lot of travelling I would suspect. Plus I do not know if there is enough in my area to show for 3 days of entertaining. :smallbiggrin: I hope your trip is very fun either way though!

Hey! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Don't worry about my schedule, I won't risk to plan for longer than alotted! http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

I do have some news, though! I did a preliminary check through Star Alliance's booking system, and though it was a bit tricky to fit the trip through their booking system (they have a restriction on the maximum number of flights), I found out that it'll be a lot more affordable than I'd expected. Once this weekend has passed, I'll contact a travel agency and hear what support they can give me with the planning, and if they've can work through Star Alliance as well... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Comrade]

This is a slightly unrelated little aside, but I think it really says a lot (of good things) about the GiantitP community that things like this are possible :smallbiggrin:

[Teddy]

So, I sent out a bunch of PMs to the involved, so I can put up a true schedule and actually make this thing happen... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


This is a slightly unrelated little aside, but I think it really says a lot (of good things) about the GiantitP community that things like this are possible :smallbiggrin:

Agreed! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

[LaZodiac]

So, I sent out a bunch of PMs to the involved, so I can put up a true schedule and actually make this thing happen... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Agreed! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

Hope you have fun! Sorry I couldn't be part of this. You best keep good care of Teddy, other people! He's my friend :smalltongue:

[KuReshtin]

This is a slightly unrelated little aside, but I think it really says a lot (of good things) about the GiantitP community that things like this are possible :smallbiggrin:

Actually, trips like these have happened for ages, where people couch surf their way through foreign lands based on online communities.
I know I did just that back in 1998, where I did a tour of the south of the US, meeting online friends and hanging out. Was very excellent.

That's not to take anything away from the GitP community, though. Just saying that it's not exclusive to this community.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Teddy, I don't mind you posting the schedule here. I've got a few numbers to crunch with regard to your PM. I won't be able to take any time off due to the wedding in October, but I do have weekends off, so we could potentially line things up that way.

[Asta Kask]

Hope you have fun! Sorry I couldn't be part of this. You best keep good care of Teddy, other people! He's my friend :smalltongue:

Will you pay a ransom for him?

[Teddy]

Teddy, I don't mind you posting the schedule here. I've got a few numbers to crunch with regard to your PM. I won't be able to take any time off due to the wedding in October, but I do have weekends off, so we could potentially line things up that way.

Don't worry, I'm keeping this in mind and will make sure to time a weekend. Would staying the entire weekend, including Friday and Sunday nights be okay with you?

Now I'm just waiting for two more PMs before I can set my schedule... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[LaZodiac]

Will you pay a ransom for him?

Unfortunately no because that'd mean he'd have to come up here to stay with me which, as said, I cannot doooo :<

[Asta Kask]

Unfortunately no because that'd mean he'd have to come up here to stay with me which, as said, I cannot doooo :<

I'll mail him to you.

[LaZodiac]

I'll mail him to you.

I think you missunderstand. Even if you did that I'd have to send him back :smallbiggrin:

[Asta Kask]

What if I just mail his head?

[FinnLassie]

What if I just mail his head?

This is sounding very grim. Very grim indeed.

[Amidus Drexel]

What if I just mail his head?

I don't think she's got the diamonds on hand for that - and even if she did, you'd be down an imp. :smallamused:

[Asta Kask]

This is sounding very grim. Very grim indeed.

I'll call it Heady Teddy. See, much jollier!!!

[LaZodiac]

What if I just mail his head?

Hahaha, no! Friend's don't kill friends :smallbiggrin:

[Cuthalion]

Hahaha, no! Friend's don't kill friends :smallbiggrin:

Oh man, I've been doing it wrong all these years? :smalleek:

[KuReshtin]

Hahaha, no! Friend's don't kill friends :smallbiggrin:

How about we just send a thumb, or a toe, or something? You know. Something for you to keep as a memento..

[LaZodiac]

How about we just send a thumb, or a toe, or something? You know. Something for you to keep as a memento..

No thanks :smallamused:

But yeah, hope you have fun on your across the world trip Teddy!

[Kneenibble]

I feel anxious that I'm going to be a boring host and ruin the trip. Does anybody who has travelled internationally among Internet friends in this manner have any advice about what made their time fun?

[Serpentine]

I feel anxious that I'm going to be a boring host and ruin the trip. Does anybody who has travelled internationally among Internet friends in this manner have any advice about what made their time fun?You rang?
Uh...
I don't know :S
Where's Teddy coming from? I know just being in an entirely different country was entertaining in itself, everything was so new and weird. I went for a lot of walks and visited local landmarks - castles and the like - but I'm not sure whether Teddy's into that sort of thing. But honestly, a huge part of what made the trip really great was just hanging out with shiny new friends, playing card games and stuff.

(shout out to KuReshtin, Qwaz, Thufir, Tasroth, Totally Guy, --Lime-- and everyone else. I miss you guys!)

[Asta Kask]

There's also Winston-watching.

[Kneenibble]

You rang?
Uh...
I don't know :S
Where's Teddy coming from? I know just being in an entirely different country was entertaining in itself, everything was so new and weird. I went for a lot of walks and visited local landmarks - castles and the like - but I'm not sure whether Teddy's into that sort of thing. But honestly, a huge part of what made the trip really great was just hanging out with shiny new friends, playing card games and stuff.

(shout out to KuReshtin, Qwaz, Thufir, Tasroth, Totally Guy, --Lime-- and everyone else. I miss you guys!)

I hoped you might be around to answer. That is helpful, thanks. Friends are the point.



There's also Winston-watching.

By then, there should also be Winston-cuddling and -being-nibbled-by!

[Cuthalion]

By then, there should also be Winston-cuddling and -being-nibbled-by!

Awwww I wish I could budgiesit Winston. :smallfrown:

[Asta Kask]

Do budgies migrate? From Canada to California, I mean.

[Kneenibble]

Budgies migrate to California in mid-Smarch to avoid the lousy weather. I'll tag Winston so Couth Alien can find him.

[LaZodiac]

Also, be sure to take pictures!

[SarahV]

I feel anxious that I'm going to be a boring host and ruin the trip. Does anybody who has travelled internationally among Internet friends in this manner have any advice about what made their time fun?

I can think of 5 internet friends who I've visited at home and pretty much all of them involved a party with music, drinking, friends, and dinner (restaurant or home-cooked). We had a blast every time. It's really about the people; as long as there's a friendly atmosphere for people to get to know each other it will be great. When you visit a foreign country the little things are interesting - local customs, accents and dialect, food, music, etc. You don't need to try really hard to make things interesting.

When someone from abroad came to stay with me - it was somewhat unplanned, he'd been planning to visit someone else and they flaked out on him by not answering phone/e-mail/doorbell for two days when he showed up ( :smallfurious: what a horrible thing to do to someone!) so I told him to hop on a train and come see me instead. International visitor with 3 hours notice, woo-hoo! And in our rush I realized we hadn't exchanged photos at any point, or planned to meet at any particular spot, so I had to go to the train station and look for someone who looked as though they might be Danish. (Protip: there are better ways to go about this.)

We ended up renting a car and road-tripping for over 8,000 miles with nothing but a book of road maps so I could give him a proper tour of the U.S. :smallcool:

[Teddy]

I feel anxious that I'm going to be a boring host and ruin the trip. Does anybody who has travelled internationally among Internet friends in this manner have any advice about what made their time fun?

You rang?
Uh...
I don't know :S
Where's Teddy coming from? I know just being in an entirely different country was entertaining in itself, everything was so new and weird. I went for a lot of walks and visited local landmarks - castles and the like - but I'm not sure whether Teddy's into that sort of thing. But honestly, a huge part of what made the trip really great was just hanging out with shiny new friends, playing card games and stuff.

(shout out to KuReshtin, Qwaz, Thufir, Tasroth, Totally Guy, --Lime-- and everyone else. I miss you guys!)

You know, I think the answer is this! I'm actually very modest when it comes to activities, there's no actual need to impress me to entertain me. When I was a kid, I liked to visit friends just to just hang over their shoulders when they were playing computer games, just to explain what I mean. What I look the most forward to with this entire trip is just hanging out with my friends, even if it means spending a full day sitting in your garden and the next doing nothing but walking round your neighbourhood... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


By then, there should also be Winston-cuddling and -being-nibbled-by!

Yay! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png


Also, be sure to take pictures!

I will! I think I'll try to by myself a camera before I go. That, and a new computer... http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png


I can think of 5 internet friends who I've visited at home and pretty much all of them involved a party with music, drinking, friends, and dinner (restaurant or home-cooked). We had a blast every time. It's really about the people; as long as there's a friendly atmosphere for people to get to know each other it will be great. When you visit a foreign country the little things are interesting - local customs, accents and dialect, food, music, etc. You don't need to try really hard to make things interesting.

When someone from abroad came to stay with me - it was somewhat unplanned, he'd been planning to visit someone else and they flaked out on him by not answering phone/e-mail/doorbell for two days when he showed up ( :smallfurious: what a horrible thing to do to someone!) so I told him to hop on a train and come see me instead. International visitor with 3 hours notice, woo-hoo! And in our rush I realized we hadn't exchanged photos at any point, or planned to meet at any particular spot, so I had to go to the train station and look for someone who looked as though they might be Danish. (Protip: there are better ways to go about this.)

We ended up renting a car and road-tripping for over 8,000 miles with nothing but a book of road maps so I could give him a proper tour of the U.S. :smallcool:

That's a pretty amusing story, and good to hear it worked out! I agree about the initial friend, it's horrible to invite someone to a foreign country and then refusing to open the door when he or she arrives...

[Serpentine]

Well, at least if nothing else a wander around my area should find lots of brush turkeys, brushtailed possums and flying foxes.

[Asta Kask]

Well, at least if nothing else a wander around my area should find lots of brush turkeys, brushtailed possums and flying foxes.

Any drop bears?

[Serpentine]

Nah, the 'roo-mounted patrols keep them out of the cities. Out in the bush is another matter.

[Haluesen]

Well I admit that information helps me plan a lot better. :smallbiggrin: There isn't a huge ton to do around where I live, though I think it would be fun to show you around the area. And I think I have enough at home as well to be entertaining company. I was worried about what exactly you might be liking to do Teddy, so this helps things.

[Teddy]

Well I admit that information helps me plan a lot better. :smallbiggrin: There isn't a huge ton to do around where I live, though I think it would be fun to show you around the area. And I think I have enough at home as well to be entertaining company. I was worried about what exactly you might be liking to do Teddy, so this helps things.

Hehehe, I should probably have said this all the way from the beginning, shouldn't I... http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png

On that note, if anyone feel they want another day of just hanging out but didn't ask due to my poorly communicated expectations, feel free to say so! I'm still waiting for an answer to two of my PMs, so don't feel you're upsetting my planning process! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Haluesen]

Hehehe, I should probably have said this all the way from the beginning, shouldn't I... http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png

On that note, if anyone feel they want another day of just hanging out but didn't ask due to my poorly communicated expectations, feel free to say so! I'm still waiting for an answer to two of my PMs, so don't feel you're upsetting my planning process! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Well if it fits your time frame I think it would be wonderful to have you over for 3 days. :smallsmile: We have the room and food for it over here. And I can think of some ways to be entertaining over here in that time. More if I can save up some money, which is what I'm already trying. It's no problem here, again depending on how your plans go.

[Kneenibble]

My mind whirled with a jumble of possible futures at first, all of them more anxious and disappointing than the last. But I read the replies to my concern here; I smelled oudh, and a quill of cassia; I rubbed a French handkerchief; I drank a mouthful of Chartreuse. I now feel fortified and capable of providing an enjoyable experience, knowing that it only need be chill.

[MoonCat]

<flicks Teddy>

Am I one of the PMs you need? Because I'm totally spacing that at the moment, if that's the case.

[Asta Kask]

<flicks Teddy>

Am I one of the PMs you need? Because I'm totally spacing that at the moment, if that's the case.

You are not the PM he deserves but the one he needs.

[Teddy]

<flicks Teddy>

Am I one of the PMs you need? Because I'm totally spacing that at the moment, if that's the case.

Don't worry, I would mail you if that was the case. No, right now I'm just in need of one PM to wrap this up and set a schedule, but the recipient seems to have been a little preoccupied or otherwise out of it as of lately, so for now it's excused... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Teddy]

I've finally set two possible flight schedules, but before I go ahead and book any flights, I want a last vote on which one you people prefer. You may notice that I've done a few slight modifications, so if anything doesn't work for anyone, be sure to say so! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png



Name
Date of Arrival
Date of Departure


Asta Kask
1 July
3 July


CurlyKitGirl
3 July
4 July


UKitP
4 July
7 July


CurlyKitGirl
7 July
9 July


DraPrime
9 July
11 July


TheWombatOfDoom
11 July
14 July


Dimonite
14 July
19 July


Kneenibble
19 July
22 July


MoonCat
22 July
26 July


Haluesen
26 July
30 July


Skeppio
1 August
2 August


Serpentine
2 August
6 August


chaotic stupid
6 August
7 August





Name
Date of Arrival
Date of Departure


Asta Kask
1 July
3 July


CurlyKitGirl
3 July
4 July


UKitP
4 July
7 July


CurlyKitGirl
7 July
8 July


chaotic stupid
10 July
11 July


Serpentine
11 July
15 July


Skeppio
15 July
16 July


Haluesen
16 July
20 July


MoonCat
20 July
24 July


Kneenibble
24 July
27 July


Dimonite
29 July
1 August


TheWombatOfDoom
1 August
4 August


DraPrime
4 August
5 August



Now, you may notice that the second table doesn't add up. Since Wombat only is free on the weekends, I've got two more days I need to spread out among my friends. So, if anyone before Wombat on the second table wants an extra day over those I've assigned, just ask! And this extends to you who can't house me yourselves, too (and for fairness sake, you may request an additional day on the first alternative as well if you want to). http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Also, Curly, you may notice I gave you (and DP) one more day on the first table. If you don't think this will work out for you, just say so and I'll ship it across the pond instead... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Also, Asta, I discovered that I don't actually have to start and end in the same city, just the same country, so I added you to the list if you're still up to it! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Lord Shardok]

Hey Teddy. I'm actually IRL friends with Haluesen, so I would be happy to come chill with you two when the time comes. Two weeks notice would be nice, if possible, so that I could request the time off work. Like Hal said, there's not much to do up here, but I know of at least a few cool things if you're into outdoors type stuff. :smallsmile:

[Somensjev]

i think for me 'go east' would be better, since you'd be coming here in the middle of my holidays, but i can deal with either alternative :smallsmile:

[Teddy]

Hey Teddy. I'm actually IRL friends with Haluesen, so I would be happy to come chill with you two when the time comes. Two weeks notice would be nice, if possible, so that I could request the time off work. Like Hal said, there's not much to do up here, but I know of at least a few cool things if you're into outdoors type stuff. :smallsmile:

Well, I will be staying with Hal for three full days so there'll definitely be chances to hang out then. But sure, I have those two nights I have to spend on the second schedule and can probably do the same to the first unless the Australians complain if you want to house me as well... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

(Others may still offer to house me for those nights. If there's something I've learned, then it is that I need to have as many back-up alternatives as possible to account for unexpected circumstances...)

[Haluesen]

I don't know about planning for everyone else, but two of my family members have birthdays around either time that you will be here. For me going west works best because I can spend that time with my family and then meet you while I am in the city. The other ways does work, I suppose west just ends up more convenient. :smallsmile:

And what Shardok says is true, you'll be able to see him too. :smallbiggrin: With 3 days there should be time.

[Teddy]

I don't know about planning for everyone else, but two of my family members have birthdays around either time that you will be here. For me going west works best because I can spend that time with my family and then meet you while I am in the city. The other ways does work, I suppose west just ends up more convenient. :smallsmile:

And what Shardok says is true, you'll be able to see him too. :smallbiggrin: With 3 days there should be time.

Well, if it works for both of you, perhaps I can stay with Shardok the day you're celebrating your family members... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


Also, to the rest of you, even if you don't have any opinion on which direction to chose, please say so so that I know that you have seen this and won't have to wait unneccesarily long for an answer. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Asta Kask]

Also, Asta, I discovered that I don't actually have to start and end in the same city, just the same country, so I added you to the list if you're still up to it! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Great, I will inform the cats. They are, after all, masters of the house. And I don't care which way you go.

[MoonCat]

Teddy, if you go east, I can easily take you on for another day, which'll give us some more time to explore. Either way works for me though. (A warning, the 25th is my dad's birthday, and while we 'd be totally happy to have you there, if that would make you feel awkward, you should keep that in mind.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Teddy, if you go east, I can easily take you on for another day, which'll give us some more time to explore. Either way works for me though. (A warning, the 25th is my dad's birthday, and while we 'd be totally happy to have you there, if that would make you feel awkward, you should keep that in mind.

