UK Eastermeet 2016

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I'm a maybe at this point. I've been saving money and vacation, and I'd like to travel to England, but it's going to depend on the concrete plans and specific life events that may occur.

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How close are we to setting a date? I need to start getting a passport and time off to be ready for Spring.

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How much sightseeing are we willing to indulge in? It'd be nice for the natives to show off the nation a bit if I'm flying halfway across the planet, but I don't know what all the plans are, and seeing the people is the main point anyway.

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Well, if the week consists of playing BSG in the English Countryside, I'll consider it a win; getting to see some cool English shit would be a nice bonus, though.

Also, what is your avatar? For a long time, I thought the grasshopper was smoking a cigarette, but it actually appears the grasshopper is playing cricket and knocking one for six up an unsuspecting spider?

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Blackpool? Try upping the chlorine content.

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Also, I'm not in the Skype chat. Name is Sudonym2 if you want to add me, whoever is in charge of that.

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I've been trying to learn some stuff about England. I watched Cricket. This is the worst decision of all time.

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Okay, I'll play cricket. But instead of wickets, we should use bases. And instead of 2, there should be four. And the field should be a big diamond instead of an oval. And there should be 9 innings of 3 outs apiece. And the bat should be completely round instead of flat on one side. And the ball should have some seams on it, and no bouncing it when you pitch. And also no run ups, and you're allowed to bend your elbow. Should make for a much improved game.

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Passport just arrived. Shit is getting real.

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Also, it seems I'm not in the Skype chat.

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So I'm close to confirming; I'm going to be looking at buying tickets in the next week or two. Here's my plan, in case somebody wants to make helpful suggestions before I plunk down cash:

I'll probably fly out on the 23rd, meaning I'm landing late night on the 23rd or sometime on the 24th. Somebody in the London area (CES? Fen? CDB?) picks me up, gets to hang out with me for the day, showing me whatever it is that's so special about London and can be done in a day (London Eye? Big Ben? Fish and Chips?). 25th, we drive up, spend the week at the meet, have a cool time with cool people. I come back down with whoever's returning in London and is willing to hang out with me until it's time for me to return to Heathrow on the 2nd. Howzat?

[Sudo_Nym]

Oh my god, I just learned that Britons drink their beer at room temperature. I might have to rethink this whole trip.

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I don't mind linking up with Chamber- the more the merrier, right? I don't know how bad the jet lag will be, if I'm honest, since I've never been more than 3 time zones from home, and didn't feel much jet lag, then, but London is also a much longer flight, so who knows. I do have a limited number of holiday days to use, though, and I'm trying to maximize them, so I don't know how much earlier I can get. So I don't know how much time or energy I'll have available, but I'd like to try and make the most of it. Some amount of the planning is going to have to be on the fly, perhaps.

[Sudo_Nym]

Well, plans are not finalized, and I'm not super familiar with English geography, so I'm willing to take advice on that subject. I'm going to have to make way north at some point anyway, if I'm going to make it to this thing.

Which raises another question: how do I get to this thing? Is there a train, or a carpool, or something? I don't necessarily want to drag Fenchurch and CES across the country, as much fun as that might be.

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Why not? England's a pretty small island, how far apart can things really be?

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I assume Cardiff is basically inside London city limits; why else would the BBC keep filming there?

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Taking a train isn't a huge deal, but it's something I'm going to have to plan for if it happens. I won't need to be back here until the third, so I've got the 1st/2nd to get back into London for the flight. Inconvenient, but I looked at flying into Manchester and Birmingham, and there's a pretty substantial price bump there, so we'll see, I guess.

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Just bought my tickets! Wooooooo!

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Do I need to book in advance, or is this a buy when I get there deal? I don't know how popular trains are in England.

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Also, is Thomas the Tank Engine a viable option, or is he entirely fictional?

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I keep forgetting to check Skype- I forgot my login information, so I can only get on from my tablet that has skype on auto-login. I'll check it now.

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I'm flying halfway around the world so that you can lock me in a room? I SEE YOUR GAME

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OMG I'm flying to another continent in 9 days. Holy shit!

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Fenchurch is not a fancy lover.

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Brb, setting up takeaway race.

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I'm not a murderer, but I am the rabbit.

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What do we do now? How do we resolve this?

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I liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!

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I already miss you guys. We had some great times. But my deepest regret is that, of all the people there, I was the only one to stick a pound coin up their nose.

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I suppose my enthusiasm for joining an invitational depends on the nature of it. Is it a game based on the people who attended, or just a game for the people who attended?