Irish Airplanes And Irish Awards
As the drip feed of the 2008 Irish Blog Awards nominations turns into a waterfall, I’m off again flying from whatever country I’m in now to whatever country I was in a few weeks ago.
There’s been so many planes, trains, and buses in the last 5 months that I keep losing track of what the word “Here” means. A couple of days ago I was talking about what something might be like in America, having lost track of the fact that I was then and had been in America for 2 weeks.
Spending most of December in England I did the same there, referring to it as Ireland. I’m finding it very hard to keep up with myself - so god knows how you do it.
For those new readers today, you might be interested in the Most Popular Posts of 2007, or the likes of the previous year’s Phone Call To An Irish Mother - which you can see among the Popular Posts listed on the far sidebar. Oh yeah, and there’s a menu across the top with links to all the Differences Between Ireland and the US, the Frequently Asked Irish Questions, and the obviously true Irish Conversations.
A big thank you to the lost souls who nominated my sites in the 2008 Irish Blog Awards. I didn’t ask to be nominated, because I consider that crass, but I get over myself once nominated and then I rejoice in the traffic.
At the last count, and most longlists have now been posted, Irish KC has 3 nominations - for Best Designed Blog, Best Personal Blog, and Best Blog (overall) - and American Hell was nominated for Best Arts & Culture Blog, a stretch I grant you but I myself couldn’t see a category that fit well.
By far the most exciting category I reckon is Best Newcomer, though the lists of individual posts nominated for Best Blog Post is well worth a nose through for highlights that you might have missed of some of your favourite sites through the year. When it’s posted I imagine the Most Humorous Post list (updatte: link) will be an equally fascinating quick deep dip into the blogs of Ireland.
On a personal level I’m most especially pleased that American Hell received a nomination, not simply because I prefer it to this site but because I have treated it so badly over these 5 months of traveling backwards and forwards and sideways and arseways.
It’s early days yet, but I prefer the system this year to last year. Do you remember the 2007 winners?
Today I take my dog to Kansas City International airport. It’s called international because somebody’s Canadian cousin once passed there. Or passed wind there.
There the dog will be loaded onto a flight to Orlando. For all the concerned folk out there who worry about a dog in cargo let me tell you that the dog goes into a part of the hold which is just like the cabin i.e. temperature controlled and all the other stuff. The animals just miss out on lights, lottery tickets, and restricted leg room. Still though, I am one of those people myself who worry about a dog in the hold, but then it’s my dog.
I’m told that once the plane is loaded with baggage that the dog is taken to the plane in a van and loaded last, the heating turned on, and the doors closed. Meanwhile I go to catch a different flight. I could have got the same flight to Orlando but that was $250 so I opted for 2 flights to get me there via Atlanta for a grand total of just $59. Can you blame me?
In Florida an agent of the pet transport people who have co-ordinated so much will give my dog out of crate time. And then the dog and I, unseen of each other, board the same Aer Lingus flight to Dublin.
I’m nervous. For historical reasons the dog doesn’t like crates, and there is more paperwork than I’ve ever needed for an American tax return. Assuming no hiccups we arrive in Ireland on Friday morning.
Despite arriving in the same airport, on the same flight even, I don’t get to see the dog at Dublin Airport. Nope, the dog is collected by secret pet collecting people and taken to the national quarantine place in Swords. There the checks to the dog and its paperwork, and its European chip to establish that it is the dog the paperwork says it is, are done and I can take it home. Once I give them a couple of hundred euro of course.
And that will be that. 3 planes for me, 2 for the dog, and award nominations for everybody in the audience. I should pack.
More Meanderings of an Irish Artist:
• Readying for Ireland on the Streets of Kansas City
• An Irish Christmas Drinking Story
• On Me Holidays: At Home In Ireland in England
• An Irish Odyssey in Kansas City
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
I’m sure you’ll let us know when you and dog-dog get to Ireland safely. I’m worried about her. It was good seeing you Sunday night and I’m sorry I didn’t get to see more of you on your visit. As soon as I am done with school I shall be making a trip your way. til then..
I will of course, thank you. Dog-dog is taking off this very minute and my plane has just been called to board. The dog was in good form when I left her and her check-in to cargo went well. She even did what dogs do outside their office. I felt as good as I could.
I’m not very happy with how the Dublin end is scheduled to work, but I’ll talk about that Irish government nonsense later. I don’t have time now because surprisingly the security pulled me in and gave me the once over. Or was it the twice over? Whatever number it was, it was the over bit I could have done without.
Listening to Eddie Delahunt’s and John Morris’ wall of sound of Sunday was a highlight of my trip. It was very nice talking to you. I love a good monologue
Because Twitter’s 3 hours of slow time due to maintenance last night has turned into 15 hours of downtime, I’ll post this note here to say that I’m in Atlanta at the moment and boarding another plane in a few minutes.
98% of the views from KC were just a solid wall of white cloud, so when I got the wonderful views finally over Georgia I couldn’t tear myself from the window even to take photos to punish you with. I especially enjoyed seeing from the sky where on the ground I had cycled all those years ago.
Is it not considered a conversation if one is writing and the other is talking? My voice is only marginally better than that night.
What a revolutionary idea! You’re practically suggesting that a blog could be the basis of a conversation. I might have to concede that you could be on to something.
Oh and it’s a lovely 79 degrees here in sunny Orlando - a touch warmer than the KC that saw me off this morning. I’ve been told that Dog-dog has made it this far and is now checked in for this Aer Lingus flight. I think I’ll go to the window and see if I can see.
Have you arrived yet?
Hope all went well.
Delighted at all your noms, fella-me-lad.
Yes, thanks. And yes, in short. A post is coming.
And thanks again.