My birthday is also the 25th! :smallsmile:

[Asta Kask]

Are you MoonCat's Dad? :smallconfused:

[Serpentine]

I think the weather in Brisbane is nicer in August. No opinions otherwise.

[Asta Kask]

Teddy, if you're coming down in two weeks then the time has come for us to talk of many things. PM me.

[Teddy]

Teddy, if you're coming down in two weeks then the time has come for us to talk of many things. PM me.

Sorry, but I'm kind of waiting for a few more responses (especially one, and that person has been contacted) before I pick my travel route, and I won't book any train tickets before I've picked my route, so I can't really answer questions about when I'll arrive yet. Again, sorry.

If nothing happens in the next two or so days, I'm going to pick one path and book it according to schedule whether it works with people or not, though. Then I'll be able to tell, but I'll also have to depend on the hope that people haven't run into unexpected circumstances rendering them unavailable...

EDIT:
Due to this friday being Midsummer Eve, I've decided to book the tickets tomorrow. In other words, this is a last call to request additional days or affect the picking process.

[Teddy]

So, after a little bit of trouble with the online booking system, I finally got my tickets booked yesterday (it involved an international call, so I was a little too exhausted to write about it directly afterwards). Due to one flight running out, I had to prolong my stay in Australia by one day, so if anyone of my mates down under wants to claim it, just ask! As I said earlier, I'm not demanding very much, so don't worry too much about not finding any activities for me. The hanging out is what I look the most forward to! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png



Name
Date of Arrival
Arrival Information
Date of Departure
Departure Information


Asta Kask
1 July
Will arrive by train
3 July
Flight departing 16:35.


CurlyKitGirl
3 July
Flight arriving 17:40.
4 July
Transportation within UK not yet booked. Transportation and hotel stay should probably be coordinated.


UKitP
4 July
Transportation within UK not yet booked.
7 July
Transportation within UK not yet booked.


CurlyKitGirl
7 July
Transportation within UK not yet booked. Transportation and hotel stay should probably be coordinated.
9 July
Flight departing 12:05.


DraPrime
9 July
Flight arriving 15:10 at Newark Airport, NY. Has not yet booked any transportation from it.
11 July



TheWombatOfDoom
11 July
Will probably arrive by train from Boston. Has not booked yet.
14 July
Flight departs from Newark 17:08. Has not yet booked any transportation to it.


Dimonite
14 July
Flight arrives to Minneapolis 19:12. Has not yet booked any transportation from it.
19 July
Flight departs from Minneapolis 15:35. Has not yet booked any transportation to it.


Kneenibble
19 July
Flight arrives 20:01.
22 July
Flight departs 13:00.


MoonCat
22 July
Flight arrives 17:39.
27 July
Flight departs 11:45.


Haluesen
27 July
Flight arrives to Bakersfield 17:56.
31 July
Flight departs from Bakersfield 19:00.


Skeppio
2 August
Flight arrives 09:45. Hotel not yet booked, if you have any tips or ideas of what locations I should strive to stay close to, please tell.
3 August
Transportation within Australia not yet booked.


Serpentine
3 August
Transportation within Australia not yet booked.
7 August
Transportation within Australia not yet booked.


chaotic stupid
8 August
Transportation within Australia not yet booked. Date disparity caused by one excess stay date in need of allocation. Hotel not yet booked, if you have any tips or ideas of what locations I should strive to stay close to, please tell.
9 August
Flight departs from Sydney at 06:40. Has not yet booked any transportation to it.



(The table will become more readable once the formatting bug has been fixed, and I may do some additional formatting to make the colums take up a more sensical amount of space. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png)

My current priorities lie in making a packing list, transfering money from my savings account and booking the transportations and stay at the first steps of the Tour, but feel free to contact me about anything. My inbox is a little full, but I'll start clearing it soon... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Serpentine]

If Chaotic Stupid's in Sydney, I think it might be worth allocating your spare day there if you can.
If you're coming up from Melbourne to Brisbane you'll probably be wanting to fly (unless you're prepared for a loooooooong train trip). A heads up, though: getting home from the airport is pure bastardry. With luck I'll find someone to give us a lift.

[Somensjev]

If Chaotic Stupid's in Sydney, I think it might be worth allocating your spare day there if you can.
If you're coming up from Melbourne to Brisbane you'll probably be wanting to fly (unless you're prepared for a loooooooong train trip). A heads up, though: getting home from the airport is pure bastardry. With luck I'll find someone to give us a lift.

i live in newcastle, about 2 hours from sydney

[KuReshtin]

Teddy! Tedy! Can you do me a favour for when you get to Scotland?
Can you bring a bag or two of Turkisk Peppar? Only if you've got space for it, which I understand will be at a premium since you'll be on a round the world trip and all, but still. Thought I'd ask.

Thanks.

[Teddy]

Teddy! Tedy! Can you do me a favour for when you get to Scotland?
Can you bring a bag or two of Turkisk Peppar? Only if you've got space for it, which I understand will be at a premium since you'll be on a round the world trip and all, but still. Thought I'd ask.

Thanks.

I'll look into it! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

[Asta Kask]

Here's how you'll recognize Teddy.

http://livochlycka.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/utvikn1.jpg

(I'm watching the snail while he's gone, because he can't bring it into Australia)

[Kneenibble]

That must be from something, but to me it looks like a cross between a teddy and a Gatherer from Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I can't imagine Teddifer being that creepy.


Winston has OK'd your schedule, Teddifer. You are cleared to land. Pray that you land more clearly than he, which usually happens after colliding with a window.

[Haluesen]

So, after a little bit of trouble with the online booking system, I finally got my tickets booked yesterday (it involved an international call, so I was a little too exhausted to write about it directly afterwards). Due to one flight running out, I had to prolong my stay in Australia by one day, so if anyone of my mates down under wants to claim it, just ask! As I said earlier, I'm not demanding very much, so don't worry too much about not finding any activities for me. The hanging out is what I look the most forward to! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png



Name
Date of Arrival
Arrival Information
Date of Departure
Departure Information


Asta Kask
1 July
Will arrive by train
3 July
Flight departing 16:35.


CurlyKitGirl
3 July
Flight arriving 17:40.
4 July
Transportation within UK not yet booked. Transportation and hotel stay should probably be coordinated.


UKitP
4 July
Transportation within UK not yet booked.
7 July
Transportation within UK not yet booked.


CurlyKitGirl
7 July
Transportation within UK not yet booked. Transportation and hotel stay should probably be coordinated.
9 July
Flight departing 12:05.


DraPrime
9 July
Flight arriving 15:10 at Newark Airport, NY. Has not yet booked any transportation from it.
11 July



TheWombatOfDoom
11 July
Will probably arrive by train from Boston. Has not booked yet.
14 July
Flight departs from Newark 17:08. Has not yet booked any transportation to it.


Dimonite
14 July
Flight arrives to Minneapolis 19:12. Has not yet booked any transportation from it.
19 July
Flight departs from Minneapolis 15:35. Has not yet booked any transportation to it.


Kneenibble
19 July
Flight arrives 20:01.
22 July
Flight departs 13:00.


MoonCat
22 July
Flight arrives 17:39.
27 July
Flight departs 11:45.


Haluesen
27 July
Flight arrives to Bakersfield 17:56.
31 July
Flight departs from Bakersfield 19:00.


Skeppio
2 August
Flight arrives 09:45. Hotel not yet booked, if you have any tips or ideas of what locations I should strive to stay close to, please tell.
3 August
Transportation within Australia not yet booked.


Serpentine
3 August
Transportation within Australia not yet booked.
7 August
Transportation within Australia not yet booked.


chaotic stupid
8 August
Transportation within Australia not yet booked. Date disparity caused by one excess stay date in need of allocation. Hotel not yet booked, if you have any tips or ideas of what locations I should strive to stay close to, please tell.
9 August
Flight departs from Sydney at 06:40. Has not yet booked any transportation to it.



(The table will become more readable once the formatting bug has been fixed, and I may do some additional formatting to make the colums take up a more sensical amount of space. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png)

My current priorities lie in making a packing list, transfering money from my savings account and booking the transportations and stay at the first steps of the Tour, but feel free to contact me about anything. My inbox is a little full, but I'll start clearing it soon... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Very well Teddy, I shall keep these dates in mind. I hope you have much fun all over the world! :smallbiggrin:

[Asta Kask]

That must be from something, but to me it looks like a cross between a teddy and a Gatherer from Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I can't imagine Teddifer being that creepy.

Actually it's from an old Swedish children TV show. Say hello to "Björne".

[enderlord99]

Actually it's from an old Swedish children TV show. Say hello to "Björne".

...That's from a children's show?!:smalleek:

[KuReshtin]

...That's from a children's show?!:smalleek:

That's tame compared to some of the children's shows we've had in Sweden throughout the years.
We've had kid's shows about a boy who didn't want to eat his pancake for lunch, and instead started fantasizing about things and people who might live in and on the pancake, including 'The Big Potato' (pic spoilered due to possible mental scarring).
http://hd.se/multimedia/dynamic/00504/sy1c8afd_504990v530x800.jpg

The same guy who did that also had another series about a sock and his sister, living in a drawer, called 'Lillstrumpa och Syster Yster' ('Little Sock and Sister Skittish').

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tJTN7jufOBA/S77kZC5th2I/AAAAAAAAALc/HBlfeIjv8xU/s400/srumpa.jpg

[Gnomvid]

Yes stay far away from Vilse i pannkakan (Lost in the pancake) big potato used to scare the crap out of me but in my defense I was only little then.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw95KIRAwrg

[Asta Kask]

...That's from a children's show?!:smalleek:

We live in a harsh climate. Teaching our kids to endure horrors is our only hope for survival.

[DraPrime]

...That's from a children's show?!:smalleek:

Scandinavia is a freaky place.

[factotum]

Didn't see what was so scary about it, myself...but then, I grew up watching children's TV which was populated by talking skulls, bearded dungeon masters and jester ghosts. (That's Trapdoor, Knightmare and Rentaghost, in case anyone was wondering... :smallbiggrin:).

[Teddy]

I think most can agree that children's shows used to be pretty weird. Although Björnes Magasin (as the show was called) isn't that bad, the picture Asta posted just failed spectacularly at the ligthing. He mostly walks about his house doing mundane task while talking to his friends (which are toy animals which may or may not be alive http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png) and telling stories, interspersed with shorter programs, usually 5-minute cartoons. Sometimes he has guests too. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png
...
I'm not doing its lack of weirdness any favour, am I? http://i.imgur.com/FZ6yI9l.png

Also, I'd better post this here as well:

I don't eat mushrooms. I dislike cheese in cooking too, but I can eat it if there are no alternatives. I like most cheese-y food from which the cheese has been taken out of the recipe, though, even when everyone insists that the cheese is the "point" of the dish (for example pies and lasagna), so here in my family we have the habit to leave a corner or side of such dishes free of cheese for me to eat.

Also also, for anyone wondering what my budget actually allows in terms of activites, don't worry about i. My policy for this trip is to have fun and not think too much about the money. I won't mind if I'll have to cut deep into my savings, because my savings are there because I've minded too much, honestly.

And on the topic of activities, anything goes if it's with good company. I'll gladly spend a full days playing games or exploring the neighbourhood, but if you want some inspiration to narrow down the alternatives, I do have nature and technology on the top of my list of interesting topics... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Haluesen]

Actually that does help with planning stuff for when you make it here. Duly noted Teddy. :smallbiggrin: Got plenty for nature around here, that much is for sure.

Plus I have been trying to save money for when you make it here but that isn't going great...but in truth there is not a lot around the valley that will take much money, so I think with everything else you've mentioned that works out well.

Have very much fun! Make great memories on your trip Teddy! :smallbiggrin:

[Somensjev]

Actually that does help with planning stuff for when you make it here. Duly noted Teddy. :smallbiggrin: Got plenty for nature around here, that much is for sure.

i have an X KM^2 nature reserve literally a 40 second walk down the street from my house :smallbiggrin: where X is an unknown number, probably less than five

[TheWombatOfDoom]

The question is...have you ever played Frisbee golf?

[KuReshtin]

The question is...have you ever played Frisbee golf?

Frisbee Golf is AWESOME!!

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Frisbee Golf is AWESOME!!

This I know. And there happens to be a nice one nearby... :smallamused:

[Somensjev]

The question is...have you ever played Frisbee golf?

remember that nature reserve i mentioned?

it's got a 1.x km bike track
two playgrounds
a 'forest' (we call it the bush)
a frisbee golf course
a cricket grounds (it's used for other things too
and some australian birds love to hang out around there, i've seen some kookaburra's on the cricket ground fence

[Teddy]

The question is...have you ever played Frisbee golf?

I have played a little of it, but I can't claim I ever was very good. They built a frisbee golf course in the forest behind our local grade 0-6 school just as I left it, and we had only had one single basket for the last few years before that...

[TheWombatOfDoom]

So I just realized my sister gave me tickets to a baseball game on the 12th...which I'd completely forgotten about. I'm going to see if that's correct information, but I could potentially be seeing what I can do to give them to someone else...if not taking you with me. First question - would you be interested in going to a game?

[Cuthalion]

Say yes say yes say yes.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Say yes say yes say yes.

Since I'm slated to go with my fiancee, it might not be an option, but knowing if he's willing or not will allow me to know what options I have. For instance, we both forgot, but she gets first dibs on them if she's available to go. If she's not, then I'll take Teddy. Basically, I don't want an option where I leave Teddy behind or her behind. :smallfrown:

[Teddy]

So I just realized my sister gave me tickets to a baseball game on the 12th...which I'd completely forgotten about. I'm going to see if that's correct information, but I could potentially be seeing what I can do to give them to someone else...if not taking you with me. First question - would you be interested in going to a game?

Well, I'll gladly go wherever you drag me along. That said, if I'd be given free baseball tickets myself, they'd probably met the same fate as the free cinema tickets I've received throughout time, namely oblivion, even though when friends pull me along to the cinema, I enjoy it. I'm not much of a sports watcher, though, and I don't think you should let me get between you and your fiancee for the game. I don't know how long they last, but I think I should be able to keep myself entertained in the meantime... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Cuthalion]

Well, I'll gladly go wherever you drag me along. That said, if I'd be given free baseball tickets myself, they'd probably met the same fate as the free cinema tickets I've received throughout time, namely oblivion, even though when friends pull me along to the cinema, I enjoy it. I'm not much of a sports watcher, though, and I don't think you should let me get between you and your fiancee for the game. I don't know how long they last, but I think I should be able to keep myself entertained in the meantime... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Generally two to three hours. Entertaining, don't worry.

[Skeppio]

Small change of plans (for the better, yay!): It should be fine if you stay here the night. Inquired again, explained, etc, and they said it's okay. Pretty sure we have a spare mattress or inflatable one somewhere if you don't mind those. :smalltongue:
I'll have to think of stuff to do in Melbourne. We have a nice aquarium (my default suggestion for people holidaying in Melbourne :smalltongue:) if that tickles your fancy! :3

[LaZodiac]

Be sure to post updates to how your trip is going here when you can!

[Teddy]

Today I got a tour of Gothenburg, also known as the city of poor jokes. They were everywhere (the local grocery store runs "The joke of the week" on their receipts), but the guides on the sightseeing boat sure had the most (and the most forced). I liked the aptly nicknamed bridges "Hairdresser" and "Cheese Slicer" though. We had to sit on the bottom of the boat and duck to get under the Cheese Slicer, for one! http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png

I also sadly missed to take a picture of the completely serious sign in a parking lot reading "Another one of those signs" (in Swedish). That one I liked just thanks to the lengths they went through to put it up! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

In less joke-related news, Gothenburg is a lovely city, and very lush this time of the year. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Asta Kask]

Have now said goodbye to Teddy. I liked him. My cat, Alfons liked him. My other cat, Nisse... was deeply suspicious at first, but was won over by a judicious combination of treats and tummy rubs.

There is a certain similarity in appearances between Teddy and Anthony Perkins in "Psycho", but I'm sure that's nothing to worry about. FinnLassie, I never once saw him brandishing a very large, sharp knife or dress up to look like his mother.

[Serpentine]

Hey Teddy, make sure you give me as much warning as you can of exactly what day and time you'll be turning up in Brisbane and leaving! Gotta tell my housemates and also try and get a lift to pick you up.

