The eternal question
Yes, there are more difficult problems to have. I just want you to know that I get that before I start with this thing that is currently making me want to chop my own head off. It’s vacation planning, that hellish thing you do on the way to something which will hopefully take you away to someplace heavenly. But you see, I have restrictions. My vacation has to be:
1. Last week of September/first week of October
2. On Delta (I have a credit)
3. Somewhere I’ve never been.
4. Someplace from where I can easily (and cheaply) get to Israel for the weekend so that I can end my trip by spending the holiday there.
It was going to be Budapest but then I remembered that printing out the itinerary wasn’t the same thing as actually buying a ticket and by the time that occurred to me the price had gone up by about a thousand dollars.
This is harder than it looks, and it looks pretty hard. The head-chopping thing is looking comparatively easy, isn’t it? Now if only I could fill in that top right blank on Delta’s route map.
I’ll keep you posted, since this will effect where in the world you’ll be getting shaky pictures from. Hopefully it won’t be from inside a mental hospital. Not that that wouldn’t be better than my last vacation, but still.
I vote for the place in Greece.
Where are you looking for cheap tickets? Use Kayak.com, they’re the best because they search everyone else for you, thereby allowing you to sit back and enjoy life.
Keep an eye on Budapest, prices might go down.
I guess Boston’s completely out of the question??
Greece is #2 on my list of places to go next time I leave the States.
Tulsa’s just a hop skip and jump from Israel.
How about Romania? I hear they have dragons there.
Lydia, that place is Athens and Greece is actually #1 at the moment! Not because I have a special desire to go there, but because logistically it works out the best. I think I’m going to decide tomorrow for sure. Maybe.
Arj, I love Kayak and actually used them to find the original tickets which are now a credit. But I have to use Delta and I have to use Orbitz so I’m kind of stuck this time. I think that’s what’s sucked all joy out of planning this. Budapest to Israel is now about $1500 and I don’t think it’s going to come down, what with the holiday. Why do all the Jews have to want to go to Israel?
Ima, How prescient of you. I’ll actually be in Boston in about four days. But I don’t think that’s what you meant.
RN, I’m faxing you a new world map.
Soxy, are you confusing Romania with China? Or is this a Harry Potter thing?
Its a Harry Potter thing. But, before yesterday, I didn’t even know where Romania was!
Ah, can you tell I know nothing of Harry Potter? But I do know one thing about Bucharest; it’s full of stray dogs. You know what that means: Becca will never vacation there.
It’s probably not what you meant but why the heck aren’t you going to be there? Feel free to tell me to MYOB, if you like.
Hm, how to tiptoe through this…..
First, for folks who don’t know what we’re talking about, it’s the Komen Race For the Cure in Boston in which many of my friends participate, and which I suggested as a cool place to donate a couple of weeks ago.
OK, so, thing is, I don’t like to participate in “athons” because it’s basically asking people to donate to causes in which I personally believe simply because we’re friends, whereas perhaps they’d prefer to donate elsewhere. I do indeed give to pretty much every “athon” I’m asked to, not just Komen and Bob’s Leukemia & Lymphoma run, but many others throughout the year. This means less money for places like Doctors Without Borders, my favorite charity, which runs no “athons” as far as I know. I tend to contribute to causes that involve the poor or disadvantaged. I don’t know why, but that’s what I’m comfortable with.
And yes, I could travel to the Jersey Shore instead of Greece, and use that money for cancer research, true. But if you knew what my last vacation was like, you’d know that some sort of divine justice demands that I get a decent one this time.
Anyway, I’m not saying it’s wrong to do, and I admire everyone who is committing themselves to it, it’s just that it would be too hard for me to ask my friends to donate to a cause simply because I happen to endorse it. And I think it would be wrong of me to head up to Boston and spend a day (it couldn’t be a weekend because that Saturday is Yom Kippur) hanging out with everyone when I’m not doing anything special to contribute beyond my donation.
Hey, it could have been worse – we could have accepted the Uganda plan.
Too bad you can’t travel in November as I am headed to Greece then. Opa!
We’d never have accepted Uganda! Alas, Sukkot is in Sept/Oct. But I may not get to Greece, anyway. The price went up another $100 today.
If it makes you feel better, I haven’t been to Israel since I was 14, which was a thousand years ago. I even missed out on Birthright because I was too busy rebelling.
I’ve heard wonderful things about traveling in Turkey, and it looks like you could hitchhike to Israel from there.
That’s a wonderful explanation.
Since I don’t suppose you’re coming to Redneckville any time soon, I guess I’ll have t’ git myself up t’ that there big city iff’n I ever want t’ meet ya in person, huh?
Arj, you should go! Just not for Sukkot, it’s kinda pricey. The Princess will love it!
Sarp, Turkey did look cool and of course there’s the whole “gosh it must be safe for a woman to hitchhike in Turkey” thing, but maybe next time.
Come on up, Ima! Although, if Amtrak goes to Alabama, it could make my perennially untaken Amtrak cross-country excursion.
I.Know.Where.The.Amtrak.Station.Is.
Yikes. That looks WAY too stalkerish.
More a stalker of Amtrak. But hey, you’re the #1 commenter, so congrats!
I didn’t even prepare a speech.
Um. Thank you to all the little posters who made this possible and to my boss who lets me play on the internets when we’re not busy and to, um, Coach Paseur who taught me how to type when he wasn’t impregnating young women… Um, yeah, nevermind the thanks to Coach. All he did was write the assignment on the board before he went to the weight room. Screw you, Coach P…
I really need to switch to decaf.
Fuck you, Coach Poser!