Closer to reality

So, that trip to the UK that I had considered for next month didn't happen (for many reasons), but there's now a very good possibility of doing it in late May instead. There's another event at which my Famous People may be and I'll be turning 40 that month, so those are pretty good excuses. :)

The sticking point, as always, has been time/money. Still sorting out the former, but the latter is looking increasingly possible, between the extra month on my contract and what may be a pretty decent tax return when it's all done.

Still, it's tight, and what with the adoption, I don't want to spend any more on this than I have to, so I'm sorting out exactly what we would do there if we went. This is probably a once-in-a-lifetime trip for me, so I want to make the most of it, but we also probably can't afford more than two weeks there, tops.

Aside from the event, the things I know for sure I want to do so far: Giant's Causeway (and possibly other awesome geographical thingies), Brighton, General London-environs historical sights/museums, somewhere in the North (Manchester, York?) and anything else that's an absolute must-see-before-you-die. Might take in a play if Mansfield's in one at the time, and may also want to hit a Primeval filming site or two (aside from the British Museum, which is already on the list.)

Trying to sort through four countries' worth of attractions to figure out the rest is proving quite insane, though. Yeah, the whole thing is only about the size of California, but still. I don't want to be running around madly from place to place and not have a chance to just sit and enjoy it, too (not to mention that running around will exhaust me and make me not enjoy it anyway.) Also have to factor in things like my limited walking ability and such, too.

Hmph. I've done this sort of logistical planning before, howev, so I know I can do this, too. :)

Sometimes the grass really is greener

Perused this article about FB/isolation/envy earlier. Found it interesting, maybe even somewhat enlightening.

Until I got to the end, and the bit that reminded me that it's not all in my head.

For the record, it gets really fucking tiring to constantly be on the business end of (theoretically) socially acceptable "humor." Not to mention the mocking, disdain, discrimination and out-and-out hatred.

Hi. Human fucking being here, thanks.

The thing that gets to me is that it's next to impossible to tell whether a given person's going to be a bigot about this. For the queer stuff, it's easy: I just avoid conservatives and hardcore religious folk, and I'm usually safe. But there's really no safe space for this. Yeah, avoiding fashionistas and gym bunnies is a start, but only that. Even some of the most theoretically progressive folks out there can suddenly spout some of the most hateful garbage on this count, and that can be a really nasty slap in the face when it comes unexpectedly. (And then there's the self-hating crowd, too, who can be some of the worst.)

Sometimes, I feel like it's safer to just assume a given person's going to be an ass until they prove otherwise. Which is no way to go through life, no, but it's better than the alternative.