[Teddy]

I've been awake for 29 hours straight. Not because of any lack of effort from my part, but I've now learned that I can't sleep in a position where my head isn't fully supported by anything else than my neck. This makes sleeping in a chair quite... tricky, and it turns out neither stations nor trains made it work for me. In retrospect, choosing a nighttime train wasn't such a hot idea.
...
I'm just hoping I'll be able to sleep on the flight to Australia. Otherwise, I might not be the most sociable person when I get to you, Skep. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png
...
I might solve this by booking myself into a hotel on the first night in Australia just to get some sleep. I'll try to experiment a bit on upcoming travels, unless someone claims that day first.


Hey Teddy, make sure you give me as much warning as you can of exactly what day and time you'll be turning up in Brisbane and leaving! Gotta tell my housemates and also try and get a lift to pick you up.

Weeell, the arrival and departure days for Australia as a whole are set, so with the floating day which no one still hasn't claimed, that'll either mean my schedule for you is exactly as written in the schedule, departing one day later, or arriving and departing one day later, depending on who takes it.

[KuReshtin]

So, if you haven't slept well for the past day or so, you just have to make sure you get a good night's sleep tonight, so you're refreshed for the meetup this weekend. :smallbiggrin:

Have you tried one of those travel pillows that support your neck (see pic below)? They could be of at least some assistance in giving your head the needed support to get to sleep.
http://www.women-health-info.com/images/pillow-21-travel.jpg

[Asta Kask]

He bought some earplugs. Then he left them here. Maybe he was giving out subtle hints about the cat door, which can be a little loud at times.

[Skeppio]

I've been awake for 29 hours straight. Not because of any lack of effort from my part, but I've now learned that I can't sleep in a position where my head isn't fully supported by anything else than my neck. This makes sleeping in a chair quite... tricky, and it turns out neither stations nor trains made it work for me. In retrospect, choosing a nighttime train wasn't such a hot idea.
...
I'm just hoping I'll be able to sleep on the flight to Australia. Otherwise, I might not be the most sociable person when I get to you, Skep. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png
...
I might solve this by booking myself into a hotel on the first night in Australia just to get some sleep. I'll try to experiment a bit on upcoming travels, unless someone claims that day first.



Weeell, the arrival and departure days for Australia as a whole are set, so with the floating day which no one still hasn't claimed, that'll either mean my schedule for you is exactly as written in the schedule, departing one day later, or arriving and departing one day later, depending on who takes it.

Hm, okay. I have work on Mondays, so I dunno if that'll affect our day if we hang out Sunday instead of Saturday.

[DraPrime]

Have you tried one of those travel pillows that support your neck (see pic below)? They could be of at least some assistance in giving your head the needed support to get to sleep.
http://www.women-health-info.com/images/pillow-21-travel.jpg

As someone who has had to do a lot of travel and a lot of sleeping in uncomfortable places, I second this suggestion. You'll sleep a lot better if you get a good one. If you don't have any by the time you get to Boston I might have a spare to give you.

[Teddy]

So, if you haven't slept well for the past day or so, you just have to make sure you get a good night's sleep tonight, so you're refreshed for the meetup this weekend. :smallbiggrin:

Have you tried one of those travel pillows that support your neck (see pic below)? They could be of at least some assistance in giving your head the needed support to get to sleep.
http://www.women-health-info.com/images/pillow-21-travel.jpg

I have one, although it's kinda soft. Very comfortable, but I wasn't kidding when I said full support. It allows my head to tilt way too far to the side, and that quickly becomes very uncomfortable...

And I'll make sure to! I took a two hour nap earlier, and then had a shower, so now I feel more regular tired instead of catatonic... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

[Asta Kask]

Caffeine, Teddy. Caffeine.

[Cuthalion]

He bought some earplugs. Then he left them here. Maybe he was giving out subtle hints about the cat door, which can be a little loud at times.

Heh. :smalltongue:

Just wait until he hears the budgie door at Kneeble's.

[Serpentine]

You can spend the extra day here if you want. I'll need the time as well, when you know it - someone might be able to pick you up in the morning but not the evening, for example.
If you're not worried about money, my recommendations would be Carrumbin Sanctuary and maybe one of the other zoos around (Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin's, is within driving distance, but honestly I was pretty disappointed by it). You might also consider the theme parks - Dreamworld and White Water World for one company, and Wet'n'Wild, Seaworld and Movie World for the other. We should find somewhere to go to the beach, too. How strong a swimmer are you?
Did you consider hiring a car? I have a few friends who might be keen for outings to places like the glowworm caves and bushwalking places but having a car is very useful. I'm sure we can manage without, though.

[Somensjev]

You can spend the extra day here if you want. I'll need the time as well, when you know it - someone might be able to pick you up in the morning but not the evening, for example.
If you're not worried about money, my recommendations would be Carrumbin Sanctuary and maybe one of the other zoos around (Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin's, is within driving distance, but honestly I was pretty disappointed by it). You might also consider the theme parks - Dreamworld and White Water World for one company, and Wet'n'Wild, Seaworld and Movie World for the other. We should find somewhere to go to the beach, too. How strong a swimmer are you?
Did you consider hiring a car? I have a few friends who might be keen for outings to places like the glowworm caves and bushwalking places but having a car is very useful. I'm sure we can manage without, though.

dreamworld and movie world are great :smallbiggrin:
the only time i've been to seworld it started raining 10 minutes after i arrived, it kept raining all day :smallfrown:
i've never been to the others, but i've heard they're great

[Serpentine]

I've always rated Movie World the lowest, but they've got some new rides that are pretty good. Dreamworld has the best rides (and also lots of kangaroos you can pat, but basically every zoo or wildlife park in Australia has those), Wet'n'Wild is the best water park, and Seaworld has a tank full of adorable stingrays that come right up to you for pats :3
I haven't been to White Water World. You can get cheaper group deals for Dreamworld and White Water World, or for Seaworld, Movie World and Wet'n'Wild.

[Teddy]

Meetuping is fun! Lot's of games! I won Chaos in the Old World, almost Once upon a Time (I was interrupted the sentence before my happy ending http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png), got in a very unlikely second place in Kitties in a Blender thanks to Straberries the Great Kitten Saviour, and lost catastrophically at Witches (Terry Pratchet), because the dice hated me (as did my blood sugar at that moment. I was a very mopey bear). Oh, and I was the third out of 13 to be eliminated at Nuclear War, but I was the one responsible for the two previous eliminations, so I was in good spirits anyway. http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png


You can spend the extra day here if you want. I'll need the time as well, when you know it - someone might be able to pick you up in the morning but not the evening, for example.
If you're not worried about money, my recommendations would be Carrumbin Sanctuary and maybe one of the other zoos around (Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin's, is within driving distance, but honestly I was pretty disappointed by it). You might also consider the theme parks - Dreamworld and White Water World for one company, and Wet'n'Wild, Seaworld and Movie World for the other. We should find somewhere to go to the beach, too. How strong a swimmer are you?
Did you consider hiring a car? I have a few friends who might be keen for outings to places like the glowworm caves and bushwalking places but having a car is very useful. I'm sure we can manage without, though.

Good! I'll try to book the in-Australia flights in two or three days, then I can tell you the exact times (I'll probably aim for the evening, though, since I'll want to spend as much time as possible with Skep in our one night-surroundings). I probably won't be able to make up my mind now (busy days), but I am a good swimmer, yes (yay for mandatory swimming education! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png). What are the temperatures where you live at that time of the year (air and water)?

[Serpentine]

Yeah, no hurry to decide what you wanna do once you're here, though I'll start canvassing for anyone who might have something to suggest or join in. Evening will probably be better for flights if you can manage it (argh 6am flights argh!).
Being a good swimmer is a good start. I'm sure we'll be able to find somewhere.
Last year I made a very conscious note that August seemed like a particularly nice time for someone, particularly a Brit (I realise you're not, but this was my thought :smalltongue:) to come to Brisbane. IIRC, last August was clear and bright, warming up significantly but not unbearably so. Not sure about water temperature, although I swam with Guy in May last year and it was nippy but bearable once you were in. August is the last month of winter, but it's been an extremely mild one so far - I appreciate my heater at night, but I don't absolutely need it and it's even quite warm in the day. Today is 6-22oC, clear sky; it should be getting warmer by then.
And that's my weather report :P

[Teddy]

Two Losses, the Flipsides of Travel
(A headline, because right now I need to put words on my thoughts.)

So, I guess today would be an appropriate day to talk about the negative sides of travel, because of the events of the last two days, in which I've lost two things of immense importance to me.

The first thing is my home. Okay, I didn't lose it per se, it still stands there and my family are still supportative and will welcome me home with warm hugs, but it's the feeling of having a home I can return to which is gone. I thought that the hardest part of this journey would be having to subject myself to new cultures only relying on people I've only met through the computer screen. But yesterday, I realised that no, doing that is exhausting, but the hardest part is that when I've exhausted myself, I can't go home. I can only pack up and leave for a new person in a new city with a new culture I've never known anything of. So if I suddenly ask for a day of doing nothing at all, it doesn't mean I find your options boring, it means I'm close to falling apart and need somewhere to substitute for my home. Because, to be honest, this is very stressful for me, even at the times when I won't realise it myself...

The other object I've lost is both more substantial and of more monetary value. Namely, it's my large bag, the one I kept all my clothes in. I forgot it on the train when I (due to poor information) suddenly was rushed to get off my train before it left the station and forgot my bag in the baggage rack. Right now, it is hopefully in Penzance, which anyone with knowledge of British geography or who bothers checking Google Maps knows is terribly far away from Derby where I'm staying with Strawberries right now. The alternative means it's stolen.

I got a number from the train company which I need to call tomorrow morning. Hopefully they can put my bag on the returning train and drop it off here for me to collect. I could buy cheap clothes to replace the ones I've lost, as well as new toiletries and a new pair of chargers instead of those who went into the bag as well, but that won't be cheap, probably more expensive than just sending the bag back even if it means buying a full ticket for it. But it's not that, the content of the bag has immense emotional value to me. I deliberately packed my favourite clothes because I wanted to look nice on the trip, and several of those are nigh impossible for me to replace...

Thankfully, neither computer, phone, money nor passport were in it. Nor Flodhäst. I would've been heartbroken if I lost her...

EDIT:
I was planning to do a bunch of booking and similar administrative stuff tomorrow, but now I don't know if I'll find the energy. I should post an updated schedule with train times included, but yeah. I think I'll post my phone number though so people can message me when I'm away from Internet (because countries which don't provide Eduroam access are stupid), and people may call me if they want, but I don't want them to be too long. I'll let everyone else figure out how to solve this anti-spam meassure... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

27780422764+ :enohP

For anyone who want to iron out any details through Skype (or just be friendly), my name is on my profile.

[Serpentine]

Yikes :S If it makes you feel any better, I ended up having to spend several days in Scotland in the middle of winter with just a handful of clothes I could snatch out of my suitcase before it got left behind in London :smalltongue: I knew where it was the whole time, though... I hope it gets found and sent back to you! Stay on the back of the train company about it.

[Skeppio]

Good! I'll try to book the in-Australia flights in two or three days, then I can tell you the exact times (I'll probably aim for the evening, though, since I'll want to spend as much time as possible with Skep in our one night-surroundings). I probably won't be able to make up my mind now (busy days), but I am a good swimmer, yes (yay for mandatory swimming education! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png). What are the temperatures where you live at that time of the year (air and water)?

It'll be fun! I'll think of something to do, I'm not very good at pointing out tourist stuff in Melbourne. :smalltongue:
And I hope you can find your missing stuff!

[Teddy]

Okay, bad news. If my bag is found (the woman on the phone stressed that a little more than I'm entirely happy with), I will get to know it in seven days. I should have asked what they can do with the bag, because, well, I'm not even supposed to be in this country anymore by then, but...

GAH!!!
I hate myself so much right now! I'm worn thin already, and now half of my life is in Penzance and don't know what to do and I just want to go home and never having had any of this happened to me why why why!
*untypeable frustration*
http://i.imgur.com/xVZ2F1e.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/xVZ2F1e.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/xVZ2F1e.png

[Serpentine]

In some travel guides I've read, it's been stressed that you should never pack anything you can't live with losing. I really, really hope you end up not having to learn that the really hard way :smallfrown:
In the meantime, I suggest hitting up some op shops (or thrift shops, or charity shops or whatever they call them over there) and stocking up on some cheap disposable stuff. If (heaven forbid!) you're still in need when you get here I can take you round to some I know of and get something to keep you at least decently clothed 'til you head home.

[Teddy]

In some travel guides I've read, it's been stressed that you should never pack anything you can't live with losing. I really, really hope you end up not having to learn that the really hard way :smallfrown:
In the meantime, I suggest hitting up some op shops (or thrift shops, or charity shops or whatever they call them over there) and stocking up on some cheap disposable stuff. If (heaven forbid!) you're still in need when you get here I can take you round to some I know of and get something to keep you at least decently clothed 'til you head home.

Yeah, I feel like a major idiot right now. http://i.imgur.com/xVZ2F1e.png

To make things worse, there are only two ways I can get my bag from Bristol (where it will be sent): 1. collect it myself, or 2. have it sent by a courier I must provide. To phrase this in other words, I must either delay my entire trip by 1 week, more or less, or I must go some burocratic proceedures I know nothing about to send my bags somewhere where I can collect it which I don't know where it'll be because GAH!!! http://i.imgur.com/aPNEHAS.png

The planes should be rebookable before they take off, although I may have to jump through a few hoops to get there. Pushing everything exactly one week ahead should work in this regard, because most companies generally fly on a weekly routine. Is there anyone for whom pushing it one week ahead (same times, just add 7 to the date) wouldn't work? I could accept it as lost forever or keep up hope and try to work it out, but, well, the first will make me very sad, and the second very worried (and to be honest, I've dealt with way too much uncertainity this spring to handle very much more of it. Perhaps this is one of those things I'll have to force out of myself no matter the casualties, but I'm the sort of person who want everthing planned out ahead, or at least have a plan on when the planning should happen. I don't like having to improvise like this, it makes everything more complicated, and I don't have time for processing it... http://i.imgur.com/xVZ2F1e.png

[Serpentine]

For me, it depends. I'm hoping to be able to get down to NSW for a friend's birthday the weekend after (9/10th). Depending on how I end up getting down there, you can probably come with me if you want, but it'll make things more awkward. Of course, it's just as likely that I won't be able to get down there anyway - won't be able to find anyone to give me a lift, or won't afford the bus or train.
Have you talked to your contacts in England about it? Someone might be able to help you out, to receive your suitcase and pass it on to wherever you are or something like that.

[Teddy]

For me, it depends. I'm hoping to be able to get down to NSW for a friend's birthday the weekend after (9/10th). Depending on how I end up getting down there, you can probably come with me if you want, but it'll make things more awkward. Of course, it's just as likely that I won't be able to get down there anyway - won't be able to find anyone to give me a lift, or won't afford the bus or train.
Have you talked to your contacts in England about it? Someone might be able to help you out, to receive your suitcase and pass it on to wherever you are or something like that.

No, not yet. In part because most of them are at work, in part because, well, these forums are my main venue of contact, so, well, this is how I contact people.

[Serpentine]

Actually, btw, if you did end up coming down to Armidale with me that could be okay. I haven't been particularly impressed with most of the bushwalks up around Brisbane compared with the ones near Armidale, and I've got a few friends down there whose arms I'm sure I could twist to take us out.

[Skeppio]

August 9th is fine for me, that should be no trouble.

I really hope you get all your stuff back. :smallfrown:

[Asta Kask]

Here's to hope. :smallfrown:

[TheWombatOfDoom]

I think next weekend would be okay, but let me check with my roommate and my fiancee. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Edit: One issue I forsee firstly - I'm working a 16 hour shift the 18th, and would get off at 11PM that night...which is a problem. :smallfrown:

[Teddy]

Just note that there's no guarantee that I'll even be able to rebook my flights, and even if I can, I'll have to sort out the lodging as well, because I don't think it's very polite to ask of Strawberries to house me for a full week more.

I'll try to delay my next flight one day at least to sort myself out (sorry DP), but since it's within 24 hours, that's far from guaranteed to work either. Otherwise I'll probably have to buy some new, cheap clothes in Boston. And a bag...

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Just note that there's no guarantee that I'll even be able to rebook my flights, and even if I can, I'll have to sort out the lodging as well, because I don't think it's very polite to ask of Strawberries to house me for a full week more.

I'll try to delay my next flight one day at least to sort myself out (sorry DP), but since it's within 24 hours, that's far from guaranteed to work either. Otherwise I'll probably have to buy some new, cheap clothes in Boston. And a bag...

