h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I figured this out last night, while I was trying to fall asleep (finally gave up after an hour...)

Of course, those of you that've known me long enough to have read F74902?thread=152118 (a journal titled 'This is almost scary...' and written November 18, 2001) will definately recognize the theme here And I've likely whined about it at other times, via other media...

Anyway...

I know the chances of getting to see any of my friends from here IRL ever (or in the case of those that were at the Pennsylvania Dutch meet, again) are somewhere between fat and slim. Yes, I know I've been saying for ages that I'll get to the UK one of these years (since modified to 'by the end of the decade') but with the way finances are right now... I don't know. I even doubt that we'll be doing a drive around the country, even in a borrowed RV, if we can swing that, anytime soon, and that'd be much cheaper! So us visiting folks looks pretty bleak.

What about the other way 'round? After all, 2legs and I have been discussing him coming over here for awhile for nearly 2 years now, Croz has said that once he gets a job and a passport, he'll visit (and fix this machine, to boot), Kaz and Moonglum have said something about a trip this way in a few years, Shea and TJ might want to add another magnet to their collection, and Tac's claimed that driving cross country wouldn't take *that* long (which I believe--he drives like some of my relatives) Well, all of 'em are either short on finances, time, or both... And so are most of my friends that haven't said anything ever about visiting... 'tis what I get for knowing so many uni students, I suspect *sigh* It would almost be easier if Tom had been right about people you never see being almost impossible to make real friends with... (To be fair to him, he only said that when I was first starting here--he's seen how close I am to many of you, and has seen me become quite concerned at times...)

Of course, if I weren't so in' insecure about friendships, it would help... I'm not *used* to having close friends. I'm used to being the 'invisible' person--I'm less lonely when alone than in a crowd. I've never really been an outcast--just not part of any one group. In high school, I had friends that were stoners, head bangers, preppies, skaters, and none of the above... So since I can't figure out why anyone'd be interested in *me* I can get clingy at times... Which I know is annoying, and I'm much less so now than I was 2 years and 3 months ago...

Can't really think of a good stopping point, so I guess that's it.

You think teleporting will be available any time soon?


* goes on playing the lottery - "A tax for the mathematically incompetent" *

awwww....

you are not invisable. you are more a very good friend over the big water

Is there anyone working on a teleporter? *sigh*

Ah, but IRL I *do* tend to be invisible... Well, before we got the little attention magnet 3 months ago

I think in australiia they had small breakthru with teletransport

I think I first met you when I was having my breakdown, you really cared and feeling that from someone I had never met before was wonderful. I am quite daft with friendships, I go from utterly clingy to quite offhand, but I love some of my friendships here and feel that I have made real friends. When they don't post for a while, I get all paranoid, but thats just cause I miss them.

Anyway back to you, you have supported me in my trials, even when its just a , I know thats because you have taken the time out for me! It may not be a lot of time, but there are many people here to get through, so we can't be greedy!

It can be weird being friends with people you have never met, but it means in the future you have all these weirdos to stay with on cheap holidays!!

As for our trip, I still need to get my bike license and venture out from the car park where I practise, and yes we are broke too, so it won't be soon, but we have every intention of having that bike holiday and of making that detour and coming by to say hi.

I get the impression I have waffled on a bit here, I hope it helps, you are a real friend to many here, you help so many, and we are proud to have your friendship!!

Of course it doesn't help you picking people as lazy as me as friends As you know, if I knew where 'I am' at the moment, in terms of work studying etc., I'd be able to get organised into a trip over pretty easily... I'll have to reappraise my position some time in teh new year, and if it looks as if I'm not moving to anything quickly there is a possibility* Most of the new PhDs for starting Sep/Oct 2004 will be beginning to be advertized soon, probably Jan/Feb/Mar, if* I can find one I like, and get accepted At least then I'd know where I was, in terms of knowing that 'things' would be starting Oct/Sep, so I'd have a clearer idea of where 'i am' Hang on, I've just read through that and it makes no sense to me

heylo.... sorry its being hard.
where do you live again?
i might, but im not sure when, be able to make it down sometime, maybe this winter?

darn it girl, exercise your rights. demand that you be allowed to be sans baby for a week or two during a major london meet, go to economytravel.com and book a cheap ticket for like $400, con accomodation and food off hootooers. take what money you can spare, save every scrap of change you're entitled to, and just *go*. i'm only going to tell you this once. next time i'm going to bring a big stick.

