New here, great tool (Read 762 times)

Welcome Aaron. Is that SnoopTodd or Diamond Jim? (Beware of the Claire! -- she grows on you quickly. )

Hey folks, Thanks for the welcome notes ... sorry for my tardy replies. Spent the last two weeks in Ireland, only the first by design, and had no Internet. Lest you think I forgot about this polaces, I've created a top-10 list of things I learned on my trip ... 10. Don't go with your in-laws. Love them dearly, and I don't want to sound unappreciative since we never could have afforded the trip on our own, but when on the road, it's tough to have no control over where you go or when you go there. With only one rental car (and a father-in-law unwilling to let anyone else drive it) and most of the time spent about 5K outside of a rural village, you start to go a little batty. 9. Don't cross five time zones with an 8-month old. Seriously, someone told me that this would be the best time to go, because he'd be easy-going and not that mobile. It took the little tyke three days to adjust to the time change, and everyone in our Dublin hotel knew it. 8. If you want to run, don't do it on rural roads in Ireland. I still have scratches on my legs from diving into the shrubbery to avoid getting hit. Not one shoulder on those narrow paths, and it was very obvious that they didn't see too many runners on these roads, because they weren't giving me much room. 7. Rent a cell phone. I thought my cell phone would work in Ireland. I was wrong. I thought that even if it didn't work, I wouldn't really need one. I was wrong (see #2). 6. The US Dollar sucks right now. Not only does the exchange rate with the Euro suck, but prices in Euro are actually HIGHER in Ireland than they are in America in US Greenbacks. 5. Your infant child won't actually sleep in the Aer Lingus bassinet. We thought we were so smart to get these seats ... only problem is that every single person walking to the bathroom right ahead of your row will smile at your baby, coo over your baby and tell him how cute he is. This does not promote sleeping, and leads to #9. 4. Guiness tastes the same in Ireland as it does in the US. This shocked me. Anyone who's ever had Labatt in the US and Labatt in Canada knows that we Americans are getting the shaft. I figured the same had to be true for the Irish, but it turns out that we're getting the same tasty brew here in the states. 3. Rugby is pretty cool. I know tons of people who played in college, but never saw a game because they played on Saturdays and I missed all the games because I was at cross country/track meets. I watched both World Cup semifinals and was amazed. I don't know what the hell was going on, but it was still pretty cool. 2. Don't get appendicitus. My wife came down with a nasty case and after 13 hours in a hospital, they finally did surgery about 15 hours before our flight was supposed to leave for home. We had to spend an additional week there so she could recover and be medically cleared to fly. 1. It really is a small world. While we were in the hospital, wouldn't you know it, Wendy had a visitor from Boston who lives just 30 minutes from us. And that was pretty amazing. The in-laws said it was like a Chevy Chase movie, and it wasn't far off. I'm just happy to be home, have my wife out of the hospital, and hopefully back on the road logging some miles soon. Oh yeah, and as for you guys that asked about my poker skill ... I've won more than I've lost, but not by much ... I play for entertainment, mostly with friends in a home game with maybe 1-2 games in casinos/year. If you live near Boston and are looking for a game, let me know ... we're always looking for new players.

2. Don't get appendicitus. My wife came down with a nasty case and after 13 hours in a hospital, they finally did surgery about 15 hours before our flight was supposed to leave for home. We had to spend an additional week there so she could recover and be medically cleared to fly.

My brother got appendicitis while he was in Ghana several years back. He was as freaked out as I've ever heard him--he said the operating room had a dirt floor! I had my appendix out when I was 11, so when he got back from Africa, we compared scars. Needless to say, the perfectly straight scar line on my stomach looked nothing like the crooked disaster on his stomach. It looked like the surgeon used a spoon!

Quite the eventful trip, Aaron. It did sound very Chevy Chase-esque. Loved the list!