If you can hold out until Philadelphia, I have a bag and clothes you can have forever here for you. At least in the shirts and possibly more, if we are similar sizes. I aim to de-stress you as much as possible...so let me know what I can do.

Could you rebook and fly down to your bag, and then fly out from there? It might be more expensive, but it would be the least abrasive, which might be something you need right now.

[KuReshtin]

Could you rebook and fly down to your bag, and then fly out from there? It might be more expensive, but it would be the least abrasive, which might be something you need right now.

The flights to the US will not leave from Bristol, even if he could rebook the flights. So, while a good shout as to checking the possibility, it won't really work as bristol don't (to my knowledge) have any international flights to the US, since it's in pretty close(-ish) proximity to London.

Teddy, my advice to you are two simple words. however, the implementation of those words may not be as simple as the words themselves.

DON'T PANIC!

Remember that even if this bag that has been lost contains clothes that you like they are, in the end, only clothes. You said that you'd packed your favourite clothes for the trip, and it's understandable that they have great emotional value to you, but in the end, they're just clothes. They are replaceable. Toiletries, mobile phone chargers, clothes and the like can be replaced. it sucks to have to do so, but it's not the end of the world.
You have voiced the issue on the forums, and the forumites have a tendency to get things sorted.
If the bag has been shipped to Bristol, check with lesser_minion if he can potentially pick it up from their depot once you get confirmation that it's there.
After that, the organising of it's return to you, either by sending it to someone further along on your trip schedule, or back to your parents (or friends) in Sweden can be sorted out.


Hell, when I did my Tour of the US back in the day, I managed to lose both my passport, my tickets and my list of contact numbers that I had in the US. At that point, I was stranded, late at night, at Newark Airport, with no way of contacting the friend I was supposed to stay with (this was in the days well before smart phones were a thing, so no portable interwebs for me), but I took a step back from the situation, reevaluated, and then moved on.
Booked myself into a hotel for the night, and then started sorting things the next morning.
Things have a way of sorting themselves.

I can totally understand the wish to have things planned out in advance and not wanting to deviate too much from the planned schedule, but things will be ok. Try not to overthink things or see only the inconveniences that have been caused. Try, instead, to see the possibilities of what you can do to make this into a part of your story of the trip when you get back.

You'll do fine.:smallsmile:

[Teddy]

The flights to the US will not leave from Bristol, even if he could rebook the flights. So, while a good shout as to checking the possibility, it won't really work as bristol don't (to my knowledge) have any international flights to the US, since it's in pretty close(-ish) proximity to London.

Teddy, my advice to you are two simple words. however, the implementation of those words may not be as simple as the words themselves.

DON'T PANIC!

Remember that even if this bag that has been lost contains clothes that you like they are, in the end, only clothes. You said that you'd packed your favourite clothes for the trip, and it's understandable that they have great emotional value to you, but in the end, they're just clothes. They are replaceable. Toiletries, mobile phone chargers, clothes and the like can be replaced. it sucks to have to do so, but it's not the end of the world.
You have voiced the issue on the forums, and the forumites have a tendency to get things sorted.
If the bag has been shipped to Bristol, check with lesser_minion if he can potentially pick it up from their depot once you get confirmation that it's there.
After that, the organising of it's return to you, either by sending it to someone further along on your trip schedule, or back to your parents (or friends) in Sweden can be sorted out.


Hell, when I did my Tour of the US back in the day, I managed to lose both my passport, my tickets and my list of contact numbers that I had in the US. At that point, I was stranded, late at night, at Newark Airport, with no way of contacting the friend I was supposed to stay with (this was in the days well before smart phones were a thing, so no portable interwebs for me), but I took a step back from the situation, reevaluated, and then moved on.
Booked myself into a hotel for the night, and then started sorting things the next morning.
Things have a way of sorting themselves.

I can totally understand the wish to have things planned out in advance and not wanting to deviate too much from the planned schedule, but things will be ok. Try not to overthink things or see only the inconveniences that have been caused. Try, instead, to see the possibilities of what you can do to make this into a part of your story of the trip when you get back.

You'll do fine.:smallsmile:

lesser_minion lives in/around Bristol? Okay, that's good, because then I can sort it out on an any-free-time-within-30-days basis instead of an all-time-irregardless-within-30-days, and that definitely makes things easier for me. I'll PM him.

And after a while of breathing (okay, I haven't actually been breathing, just panicking), I've realised that I'm probably going to harm myself more than help by rebooking anything, so I guess I'll just do what I hate the most and improvise. I guess I might learn something valuable from it...

[Serpentine]

Yep, gotta get your panic out before you can start looking at the solutions. And you've got 'em :) If you've got your wallet, your phone and the documents you need for travelling (especially your passport), everything else can be replaced (and in a real pinch those could be too).
Hopefully your bag will turn up (I'll try and send some of the excellent luck I had overseas your way), and in the meantime don't be afraid to let people know what you need help with.

[Kneenibble]

You will eventually gaze back on these days through the hard clear lens of experience, a more resilient and bendy man for having been twisted in this way.

In the mean time, however, here are several budgies bathing with a leaf of lettuce.
http://33.media.tumblr.com/62edae11de06be082cac75327bd26b00/tumblr_n7c4hxiO3s1svecmko1_400.gif

[SarahV]

I'll try to delay my next flight one day at least to sort myself out (sorry DP), but since it's within 24 hours, that's far from guaranteed to work either. Otherwise I'll probably have to buy some new, cheap clothes in Boston. And a bag...

I'm in the Boston area and I am about 90% sure that I have a good-sized rolling suitcase you could have. I will double-check when I get home to make sure it's still in working order (I haven't used it in over a year), but please get in touch if you think you would need it. You can contact me at my GITP username @outlook.com, that will go to my phone so I'll get it quicker than a PM here.

I'm not sure what else I can offer to ease your travel woes, but if there's something you need when you're here I'm happy to help if I can. :smallsmile:

[Asta Kask]

In the mean time, however, here are several budgies bathing with a leaf of lettuce.
http://33.media.tumblr.com/62edae11de06be082cac75327bd26b00/tumblr_n7c4hxiO3s1svecmko1_400.gif

I guess that's one way of adding flavor to lettuce.

[Teddy]

Okay, this is things I should've done earlier today, but I can't procrastinate handing out information forever...

I'll arrive to Boston South Station at 22:10 tomorrow (9th July), and will probably use whatever transportation there is to get to my hotel in Burlington. I'll improvise, the time has run out for me to actually plan anything...

My train from Boston departs at 9th July 11:15, and arrives to Philadelphia 30th Street Station at 4:52

My train from Philadelphia departs at 14th July 9:18.

Also, I will have to sort out how to do the trip back and forth between Minneapolis and Rochester. And Australia has been lobbed waaay over into the corner of "whenever I have time"...

And I will definitely have to do some shopping once I get to Boston...

Now I should probably sleep. 4 hours sounds utterly wonderful... http://i.imgur.com/b6MRqPf.png


I'm in the Boston area and I am about 90% sure that I have a good-sized rolling suitcase you could have. I will double-check when I get home to make sure it's still in working order (I haven't used it in over a year), but please get in touch if you think you would need it. You can contact me at my GITP username @outlook.com, that will go to my phone so I'll get it quicker than a PM here.

I'm not sure what else I can offer to ease your travel woes, but if there's something you need when you're here I'm happy to help if I can. :smallsmile:

This... This is awesome. Thank you very much! I'll make sure to email you to iron out the details once I've set myself up at the hotel. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Okay, this is things I should've done earlier today, but I can't procrastinate handing out information forever...

I'll arrive to Boston South Station at 22:10 tomorrow (9th July), and will probably use whatever transportation there is to get to my hotel in Burlington. I'll improvise, the time has run out for me to actually plan anything...

My train from Boston departs at 9th July 11:15, and arrives to Philadelphia 30th Street Station at 4:52

My train from Philadelphia departs at 14th July 9:18.

Also, I will have to sort out how to do the trip back and forth between Minneapolis and Rochester. And Australia has been lobbed waaay over into the corner of "whenever I have time"...

And I will definitely have to do some shopping once I get to Boston...

Now I should probably sleep. 4 hours sounds utterly wonderful... http://i.imgur.com/b6MRqPf.png



This... This is awesome. Thank you very much! I'll make sure to email you to iron out the details once I've set myself up at the hotel. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Wait, aren't you coming to Philadelphia on friday the 11th? Please tell me I didn't miss something...

[DraPrime]

I'll arrive to Boston South Station at 22:10 tomorrow (9th July), and will probably use whatever transportation there is to get to my hotel in Burlington. I'll improvise, the time has run out for me to actually plan anything...

My train from Boston departs at 9th July 11:15, and arrives to Philadelphia 30th Street Station at 4:52

My train from Philadelphia departs at 14th July 9:18.

Teddy, if you're staying in Burlington then I definitely should pick you up at South Station. It's possible to get there from South Station, but it'll be really difficult for someone who isn't local, especially late at night. I'll send you a PM with a bit more information.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Teddy, if you're staying in Burlington then I definitely should pick you up at South Station. It's possible to get there from South Station, but it'll be really difficult for someone who isn't local, especially late at night. I'll send you a PM with a bit more information.

Aw man, now I miss Boston. Best city I know of, imo.

[SarahV]

This... This is awesome. Thank you very much! I'll make sure to email you to iron out the details once I've set myself up at the hotel. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png
OK! I have concert tickets tomorrow night so I don't think I could meet you at the train station with it. But we can work something out in the next couple of days, I'm sure.

Also, I double-checked the suitcase, made sure there was nothing weird lurking in the little pockets, etc., and everything is in good shape aside from being slightly dusty from disuse :smallsmile: You're doing me a favor really, I am moving to an apartment half the size of my current one in about 6 weeks and I'm desperately trying to get rid of half my belongings. Let me know if you need anything else like, I dunno, a coffee table. Or a piano. Perhaps a few hundred books to read on your trip? Your very own television? No? :smalltongue:


Teddy, if you're staying in Burlington then I definitely should pick you up at South Station. It's possible to get there from South Station, but it'll be really difficult for someone who isn't local, especially late at night. I'll send you a PM with a bit more information.

I would encourage you to take this offer of a ride. It would be a long, multi-leg trip and I'm not sure the bus you'd need runs that late. My brother lives in the next town over from Burlington; often we will meet in the middle at Alewife Station, which is easy to get to on the subway and cuts his drive time in half.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

OK! I have concert tickets tomorrow night so I don't think I could meet you at the train station with it. But we can work something out in the next couple of days, I'm sure.

Also, I double-checked the suitcase, made sure there was nothing weird lurking in the little pockets, etc., and everything is in good shape aside from being slightly dusty from disuse :smallsmile: You're doing me a favor really, I am moving to an apartment half the size of my current one in about 6 weeks and I'm desperately trying to get rid of half my belongings. Let me know if you need anything else like, I dunno, a coffee table. Or a piano. Perhaps a few hundred books to read on your trip? Your very own television? No? :smalltongue:

I would encourage you to take this offer of a ride. It would be a long, multi-leg trip and I'm not sure the bus you'd need runs that late. My brother lives in the next town over from Burlington; often we will meet in the middle at Alewife Station, which is easy to get to on the subway and cuts his drive time in half.

This is great! If things don't work out on that end, I have a few duffles, and i only need one, and I have plenty of extra clothing to outfit you with Teddy. Hopefully we're similar sizes, but if not there's plenty nearby that we can look into. Various other things I can restock you in as well.

And SarahV, if you're looking to unload books, I'm your man. :smallwink:

[Somensjev]

And SarahV, if you're looking to unload books, I'm your man. :smallwink:

i would have offered to take some books, but i'm all the way down here in australia

[SarahV]

And SarahV, if you're looking to unload books, I'm your man. :smallwink:

You can have as many books as you can convince Teddy to carry to Philadelphia :smallamused:

I don't have a car, so I'm pretty much limited to "anything you can carry out, you can keep"...

[Haluesen]

Awww poor Teddy! :smallfrown: I was just able to catch up on everything today and oh dear. I hope you are able to facilitate the return of your bag in some way soon, and until then I hope your hosts are able to help you feel calm and relaxed again. If the plans do end up changing (though it seems they are not by much, I think...) just let me know, I should still be able to accommodate you.

If you did not already have plans pretty set I would offer you another day to stay just for resting and recuperating before departing to your next locale. That said, life around here is generally pretty mellow and easy-going, so you should be able to rest well enough I hope. But prepare for the warm weather! :smalleek: It is very hot around here right now and looks to stay that way for another couple months. I'm sure most of the States suffer from great heat right now, but still I feel it is best to warn you anyway.

[Teddy]

It feels like forever since I said goodbye to Strawberries and left for the airport to fly to the States. That might be since it actually was forever, though. I woke up at 5 in the morning, left before 6, and while it's only 22 now, taking it the change in timezones, I've actually been awake for 22 hours straight, and this is after only 4 hours of sleep. I have no idea why I'm not in a worse shape than I am.

I've spent most of today travelling, mostly without time to hunt for WiFi hotspots, which explains why I'm taking so long to answer (this, plus some sort of bug preventing me from replying directly to posts which I didn't figure out I could circumvent until now). Most of it has been uneventful, even though my train to Boston was over 1 hour late and I realised that I sat back to back with another Björn from Sweden waiting for it as well. They never noticed, though, so I decided to just take some comfort in hearing my own tongue spoken instead of introducing myself without any clear goal.

I have been suffering random but recurring panic attacks throughout the day, though. I blame the fact that I'm running dangerously low on energy, even though others' baggage certainly was the single most common triggering factor.

I have a silly anecdote from the flight, though. One of the flight attendants decided to take paticular interest in me for the flight. I think she first became interested in my accent and asked where I was from, which led to me explaining the purpose of my trip and the bag mishap, as well as some other friendly banter. When I told her I was meeting friends from the Internet, she asked (in a little worried tone) what about if you were madmen, to which I responded tat I doubt any of you are crazier than me (mostly to subtly mock her probable perception of me as pretty strange). And when I was late to finish my lunch, she mocked me mercilessly for it. http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png

I actually think I must've been the strangest passenger she's flown in a long time, because when I was heading off the plane and passed by her in the aisle, she shouted out to one of the other attendants in a pretty "this is the boy I was talking about" way. So, well, I guess I can be interesting too... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png


Wait, aren't you coming to Philadelphia on friday the 11th? Please tell me I didn't miss something...

Well, you did miss that I'd written myself down as going to DP on the exact same date. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

But yes, you're right, that's an error. 11th it is. I blame late night on poor sleep.


OK! I have concert tickets tomorrow night so I don't think I could meet you at the train station with it. But we can work something out in the next couple of days, I'm sure.

Also, I double-checked the suitcase, made sure there was nothing weird lurking in the little pockets, etc., and everything is in good shape aside from being slightly dusty from disuse :smallsmile: You're doing me a favor really, I am moving to an apartment half the size of my current one in about 6 weeks and I'm desperately trying to get rid of half my belongings. Let me know if you need anything else like, I dunno, a coffee table. Or a piano. Perhaps a few hundred books to read on your trip? Your very own television? No? :smalltongue:

Oh, so that's how it is? Well, I lost 80% of my travel literature with the bag (had one book in the hand baggage), so some new (old) books would definitely be an idea. I won't lift hundreds, though. http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png
...

And SarahV, if you're looking to unload books, I'm your man. :smallwink:

But I guess I could take a few extra for Wombat as well, since they'll only be weighing me down for one trip. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png


Awww poor Teddy! :smallfrown: I was just able to catch up on everything today and oh dear. I hope you are able to facilitate the return of your bag in some way soon, and until then I hope your hosts are able to help you feel calm and relaxed again. If the plans do end up changing (though it seems they are not by much, I think...) just let me know, I should still be able to accommodate you.

If you did not already have plans pretty set I would offer you another day to stay just for resting and recuperating before departing to your next locale. That said, life around here is generally pretty mellow and easy-going, so you should be able to rest well enough I hope. But prepare for the warm weather! :smalleek: It is very hot around here right now and looks to stay that way for another couple months. I'm sure most of the States suffer from great heat right now, but still I feel it is best to warn you anyway.

Well, as I said earlier, my schedule remains as it is to save everyone on the sanity. But yeah, especially you whom I'm staying a long time with shouldn't be too surprised if I decide to spend a full day just laying around recharging. I'm already worn pretty thin and am doing a pretty good job emptying reserves I didn't even know I had, crashing every now and then is going to be crucial for recharging again.