Like I said in that journal I linked to in the first post, this kind of stuff doesn't exactly help in the 'I wanna meet folks' department... (As I told Clive on MSN this morning 'I wanna see an h2g2er *now* </whine&gt Though I do feel a bit better, knowing people actually *want* to...

Kaz, by the time you two are able to come, I should've actually gotten around to getting my driver's license (Actually, I'll probably head over to DMV sometime next week and take the learner's permit test again... And this time I'm not going to let the thing expire before I'm comfortable with the idea of driving, and have actually taken the test...)

2legs-- Though every time I get excited about there being a possibility that you'll actually be able to come, it falls through, so I'll try to stay ... (Still ing at Cambridge) Just remember--from what you've told me of temperature preferences, summer wouldn't be good... Though we do have air conditioning... Hmm... (And it made sense to me. Scary, huh?)

Galen--Where is it you're going to school again? I'm in California, and I seem to remember that you're over on the other side of the continent...

Nyssa (I'm stubborn, and will only call someone by a new name if I'm given very good reason, which is why I'm the only one that doesn't call Kam Stealth... Of course, if a new name's shorter, I might change)... Uh, where was I? Oh yeah--we don't *have* $400 extra... Besides, I want to drag Tom around But when we do get over there eventually, we've lots of places promised to us that we can stay at. And we don't want to stay just a week or 2... 3 weeks or a month... And I plan on trying to talk him into going elsewhere in Europe, like Switzerland, for example Estonia might be a little far, though I'll try my darndest!

If it helps, we're saving up for some long-haul holidays - the only trouble is, grandchildren keep coming along

yeah, new york, i thought you were east coast...

Hi, Amy.

I remember how nice it was to meet you in
Pennsylvania, and how much of a financial
sacrifice it was for you to fly across the
country and pay for accomodations in Lancaster.
You've really done your part to meet the rest
of us. (Actually, I've travelled a fair distance
twice, but neither was comparable to the distance
between coasts.)

I feel guilty for not getting into the planning stage
for that garlic festival. Trouble was, I was not
keen about being in California during the hottest
month of the year, for a festival that would reek of
garlic. I wouldn't even likely get to visit my favorite
San Francisco spots like the tea garden in Golden
Gate Park, or the Muir Woods, etc., etc.

One of the things that really helped the first New York
get-together get off the ground (two months after
9/11/2001, no less!) was that one of the researchers
(Batty) worked in the travel business and could find
affordable accommodations.

If you want to put together a successful meet-up,
you need to have someone well-organized and selfless
fairly close to the place where the get-together will
happen. I expect that Lady Scott did quite a bit to
help make the Pennsylvania meet-up work.

Don't underestimate how much work it will be, though.
Those of us whose only responsibility was to travel
there are pay a couple nights' worth of hotel/motel
bills are greatly indebted to the real heroes/heroines
who put together interesting schedules of events,
scouted around to look at places to stay, and made
reservations at restaurants.

Just some things to think about.

By the way, I love North California, I just don't want
to be there when it's even hotter than Boston in the summer.

I wish I knew were people where in the world, I was in Boston last week and it would have been a good opertunity to meet some Hichickers.

-- DoctorMO --

I don't recall doing any kind of planning to speak of for the Pa Dutch meet... I *do* recall trying to convince you people that August was *not* a good time to be meeting in Lancaster because of how stinkin' hot it would be... but when I couldn't convince you, I did some looking around online for relatively close motels with the cheapest rates, but I certainly didn't make any restaurant reservations, which is why we sort of knocked them off their feet for a bit at the Lyndon Diner, and at Chi-Chi's. I think the waitress at Chi-Chi's was kinda surprised that we'd all met on the internet and were from all over the place. I mean, how many people who meet on the internet get together in such a large group - ever? Only on hootoo, my friends, only on hootoo...

Amy, does the Bay Area Rapid Transit system
extend into your neck of the woods? If
researchers were visiting you, and wanted to
take the train or whatever into San Francisco for
sightseeing, would that be a viable option?

Just curious.

I *think* there's a BART station near the 8th and O lightrail station...

our 'record' of guests so far was 4 (Ottox' sister with her partner and the two kids) - and that went _very_ well!



* chants Te-le-por-ting! Te-le-por-ting! Te-le-por-ting! Te-le-por-ting! *


just in case you wanted to drop in when you're in Switzerland anyway!

I see well I shall make arangments to go to Sweeden in 2050 make sure I visit the mooses.

-- DoctorMO --