[Haluesen]

It feels like forever since I said goodbye to Strawberries and left for the airport to fly to the States. That might be since it actually was forever, though. I woke up at 5 in the morning, left before 6, and while it's only 22 now, taking it the change in timezones, I've actually been awake for 22 hours straight, and this is after only 4 hours of sleep. I have no idea why I'm not in a worse shape than I am.

I've spent most of today travelling, mostly without time to hunt for WiFi hotspots, which explains why I'm taking so long to answer (this, plus some sort of bug preventing me from replying directly to posts which I didn't figure out I could circumvent until now). Most of it has been uneventful, even though my train to Boston was over 1 hour late and I realised that I sat back to back with another Björn from Sweden waiting for it as well. They never noticed, though, so I decided to just take some comfort in hearing my own tongue spoken instead of introducing myself without any clear goal.

I have been suffering random but recurring panic attacks throughout the day, though. I blame the fact that I'm running dangerously low on energy, even though others' baggage certainly was the single most common triggering factor.

I have a silly anecdote from the flight, though. One of the flight attendants decided to take paticular interest in me for the flight. I think she first became interested in my accent and asked where I was from, which led to me explaining the purpose of my trip and the bag mishap, as well as some other friendly banter. When I told her I was meeting friends from the Internet, she asked (in a little worried tone) what about if you were madmen, to which I responded tat I doubt any of you are crazier than me (mostly to subtly mock her probable perception of me as pretty strange). And when I was late to finish my lunch, she mocked me mercilessly for it. http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png

I actually think I must've been the strangest passenger she's flown in a long time, because when I was heading off the plane and passed by her in the aisle, she shouted out to one of the other attendants in a pretty "this is the boy I was talking about" way. So, well, I guess I can be interesting too... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png

Yikes, panic attacks. :smalleek: Hang in there Teddy, and don't forget to have fun! This is important.

That plane trip sounds like it was a fair example of fun. :smalltongue: But memorable moments are supposed to be good in such adventures.


Well, as I said earlier, my schedule remains as it is to save everyone on the sanity. But yeah, especially you whom I'm staying a long time with shouldn't be too surprised if I decide to spend a full day just laying around recharging. I'm already worn pretty thin and am doing a pretty good job emptying reserves I didn't even know I had, crashing every now and then is going to be crucial for recharging again.

Okay, I shall remember when you arrive. Already got plans for that pretty well set up. If you need to rest while here, no worries. :smallbiggrin: Mi casa es su casa, as they say. Hoping I got that right, too long since I've worked with Spanish.

[SarahV]

Oh, so that's how it is? Well, I lost 80% of my travel literature with the bag (had one book in the hand baggage), so some new (old) books would definitely be an idea. I won't lift hundreds, though. http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png

I'll toss a few books in the suitcase that might be fun to read while you travel, then... :smallsmile:

While packing up some boxes last night, I actually found a dusty tome called Teddy's World, of all things. I have no recollection of buying or reading it. I assume it is some kind of magical book planted in my bookcase by mysterious creatures not of this world to ensnare you in some kind of evil spell. Should I burn it? :smallconfused:

http://home.comcast.net/~sarahv1/teddy.jpg

[Teddy]

Yikes, panic attacks. :smalleek: Hang in there Teddy, and don't forget to have fun! This is important.

Yeah, I'm doing better now. Haven't had any panic since I got on the train, so I assume Skype and Civ works to keep them at bay... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


Okay, I shall remember when you arrive. Already got plans for that pretty well set up. If you need to rest while here, no worries. :smallbiggrin: Mi casa es su casa, as they say. Hoping I got that right, too long since I've worked with Spanish.

http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


I'll toss a few books in the suitcase that might be fun to read while you travel, then... :smallsmile:

While packing up some boxes last night, I actually found a dusty tome called Teddy's World, of all things. I have no recollection of buying or reading it. I assume it is some kind of magical book planted in my bookcase by mysterious creatures not of this world to ensnare you in some kind of evil spell. Should I burn it? :smallconfused:

http://home.comcast.net/~sarahv1/teddy.jpg

Burn it?! This is a tome to treasure! I would love it if you put it in with the rest! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

[SarahV]

Burn it?! This is a tome to treasure! I would love it if you put it in with the rest! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

No problem :smallbiggrin: I've dusted it off and put it with the rest.

[Cuthalion]

Okay, I shall remember when you arrive. Already got plans for that pretty well set up. If you need to rest while here, no worries. :smallbiggrin: Mi casa es su casa, as they say. Hoping I got that right, too long since I've worked with Spanish.

It's correct, I believe, but a tad formal.

"Mi casa es tu casa" would be more applicable towards Teddy here.

[Haluesen]

It's correct, I believe, but a tad formal.

"Mi casa es tu casa" would be more applicable towards Teddy here.

Ah alrighty then. As I said it has been awhile since I have really had to use my Spanish knowledge. I'm bound to make a lot of mistakes. :smallredface: Thanks Cuth.

[Teddy]

Yesterday morning, I finally got to buy some new clothes. I even found a button up shirt identical to the one I packed and subsequently lost, but with a nice sky blue colour instead of the pale yellow my old one had. The underwear I bought were not that good, though, but I guess they'll do for now.

In the afternoon, DP and me went to rent kayaks to paddle up the Charlies River while he pointed out all the landmarks of Boston to me. It was a lovely tour with the sun and the Red Sox blimp battling about the attention in the sky. Annoyingly enough, though, my kayak kept swerving to the right, and I couldn't figure out if it was the kayak or my own technique which was at fault. This together with a sad lack of water made me quite exhausted toward the end of the trip. But it was a good one! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Now I'm sitting on the train to Philadelphia, ETA 16:52.

Also, a great thank you to Sarah for the bag, and the wonderful Teddy book. I'm still sad I lost my previous baggage, but this is a nugget I'd never found without it! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

[FinnLassie]

The Teddy book seems absolutely adorable. Almost as if fate was about to connect the book and you. :smallsmile:

[lesser_minion]

If I'd joined this thread earlier, I would have mentioned that there actually are flights out from Bristol to parts of the US. The only reason there weren't previously was some weird political shenanigans that got shot down by the EC.

In any event, I am standing by to pick up your bag once you've given the go-ahead, Teddy :)

[Teddy]

The Teddy book seems absolutely adorable. Almost as if fate was about to connect the book and you. :smallsmile:

Yes! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


If I'd joined this thread earlier, I would have mentioned that there actually are flights out from Bristol to parts of the US. The only reason there weren't previously was some weird political shenanigans that got shot down by the EC.

In any event, I am standing by to pick up your bag once you've given the go-ahead, Teddy :)

Yeah, I would possibly have found them if I'd searched, but my flight plan was stretching my allowance to the limit, so I couldn't really change the airports...

And I still haven't gotten any message from First Great Western, but I hope for next week. Also, they're seriously allowing themselves to get too bogged down, they only answer one ninth of all mails withing 5 days... http://i.imgur.com/b6MRqPf.png

[TheWombatOfDoom]

http://i57.tinypic.com/1zyefl0.jpg

Teddy has arrived! :3

[Rain Dragon]

http://i57.tinypic.com/1zyefl0.jpg

Teddy has arrived! :3

Cuuuuuuute!

[factotum]

Teddy has arrived! :3

You can't fool us--the wombat in that picture clearly isn't doomy enough and thus must be an impostor! Teddy's looking well, though. :smallsmile:

[Serpentine]

I have someone who's interested in driving us to a bushwalk and a nice beach, and possibly the glowworm caves, and maybe, depending on your arrival day and time, picking you up from the airport :smallsmile:

(MINION! Hi! I miss you! o/)

[Teddy]

I have someone who's interested in driving us to a bushwalk and a nice beach, and possibly the glowworm caves, and maybe, depending on your arrival day and time, picking you up from the airport :smallsmile:

Oooh, nice! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Asta Kask]

(MINION! Hi! I miss you! o/)

You have MINIONS? :eek:

[Teddy]

You have MINIONS? :eek:

It's Serps, of course she does! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

[Asta Kask]

Well, I knew about her crack regiment of dropbears but this...

[Serpentine]

I am referring specifically to my lesser minion in this particular case, but you know :smallwink:

[TheWombatOfDoom]

You can't fool us--the wombat in that picture clearly isn't doomy enough and thus must be an impostor! Teddy's looking well, though. :smallsmile:

I put away my doom when around other persons. It doesn't play well with others. :smallwink:

Teddy has left my company, and I must say it was a pleasure having him. :smallsmile: He fit right in with my normal group, and I'm only sad that the visit wasn't longer. Still, it was fun, and I'm happy he came to visit. Safe travels, my friend!

[Asta Kask]

http://i.imgur.com/Cb01x.jpg

And they have cube-shaped poop.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

http://i.imgur.com/Cb01x.jpg

And they have cube-shaped poop.

I can't see the image at this place, but indeed they do! They are rubix poopers!

[Teddy]

My Philadelphia stay begun with a headstart as Wombat took me to a sketchy burger restaurant (but not in the way you'd thinkhttp://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png) together with his fiancee and his roommate(/friend). It was a really good place, with good burgers and a lovely quirk to it: at every table, there was a stack of coloured papers and a box of pens and crayons, and after you'd eaten, you could borrow a roll of tape to put your masterpiece up on the wall. I sadly forgot to photograph the walls themselves, but I got a picture of mine, at least, so you'll see it as soon as I get my pictures uploaded. And of course, the place was named Sketch Burger. http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

The day before yesterday, Wombat and roommate brought over another of their friends, and the four of us went out frisbee golfing. Not having frisbee golfed since 9th grade or something, I thought I'd end up last, but all four of us actually got pretty even, and I only had to end up at third place, 3 points behind the tied winners (Wombat and roommate). Later in the evening, Wombat had a game to watch, so his friends took care of me, brought me over to another friend of theirs, and we all did a barbeque and had a generally good time well past midnight. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

I had in passing mentioned that I liked the run-down feeling of abandoned places, so yesterday, Wombat took us (me, roommate and friend) out to an abandoned whiskey bottling factory, to explore. That place was truly awesome, with abandoned machines, huge, empty storage buildings, overgrown cars and tracks and nature sprouting verdently out of everywhere. I was in awe, and I took so many photos that my camera ran out of battery just as we were getting ready to leave, netting me 275 photos from that place alone. It was a great place, as I'm sure you'll agree once I get these photos up as well! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png


I put away my doom when around other persons. It doesn't play well with others. :smallwink:

Yeah, I would say that for the entire time, you were more of a daring wombat than a doomy one. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png


Teddy has left my company, and I must say it was a pleasure having him. :smallsmile: He fit right in with my normal group, and I'm only sad that the visit wasn't longer. Still, it was fun, and I'm happy he came to visit. Safe travels, my friend!

Thank you! It was a great time and your friends were great as well! I wish you a good journey down life's roads as well! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Teddy]

Today sure was a day. But I'll get to that later...

My Dimonite stay was a pretty calm and not very eventful one, and I needed that. On the second night, he took me and a friend of his to a really neat lookout spot hidden in the bushes behind his old middle school, from which you could see all of Rochester. Or rather, could have hadn't Rochester been a city of trees, so you only saw treetops until you reached the skyscrapers in the centrum. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

On Thursday, he and a group of mixed friends took me out for laser tag, which was really fun! The crammed arena was built so that every cover left you open toward two directions, and we were playing a all-on-all game, leading to a lot of running from my part as I tried to never let myself get pinned down. It was a winning strategy, or rather, would have been had the game actually penalised getting shot more than just the six seconds of weapon jam. Sadly, though, I learned that I probably had a latent cold in my body the hard way, as when I got out of the arena, my head was pounding and my lungs felt like they'd been torn asunder. I got better eventually, but I couldn't participate in the second game, much to my dismay. I still did have a lot of fun, though. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

Later that day, we from the second paragraph went downtown for something called Thursdays on First, which was sort of like a market fair, where we cruised between the different stands selling pizza and toys and steampunk jewelry, which was pretty nice as well... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

We also played a few board games over the days, and I kind of proved that I have a tendency to be lucky at board games, even though the sample size this time was a bit small... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png


So, today was a travel day. Most of it was spent running around, as my schedule was so tight that I got to both my flights just as they opened the gates. I just barely managed to have any lunch, for one.

When I arrived to Winnipeg, though, I was once again reminded that what I'm doing is actually pretty weird by the average standards. To describe the situation form another angle, if you're an international traveller visiting friends you know only from the Internet, who you can't remember the full name of, nor the age or occupation, and try to explain that to the customs officer, the immigration police will take extra interest in you. Que one hour of an immigration police officer asking you about everything you know while going through all of your computer and your baggage (with rubber gloves), while you stand there, awkwardly answering her questions to the best of your ability, trying to help as much as possible which only makes her nervous because you're getting to close to her and walk behind her desk and whatnot, waiting in awkward silence as she slowly double-clicks through your entire directory system, and accidently doing semi-Freudian slips like saying "razor" when you mean "zipper".

When she said I made her nervous, I said I was quite nervous myself. She asked why.
...
I didn't think to say it, nor would I have said it even if I did, but what did she think? Suffice to say, I was a bit shakened when I finally got let into the country, despite their professionality and (to be honest, kinda cold) politeness.


Then I could finally contact Kneen, and after a slice of pizza for not-really-a-dinner, we headed off for a quite awesome boardgaming café, where we had a game of Timeline and BANG! each. I didn't win any of them, but I didn't finish last either. Felt kinda appropriate for the day as a whole. At least I managed to provide some excitement for those poor immigration officers. They can't have very stimulating days. I guess I now also know the full standard protocol for deviant customs customers. And to always bring enough information to the customs desk. And Canadians at least do one thing right: They have free WiFi on their airports. That one was a life-saver...
...
In the end, I suppose it's an experience and a story to add to the rest on the heap. Now I just need to figure out if I'll manage to get some sleep as well, or not...

[enderlord99]

And Canadians at least do one thing right: They have free WiFi on their airports.

So do some parts of the US.

[Kneenibble]

The good officers of my nation were right to grill this fellow: for I see now that he be crafty beyond my zaniest reckonings and has evaded my best attempts to neutralize the threat of him through budgie bites, mushrooms, and reckless driving. I cannot imagine the wake of mischief tangled across the world behind him.

[MoonCat]

Teddy, is the schedule on page four still the one you're following for all your flights?

[Teddy]

Teddy, is the schedule on page four still the one you're following for all your flights?

Yes. I've also finally booked my flights within Australia. I'll update my schedule, including some posts which have already passed, seeing how they're stupid or wrong by now...



Name
Date of Arrival
Arrival Information
Date of Departure
Departure Information


Asta Kask
1 July
Will arrive by train
3 July
Flight departing 16:35.


All-nighter
3 July
Flight arriving 17:40.
4 July
Early morning train.


UKitP
4 July
Got there at 10-ish.
7 July
Left at whatever...


Strawberries
7 July
Got there one bag short.
9 July
Flight departing 12:05.


DraPrime
9 July
Flight arriving 15:10 at Newark Airport, NY. Took Amtrak from it.
11 July



TheWombatOfDoom
11 July
Did probably arrive by train from Boston.
14 July
Flight departs from Newark 17:08. Amtrak.


Dimonite
14 July
Flight arrives to Minneapolis 19:12 + 3 more hours. Got a shuttle later than booked.
19 July
Flight departs from Minneapolis 15:35. All fine and dandy.


Kneenibble
19 July
Flight arrives 20:01. Immigration police release me at 20:50
22 July
Flight departs 13:00.


MoonCat
22 July
Flight arrives 17:39.
27 July
Flight departs 11:45.


Haluesen
27 July
Flight arrives to Bakersfield 17:56.
31 July
Flight departs from Bakersfield 19:00.


Skeppio
2 August
Flight arrives 09:45.
3 August
Fligth departs from terminal 3 17:00.


Serpentine
3 August
Flight arrives to domestic terminal 19:10
8 August
Fligth departs from domestic terminal 09:45


chaotic stupid
8 August
Flight arrives at Newcastle Airport at 11:05. Probably won't bother with such trivial matters such as hotels or sleep.
9 August
Flight departs from Sydney at 06:40. Has not yet booked any transportation to it.



(As you can see, I'm probably shouldn't be allowed near a keyboard for sleep reasons right now... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png)

[MoonCat]

Excellent, good to know that hasn't changed.

This is also a reminder: Answer your email Teddy.

Or I will come for you. Or rather, I won't come for you, because I won't be able to find you in the airport, and you'll be stranded in Seattle and it will suck, so I'm essentially threatening you with the fact that I am not ommnipresent or omniscient.

[TaiLiu]

Make sure to take plenty of pictures with Teddy! :smallsmile:

[Serpentine]

Hey Teddy, I'm kinda planning out your stay with me. Is that okay? Is there anything you know you intend to do? And about what sort of temperature would you consider suitable for swimming?

[Gnomvid]

Hey Teddy, I'm kinda planning out your stay with me. Is that okay? Is there anything you know you intend to do? And about what sort of temperature would you consider suitable for swimming?

He's Swedish anything above -5 is acceptable for swimming purposes

[Asta Kask]

Will there be pictures coming forth soon?

[lesser_minion]

Serpy! Hi :smallbiggrin:.

I've just popped down to the train station to collect Teddy's bag, and it's now temporarily staying at my place while we figure out how best to transport it to Sweden.

Others at the lost property office were less fortunate. There was a young lady in tears reporting her bag stolen, which was uncomfortable to say the least.

[Serpentine]

I wish you were on Facebook so we could stay in touch properly :c

So his bag turned up eventually? Yay! That's something, at least.

Poor girl, that'd be a rotten feeling :smallfrown:

[TheWombatOfDoom]

serpy! Hi :smallbiggrin:.

I've just popped down to the train station to collect teddy's bag, and it's now temporarily staying at my place while we figure out how best to transport it to sweden.

Others at the lost property office were less fortunate. There was a young lady in tears reporting her bag stolen, which was uncomfortable to say the least.

Huzzzzzzzah! (except for the less fortunate. :smallfrown:)

[Teddy]

Hey Teddy, I'm kinda planning out your stay with me. Is that okay? Is there anything you know you intend to do? And about what sort of temperature would you consider suitable for swimming?

Hmm, not really. I'm very much an "anything goes" type of person, which comes with the flipside of me being very unable to figure out if I want to do something specific. I can answer yes-or-no questions, but as soon as I have several alternatives to pick from, my brain usually locks up unless I'm given a lot of time to order them based on preference...

And as for swimming, well, that depends entirely on the outside temperature. If it's decently warm, then 20°C should work for a while. Warmer than that is better, I doubt it's going to be so warm it becomes uncomfortable... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png


He's Swedish anything above -5 is acceptable for swimming purposes

Only if there's a bastu (i.e. sauna) nearby. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png


Will there be pictures coming forth soon?

Eventually, yes. I uploaded a good 200 pictures to my photobucket account a week ago, but even after a second sorting, I need to put them in a post and write small descriptions for most of them, so you'll have to excuse me if pictures are slow. I'm sorry.


I've just popped down to the train station to collect Teddy's bag, and it's now temporarily staying at my place while we figure out how best to transport it to Sweden.

Yay!! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png


Others at the lost property office were less fortunate. There was a young lady in tears reporting her bag stolen, which was uncomfortable to say the least.

Aww, that's sad. I would probably have been utterly devastated had that happened to me too... http://i.imgur.com/xVZ2F1e.png

[factotum]

Warmer than that is better, I doubt it's going to be so warm it becomes uncomfortable... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png


You do realise Serpentine lives in Australia, right? :smallwink:

[Skeppio]

You do realise Serpentine lives in Australia, right? :smallwink:

You do realise it's winter in this hemisphere, right? :smallconfused:

[Serpentine]

You do realise I'm in Queensland, right? :smalltongue:

It is still winter, but it's starting to get warmer already - meant to get to 25oC in the next few days.

Wellp, Teddy, I'll tell you what I've got in mind sometime when I'm not at a birthday party. There is a fixed point in that if we wanna go to the beach at Bridie Island we can only get a lift on the Thursday.

[Asta Kask]

And as for swimming, well, that depends entirely on the outside temperature. If it's decently warm, then 20°C should work for a while. Warmer than that is better, I doubt it's going to be so warm it becomes uncomfortable... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

Meanwhile, you're missing the 30 degree heatwave here. Be grateful. The cats are completely knocked out. I barely step outside to do the most necessary things. It's too hot. Too hot.

On the plus side, I hear that there are places in Australia where it reaches 50 degrees in summer. Do not want.


You do realise I'm in Queensland, right? :smalltongue:

Have you bent any bananas lately? My research indicates that that's what Queenslanders do to occupy their spare moments.

[Haluesen]

Hi Teddy! :smallbiggrin: Good to know that no major planning is needed. Are ready for you to come here though, but I have to ask if you would like to travel to where I live the night you arrive, or if you want to stay with my family and I for a day? There's a bit to see in the city here and my mom said that staying a night is alright. Just would like to know before Sunday if possible.

[Teddy]

You do realise I'm in Queensland, right? :smalltongue:

It is still winter, but it's starting to get warmer already - meant to get to 25oC in the next few days.

Wellp, Teddy, I'll tell you what I've got in mind sometime when I'm not at a birthday party. There is a fixed point in that if we wanna go to the beach at Bridie Island we can only get a lift on the Thursday.

Well, I was more thinking about the water temperature, since that's the true deciding factor for how long I can stay in the water, but if the air is warmer, the water can be cooler and I'll still find it fine...


Meanwhile, you're missing the 30 degree heatwave here. Be grateful. The cats are completely knocked out. I barely step outside to do the most necessary things. It's too hot. Too hot.

On the plus side, I hear that there are places in Australia where it reaches 50 degrees in summer. Do not want.

I'm actually not very grateful. 30°C sounds lovely for as long as I've got enough water. Yes, I'm a strange Swede... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/FZ6yI9l.png

50°C sounds a bit over the top, though. It's going to require a lot of water for me to stand that...


Hi Teddy! :smallbiggrin: Good to know that no major planning is needed. Are ready for you to come here though, but I have to ask if you would like to travel to where I live the night you arrive, or if you want to stay with my family and I for a day? There's a bit to see in the city here and my mom said that staying a night is alright. Just would like to know before Sunday if possible.

One night in the city could be fun, so I say yes. Plus, I may need to buy myself a new pair of swimming trunks because of bag. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

ION:
Staying here with Moonie is fun, but I'm not very good at taking care of myself. I'll write down everything interesting which has happened since last time as soon as I stop slamming myself into the concrete wall that is the limitations of my psyche. The next time I start planning a trip like this, remind me to write the full and complete Book of Teddy first. And then give it to everyone I'm planning to stay with... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

[MoonCat]

The sheer fact that we wont be in the grunge-hole that is Seattle tomorrow will probably help. Unless Cards Against Humanity games with MoonCat's real-life friends are equally horrifying.

And I'd like to preorder that manual.

ION: Teddy's been an excellent guest. We spent the first day in town, which was randomly hit by a massive rainstorm unlike anything I've seen all year. And we tried pop rocks for the first time! We went to the bunkers yesterday, pictures forthcoming. I made Teddy endure me singing and we found a nest of baby birds living inside one of the bunkers. Today, we took an early-morning trip to Seattle with my resident paternal chauffeur, who had some work thing in the city that day. We wandered around Pike's Place and Pioneer Square over the course of five hours or so, stopping at multiple bookstores, one vintage paper store (I got a 1891 map of the German Empire for my father.), and plenty of time just walking around while I denied having gotten us lost. We spent the late afternoon celebrating Dad's birthday and going to a local park, where we impressed some local stoners with our spirit of adventure. (By the way, happy birthday Wombat! That makes five people I know or know of who were born on this date. :smallconfused::smalleek:) Teddy has also now learned how to play Rummikub.
Tomorrow, the plan is to go to the Farmer's Market and play CAH. We'll see how that goes, and I'll upload pictures sometime when I'm not dead exhausted. Rawr.

So far, the only negative aspects of the trip, in my view, have been:


Getting sexually harrassed when I was going by myself to pick up Teddy the first day. :smallyuk:
Worrying about this dork accidentally killing himself through lack of sleep and/or stressing himself out.
Consistently going in the wrong direction every time I have been in charge of navigating anywhere in Seattle or the bunkers. :smallredface:
We appear to be under an eldritch curse that prevented us from finishing our ice cream. It's so strange.
The extreme internal crisis I have every time I have to either say Teddy's name or his username, since I never decided which one to stick to. (Teddy has gotten around it in my case by simply never calling me by either of my names. Except for twice today, when he's called me Moony.)

And frankly, none of that even compares to the lovely time I think we're having. 10/10, would host again.

One last note, I love SarahV's book about teddies. So cool!

[Serpentine]

Unfortunately it looks like the weather's gonna be a butt :smallfrown: Hopefully the forecast was wrong and it'll be warmer than 22oC while you're here...

[Asta Kask]

Unfortunately it looks like the weather's gonna be a butt :smallfrown: Hopefully the forecast was wrong and it'll be warmer than 22oC while you're here...

We can switch weather. I could do with some 22C right now.

[Serpentine]

Hey Teddy, I wanna suggest that you go to one of the wildlife parks around here. There's Currumbin Sanctuary (http://www.cws.org.au/) on the Gold Coast, or Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (http://www.koala.net/) in Brisbane. Currumbin is bigger and has huge swarms of lorikeets you can feed, but is much further away (the trip would take about 2 hours by public transport) and usually more expensive. Lone Pine is much closer and cheaper and is, obviously, big on the koalas, but I think it's also a bit smaller. They both more or less have the same sorts of animals (I think Currumbin might have more species, but Lone Pine has platypi), including kangaroos you can pat.
I wasn't going to go into this 'til you got here because it seems like you're not keen on that, butt (!) I just saw that there's a Groupon for Currumbin that makes it much, much cheaper - even when you take into account the extra public transport it's about comparable. It only says "limited time remaining" which I think means it'll still be around for several days yet, but I thought I ought to mention it so that if you're keen I can buy the tickets to make sure we get them.
No big deal, though, I'm sure both would be great!

[Asta Kask]

Koalas look mighty cute, but aren't they either stoned off their asses or crazy aggressive?

[Haluesen]

One night in the city could be fun, so I say yes. Plus, I may need to buy myself a new pair of swimming trunks because of bag. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

ION:
Staying here with Moonie is fun, but I'm not very good at taking care of myself. I'll write down everything interesting which has happened since last time as soon as I stop slamming myself into the concrete wall that is the limitations of my psyche. The next time I start planning a trip like this, remind me to write the full and complete Book of Teddy first. And then give it to everyone I'm planning to stay with... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

Sounds cool! It'll be fun. Got my brother and Shardok with me to meet you at the airport, so guess see you in a few hours from the time of writing this!

And take care of yourself! Fairly important you know. :smalltongue: With hopes we'll be able to manage out here without the quintessential Book of Teddy.

[Teddy]

The sheer fact that we wont be in the grunge-hole that is Seattle tomorrow will probably help. Unless Cards Against Humanity games with MoonCat's real-life friends are equally horrifying.

And I'd like to preorder that manual.

I don't think horrifying is the correct word. It's just... loud and exhausting...

Don't worry, though. You did a great job as a host. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


ION: Teddy's been an excellent guest. We spent the first day in town, which was randomly hit by a massive rainstorm unlike anything I've seen all year. And we tried pop rocks for the first time! We went to the bunkers yesterday, pictures forthcoming. I made Teddy endure me singing and we found a nest of baby birds living inside one of the bunkers. Today, we took an early-morning trip to Seattle with my resident paternal chauffeur, who had some work thing in the city that day. We wandered around Pike's Place and Pioneer Square over the course of five hours or so, stopping at multiple bookstores, one vintage paper store (I got a 1891 map of the German Empire for my father.), and plenty of time just walking around while I denied having gotten us lost. We spent the late afternoon celebrating Dad's birthday and going to a local park, where we impressed some local stoners with our spirit of adventure. (By the way, happy birthday Wombat! That makes five people I know or know of who were born on this date. :smallconfused::smalleek:) Teddy has also now learned how to play Rummikub.
Tomorrow, the plan is to go to the Farmer's Market and play CAH. We'll see how that goes, and I'll upload pictures sometime when I'm not dead exhausted. Rawr.

So far, the only negative aspects of the trip, in my view, have been:


Getting sexually harrassed when I was going by myself to pick up Teddy the first day. :smallyuk:
Worrying about this dork accidentally killing himself through lack of sleep and/or stressing himself out.
Consistently going in the wrong direction every time I have been in charge of navigating anywhere in Seattle or the bunkers. :smallredface:
We appear to be under an eldritch curse that prevented us from finishing our ice cream. It's so strange.
The extreme internal crisis I have every time I have to either say Teddy's name or his username, since I never decided which one to stick to. (Teddy has gotten around it in my case by simply never calling me by either of my names. Except for twice today, when he's called me Moony.)

Moonie got most of my stay summed up, but I'll do my own account of my past days anyway. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


In my first day with Kneenibbles, we went to watch two theater plays which were held during the ongoing Fringe Festival. The first one was a silent play directed by a friend of Kneen. It could best be described as a relationship drama which progressively turned into a descent into madness. Despite the lack of words, the actors did a really good work conveying the full sequence of events of the play.

The second play was another relationship drama, but this time as a musical set in Rome at the time of emperor Nero. It was really fantastic, we all left the scene very moved by the performance. And it most certainly wasn't made worse by the fact that despite that we had two thirds of the queue ahead of us, we got the best seats on virtue of no one wanting to sit on the mats right in front of the scene. A magical evening for sure! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

Another highlight from the day were the arrival of Winston, although I suspect my presence may have been stressful for his poor featherly mind. He even bit Kneen in the lip once. He still did spend a short while on my finger, before escaping back to his cage, and hearing his and Kneen's tweeted conversations was so cute! The same is true for the Kneen-Gentlebird tweet-conversations as well. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

The following day we went hiking along a trail following the beach of one of a crater lake bordering Ontario. The nature was fantastic, with so many new trees, so many animals skipping across the path as we approached, large, steep and serrated cliffs and a distant thunder setting the mood. Many delicious berries (although European blueberries are still the best http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png) edged the path, and not a drop fell on the whole way out to the shelter which marked the outer end of the path.

That was half of the trip.

The thunderstorm which slowly had encroached on us finally reached us minutes after we got to the shelter. We quickly rushed to cover, but some helpful person had freed the roof of its paper, and we soon had to huddle up along the single dry wall as streams of water started to run through the gaps between the planks. The lignings struck so often that the thunder never had the chance to die off, lighting up sky with their dramatic flashes, lasting four times as long as any lightnings back in Sweden, and the surface of the sea broke up and fractured under the constant bombardment from aboe.

The heavy rain passed eventually, and we got to see two otters which annoyedly hissed at us as the swam along the beach, constantly diving to avoid my camera (but I still think I got a pair of good pictures http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png). Then our long journey back through thick, soaked undergrowth began. The rainfall returned more than one time, and even when it didn't rain, the dripping from the trees made it all the same. The thunder continued with no lessened intensity, and one lightning struck only a few hundred metres from us, causing such a majestic, crackling roar I've never heard its like.

In the end, we came home wet but happy, having made memories of a hike we all will be late to forget. http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png


Five days ago, I made the trip between Winnipeg and Seattle, and for once, my trip was less eventful for me than for the person picking me up. I must say though that nothing looks as unimpressive as sky scrapers from the air. And the Space Needle looked outright puny where it stood on its own separate from the high skyscrapers of the city centre.

During my first day with Moonie, we went exploring downtown of her town. It has many charming shops, and I found both good pizza, delicious ice-cream and fun items of all kinds. After some time, though, Washington's unusually absent summer rains caught up with us, and we decided to head back and lay a puzzle instead. It was a pleasantly calm day, and a good introduction.

The following day, Moonie took me out to see the bunkers some of you might remember her talking about. We explored echoing concrete halls, narrow maintenance corridors with dripping water, a large dark complex she didn't even remember having been to herself, and the long sloped tunnel someone wittily had written "To Hell" above at the top enterance (the bottom end had said "To Heaven" before someone painted it over). We also found a nest of the cutest little chicks, built on a head-level alcove in one of the tunnels. We managed to get a number of cute pictures with the chicks gaping for the cameras' light before we decided to leave them alone to their worrying parents. It was soo cuuute! http://i.imgur.com/gh2zaGF.png

On Friday, Moonie's dad had sudden job to do in Seattle, and we went with him to get a chance to explore the Pike's Place market. When we got there, the shops weren't yet fully opened, and our tour through the building wasn't impeded the slightest. We ate our breakfast and looked out the sea before we went back to take a closer look to the shops. We went into a book store, a comics store (it's all so diffferent from home... http://i.imgur.com/AT4x3dQ.png), a magics store (I wasn't very impressed at most of the frankly juvenile tricks sold there) and the vintage posters store Moonie got her map from. By the time we were done with all these, the market was so crowded it was impossible to move, and we left to hang at the Pioneer Square a bit while waiting for lunch. One of the local residents decided that my saying "I'm from Sweden" sounded like it came directly from a movie. I guess I'm flattered... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

We had lunch together with her now done dad as well as two friends of theirs, and it was nice, even though people seem to constantly forget my special orders. I might also have had a bit of a personal breakdown, the crowded market being mostly to blame, but by now, that's starting to become a bit of par for the course...

In the evening, we celebrated her dad's birthday and played Rummikub, a fun game, even if her parents were too tired for a second game, and even though I didn't win... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

Yesterday, Moonie took me to the traditional Cards Against Humanity she plays with her friends every year(?), and that was fun, in which the best card combo played certainly was "When it comes down to it, eating all the cookies before the AIDS bakery sale is just graverobbing." (wording may differ) by one of her friends. In the afternoon, her family had a pair of friends over, and that was quite fun, even though the amount of socialisation by that point required me to withdraw for half of the evening...


I was actually starting to feel a bit at home at Moonie's house. Both she and her parents are lovely people, so saying goodbye today wasn't easy. The fact that the constant travelling is starting to get to me isn't making it easier. But here I am at San Fransisco Airport, waiting for my flight to Bakersfield. I wasn't happy about beeing venomously told off after not understanding the disembarkment rules and accidently starting to cut the line in front of a man who wasn't moving. But right now it's fairly stable. Quick, though, could someone provide me with an ad-hoc estimate on the DC of ordering lunch?

Still, looking forward to my stay with Haluesen... http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


And frankly, none of that even compares to the lovely time I think we're having. 10/10, would host again.

Thanks! http://i.imgur.com/gh2zaGF.png


One last note, I love SarahV's book about teddies. So cool!

Agreed! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png


Hey Teddy, I wanna suggest that you go to one of the wildlife parks around here. There's Currumbin Sanctuary (http://www.cws.org.au/) on the Gold Coast, or Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (http://www.koala.net/) in Brisbane. Currumbin is bigger and has huge swarms of lorikeets you can feed, but is much further away (the trip would take about 2 hours by public transport) and usually more expensive. Lone Pine is much closer and cheaper and is, obviously, big on the koalas, but I think it's also a bit smaller. They both more or less have the same sorts of animals (I think Currumbin might have more species, but Lone Pine has platypi), including kangaroos you can pat.
I wasn't going to go into this 'til you got here because it seems like you're not keen on that, butt (!) I just saw that there's a Groupon for Currumbin that makes it much, much cheaper - even when you take into account the extra public transport it's about comparable. It only says "limited time remaining" which I think means it'll still be around for several days yet, but I thought I ought to mention it so that if you're keen I can buy the tickets to make sure we get them.
No big deal, though, I'm sure both would be great!

Hmm, I'm not sure. I haven't checked out their websites, but right now I can't really make a decision. If you don't want to make your own decision, I guess the default is the closer one on virtue of the other becoming more unavailable as the date approaches...

[Skeppio]

Oh, Teddy! For stuff to do when you arrive here, I've found that the Aquarium should be open, there's a Dreamworks exhibition still on at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and an exhibition about Aztecs at the Melbourne Museum, if any of those tickle your fancy. That's just what springs to mind right now. I'm not a very good tour guide, and there's not much to do in my hometown anyways... :smalltongue:

Also I need to remember to pick up an extra controller for the Wii U. :smallsmile:

[enderlord99]

Koalas look mighty cute, but aren't they either stoned off their asses or crazy aggressive?

Always the former. The latter are drop bears, which are totally real. They are actually separate species, despite looking identical.

[Asta Kask]

Oh, Teddy! For stuff to do when you arrive here, I've found that the Aquarium should be open, there's a Dreamworks exhibition still on at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and an exhibition about Aztecs at the Melbourne Museum, if any of those tickle your fancy. That's just what springs to mind right now. I'm not a very good tour guide, and there's not much to do in my hometown anyways... :smalltongue:

Also I need to remember to pick up an extra controller for the Wii U. :smallsmile:

Never give him a choice. Choices causes his brain to freeze up.

[Teddy]

Yesterday night was spent with Haluesen, Lord Shardok and Hal's brother at Hal's mum's house. There might've been a bit too much alcohol in motion, so I'm glad I'm good at staying within my limits, and also drinking large amounts of water. Toward the end of the night, I was definitely the best off. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

I also decided to sleep outside in the garden instead of the bed sofa prepared for me. The reasons aren't entirely explained, but it was nice and cosy warm outside, so I didn't really mind the hard ground. I've always wanted to spend a night under the open sky, so that was definitely a nice experience. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


Oh, Teddy! For stuff to do when you arrive here, I've found that the Aquarium should be open, there's a Dreamworks exhibition still on at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and an exhibition about Aztecs at the Melbourne Museum, if any of those tickle your fancy. That's just what springs to mind right now. I'm not a very good tour guide, and there's not much to do in my hometown anyways... :smalltongue:

Also I need to remember to pick up an extra controller for the Wii U. :smallsmile:

Hmm, I think the Aquarium would speak the most to me. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png


Never give him a choice. Choices causes his brain to freeze up.

Hehehe, yeah, this is pretty much true... http://i.imgur.com/rcxULF7.png

EDIT:
Today we went up to Halu and his grandmother's house. It was an interesting car ride through a snaking canyon, but we thankfully didn't fall off any cliff, nor did any cliff fall off onto us. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

Now in the evening, Shardok came over and the four of us played a game of Munchkin. It looked like Shardok would win, but after first having stolen his Kneepads of Allure, I exectuted the most Munchkin-y move I've ever done.

I was at level 6 and facing the level 16 Wight Brothers. I couldn't win on my own, and their Bad Stuff reduces you to level 1, or by 2 levels even if you run away, so I really did want to beat them. I ask Halu for help, and we can just about beat him when Shardok, who is at level 9 (but without items), throws a +10 monster enhancer on it. Seeing how this battle is hopeless, I decide to screw up the game as much as possible. From the Penny Arcade expansion, I play Demonic Metamorphosis, transforming Hal's help into a level 10 monster with the loss of 1 level as its Bad Stuff, and then I use my kneepads to draft Shardok into helping me out, essentially putting him into the same bad seat as me. I finally follow up with an Instant Wall, making my escape automatic (I still lost 2 levels, though), and Shardok botches both his run away checks, putting him way back to level 1. http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

Shardok did eventually mostly recover from that, but my luck held out to the end, and I ended up the winner. And it was a long and exciting game with many strange turns, so I definitely count it among the best ones I've ever had. A great evening in overall. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

[Haluesen]

I have to say it was delightful having Teddy over. :smallbiggrin: I am pretty sure he will put up any details on his time here that he wishes, but I still would like to add my own little documentation.

I think we mostly took it easy over here. There isn't a ton to see or do this part of the year around here unless you have the money and inclination for bowling, drinking, or rafting. So we stayed at my house and just chilled quite a bit. Hopefully you Australians can show him some good adventures though. :smalltongue: It was also nice to introduce him to my family and a couple other friends, and hopefully he found time spent with them enjoyable as well. And I do apologize for that night you had to sleep outside. :smallredface: You seem to have seen it in a positive light though, so that bodes well on how you would rate your stay.

Anyway a little traveling around where I live, a bit of hanging around and chatting. My grandma and I did our best to also do some good cooking. Hospitality and all. :smallsmile: And Teddy was fun to hang out with. Had a lot of laughs, learned a lot of interesting things. As Moony put it so well, 10/10, would host again. :smalltongue:

And yes, that Munchkin move was excellent. :smallamused: I was glad to be of assistance there.

[Lord Shardok]

I have to say it was delightful having Teddy over. :smallbiggrin: I am pretty sure he will put up any details on his time here that he wishes, but I still would like to add my own little documentation.

I think we mostly took it easy over here. There isn't a ton to see or do this part of the year around here unless you have the money and inclination for bowling, drinking, or rafting. So we stayed at my house and just chilled quite a bit. Hopefully you Australians can show him some good adventures though. :smalltongue: It was also nice to introduce him to my family and a couple other friends, and hopefully he found time spent with them enjoyable as well. And I do apologize for that night you had to sleep outside. :smallredface: You seem to have seen it in a positive light though, so that bodes well on how you would rate your stay.

Anyway a little traveling around where I live, a bit of hanging around and chatting. My grandma and I did our best to also do some good cooking. Hospitality and all. :smallsmile: And Teddy was fun to hang out with. Had a lot of laughs, learned a lot of interesting things. As Moony put it so well, 10/10, would host again. :smalltongue:

And yes, that Munchkin move was excellent. :smallamused: I was glad to be of assistance there.

That's pretty much what I was going to say. Cool Dude/10, would go into battle alongside during the zombie apocalypse.

[Serpentine]

Hey Teddy, sorry about this but I like to be organised and some stuff depends on other people who need to be able to plan ahead. Here's what I've got in mind for your time in Brisbane, and if you don't like the look of anything you can veto it.
So you get in on Sunday evening. I'm thinking having a BBQ, but it sucks using ours in the dark so it'll probably just be grilled inside. NBD, anyways.
Monday I reckon would be good for just chilling, maybe going for a walk and orienting yourself. I'll have money then and need to go grocery shopping. I'd like it if you came and pointed out stuff you want, but it doesn't really matter if you'd rather not. Kangaroo fillets for dinner, because of course it is (do you have any particular dietary requirements, btw?).
I'd like to take you to one of the sanctuaries - probably the koala sanctuary cuz it's easier - on Tuesday or Wednesday. That'll be a full-day outing. Dunno about the other day. I was hoping to find someone to take us somewhere we can bushwalk but no dice, though it's possible to get a bus to one place (which also has a pretty spectacular lookout). Or maybe museums and/or meeting up with other Playgrounders in the area. Whatevskis.
On Thursday, a friend of mine is willing to drop us out at Bribie Island then pick us up in the evening. There's a nice beach and stuff out there. That's the only day this friend can drive us out, so unless you wanna veto that idea it has to happen that day. It's really nice, though, and the sand squeaks and there's an old WW2 bunker thing.
Then you leave Friday morning. I'm not sure if I'm able to get you a lift to the airport that day, which will mean a long and expensive public transport trip so I'll keep trying.

I'd like to go out to dinner with you at some point, but unfortunately the only really Australian place I know (Tukka Restaurant, which cooks with native bush foods) is ludicrously expensive. So I wouldn't be able to do more than an afternoon tea there (which is an option), though you're welcome to check it out yourself.

edit: There's two Playgrounders keen to meet you, too, but coordinating that's being tricky. One can do from the afternoon of Tuesday, all day except the middle of Wednesday, or the first half of Thursday. The other seems to be thinking coming for dinner Tuesday, staying for Wednesday and leaving Thursday morning, or coming for dinner on Monday, staying for Tuesday and leaving Wednesday.
So I guess I'm thinking of going to the koala sanctuary on Tuesday, having at least one of them for dinner that night, then maybe playing board games and watching Aussie movies on Wednesday or something, unless you have something else you want to do.
It'd be useful if all three of you could get back to me asap to say what works and what doesn't. If you don't, well, I'm not the one who'll miss out, eh *shrug*

[Teddy]

I have to say it was delightful having Teddy over. :smallbiggrin: I am pretty sure he will put up any details on his time here that he wishes, but I still would like to add my own little documentation.

I think we mostly took it easy over here. There isn't a ton to see or do this part of the year around here unless you have the money and inclination for bowling, drinking, or rafting. So we stayed at my house and just chilled quite a bit. Hopefully you Australians can show him some good adventures though. :smalltongue: It was also nice to introduce him to my family and a couple other friends, and hopefully he found time spent with them enjoyable as well. And I do apologize for that night you had to sleep outside. :smallredface: You seem to have seen it in a positive light though, so that bodes well on how you would rate your stay.

Anyway a little traveling around where I live, a bit of hanging around and chatting. My grandma and I did our best to also do some good cooking. Hospitality and all. :smallsmile: And Teddy was fun to hang out with. Had a lot of laughs, learned a lot of interesting things. As Moony put it so well, 10/10, would host again. :smalltongue:

And yes, that Munchkin move was excellent. :smallamused: I was glad to be of assistance there.

Thanks! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

And you were excellent hosts, and I frankly needed that downtime. Also, don't worry about me sleeping outside, I did it entirely on my own volition, and the half an hour I spent before going inside picking spiny grass seeds out of the blanket I slept on was still worth it. I mean, when would I otherwise get the chance to sleep right under the stars? The Swedish summer nights aren't nearly as warm... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png


That's pretty much what I was going to say. Cool Dude/10, would go into battle alongside during the zombie apocalypse.

Thanks! And I must say, you're definitely a cool dude too! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png


Hey Teddy, sorry about this but I like to be organised and some stuff depends on other people who need to be able to plan ahead. Here's what I've got in mind for your time in Brisbane, and if you don't like the look of anything you can veto it.
So you get in on Sunday evening. I'm thinking having a BBQ, but it sucks using ours in the dark so it'll probably just be grilled inside. NBD, anyways.
Monday I reckon would be good for just chilling, maybe going for a walk and orienting yourself. I'll have money then and need to go grocery shopping. I'd like it if you came and pointed out stuff you want, but it doesn't really matter if you'd rather not. Kangaroo fillets for dinner, because of course it is (do you have any particular dietary requirements, btw?).
I'd like to take you to one of the sanctuaries - probably the koala sanctuary cuz it's easier - on Tuesday or Wednesday. That'll be a full-day outing. Dunno about the other day. I was hoping to find someone to take us somewhere we can bushwalk but no dice, though it's possible to get a bus to one place (which also has a pretty spectacular lookout). Or maybe museums and/or meeting up with other Playgrounders in the area. Whatevskis.
On Thursday, a friend of mine is willing to drop us out at Bribie Island then pick us up in the evening. There's a nice beach and stuff out there. That's the only day this friend can drive us out, so unless you wanna veto that idea it has to happen that day. It's really nice, though, and the sand squeaks and there's an old WW2 bunker thing.
Then you leave Friday morning. I'm not sure if I'm able to get you a lift to the airport that day, which will mean a long and expensive public transport trip so I'll keep trying.

I'd like to go out to dinner with you at some point, but unfortunately the only really Australian place I know (Tukka Restaurant, which cooks with native bush foods) is ludicrously expensive. So I wouldn't be able to do more than an afternoon tea there (which is an option), though you're welcome to check it out yourself.

edit: There's two Playgrounders keen to meet you, too, but coordinating that's being tricky. One can do from the afternoon of Tuesday, all day except the middle of Wednesday, or the first half of Thursday. The other seems to be thinking coming for dinner Tuesday, staying for Wednesday and leaving Thursday morning, or coming for dinner on Monday, staying for Tuesday and leaving Wednesday.
So I guess I'm thinking of going to the koala sanctuary on Tuesday, having at least one of them for dinner that night, then maybe playing board games and watching Aussie movies on Wednesday or something, unless you have something else you want to do.
It'd be useful if all three of you could get back to me asap to say what works and what doesn't. If you don't, well, I'm not the one who'll miss out, eh *shrug*

Sunday sounds good!
Monday sounds good. I refuse to eat mushrooms and prefer to avoid cheese, and I am not all too fond of eggs by themselves either. Oh, and fresh rucola/rugola/roquette/whatever-Aussies-call-it-a. That should clear the most frequent of my food aversions. I must admit that I am a bit suspicious toward a lot of food, but I try to suppress that while I'm around people outside of my family, and most things I can eat just fine for as long as they don't have to become my staple diet. Not mushrooms though. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png
Edit-Tuesday and Edit-Wednesday sound good, both of them. http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png
Thursday sounds good, although I'll have to aquire a new pair of swimming trunks if swimming is on the schedule? What did you say the water temperature is around now?
And as for friday, I can handle expensive public transport. I checked my balance the other day and realised I'd spent less than I'd expected (then again, I had no idea of what to expect, so I did aim pretty high and kept some margin when doing my transfers), so there's that...

ION:
I'm not going to write up everything which happened since last time now, because I only slept 1 hour out of the 15 available on my trans-Pacific flight and am pretty tired right now. I'll share this little piece of conversation from the airport in Melbourne:

Customs Officer: *looks at my form where I had had to mark two yes among the checkboxes* What are you declaring?
Me: What?
Customs Officer: What are you declaring?
Me: Oh, I've got some dirt on my shoes.
Customs Officer: *stamps form with pre-approved stamp* http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

[Serpentine]

I have no idea what that rugola stuff is, so I assume that won't be an issue. Sad about the mushies :( Oh well, more for me!

Okay then, you others (including Elemental), take note: Tuesday night and/or Wednesday are open for you joining us for whatever. Tuesday will be the sanctuary (which others can come to too, I'm sure) and Wednesday the chilling at home or spontaneously bussing to the bushwalking spot or whatever. I'll try and acquire some Aussie movies so that's an option.

I have a couple of boardshorts you're welcome to borrow if they fit you, or otherwise we can get some on Monday. Not sure what the water temperature is, but it's not as though it'll be ice melt. If we end up deciding it's too chilly for that (and the forecast is looking pretty depressing - we had a 28oC day just a couple of days ago, and now the forecast is all 9-21 all week), there's plenty of places to walk and stuff.

[Asta Kask]

I have no idea what that rugola stuff is, so I assume that won't be an issue. Sad about the mushies :( Oh well, more for me!

Apparently it's known as roquette in the Anglosphere.

[SarahV]

Apparently it's known as roquette in the Anglosphere.

It's rocket in the UK (from the French "roquette") and arugula in the US (from the Italian "rugola"). Not sure what they call it in Australia, though, as I haven't lived there. :smallsmile: It's a peppery green, at any rate.

[Serpentine]

Oh, rocket. The lettuce thing. Right, gotcha. Oh well.

The plan as it stands so far, just cuz I'm a completionist (and worded cuz it's addressed to anyone who wants to get involved):
Sunday (today) - my friend and I pick Teddy up at about 7pm from Brisbane airport. We, and possibly another couple of friends, will come back to my place for a BBQ dinner.
Monday - Chilling out, exploring, grocery shopping, maybe going swimwear or op shopping if Teddy wants. My signature cumin 'roo fillets on vegetable couscous for dinner.
Tuesday - Koala sanctuary all day. We should be home by about 7pm, from which point some people can come for dinner (not sure what) if they want I suppose.
Wednesday - Up in the air, but would be a good day for a forum mini-meet. We could go to local museums (most of which are free or mostly free), go for a bushwalk and/or hang at home playing board games and watching movies. I'm thinking my suggestion would be to go to the free parts of whatever museums Teddy's interested in and then the movies. The Pancake Manor has been suggested as a possible good choice for going out to, so maybe that.
Thursday - My friend will drop us out at Bribie Island and then leave us there (dun dun dunnn). If the weather's nice enough we can swim at the beach, and if not there's lots of nice places to walk. He'll pick us up after he finishes uni.
Friday - Somehow get Teddy to the airport and a bit past stupid o'clock.

The weather forecast for this week is crap. It's cloudy today and then it's possible showers and maximums of 21, 22, 22, 23 and 23, ugh. That is a little up from the 21s right through that the forecast was saying the other day, so hopefully it'll keep going up, but still. I tend to feel guilty for bad weather...

[Skeppio]

Well I'm back from seeing Teddy off at the station. It was really great to meet him and have him over. :smallsmile:
I'll let him add details when/if he wishes, but I'll write up the jist of it: We went to the Melbourne Aquarium for a while, which was fun. Teddy seemed to like the array of sea life we have down here. Then we went to Federation Square and saw a very entertaining street performer.
After we got back to my place we played Mario Kart 8 for a while. Once Teddy got used to the controls, he started to get rather good at it, including some amazing last-lap comebacks! :smallbiggrin:
All in all, it was very enjoyable having him over, even if I didn't talk a whole lot (I'm not good at making conversation :smallredface:). Hope you enjoyed your stay in Melbourne, and I hope you have a comfy flight and a great time up north Teddy! ^_^

Here's a few pics (souvenir pics from the Melbourne Aquarium, they're better quality than my phone camera):

http://i58.tinypic.com/fdzq5d.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/24dlds5.jpg
http://i57.tinypic.com/2ewo3ms.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/205qcs0.jpg

[Serpentine]

Like herding cats I tell you what...
Teddy's here and we're finally getting out of the house!
Tomorrow (Tues) we're going to the sanctuary. I expect we'll be home by about 7 at which point people can come have dinner with us if they want. So far I don't think that's happening, but if you DO want to do that, tell me in no uncertain terms asap so I can make sure I have enough food. Wed morning at least one forum person will be joining us. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'LL DO WED, outside of "maybe Pancake Manor", so please don't ask me. If you have an idea, tell us, instead. Thurs morning we're going up to Bribie Island.
That is literally all I know. Insert yourself as desired.
Phew...

[Archonic Energy]

Like herding cats I tell you what...
Teddy's here and we're finally getting out of the house!
Tomorrow (Tues) we're going to the sanctuary. I expect we'll be home by about 7 at which point people can come have dinner with us if they want. So far I don't think that's happening, but if you DO want to do that, tell me in no uncertain terms asap so I can make sure I have enough food. Wed morning at least one forum person will be joining us. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'LL DO WED, outside of "maybe Pancake Manor", so please don't ask me. If you have an idea, tell us, instead. Thurs morning we're going up to Bribie Island.
That is literally all I know. Insert yourself as desired.
Phew...

what? it's been 10 hours and no-one has made the obviously silly comment?
shame on you playgrounders!
:smallamused:

[Serpentine]

Inorite? ........

[Serpentine]

First, I get new glasses.
Then, a mini-meet.
Then, the world! Mwahaha!

[Archonic Energy]

optical glasses or drink glasses... it's an important distinction.

*takes over the world with 6 hi-ball glasses and a gallon of whisky*

[Serpentine]

Optical, although I do need drink ones as well since I keep smashing them.

I miss Teddy already ;_;

[Rawhide]

Optical, although I do need drink ones as well since I keep smashing them.

I miss Teddy already ;_;

http://www.southernbellaswaystosave.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/kids02.jpg

[The Succubus]

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (http://www.koala.net/)

o.o

I now have yet another reason to go to Australia in addition to seeing lots of Playgrounders.

[Teddy]

After a long and ardous journey, I'm finally at home. With the adrenaline settled, I came to realise exactly how badly worn I am. Still, a pair nights of sleep and I'm starting to regain a posture of humanity.

My second day at Halu's place was mostly spent exploring a nearby village which was the tourist spot of hist valley. Walking along the river and the houses of his childhood, I must say that neighbourhoods sure are quite different wherever you go in the world. The sun was shining harsh down upon us, but hot weather seems to bother me even less now that it used to do. All in all, it was a nice day spent.

The following day was a much needed slow day. In the evening, though in the evening, Halu took me to visit another friend of his. Sadly, I didn't manage to interact all too much with her. I was too distracted by the YouTube videos played on the computer, and she was sitting a few steps away. I'm not all too happy about how easy I am to distract sometimes...

The travel day was mostly slow as well, but Shardok came over to hang out a bit after before I left. He'd intended to bring some of his homemade mead along (because I'm a sucker for mead), but to everyone's disappointment the yeast hadn't settled yet, so it wasn't ready for drinking and I couldn't test it. Oh well, next time. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png

My flight to Australia, as already noted, was a long and trying one. Despite the 15 hour pan-Pacific being a nightly one, and despite the fact that I was well prepared with earbuds and sleeping mask, I only managed to get one single hour of sleep toward the end of it. Nevertheless, I managed to stave off the sleep deprivation well enough to have a greatly enjoyable day with Skeppio. First we went to the Melbourne aquarium, which had a lot of really cool animals. I had a great time, despite my camera pretty much running out of battery almost immediately, as I'd forgotten to charge it before I left the states. I especially liked the glass tunnels over which huge stingrays would pass at almost reaching distance. Australia has so many colourful fishes, and corals, and seahorses! And also funny penguins. It was a really well built aquarium. http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

In the evening, we played Mario Kart 8 well into the night. It was really fun, I can see how this game was so well reserved. At first the controls were just way too many buttons, but toward the end, I'd gotten a well enough hang of it to execute some cool manouvers and do a few surprising comebacks. Or run into a wall and drop from first to ninth place, because that's how you roll... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

The only negative side of my Melbourne stay was that, well, let's just say that Australian architects believe in the Australian winter just as much as the rest of us, i.e. not at all. When I woke up in the morning, the whole world was covered in frost, and strange sight for me who came from the 35°C of California, and the house wasn't much better. The entire lower floor was pretty much uninhabitable, which made going to the bathroom a bit inconvenient. Especially since the uninsulated walls meant the hot water was pretty much deep frozen as well. No showering for me. http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

My final stay on the tour was long and yet not nearly long enough. Brisbane was is a pretty city and Serpentine was an excellent host who took me all around to see it. In the night of arrival, she had a pair of friends over and we watched the hilariously low-budget Australian zombie movie Undead. We also watched The Castle, but I can't remember if this was a latter day or not.

The first day, Serps took me for a walk around central Brisbane. We explored the river boulevard and the botanical gardens, where we saw wonderful flowers and I hugged a boxwood kangaroo. In the evening we ate kangaroo as well, which tasted pretty good.

In the second day, we went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, a wilderness-oriented zoo with lots and lots of koalas. We saw a bird show, and I got pictures with both bird (best eagle! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png), snake (and Serp! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png) and a koala (so floofy! http://i.imgur.com/jLvmsd9.png). We also got to partake in the feeding of the lorrikeets, which flocked everywhere around us! And we fed and petted kangaroos, which ranged from completely content with life to being pushy and pretty grabby, rather going for the bag than the food in your hands. And we saw a sleeping wombat which just looked so I-can't-even-start-describing-it where it lay on its back, legs outstretched. And I even managed to befriend a pair of the utterly cute, shy wallabies. Or "wabblies" as Serps called them, and now I'm doing it as well! And there was even more animals and I pretty much had a cuteness overload! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

In the evening, we went and bought deliciously decadent hot chocolate (almost like molten chocolate) at a hot chocolate bar in the city centre, and then we went back home and had Crocodile, which, well, tasted pretty similar to chicken, but the texture of the meat was very much more like that of pork. Not bad, although not quite worth it's price. I think I'll stick to the kangaroo... http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

On the following day, we (initially just me, because Serps had an appointment with her doctor to get new glasses) met up with a bunch of other playgrounders. First I met up with Elemental (and his sister) on another hot chocolate café, and after hanging out for a bit, we wen t walking down the river boulevard until Serps could meet up with us. A bit later in the day, Rawhide came to join up with us as well, his first question being if he seemed more human now. And to answer that, yes, yes he was, and a delightfully silly human at that while still retaining the ability to stay serious. We ate at a flower shop café, went to visit the Queensland museum (where I did modern art with their information monitors on dinosaurs, and then we nailed the really hard word puzzle in the children's section (pictures will be).

In the evening, after the others had said their goodbyes, Serps and Rawhide took me to this really fancy restaurant (although the building was a bit run down, it was an interesting contrast) serving luxury food made from local fauna. I had the emu, which surprisingly enough looked like beef and tasted quite reminiscent of it as well. It was delicious, with the only drawback being the general rule that serving sizes stand inversely proportional to how expensive the restaurant was. Oh well, I had enough notes to stop it from burning a hole in my wallet, but it was far from cheap...

In the last full day, a friend of Serps drove us out to Bribie island, where we took a long walk along the beach. It was a beautiful day, and we marveled at all the wonderful fauna, from the silly soldier crabs running in great flocks, fleeing before your feat and burrowing all at once until you hardly believed they'd covered half the beach, to the pufferfish, the strange sea slugs and the pair of eagles passing over our heads. We also founds lots of pretty shells, corals and mother-of-pearl, and I made sure to collect as much of the latter as my hands would hold. I even brought some home! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

In the evening, Serps friend picked us up and we drove to Mount Mee, a great vantage point from which we could observe the sunset (it sets so fast down there) and the emergence of the star. I got to see the southern cross, and the rabbit in the moon. Sadly, though, the still-a-bit-from-full moon overshadowed (overlighted?) the night sky, so I didn't get to see the Winter Road (Milky Way) in its full glory, but as a consolation prize, I got to learn that my camera can take some really good moon photos.

My travel day eventually came way too soon. Serps offered me to follow her to Armidale for another week, promising bushwalks and other funsies, and I was about to take up on the deal when I learned that there was no other day on which there would be a free seat on each of the three planes required to take me home before September. Seeing how that was just way too much, I had to hurriedly buy a ticket to Sydney the very same day, fight with the "temporary problem"s of Virgin Australia's online booking tool, do a 30 minute phone call (spelling out my name takes time, as does repeating my credit card details 3 times over), and say my heartfelt goodbyes before the 36 hour journey home.

Time does become a strange thing when you travel. When I in Frankfurt, only two hours from home, saw the full moon, I found it puzzling, because the moon hadn't been full ast night when I watched it with Serps. Then I realised that with the time zones and the night I spent awake herded into a corner of Sydney's airport playing Civ, "last night" was actually two and a half day ago.

Also, I don't like it when everyone sitting by the windows in a plane pull down their curtains. Nothing makes me feel as much locked up inside a tin can as the inability to see out. Also, I find it a complete waste of window space. I should probably have asked someone if they were willing to trade seats with me...


In conclusion, this truly was the trip of my life. So many great friends met, so many experiences gained. Before I left, my parents said that I would come home a new person, and while I'm still very much me, I think that might be true. I've pushed too many limits and lived too much outside of my comfort zone to not have grown from it, but I guess I won't know how until I've been allowed to settle down a bit more into my own routine again. I extend my greatest thanks to all the friends who took me in on this tour, to all of those who hung out with me, took me to activities, kept me company, helped me out when I was in trouble and hugged me when I was sad. It's been a wonderful time, and it hasn't been nearly time enough. One day I'll have to do this trip anew, and then I'll make sure to spend as much time with you as you all deserve! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png


PS: Pictures will appear as soon as I have the energy to upload them. Hopefully tomorrow, I might do it in several runs...

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Glad you're back safe! And you saw a live wombat?! Sqeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[KuReshtin]

Good to hear that you're back home safe and sound.

Your parents were right, that you will have changed as a person, even if you yourself won't notice it for a while.
You've already mentioned a few things that's changed in this thread, including the events that caused you to have to start improvise, which you've said that you don't like.
You might not like it even after this, but now, at least, you'll know that you can handle it, and that improvisation isn't necessarily a bad thing.
One can not plan out everything in advance, and having to go with the flow and keep on going regardless of how things change is a very good thing to be able to handle.

Take at least a few days, preferably a week to get racclimatised at home before you start looking for new things. As you've learned from the trip, jet-lag is a very real thing and it can cause havoc several days after you get back home, so don't do too much hectic stuff too soon after you're back home.

[Asta Kask]

Congratulations for your safe return.

*fireworks* (but silent fireworks, because my cat hates explosions)

[Skeppio]

Yeah, our house can get pretty damn cold in winter. :smalltongue:

Very glad to hear you've arrived home safely and that you enjoyed your stay here. :smallsmile: Glad you liked all the strange sea creatures we have on offer down here! :smallbiggrin:

[Serpentine]

I'm still super sad that you've gone and didn't get to come down with me. Next time!
I'll post the pictures I got eventually, too. 'specially since half of them I pretty much just took for you, in case you didn't get something.

[FinnLassie]

I'm glad you're back home safe and sound. As Kurre said, take it easy, give your mind and body time to get used to the regular life again... :smallsmile:



Also, I don't like it when everyone sitting by the windows in a plane pull down their curtains. Nothing makes me feel as much locked up inside a tin can as the inability to see out. Also, I find it a complete waste of window space. I should probably have asked someone if they were willing to trade seats with me...

Well, I usually pick myself a window seat as it's the most convenient in terms of sleeping. There are many reasons why people close the lid, one being that it's really annoying to have the cold window against your cheek if you sleep. Other things are depending on the time of the day the amount of sunshine or the flashing lights of the plane... and sometimes people just don't like looking out of the window, but as I said, it's a convenient spot (especially if you don't plan on running to the toilet at every hour during a long flight). It's not always the person's choice to be by the window anyways, so, eh.

[Teddy]

I'm glad you're back home safe and sound. As Kurre said, take it easy, give your mind and body time to get used to the regular life again... :smallsmile:

Yeah, I'll try to take it a bit slow. It's not all too easy, though, I've still got a bunch of stuff to wrap up. Pictures, for one, and I need to clean up my room after dumping all my stuff on the table, and I want to do a complete write-up of my expenses...


Well, I usually pick myself a window seat as it's the most convenient in terms of sleeping. There are many reasons why people close the lid, one being that it's really annoying to have the cold window against your cheek if you sleep. Other things are depending on the time of the day the amount of sunshine or the flashing lights of the plane... and sometimes people just don't like looking out of the window, but as I said, it's a convenient spot (especially if you don't plan on running to the toilet at every hour during a long flight). It's not always the person's choice to be by the window anyways, so, eh.

Yeah, this was a morning flight and the people were predominantly staring themselves blind on their entertainment systems, so none of those really applied apart from the last. Mum suggested that I should've asked the flight crew, since they can have a more distanced and professional relationship to the passengers, but, well, it takes a bit effort for me to ask that sort of thing of people...